Every game has a degree of realism. Most more obvious than others. Things like only being able to use one item in each hand, or that when your hit with a hammer you will get hurt, are examples of what I like to call...physical realism. This kind of realism tends to fly out the window when you add things like spells, dragons, elves, etc. However there is another type of realism inherent in all mmo's. It's what I like to call, Socio-economic realism. The basic concept of humanity as we know it is the interactions between people, both socially and economically. This type of realism is where concepts like people make goods and sell them, people fight each other, people form guilds( or other similar things ). There are two levels of socio-economic realism. The first (lets call it type A), that indeed such things happen between humans. This is the case when people sell things to other people. The second (type B), is that things that do indeed happen between humans (type A), the way they do, or in the same fashion. This would be something like, people sell things to other people, for something of equal value. Each of the first has many facets, so for every action, there are many realistic ways such an action can occur.

An example of type A socio-economic realism in gaming is marriage. Not a new concept to the world of mmo's but it has never gone into the depth of realism that marriages really have. In a way, being able to get married IS realistic, however that is only one part of socio-economic realism. Marriages in current mmo's lack almost any type B socio-economic realism.

But will Blizzard change this? Will they take a step towards greater type B socio-economic realism in mmo's? We know that Blizzard has plans to have marriages within the wonderful World of Warcraft, but have they gone to the extent required to be called realistic from a type B socio-economic standpoint as it pertains to marriages?

The following are questions related to marriages and game play that the World of Warcraft community, and myself, demand a Blizzard representative answer immediately. There are many of us within the World of Warcraft community that would like to know if Blizzard is making an effort to quench our thirst for type B socio-economic realism in massively multi-player online games, or just jacking us around.

Issue #1: Children.

People have kids, it’s what I like to call ‘Type B socio-economic realism within physical realism parameters’.

Will offspring be allowed in WoW?
• Will said offspring be PC or NPC in nature?
• Will people have the option to start at level 1(or 0) to a random parent who has a 'looking for offspring' flag, or do you have to already know said person to have them as your offspring?
• Will parents be financially responsible for said offspring?
• If parents are held to be financially responsible for their offspring, what will Blizzard do in the event of neglect?
• What level is a child considered legally dependant?
• Can a child be born with defects such as one ear, or three ears?
• Is there going to be any form of birth control within WoW?
• The above leads to a rather obvious question that I will not type out due to my boss(es) rather painful leather whip, but imagine it being there
• Will children be able to form guilds, or join the guilds of people who have passed the level of adulthood?
• Will parents have any way to punish or otherwise humiliate their offspring?

Issue #2: Divorce.

1 in 7 marriages today will end in divorce, online players are no exception.

• Will divorce take on any forms of financial obligation for either party?
• Will there be divorce lawyers? Judges?
• If the above is yes, will they be PC, NPC, or Blizzard employees.
• How will Judges be chosen?
• Will lawyers require a skill in law?
• If the above is yes, is it a one time skill, or is the settlement awarded based purely on the skill level of the two lawyers?
• How will lawyers be chosen?
• What will happen to the child (if there is one).
• Will time be split between both parents?
• What happens in the case of a raid, or otherwise non-typical event?
• If the parents are in different guilds, which guild does the child get to join once they reach the level of independence.?

Issue #3: STD’s

Leather....whip....stings...

Issue #4: Gay marriages.

Hot topic these days, blizzard may bow to pressure on this one... after all no one wants a bunch of gay rights activists riding their arses.

• Will Blizzard allow gay marriages?
• Will the laws of the users state/country, the laws of the servers state/country, or the fact that it’s online and not real, determine if it’s legal?
• Will gay couples be able to have offspring? Adopted only?
• Will Night Elf females be encouraged to be lesbians? (was worth the whipping)
• Are any members of the Blizzard staff homosexual? Specifically GF...I mean you’ve heard the rumors right?

Issue #5: Home life.

As we all know, families have many issues to deal with on a daily basis.

• Will each partner have their own mount?
• Will there be ‘mini-van’ like mounts that have the capacity to comfortably seat up to 6 people?
• If houses are released, do married couples get larger versions?
• What will happen if I leave a ring from my beer mug on the coffee table?
• What will happen if I leave the toilet seat up?
• Will there be some form of police to aid me should I do one of the above two things?
• Will one partner be able to attend a raid or other non-typical event without the others permission? Specifically the male partner.

I think that is all the questions that were conceived. However I would like to very much thank all the members of the World of Warcraft community who participated in the forging of this document, which is sure to change the way game companies handle type B socio-economic realism, as it pertains to marriages within a massively multi-player online role-playing game today. We can only pray that the bureaucrats down in California will put aside their lust for money, and their ‘more important things’ for one moment to deal with this issue that has plagued gaming for the last ten, or so, years.

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