Social Life and Purpose in SWTOR

SOCIAL LIFE:

There are a number of ways to socialize in SWTOR. In the top left corner of the screen is a chat box where you can converse with other players in a general chat.

If you know a player's character name, you can also converse with them privately, in what is called whisper chat. Most of the game can be played solo, and without much socialization.

There are certain instances or missions, however, that you will need help with, because of the level of difficulty. These instances force the player to interact with other players, in order to complete them. SWTOR has a social window dedicated to helping players find other players to group with, to find friends, and if you join a guild you can see who is on, or what scheduled events the guild has. 

Because the game can be played solo for the most part, there are social points awarded to players for interacting with other players. Giving players a sense of accomplishment for social interaction.

Another social aspect of the game that most players don't consider, or is overlooked, is social interactions with the game's AI. In SWTOR, there are many NPCs that you have a conversation with. Some you become to dislike, and others you come to like. 

This is all brought about by the social interaction players have with the AI of the game. As you progress in the game you gain companions. With companions, you can gain or lose their affections by giving them gifts, and by decisions you make within the game. This can have a positive, and a negative affect on how the companion AI views your character. 

In essence, this creates a social interaction with the companion AI, and NPCs that can have social consequences, good or bad.

PURPOSE:

Star Wars the Old Republic, is a game that can be played by multiple players at the same time. These players create an avatar and populate a virtual world. Like any world that has multiple inhabitants, there is a level of socialization that goes along with it.

Players converge on this virtual world to fight for their allegiance. From the beginning of the game, players are separated into social groups; light side, dark side. From there they can join guilds, and then at the smaller levels groups or individual. 

Players also develop there characters as they gain more experience with the environment and character abilities. Just like in real life, we progress with knowledge, SWTOR and other MMORPGs simulate the growth of experience and knowledge. 

There are many purposes in SWTOR, action and adventure, character development, social interaction, crafting and economy, end game play, AI interaction, player vs player competition. With so many different reasons why someone would play, it is hard to narrow it down to one particular purpose, but this is also a reason why these type of games are referred to as virtual worlds. As in real life, there can be multiple purposes and this is also simulated in virtual realities.