Escapist Book Review: "Alter Ego" by Robbie Cooper

The Escapist has published a book review I did on "Alter Ego". The coffee table book juxtaposes the stories of real life people with their virtual avatars. It's a fascinating look at those people who play MMOs.

At the beginning of the project, Cooper insisted that he had no goal or message in the exploration of virtual identities. He simply wanted to "record something." "A stereotype is oversimplified," Cooper noted, "[I] just wanted to get some real human complexity."

One example is the portrait of the gold famer. On one page, there is a man from China who judging from his photograph, does not go outside too often. He is a power-leveler and is photographed standing on a desk in a bleached room full of computers with dark circles under his eyes, smoking a cigarette. People might condemn these practices, but the engaging first person bio from Spaight shows that this is his life. He plays 70 hours a week and described himself as a "personal fitness trainer for your avatar". It's all in the framing.

Read more on The Escapist.