Students Blog

Although I have never played the Traveler, based on the reading, I believe that the Traveler is a better representation of reality. Although the Avatars in the Traveler are only heads, the avatars in Puzzle Pirates seem so far from reality because their physical appearances are fashioned after pirates. Although the Puzzle Pirates’ Avatars are human figures, the facial features and bodies are simplified. Even though pirates exist, I view them as being part of a fantasy world. Therefore as a player it was difficult to engulf myself in the virtual environment. As a social metaphor, Puzzle Pirates creates a community that correlates to the theme of the game. For instance, pirates travel on boats, and therefore there are gatherings at the dock. I was asked by a pirate to make a trade. On the dock, as a new player I felt like an outcast. The other avatars were not friendly. I clicked within a circle of pirates to join the conversations, but I was told that there was no room for me to join the chat. I spoke to one avatar named Louina who was friendly. Based on this experience, I believe that the avatars mimic real life in their acceptance of other characters. In real life, people may exclude those who are unfamiliar and need time to become acquainted. Similar to life, avatars form peer groups in Puzzle Pirates. As a player in the game, it is interesting because each player has an “omnipotent” in the sense that he or she can see his or her own avatar as well as those of others. In real life, we are not able to step outside of ourselves and observe our behavior. In addition, when I was standing on the dock speaking to Louina, I could not see her facial expressions or my own. I did not feel a personal connection. This is different from the Traveler because a sense of intimacy is not created through text communication. There is a lack of voice-synchronization and facial expressions. In reference to Lazzaro’s 4 keys, Puzzle Pirates allows the players to experience “hard fun” by including puzzle challenges. There is strategy involved and it creates direct competition between characters. When winning a puzzle challenge, I felt “Fiero” due to my accomplishment. Players can experience “Easy Fun” by doing activities such as furnishing your avatar’s home or going to the store. I am assuming that some players experience “altered states”, but when I played Puzzle Pirates I became bored due to the lack of complexity and realism. This game is not “therapeutic” nor did I get mentally lost in the virtual world created by Puzzle Pirates. In regards to the “People Factor”, I believe that as an avatar of Puzzle Pirates I could form relationships through interaction with other players if I were to play more often. Overall Puzzle Players was not that interesting and as a novice, I found it a bit difficult to navigate and learn the rules of the game.