Virtual Girlfriend - An Online Dating Game
Imaginary Women Create ARG World by Providing Pretend Relationships
Every once and a while a gamer seeks out a new type of gaming experience, but virtual girlfriends?! Who would have thought!
There are several news articles floating around on the internet about imaginary girlfriends. A search on google using the terms eBay Imaginary Girlfriend will turn up several blog posts and even news stories from more reliable sources such as Fox News (www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107336,00.html)
Around 2003/2004 eBay featured auctions for virtual girlfriends and virtual dates. Women, many in college, would post a picture and offer their services as a pretend or imaginary girlfriend to single and lonely men.
These long distant relationship services usually consisted of an online chat, a few emails a month, perhaps some pictures, and a hand written love letter or two. The auctions were very popular and many women would easily make upward near $100 a month, sometimes more, by offering these long distant virtual or imaginary girlfriend services.
Somehow something went wrong. Somewhere, despite the spirit of good entrepreneurship, some ladies started to take advantage of the lonely men in the world. Though the services would be offered and the single men would pay for them, some virtual girls never carried out their duties as an imaginary or virtual girlfriend, thus conning some guys out of hundred of dollars. Additionally, many ads started to cross the line into more overtly sexual.
EBay started placing a ban on virtual and imaginary girlfriend. The most likely reason they began to do this back in 2004 was because of their adult policy which indicates that services that include any sexual/adult activity are prohibited. Their new terms of service, found at http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-services.html, is very specific stating the following are prohibited:
- A listing offering a “virtual” relationship
- A listing offering a massage or other service requiring physical contact
- Any service that offers, suggests, or in any way conveys an intimate service contact, including dates, escorts or other such services
A Virtual Girlfriend – ARG at its Best.
Alternative Reality Gaming, or ARG for short, is the idea that a game brings its player to a place where the line of fantasy and reality blur. As the ARGology Organization (www.argology.org) reports “Instead of requiring the player to enter a fictional game world, ARG designers attempt to enmesh the game within the fabric of the player’s real world by harnessing as many media technologies and interfaces as possible.”
A well done ARG causes the player to forget they are involved in a game and makes them feel as though the events are really taking place within the player’s real life. Thus, it becomes hard to separate reality from fantasy.
Enter VGirlfriend.Com. This website asks the question “Are you looking for the perfect woman?” They boast “We have girls that for a time will pretend to be your new girlfriend. You will choose what you like, she is ready to call you, send emails, text messages and she will also send you postcards and letters home if you like!”
While many single men may read this and think that it’s a bunch of hogwash, it becomes much easier to accept the idea and even enjoy it when it’s thought of as an ARG. For a certain amount of money per month a single man can engage in a game that will bend reality and allow him to feel as though he’s actually involved in a “real” relationship, only without the physical connection.
A Virtual Job Where Women Can Play Too
Of course VGirlfriend.Com uses real women to play the part of the virtual girlfriend. In fact, they are always hiring! According to the website women can submit an application and once chosen “every woman decides what to ask for the service.” Thus no two offers are ever the same.
The majority of the women that serve as long distant imaginary girlfriends have skills in either acting or writing, but all of them are talented at bringing fantasy to life through the player’s choice of email, text messages, postcards, hand written letters, and phone calls. Of course, the more time the player wants to spend with their pretend girlfriend and the more methods of communication they want her to engage in, the more expensive the virtual girl’s charges will be.
According to the website, the average rate tends to be around $70 per month. Not a bad way for talented and creative women to make some extra money on the side. Though it’s doubtful this will ever be a full time job, it certainly has the potential to create a nice cash flow on the side.
A Virtual Girlfriend is Fantasy, Never Reality
It’s important that lonely men understand that this is all an elaborate game. It is purely fantasy. The women are playing a part, a role that their male client’s assign to them and they never break character. Additionally, single guys must also understand that under no circumstances are they allowed to ever ask for her real name, real life contact information, or to get together or have a date in real life. Again, this is only a game!
Despite being just a game, many lonely men seeking companionship will be thrilled by how authentic and real the pretend relationships appear to be. In essence the game can provide a temporary escape from the pain and isolation of being alone or lonely. It isn’t meant to act as a permanent solution to shyness and likewise it shouldn’t be confused as being a dating site, dating agency, escort agency, or marriage agency.
The Company behind Virtual Girlfriend
Interdata was created in Switzerland in 2005. It consists of a group of ten people that make up an international staff. They are responsible for creating several services and websites throughout Europe. In early 2009 they launched their first Virtual Girlfriend game in Italy and in late 2009 have also opened the game to the United States.
Looking for something a little more realistic? Consider using an online dating assistant. These individuals are trained at helping both men and women to find real dates via the internet.
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