Wow, what a perfect time for this discussion to come up, seeing as my gf just got me hooked on the MMO she and her friend reviewed last week. I already have a main and alt that both are higher than her or her friend's characters. The fact that I am farming enemies simply to get 1000 kills w/o dying is sad, and I'm afraid I won't last much longer without help. Thank God for school to forcibly pull me out, as not even football could tonight. Anyway, luckily that game does not yet have enough entrenched players to create lots of drama.
Shifting focus, I can see the destructive force that MMO's can be, as I have watched some of my friends put raiding in WOW before their friends, food, sleep, and family. I have personally let my health fall by the wayside in my pursuit of video games and MMO's. Having said all of that, the one article that bugged me the most was the one about Twixt, a character from City of Heroes. The fact that social rules could be placed in such stone in a virtual place, let alone between two groups that are intended in-game to be at war and instead are at peace, is both frightening and encouraging. Frightening because someone threatened another persons' life in a way that causes genuine concern, but encouraging because if heroes and villains can come together in peace, who's to say other groups can be brought together, like pirates and ninjas, or conservatives and liberals. Anonymity is often sited as the biggest problem with the internet, but in some ways, when not abused, it can become an agent of freedom for some to explore ideas about their lives that would not be considered acceptable in real life.
I know this one was short, but I guarantee the next one will be much longer and make up for it.
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I think that its funny that you are more addicted than Me and my friend lol.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. I have also seen many a friend put everything else on hiatus for WoW and quite a few of them have lost their jobs from lack of sleep and poor health. But, I don't see a problem until their is that addiction.
I find it really disturbing that someone threatened someone elses life over an MMO. But, it is really neat that even heroes and villains can overcome their differences and just hang out and chat.
Conventions and rules - both unspoken and spoken, will always appear around a gaming culture. "Don't kill your teammates." "Don't roll need unless it's actually an upgrade." "Don't infinite grab with Ice Climbers unless it's a duel match." "Don't drink potions during a duel"
ReplyDeleteSome people ignore them, but for most people these rules add necessary structure to make the game more enjoyable for everyone.
At least you admit that you spend to much time of the MMO, and you do have other interests so that's good.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever thought what would happen if lets say pirates and ninjas were allies? You're right though its nice to see enemies putting aside their problems and banning together.