Intersection of IRL and RPG in World Building

In one of the interviews I watched yesterday, Jonathan Hillis (of Cabin DAO), floated the idea of IRL and RPG intersection.

This can mean a lot of things, but I understood it as a blending or overlap of elements from real life roles in the community and their online equivalents. Every role in real life has its equivalent online (or maybe it should have, if not already defined)?

How about defining these roles in such way that it would require the "players" to act out (or invent) a different persona that would bring out some hidden qualities?

What are RPG characters?

RPG characters are fictional entities that are designed to fulfil particular roles in the interactive storytelling.

RPG prototype features

Is there a prototype for these roles and what are the common properties (features)?

  1. Backstory - their identity, values, experiences
  2. Attributes (personal traits) - strength, looks, intelligence, psychological characteristics (capacity and capability?)
  3. Skills - what can this person do in terms of their usefulness for the particular

How RPG and ILR roles differ

The differences between online and offline roles and engagements are numerous, but I'll list more obvious ones.

  1. Physical presence vs virtual
  2. Real time engagement
  3. Traditional aspects of roles
  4. Global vs limited reach
  5. Different engagement dynamics
  6. Anonymity

While performing online roles - the "players" can afford to be more authentic (or maybe less authentic?) by not worrying about not fulfilling various traditional expectations or by being encouraged to indulge in fantasy.

Is there a psychological shift when switching from RPG to ILR and vice versa?

Is there a psychological shift that happens at the point of transitioning from one type of role to another and what are the potential benefits?

What changes and what potentially emerges?

  1. Creativity and imagination
  2. Shared fantasy
  3. Emotional engagement
  4. Social interaction dynamics
  5. Mindset adaptation

What are potentially appealing qualities of RPG?

Some of the dynamical qualities of RPGs that could be transferred into real life:

  1. Fantasy aspect
  2. Speed
  3. Reward
  4. Feedback
  5. Interaction
  6. Engagement

CALL TO ACTION

I'm wondering if this is something that should be researched further and experimented with?

For example:

Defining all the roles in the world building.
Defining their online and offline requirements.
Analysing some of the points under the dynamic qualities of RPGs and comparing them with their IRL equivalents for performance improvements.