"The virtual reality that we all talked about and that we all imagined 20 years ago didn't happen in the way that we predicted. It happened instead in the form of video games," says Neal Stephenson, nerd icon and noted author of Snow Crash and The Diamond Age.
In a new interview at Forbes, Stephenson talks up his latest sci-fi opus, Reamde, and also offers his opinion on everything from the Metaverse to gamer stereotypes to players converting their in-game labor into real money. "It's undoubtedly happening right now on an informal level all over the place. A huge amount of money is changing hands, and the thing that prevents it from coming out into the open and working the way it's depicted in the novel is a number of legal and regulatory hang ups," Stephenson says.
He also mentions his own gaming experiences as well as his new novel's tendency towards adventure in place of the brainiac speculative fiction he's famous for. Head to Forbes for the full report.
Reader Comments (25)
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:13PM aaradun said
Is it really that slow of a news day that you put this up. I really fail to see the point of this article.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:37PM Utakata said
@aaradun
You should read Snow Crash. A story he did almost 20 years ago, which is one of the classic cyberpunks that predicted a world connected by a metaverse...which pretty much a social MMO long before the term MMO existed. In this article he pretty much admits to it. Thus this is very much relevant...since Neal maybe accidentally one of the founding fathers.of MMO's conceptually. Maybe even more so than Richard Bartle.
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You should read Snow Crash. A story he did almost 20 years ago, which is one of the classic cyberpunks that predicted a world connected by a metaverse...which pretty much a social MMO long before the term MMO existed. In this article he pretty much admits to it. Thus this is very much relevant...since Neal maybe accidentally one of the founding fathers.of MMO's conceptually. Maybe even more so than Richard Bartle.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:43PM ScottishViking said
@aaradun Too general interest for you? This guy is one of science fiction and cyberpunk's greatest minds. A very large number of people are interested in what he has to say.
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Posted: Sep 21st 2011 2:26PM pcgneurotic said
@aaradun
There are many more books and authors in heaven and on earth than you can even dream of, kid. Just because you haven't heard of him or understand the relevance, doesn't mean a lot of other young and old people do. xP
Personally speaking, I read Snow Crash in 1997 when I was working at an Electronics Boutique. I liked it, but I'm not a cyberpunk fan generally.
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There are many more books and authors in heaven and on earth than you can even dream of, kid. Just because you haven't heard of him or understand the relevance, doesn't mean a lot of other young and old people do. xP
Personally speaking, I read Snow Crash in 1997 when I was working at an Electronics Boutique. I liked it, but I'm not a cyberpunk fan generally.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:17PM Space Cobra said
I need to find out more about this guy, but I remember some years ago, around the time Shadowrun PnP was introduced, that "credit" (credits) would replace cash currency very soon; it was easy to use a card and so on (either debit of giving you a line of credit) and, authors and many predicted, cash would be replaced soon.
Well, it hasn't because their are still many uses for cash in the real world for many reasons; which is what I predicted. Of course, if we go even farther, the future (or now) would have been all moonbases and jet-packs because not many of those folks saw the internet and other things.
Of course their are some legal hangups with virtual currency, which governments want to control (and get a piece of the pie). Then there are some moral dilemmas, too; it is partly why I am curious as to how bit-coin is different from other virtual money trading currencies.
He has a point of informality, which is how the internet grew (but not started), however, corporations and governments always want to put their hands and take a "piece of the action" whenever money is involved.
Well, it hasn't because their are still many uses for cash in the real world for many reasons; which is what I predicted. Of course, if we go even farther, the future (or now) would have been all moonbases and jet-packs because not many of those folks saw the internet and other things.
Of course their are some legal hangups with virtual currency, which governments want to control (and get a piece of the pie). Then there are some moral dilemmas, too; it is partly why I am curious as to how bit-coin is different from other virtual money trading currencies.
He has a point of informality, which is how the internet grew (but not started), however, corporations and governments always want to put their hands and take a "piece of the action" whenever money is involved.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:50PM Space Cobra said
@Space Cobra
Damn "their" typos snuck up on my "there" and kidnapped it! ;P
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Damn "their" typos snuck up on my "there" and kidnapped it! ;P
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:18PM Niieh said
Reamde seems like a fun book!
For people who love reading AND MMO's, For The Win by Cory Doctorow is also a cool book, and you can download it for free: http://craphound.com/ftw/download/
For people who love reading AND MMO's, For The Win by Cory Doctorow is also a cool book, and you can download it for free: http://craphound.com/ftw/download/
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:24PM rotcafnogaw said
WTB that beard
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 12:51PM Streamweaver said
Come on guys, a little professionalism here. If you talk about an article please link the original source article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2011/09/19/neal-stephenson-reamde-video-games/
It seems petty or amateurish if you don't.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2011/09/19/neal-stephenson-reamde-video-games/
It seems petty or amateurish if you don't.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 1:07PM Jef Reahard said
@Streamweaver
Umm, check the source link below the article?
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Umm, check the source link below the article?
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 1:09PM Jef Reahard said
@Jef Reahard
Actually I forgot, if you're on a mobile device that part of our site is currently borked and doesn't display
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Actually I forgot, if you're on a mobile device that part of our site is currently borked and doesn't display
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 1:25PM Space Cobra said
@Jef Reahard
It's easy to miss even on the PC; gotta tell your Web guys to either enlarge the font for "Source" or make it more noticeable. Maybe a red color or a small yellow explode symbol or a blinking one. The grey lines are fine to separate it from the article, but easy for the eye to miss.
Oh and the site is still too white-bright! :P
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It's easy to miss even on the PC; gotta tell your Web guys to either enlarge the font for "Source" or make it more noticeable. Maybe a red color or a small yellow explode symbol or a blinking one. The grey lines are fine to separate it from the article, but easy for the eye to miss.
Oh and the site is still too white-bright! :P
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 4:32PM Jef Reahard said
@Space Cobra
Haha, yeah I know it's not the best place for a source link. Not my call, unfortunately. I had to respond with words like petty and amateur getting thrown around, though, particularly when the link was in fact there from the beginning.
Also in this case I went back and linked in the last paragraph proper, but we do have guidelines as to how many links can be in a post, so that won't always be a possibility.
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Haha, yeah I know it's not the best place for a source link. Not my call, unfortunately. I had to respond with words like petty and amateur getting thrown around, though, particularly when the link was in fact there from the beginning.
Also in this case I went back and linked in the last paragraph proper, but we do have guidelines as to how many links can be in a post, so that won't always be a possibility.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 5:12PM Celtar said
@Space Cobra
One of the things I do like about this web site Space Cobra is that its not a dark color or black etc. MMORPG.com is and its one that I gave up reading after a while in favor of this due to the eye strain from such a dark colored web site.
Jef thanks for posting the article and link to Neal on Forbes, one of the great authors out there.
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One of the things I do like about this web site Space Cobra is that its not a dark color or black etc. MMORPG.com is and its one that I gave up reading after a while in favor of this due to the eye strain from such a dark colored web site.
Jef thanks for posting the article and link to Neal on Forbes, one of the great authors out there.
Posted: Sep 21st 2011 1:45PM GMickey001 said
I for one think this was a great catch for an article on massively. Thanks Jef...
I also definately think that Mr. Stephenson is a true visionary and comparable to an H.G. Wells of my generation.
Im for sure grabbing up this latest book...
Peace all...
I also definately think that Mr. Stephenson is a true visionary and comparable to an H.G. Wells of my generation.
Im for sure grabbing up this latest book...
Peace all...










