Seems to me this brings up questions of why we think of things as "real" in the real world as well. In essence it seems objects are merely psychological representations -- we assign meaning to them based our own perceptions of their value. One of the things MMORPGs does very well is create that value by way of social interaction and the role that the items play in that sphere. For example, a sword of super awesomeness +2 has more value than it would have just by slaying monsters, because by slaying monsters super awesomely you also increase your perceived value to the group. There's a single player correlation in a kind of carrot-and-stick situation. I remember being incredibly excited and working very hard to get every new nano-upgrade (forgot what they're called) Deus Ex, because every one would have a positive effect that I desired for my character. Of course there are a lot of other situations where game objects can have value for the player, but this seems like a good enough overview for my, er, view for now.

I got this feeling from the Elder Scrolls games.

I think older games do a better job of giving you this feeling than newer ones. Part of the problem with WoW is that I know the defined item list, I know which items my character won't want to use, and I have only 10-15 options for upgrading. They all mostly come form some big-bad boss, which is predictable. Back in the older Elder Scrolls games, I found myself picking up individual items lying anywhere in the world. They seemed to be part of an infinite number of possible knifes and swords that were in the world, and i just happened to find one because i chose to look in the silly basket while other people just walked by. There seemed to be an implied history of how the item got there...probably the ne'erdowells who inhabited the cave or the house stashed it, and i could only imagine the throats they slit to get it.

In WoW, even people in your class know the item you are going to get. It's entirely lame and makes the items feel all the more 'gamey'

I have the same experience, though maybe a shade milder, with certain items in LOTRO, especially a hat called the "Riddle Master's Hat," which is a quest-reward, and so definitely not particularly unique. I'm always a bit put out when I see someone else wearing one.

It's really interesting to note in this context that the LOTRO expansion is going to feature a system that takes advantage of this psychological phenomenon, and gives certain items a unique history through the ability to "level" them as if they were characters. I'm really excited about the prospect.

I think he's saying he's nauseous in regards to the avatar condition.

I never really held on to much long enough in WoW for it to make an impression on me. You upgrade equipment so often. I do remember (because none of my friends will let me forget) a set of armor that gave my male dwarf boobs. I definitely don't miss that one.

One thing I noticed about my own attitude towards in-game items is that I often prefer the earlier, less flashy stuff. In WoW (the only MMORPG I've played) I liked the subtlety of the simpler swords that looked real rather than the huge, man-sized, swords emblazoned with runes and glowing a sickly green. I also preferred the earlier costumes (when they actually looked co-ordinated. Which wasn't often) rather than the over the top 'power armour.' I suspect I'm in a minority though (to put it mildly.) I have heard that there are quite a few people who will use an item that is slightly less powerful because they prefer the look of it. I often felt a twinge of regret giving up a trusty weapon for a better but tackier looking replacement.

P.S. Has anyone else 'seen' in-game items in real life? After one particularly epic Halo session I went out and saw a coke can in the gutter with it's bottom end towards me. Viewed from that angle it looked uncannily like a plasma grenade. For a split second I thought, "Oooh plasma grenade. I'll pick that up."

I've never felt too particularly attached to anything in WoW either.

In AC, you could spend a long time trying to get the perfect weapon(s) for your character. I used to have a level 95 archer that I spent far too much time on. It took me months putting together a set of bows that would help me solo the monsters out there. Part of my time was spent simply collecting numerous bows to attempt to imbue (10 different imbues). Then I spent time collecting junk loot for salvage, because I couldn't afford to buy all the salvage I needed (each imbue used a different type of material, each material needed 10-20 pieces of junk loot of that material). Once I got everything together, each imbue had a 66% chance of failing and destroying both the bow and the salvage, so I tripled up on each imbue, and even at that point I still occasionally walked away empty handed.

And even once I got them all how I wanted them, there was always that chance of dropping one or two on death, and losing them forever (if I couldn't find my body, though they made this easier later on). A lag death could destroy many hours worth of work I put into those items. And it's probably no wonder that going through this whole process is what finally broke me of AC. I put about 4 months of tedious work into that bow set, and a few weeks after I got finished with it, they released new bows that were way better than mine (so I'd have to go through it all over again). At that point is when I realized I really was "working", and not "playing", and just decided it wasn't worth keeping the subscription up.

In WoW... there's just not that level of attachment to items. Sometimes crafting items take a while to make, but if you don't want to go that route you can simply run instances/raids until you find something better. And once you have the item, unless your account gets hacked, you don't lose it. If you break it completely, it doesn't go away... you just simply repair all your gear and you're ready to go.

Last night I actually cleaned up my bank on my main, and I vendored the few set pieces I was still holding onto. I still had two pieces of Arcanist in there (mage T2). I still had a piece of Incanter's (mage D3 I believe). I wasn't holding onto them for any particular reason, other than the set might look nice if I ever managed to piece it all together, but I just came to the conclusion that I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than to run MC enough to actually get a full set of T2 for purely nostalgic reasons.

I'm going to take a different spin on this topic here. I've just finished Half Life 2, HL2 Episode One, and I'm now a good ways into HL2 Episode Two and I have to say I'm getting really attached to the Gravity Gun. For a piece of fictional equipment it really looks and feels convincingly real. I have found myself a couple of times wishing I had real one to "try out". I can think of a few interesting things I would do with one.

This is one of my favorite nitpicks in RPG's! I can love or a hate a game the way it makes you feel about your inventory. I like to feel that each item I have is a real item, I like to be able to drop them and see them on the ground, I like them to have sounds, and other properties. I hate games where your inventory is just a list - I much prefer the grid system. I love organizing my inventory. Potions go in this corner, loot goes over here, etc.

Really interesting response, Certis--thanks.

I'm really fascinated by the correspondence between what I've started calling the "gear-aggregation dynamic" of MMORPG's and what goes on in the Homeric Iliad where prowess is pretty much measured by enemies killed and booty taken. The never-ending cycle of gear-aggregation is already a pretty poor substitute for the battle scenes of epic, and that's before the tradition develops to the point where the bards start questioning what it all means, just as you do.

I like to see in whatever traction LOTRO's gained the move towards a more rewarding, ethically complex, kind of MMORPG storytelling, where gear-aggregation is better contextualized. But I think you're right that because humans like objects, gear isn't going away, and somebody who takes a Zen approach like yours is justified in turning towards the light and blowing their friends away in a more direct, less desire-ridden fashion.

Ah, hello there. Sorry, I stepped out for a moment.

That moment may have spanned a number of weeks.