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Second Skin: A documentary about MMO players
popinjay
Member Posts: 6,539
Second Skin: A documentary following MMO gamers
This was really good, and to see how these people lived their lives was pretty sad. It was almost like watching a bunch of crack addicts if you look at how they lived, almost hand to mouth it seemed. The one guy wanting to kill himself was really in need of help. This clearly to me was an addiction on gaming.
Their whole houses for the most part were really crappy and in disarray (the curtains got me, looked like sheets of different patterns, like in a crack joint). It seemed most in the film were from Indiana and I can only assume there's not much to do there, because one guy in the documentary said there were more gamers there than most anywhere (I can only guess he's bragging)
It's very good, but its over an hour long for those who are thinking this is just a clip.
Does anyone here have lives that look like this or know people like this?
Comments
My THEORY is that their life experiences are so limited that the WoW world must seem extraordinary, impressive, marvelous. The WoW world to ME seems staid, predictable, cartoony, indeed creatively repulsive.
I used to game heavily. One of my officers was ironically from Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is weird, as society becomes more deeply involved in gaming, I become less so.
I did not watch much of the documentary --notwithstanding it did not play-- but these games obviously fulfill a need. I love to travel and explore the world. I just went on a two night trip. I love to . . . get out . . . escape. Learn. Practice my foreign language skills, meet people. I think I used to slightly get that from MMORPG worlds, but today I do not. It is ironic, though, that I resubscribed (today) to Vanguard. I will most-likely cancel in a month. Today was also my last day of work (summer gig).
WoW has 11 million players, give or take several million.
Seems lilke you could find WoW players of about any persuasion you cared to.
I'm sure you could do a documentary on lawyers, doctors, policemen, firemen, even strippers that play WoW. Or you could find a bunch of down and out people that play WoW, or anything in between like soccer Moms.
I worked an internet LAN center/web cafe on and off for the past few years, helping out my buddy when he needs it and you'd be surprised to learn what kind of people come there and play WoW, or any other MMO for that matter. I've seen strippers play it, people who barely have enough money to eat and no place to stay will find a way to pay for a monthly subscription, I've even dealt with police officers that would come in now and again and they comment on the game and carry on a conversation about it you would think a police officer wouldn't care to know about. I've seen, and met people of all walks of life that play MMO's not just WoW. Anything from single moms with little kids, to Great Lakes ship captains, to people stationed in Kosovo and Iraq while on duty.
I also happen to know people that have gotten married due to some MMO they played in the past such as EQ or what not and now they live happily and have children. Personally I think it all comes down to what you make of it. I know people who used to play but now can't bear the thought of it, while others spend their vacations from work grinding out levels in the original Lineage. The way I see it, they're not hurting anybody (usually) and most of the time none that I've seen personally at least have tried to hurt themselves due to games so I really don't care what they do. Once they begin to negatively impact the lives of people around them, that's when I start to raise an eyebrow.
By the way, I can't watch that vid because I live in Canada and Hulu is only available in the states. I have seen the trailer on youtube however so I have a slight idea about what it is.
No required quests! And if I decide I want to be an assassin-cartographer-dancer-pastry chef who lives only to stalk and kill interior decorators, then that's who I want to be, even if it takes me four years to max all the skills and everyone else thinks I'm freaking nuts. -Madimorga-
That's probably why declared can't see it either. He's not in the states, lol.
Dang, sorry to hear that because that documentary is pretty much one of the better ones I'ves seen over the years.
It even follows a guy/wife as they have kids and two people who met while playing EQ2, and then decided to live together. (Plus a few others) It really shows quite a different people all related to MMOs in some way or another.
"TO MICHAEL!"
Just finished watching it. For a fairly low-budget documentary they sure got around quite a lot. I also thought the editing was great and very smartly done.
I didn't realize the Gaming Support lady was who she was until she held up the picture of her son. I don't think she has the right training to do what she is doing, but she certainly has the right background.
Despite the way they tried to potray themselves, I still thought the two Gold Farming CEOs looked like nothing more than greedy criminals, and the Gold Farmers themselves appeared to be very unhappy with their situation. Though I believe the Chinese government recently cracked down on these types of businesses, so hopefully they got shut down. More likely they just moved their operation to another place with desperate people willing to work terrible hours for crap pay.
It wasn't really until the much too short segment on disabled people that the documentary really showed some substance however. I'm glad to see that they really knew what to hit back with to tell the other side of things.
In the end, and I think the documentary showed this, the addiction will wear off for most the players and become no more than casual or possibly less. Those that stick with it and continue to spiral downward have more than just gaming addiction to blame for their situation.
I hate it when I see an interesting link and when I click on it it just say : You are Canadian and cannot watch this. Lame.
I hate it when I see an interesting link and when I click on it it just say : You are Canadian and cannot watch this. Lame.
People didn't even know it was inhabited until 1956, until then we had just thought that is where wood and syrup came from.
Give it time, we live in the fast lane era.
I expect CANADIA to be considered a real country by 2045.
YES WE CAN!
Same here. The most recent one was within the last couple months. They met in the game, she's a nurse, he's a I forget, and now they're engaged. I guess lots of people in their guild met in-game and are now together.
As for other players, everyone knows certain celebrities play MMOs. Not a celebrity, but I grouped a lot with a former head honcho of Buffalo WIld Wings, and other people I know supposedly grouped with Mike Judge. "You know, you sound a lot like Hank from King of the Hill."
People are just people. I suppose this documentary could have "MMO" replaced with drugs or whatever else. People from all walks of life, and some do it too much. A friend of mine, who doesn't even game much, had his wife get on his case one time. I told him, the next time tell her, instead of gaming, that you're going to the bar to drink beer and watch football for nine hours and then after that you're going to hit a strip club.
Anywho, also keep an eye out for the new "EverCracked" documentary.
Not viewable ouside the U.S.
Spared the humniliation.
I did one of these for German company the other year about WoW players. Obviously I haven't dared look at the results and it wasn't aired in my own country.
Nothing worse than finding out how a big a knob you are.
Don't worry; I saw that one. You were great!
Blah. Unfortunately this isn't on Hulu anymore. I was saving it for the weekend to watch. Anyone know if this is viewable elsewhere online?
Probably not. It was available online to watch freely, for some kind of promotion, for free. Now it's been pulled.. I think it was up until the13th on various sites, then they pulled it. It's going to be released on DVD soon.
I couldn't watch it cause I'm UK but I heard in a podcast that it was really bad as it took the most extreme cases of addiction and made MMIO players out to be them old 90's basement virgin nerds. Where as now thats not the case and most people are just normal people living normal lives.
This "attack" against the documentary was no doubt a "personal defense" of the person who stated such.
Sure it had some REALLY gross impact points, which stressed the damage these games can do to the numbnuts who get seriously addicted. But alot of it was true.
The guys in the film who lived together, I know 5 different "groups of friends" who happen to live just that way.
The guy who was seriously addicted "I can be the best player, I can equal this group" is my mentality when I play (I'm a power gamer). -I just happen to watch my ass on games and the moment I feel the urge to log in RIGHT after I wake up, I stop playing the game for months, self control is key-
Hell I met my girl in Mabinogi (lol right?It beats the club affairs of the past, and I don't get yelled at for playing 6 hours of BFH).
Alot of these strories have basis on people. Sure there were extreme cases, but really each person I saw carries that mentality we mmo'ers have.