Sword Art Online is a light novel published in 2009; and in 2012, they released an anime series for it. They aired the episodes in North America and some parts of the United States along with other countries like the Philippines and Australia. Aside from its ten different manga adaptations, an anime film was also created in 2013 with a running time of 101 minutes. Now, the supposedly 2022 setting of the story has come to life—in real life but virtual reality. Sword Art Online is now a famous VR MMORPG or also known as virtual reality massive multiplayer online role playing game.
What Was the Fuss All About?
Sword Art Online already made its name on its own with the anime alone, so why it is such a big deal as VR MMORPG?
Sword Art Online story revolves inside a virtual reality world inside a non-reality world of novel, anime, and manga. It is like a dream within a dream in the movie Inception, except that movie is played on the big screen by real people. Still, how cool is that?
The story has a futuristic setting that happens in 2022 where a creator named Akihiko Kayaba trapped the players inside the virtual world. The protagonists like Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki played the game using their NerveGear helmets, or in reality, we call it the VR headsets. Little did these characters know that they can’t log out of the game unless they fulfilled the challenge created by Kayaba. The catch of the story is when you die in-game, you also die in real life; if you forcibly remove your NerveGear helmet, you will also face real-life death. It sounds morbid, doesn’t it?
Obviously, you can’t die in real life if you play this VR MMORPG. Wait, will we?
A Big Game Play Impact
When Palmer Luckey departed from Oculus after establishing it in 2012, he assured everyone that he is still much interested in the virtual reality. He hinted about the famous VR MMORPG which is the Sword Art Online. Luckey confessed that he was drawn to the concept of severe results in real life that Sword Art Online implies.
When we play games, we usually do not think of the consequences. While we do use critical thinking and consider our actions to make us win the game, the impression of winning does not weigh that much. However, in real life, when we do not overthink of our actions, the consequences, and the ripple effects it may cause others, it will be chaotic. This VR of Sword Art Online is like bringing real-life decisions inside the virtual reality world instead of the other way around. This concept creates more impact for gaming enthusiasts.
Luckey stated that of course, he does not want the player’s life to be at stake in the game. Who wants that, anyway? It would be too scary to play if that is the case. Regardless, Luckey wants people to think through everything in the game and the consequence it may carry in real life.
How Is Different from Lose/Lose?
There is also this VR game called Lose/Lose. While it is very different from the concept of Sword Art Online, it bears a serious consequence in the real world. If you used to play this game or still playing it, you have a great sense of courage in you! The game is basically about these alien invaders that you shoot. The plot is: these things actually represent some files from your computer. So, if you kill that alien, your files are deleted forever. Why would you play something that will destroy your data, right? But, yes, some people are playing it.
Zach Gage confessed that it was not meant to be played but rather to spur discussion. It shocked them that the player with the highest score killed 4,912 alien invaders. This number equals to the files deleted from that computer’s hard drive. Only them know what those files are! It turned out that these players used computers at retailers or shops. See? The consequence of this game has not really been taken seriously unlike in Sword Art Online, Luckey wants the player to be accountable for each action it takes and the decision it makes.
Animation: Animated Minecraft?
Now, what can we expect from the VR of Sword Art Online? Of course, it is nothing compared to the animation of the anime. We all know how good Japan is in creating its animated characters. They look nothing like real people, but we can’t deny the fact that their animation screams art. The disposition of every detail, from the hair to the way the eyes blink, is just beyond imagination. Let alone the chakras effect when the story involves power and elements.
However, the virtual reality world looks like among the Urban Sims and Sims 4 that we all know in our Pentium processor computers. Those characters are even better than the pixelated scheme of the Minecraft games. Still, if you are used to the aesthetic of the Sword Art Online anime or even the artistic illustrations of its mange versions, the VR game might disappoint your visuals.
Anyway, the VR game is about the experience. But, imagine having the same aspects of the anime. Have you seen Kirito? Doesn’t he remind you of Roan from Ragnarok the Animation? Ah, those are the good old days for the otaku.
Who Is the Strongest Character?
You already know that Kirito and Yuuki are the main characters in the story, but who would you consider to be the best protagonist that you would want to use as your player in the virtual reality world? Some otaku claimed that Yuuki is stronger than Kirito due to the capabilities of her hardware. Also, the fact that Yuuki has been trapped in different virtual worlds longer than Kirito did yet she still survived. However, for some avid fans of Sword Art Online, they want to consider Kirito with more edge than Yuuki as he was able to fight despite the fact of his stats being reset when he got freed from SAO.
Whichever character you root for, the thing that matter is the way you think of the game and how you will incorporate it in real life. Virtual reality is supposed to make us experience things as it is, might as well make good use of it. There is always fun in learning!
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjE753AisU0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALCLCvNJ7iY&feature=youtu.be
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_Art_Online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WobYdSNW2qI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H-EdfaWbkw
https://www.quora.com/Who-is-the-strongest-Sword-Art-Online-character
https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-founder-wants-to-make-vr-game-with-serious-consequences-permadeath-sword-art-online/
https://kotaku.com/5400213/the-dangerous-video-game-you-werent-supposed-to-play