The chances of something going wrong would also be minimized if the developers were involved. Development teams could help bug-test experiments the same way they do for upcoming content. Even better, researchers could infect people without the player-base's knowledge; a behind the scenes "simulation layer" could keep track of infected characters without having any noticeable effect on the characters themselves. In this way, an infected character could progress through diseases stages without actually dying in-game.
Eventually, though, players will need to be made aware of the diseases and the consequences infection brings. The threat of a detrimental effect can change people's behavior; these changes in patterns would have an obvious effect on a disease's transmission.
Of course, the anonymous nature of the internet can create atypical wrinkles where players purposefully infect others, and with more people come more Typhoid Marys. The Corrupted Blood outbreak may have been caused by players intentionally using their pets as containers to carry the disease into populated areas. However, this behavior, while more prevalent, is not wholly incongruent with how people work. It's not rare for someone carrying a highly contagious disease to get on an airplane and spread a disease far and wide, germ warfare is as old as normal warfare, and bioterrorism is becoming an increasing concern.
Regardless of their goals, it's important that scientists make getting sick fun. If players don't enjoy the experience, they'll just stop playing the game. In traditional MMOGs, where there is an emphasis on character advancement, scientists and developers could include the experiment in a content update as a special global event. Players could be rewarded experience or items at different levels based on their participation in the study. In more open games, players could be given the opportunity to play the roles of first responders, doctors, even insurance carriers. Tailoring the experiment to the environment will encourage players to participate.
Experiments involving MMOGs don't just benefit researchers and developers, they benefit society and the videogame industry as well. Getting involved in the world's health makes games look good. By doing something to benefit others, much like the Child's Play charity and Folding@Home, gaming-based research can go a long way toward promoting games in the public eye.
MMOGs are more than mere distractions. They're social simulations, miniature economies and living worlds. They're legitimate scientific tools. Once people begin seriously using them, it'll help make the world a better place.
Brian Easton is a freelance writer currently working on his first novel. He and his brother can also be found at the increasingly irrelevant Free Play.
