Ten Ton Hamster

Disney recently announced that they are closing their online game, Virtual Magic Kingdom. There has been a huge outcry of grief, disbelief and rage from community members and players (approximately 300,000 play VMK) who found a home in the Kingdom.

One such cry moved me to make this opinion post. Lawyers often debate who "owns" the items created by players in a virtual world (answer to date is the game development company). Psychologists often use online communities to discuss small- and large-group behavioral tendencies (answer is a more distilled version of what you would find IRL - in real life). Even the Center for Disease Control used a plague outbreak pattern in World of Warcraft to study and theorize the not-so-random spread of an disease (answer... well I don't know what they learned but it amazed me that they studied it).

So we all acknowledge that virtual online worlds have an important role to play in the lives of many people. What isn't widely acknowledged or studied yet is how worlds can mean more than "real life" to children.

I had the great honor of knowing at least six MMORPG players in various games I have played who were at a disadvantage "IRL". One woman was in a wheelchair and playing online meant that she could "run, jump, dance again". One gentleman with an inoperable brain tumor used the game's community forums to keep in touch with the world and to share friendships and relationships he would not otherwise have the chance to make. Still another man wrote to let me know that he installed a popular MMORPG onto the computers of a Veteran's Home - the residents there had very little entertainment or chance to interact with others but these worlds opened up ... well... worlds to them.

Today I read a comment on Virtual World News and it brought tears to my eyes. It was written by an adult player but he quoted an 11-year-old who wrote this in her online journal:

“My favorite web site, Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) is closing May 21st. I'm sad and MAD! I can't live without my friends on VMK. PLEASE sign my guestbook like a petition to SAVE VMK for me and my friends. Pass my site on to everyone you know so they can help too. I love VMK cause I can WALK, TALK, EAT, DANCE, SHOP and play checkers all by myself.

PLEASE HELP ME!

Love,
Madison
p.s. VMK is GERM FREE too!
p.s.s. and no one stares at me there.”

Will Madison find a new place to do these things virtually? Probably. Should she have to? I don't know. Is it breaking my heart that a place she calls "home" is going to be unceremoniously deleted, and that so many "lives" - virtual or not - will be affected by it? Absolutely.

To sign a petition to keep VMK online, you can click here.

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