capitalism in virtual worlds

on my mmorpg-pilled childhood

I’m writing this piece as a tribute to my hours spent on MMORPG games, and as a personal reflection after having been thrown back to my fascination with virtual worlds after having experienced the VR equivalent of MMOs recently (VRChat, thanks to Anthony). 

My childhood was half spent in reality and the other half spent playing MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role-playing games) and Facebook world-building games. Think Club Penguin, Fantage, MapleStory, YoWorld, Poptropica, TinierMe, Moshi Monsters, Animal Jam, etc.

I spent thousands of hours throughout the summer of 4th grade through 6th grade in these games. Convinced that this was obstructing my performance in my classes and other productive activities in the summer, my dad actively blocked each new MMO website he found on my computer so I couldn’t get my fix of dopamine each day from completing my login streaks.

Part of my appeal in spending time in these virtual worlds was the lack of an ability to explore the outside world on m…