If you got to live inside a video game world, which one would you choose?
World of Warcraft.
Although my previous experience of living there suggests I might be wise to choose somewhere else.
When my son was thirteen or fourteen, I asked him to create an avatar for me. We decided she would be female, and I named her Val d’Esire — my little joke, a play on Val d’Isère, the French ski resort, with a rather more suggestive twist.
With my son acting as guide, instructor and occasional rescuer, I managed to survive for a few days. I acquired weapons, clothes and whatever else I needed to keep Val alive. I was beginning to get the hang of it.
Then, one evening, I returned home to discover Val d’Esire running around World of Warcraft in a bikini.
My son had sold all her weapons and clothes.
I don’t recall what he’d done with the proceeds. Presumably, he had found a more profitable use for them. Meanwhile, my character was left virtually naked and completely defenceless in a world populated by monsters, warriors and other heavily armed creatures.
It was an early lesson in the dangers of entrusting your assets to a teenage financial adviser.
I don’t remember what became of Val d’Esire. I suspect her career as an adventurer was brief. The experience certainly discouraged me from investing much more time in virtual worlds.
But if I were obliged to live inside a video game, I might return to World of Warcraft, if only to discover whether Val ever managed to get dressed again.
This time, I’d keep control of the inventory.
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