The virtual world of Onverse attracts a diverse group of people from across many demographics. According to Onverse rules, the world must remain PG-13, meaning that players can be as young as 13. According to the Onverse forum, the majority of the players are actually quite young, which seems to create a divide between the younger and older players. However, it is hard to know how old people actually are, as older players stated they did not tell others their age because they did not want others to think they were too old for the site. An Onverse user, who goes under the username, Toy, stated,
“I decided to check this site out one day, and haven’t really told anyone my age, just because from observation through the game, there does seem to be a lot of younger players on here and I wanted to avoid that issue by just not sharing my age. But I fell in love with OnVerse, I love all it has to offer…so here I am. I will be turning 30 in July.”
Other players responded to this statement, and stated that while they are much younger, they do not have a problem interacting with adult players. I think this age dynamic creates an interesting culture in itself. In the real world, thirty-year old adults do not often interact on the same level as thirteen year old kids. However, in the Onverse world, age does not create as much of a divide as it does in the real world. This demonstrates the unique element of online virtual worlds where the social norms from the real world don’t necessarily exist. This can be considered a positive thing, which allows everyone to enter the world and start out at the same level, regardless of their age, class race or gender, or any other elements that shape our real world culture. It allows people to become whoever they want to be, regardless of who they are in real life.
Pluto’s avatar. Source: http://www.onverse.com/profile/photos.php?id=5414
One user, who goes by the avatar, “Pluto” has a very extensive personal profile on the site. Pluto describes himself as a 20-year old Catholic, Portuguese man who is studying Computer Science at University of the Pacific. In his Onverse profile, he discusses a female Onverse user, Zuly, who he is madly in love with. He has a section on his profile dedicated solely to Zuly, under which he has written a poem for her. Pluto also has an “Onverse Family.” He is married to Zuly, and has adopted four children. Based off of my observations of this site, people seem completely devoted to their avatar characters and seem to invest quite a bit of emotion in their virtual lives. Another user, iamjerome is also a dedicated Onverse user. She has an extensive profile and lists her Onverse best friends, boyfriend, brothers and sisters. iamjerome even has a separate website that her and her sister made dedicated to their lives in Onverse, complete with a blog, screenshots and surveys. I interviewed iamjerome to learn a little more about the Onverse world.
iamjerome’s Onverse avatar. Source: http://sj-studios.weebly.com/index.html
1. What kind of relationships do you have with other Onverse users?
I have many new online friends! You begin to categorize between friends and best friends eventually which is weird because you have never met these people but you think of them as your friends.
2. How would you describe the average user on Onverse?
There is a very wide variety of users on this game from all over the world. Some speak many different languages. I have actually started learning different languages from this game by using Google translate to talk to certain users.
3. How similar is your avatar, iamjerome to yourself in the real world?
My avatar looks fairly close to myself in the real world, but I like having the option to change her whenever I want. I suppose this is good, so people who might not get piercings or tattoos in real life can get them for their character.
4. Have you met any of the users in person after developing a friendship with them over Onverse?
No. I would never and have never met with anyone except my real life friends who I have recommended the game to. I don’t give any personnel information about where I live specifically to people.
5. How many hours a week do you usually spend on Onverse?
I probably spend 4 hours a day on Onverse which would add up to about 28 hours a week. I know, I am addicted to this game.
6. What is your favorite thing about Onverse? Least favorite thing?
My favorite thing about Onverse is the game itself. There is so much to do and I really enjoy playing it. Least favourite thing about Onverse is that there is so much they could do to IMPROVE the game. I have so many ideas about how they could make it better and more awesome.
7. Any additional comments?
I am 14 and I am not intending to quit playing anytime soon. I love Onverse. It is the only game I have spent money on since webkinz. I have many of my close friends in real also playing the game like my best friend, my mom, my dad, my sister etc… I would recommend this game to anyone as the controls are easy to maneuver around, you can explore anywhere, and in general is just a great game.