We re-aired "Our Virtual Reality" this past weekend, a show I put together early in the pandemic, when I (and many, many others) had really embraced the Nintendo Switch game "Animal Crossing" as an escape from pandemic isolation, as well as a fun, safe space to decorate, fish, design and garden along with friends at a time that we couldn't hang out in person.
As restrictions loosened and we started to see each other again, my time spent on Bacon Isle waned. But since I knew friends from my Animal Crossing community in real life, I still saw them in real life — we weren't gardening and fishing to pass the time anymore, but our friendship transcended virtual and in-person realities. What about the communities you turned to during the pandemic that you only know in virtual space?
I play another game regularly, "Destiny 2." It's a massively multiplayer online shooter — think "World of Warcraft" crossed with "Halo." I started playing the game way back in 2014, as a way to stay connected with friends all over the country when I was living in Chicago; those friends fell off the game, but I still liked to play, so I found new friends to play with within the community around the game.
Most of these folks I've never met and have very little in common with me outside the game. They're also in totally different timezones — I'm getting a little old to play games with people on the west coast if we aren't starting the raid before 7 P.M. But they're patient and kind, spending their time in the game teaching me high-level strategies and solutions to puzzles that I would never work out on my own. It's the type of cooperation that elevates what could be an otherwise pretty brainless shooter into the sort of collaborative puzzle box that keeps me coming back for more, and created a space of safety and control at a time that I really, really needed it.
But sadly, as the world has re-opened, I've found that this online community has been especially fractured. I've actually had to abandon and join new groups to play with 2 or 3 times in the past 3 years, as old groups faded out of regular weekly play sessions and I needed new fireteams to join up with. I've also found that it seems a bit less important to people to hop on voice chat and get to know each other — I'm guilty of that as well — perhaps because we're not seeking the social connection from the game that so many were craving back in 2020.
I can't blame people for going out into the world and living their lives. The experience has just really made me think about how fragile friendships can be. For all the virtual means we have to connect with one another, we're really lacking in the means to stay connected virtually beyond a single platform or experience. It's challenging to stay connected with someone who leaves Facebook or Twitter. It's nearly impossible to find the person you beat Vault of Glass with in 2014 that you haven't spoken to since.
We're headed into the warmer months, or as the Destiny community sometimes calls it, the season to 'touch grass' (AKA put down your controller and ride a bike or go to the park or something). I think it's great that a community of gamers can recognize that need for balance, even if it is somewhat in jest. I just wish it was easier to reconnect with the community when we get back.
–Mark