How Persistent is a Persistent Virtual World?
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” – Albert Einstein
Confusion prevails when it comes to virtual world terminology. So, let’s take a moment to address what a 3D Persistent World really means. Although one cannot easily find a simple go to for the definition of ‘Persistent World’ I have provided a few citations below that track closely how a persistent world should be defined based on our collective experience here at Visual Purple. For a short and sweet example I would state that: A persistent world is a world whose existence continues regardless of whether you are logged in.
I’m always circumspect when it comes to Wikipedia but this citation is in the right ‘area code.’ Definition of a Persistent World from Wikipedia: A persistent world (PW) is a virtual world that continues to exist even after a user exits the world and that user-made changes to its state are, to some extent, permanent. The term is frequently used in the definition of the massively multiplayer online video games and can be considered synonymous with that class of games.
The persistence comes from maintaining and developing the state of the world in the game around the clock. Quite unlike other types of games, the plot and events in a persistent world game continue to develop even while some of the players are not playing their characters. That aspect is similar to the real world where events do occur regardless if they are directly or indirectly related to a person, as they continue to happen while a person is asleep, etc. Conversely, a player’s character can also influence and change a persistent world. The degree to which a character affects a world varies from game to game. Since the game does not pause or create player-accessible back-up files, a character’s actions will have consequences that the player must deal with.
Elements of persistent worlds can be found in computer games from as early as the 1980s, including Trade Wars (1984) and Orb Wars (1989). The term gained popularity in the late 1990s with the growth in popularity of MMORPGs. The term is also frequently used by players of Neverwinter Nights (2002) to refer to MMORPG-like online environments, such as A Land Far Away, Arkaz, Arelith and Bruehawks, created using the game’s toolkit.
Published in July of 2008, The Journal of Virtual Worlds Research- Toward a Definition defined Persistent as: A virtual world cannot be paused. It continues to exist and function after the participant has left. Persistence separates virtual worlds from video games such as Pac-Man or Galega. This persistence changes the way people interact with other participants and the environment. No longer is one participant the center of the world but a member of a dynamic community and evolving economy. A participant has a sense the systems in the space (environment, ecology, economy) exist with or without a participant’s presence.
Not all worlds are created equal…persistent or not!
