Second Skin on AllMovie

Since video games arrived on the home entertainment market in the '70s, they've grown in sophistication by leaps and bounds, and with the rise of the internet came games that allowed competitors in different parts of the world to challenge one another. The latest wrinkle in video game technology is the new genre of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), in which literally millions of people can assume characters and interact in a digital environment though their personal computers and a high-speed internet connection. While games such as World of Warcraft and Everquest have become hugely popular, they've also raised concerns among parents, psychologists and sociologists who wonder about the long-term effects of spending prolonged periods of time in an artificial world, cut off from reality and conventional human interaction. Filmmaker Juan Carlos Pineiro Escoriaza examines the pros and cons of MMORPGs in the documentary Second Skin, which includes interviews with game enthusiasts, designers, psychologists and social critics who discuss why the games have become so popular, what dangers they pose, what benefits they present, and what can happen to those who become addicted to the online experience. Second Skin received its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival.