Metaverse Health

Archive for July, 2009

The UK’s Telegraph newspaper has run a very interesting article on the issue of addiction and World of Warcraft.

The key quote for me from the article, from Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Richard Graham:

He has called on Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes World of Warcraft, to waive or discount the costs associated with joining the game so that therapists can more easily communicate with at-risk players in their preferred environment.

It’s not an unusual perspective in addictions, but I have some doubts in the efficacy of it in relation to World of Warcraft. If the aim is purely initial engagement, then this could be a successful approach. It’s unlikely the intention is to provide actual treatment, As mentioned by Dr Andrew Campbell in his recent interview with me, there’s not a lot of evidence to support treatment within what is the primary stimulus for the issue.

At the end of it, it’s also hard to imagine Blizzard coughing up a bunch of free accounts for practitioners – it’d potentially be a PR nightmare. Also, the health professionals may stand out a little if they don’t understand the dynamics and social etiquettes of the game. Of course, the only way they can do that is by spending time in-game. Perhaps there needs to be a Blizzard-sponsored WoW training program for health professionals?

I’m probably stretching the boundaries with claiming this to be a health-related post, but here goes. I’ve covered Second Life’s Relay for Life previously, and it’s actually running over this weekend and appears it will be as big a success as previous years.

One Second Life resident, Laurence Simon created a machinima called Relay for Death, which aside from being humorous, also has a strong message in favour of the Relay For Life fundraising initiatives:

Health professionals involved with virtual worlds will understand the power of machinima. For those still coming to terms with virtual worlds and health, it’s further proof of the growing maturity of the platform to communicate health messages. Having an engaged population generating their own messages to support health is an ideal sought after – this is an example of it in practice, and it’s fun to boot!

A new working group looking at the psychology of immersive environments is about to launch in Second Life. The inaugural get-together is occurring Wednesday July 15th at 4pm SL time. Click here for the exact location.

Thanks to Dusan Writer for the heads up.