jb: I would also say that MMOs are more emotionally engaging because they *don't* go away when you turn them off.

>>> I'd suggest, rather, that one start with the idea of new major events in a transhuman life, and then bind emotions to those major events and the sub-events that surround them. <<<

It's interesting, that in videogames, this is exactly what we do now with Achievements. And again, this is something that is shared, and does not go away when the machine is turned off.