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What impact MMORPGs have on your life?
Chosen1
Member UncommonPosts: 37
I'll start.
The unique sensation of being truly alive in a parallel universe, or in other words, being completely immersed in a different world.
This exact feeling got me hooked many years ago. I've been chasing it constantly since the good old days of Ultima online, Dark Age of Camelot and vanilla WoW. Is it a healthy obsession? No. But it is as real to me as anything else.
MMORPGs had a major impact on my life, not necessarily bad, but they have.
In my opinion these days there isn't a single game that can replicate the thrills and chills of an old school mmorpg.
Right now I am psyched about the new Darkfall but faced with the decision of being well prepared for the end-term exams or playing the game on the release date.
Have you ever had to choose between mmorpgs and something else or do you take mmorpgs lightly?
Comments
None. Real life > Games.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
In context of computer games, the BIG draw of mmorpgs is social interaction in a game world and the knock-on effect of that on the rules and other players!
It does not always work out that way eg most game designs are conservative perhaps due to the "ahat theory" (anonymity + online = ah), but it's potentially more interactive than other media forms, so from that pov it's sometimes a really good hobby to wind down with additional to other active hobbies; the contrast makes passive media more enjoyable I personally find.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Thanks,
Mike
Working on Social Strategy MMORTS (now Launched!) http://www.worldalpha.com
I'm the complete opposite to this. I love computer games. Really can't wait for the day I can plug my self directly into a virtual world. Probably be dead by then though.
I'm a unique and beautiful snowflake.
This. Another excuse to delay something I should do. Similar like books, television, partying and all entertaiment basically.
Fortunately for me, I've never understood those people who use video games to "escape" from real life. I am grateful that my life doesn't require escaping. My life is amazing- great job, average pay, hot trophy wife with a huge brain who likes video games and making out (she is perfect), an amazing relationship with God, total peace, a relaxed attitude, detached from all possessions and money (and thus no stress or worry about it). Why would I want to escape from that? Besides, if I want to escape from this world, I pray in solitude and all my worries, fears, and stresses disappear forever.
Nay, I use video games to ENHANCE my life. To make it more entertaining than it already is (and it already is!) It's the same reason I watch tons of TV and why I'm a big movie buff. I just LOVE stories, fantasy, fiction, video games, competitive play, taunting other players.
I don't PvP so I can brag and feel better about myself like so many people do who are probably worse at PvP than me lecturing me why I will "Never know what it takes to win" and who say to me "You're only saying that because you suck at PvP." I PvP because I enjoy it. It's fun, mainly when there's some form of challenge.
You know what's NOT fun? Empty Wins. I'd rather fight and give em hell being faceroll spawn-camped than to faceroll win. (Exception of trolling, like in WoW where I would Mind Control people who refused to leave the spawn, and face their backs to my nephew who would 1-shot them on his rogue the moment I let go of control...hehehe...)
I enjoy trolling trolls, being a jerk to jerks, lecturing other people to not treat each other so poorly (and repeatedly spawn-camping them when they talk back instead of being nicer to others). I enjoy winning, and losing. I enjoy PLAYING.
Who are these people who take competitive play, even tournaments, so seriously that they forget it's just a game?
Who are these people who escape from real life by playing MMORPG's, so intensely that they forget it's just a game?
I admit I have been there for both of those, so sometimes it was/is/definitely can be me, but I just don't get it sometimes. Other times, it makes perfect sense. If I were living the life SOME people were living, I'd want to escape 100x worse than they would. Escapism is part of my personality when I'm unhealthy. (Enneagram 7 Type! Woot woot! Amazing personality theory if you're interested in psychology.)
I play because it's fun.
But to answer your question?
MMORPG's have allowed me to study people deeply for an incredible amount of time. Trolling, socializing, and merely existing in MMORPG's and other multiplayer video games has given me an incredible knowledge of the human experience, human condition, and human psyche. To expand on those three definitions: I know more people of different backgrounds and experiences, I know more about what makes people tick and what happens when they socialize in a variety of situations, and I have better instinctual knowledge and understanding of when and why people act a certain way (especially while being nasty towards one another online).
So MMORPG's have impacted me greatly in my career, and IMO has given me a tremendous amount of insight which I would never have without the internet. I am very grateful for the internet, and MMORPG's.
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
heh well i do hope before I die they at least have some sort of full on complete sensory VR.. maybe something akin to dot hack anime series would be fun. Although every movie or show that portrays full on VR never ends up well:P just watched that bruce willis movie Surrogates the other day was an interesting concept
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
WTFMAN
MMOs are just games. They entertain .. just like other video games, movies or TV.
MMORPGs are a great outlet for me. I enjoy unfolding my character's life in these little worlds. Kind of like an ant farm or sea monkeys heh.
Before i decide if i will answer this question on a public forum, which could be something you probably wouldnt expect, i would first ask you to examine most of the answers you have recieved so far.
None, if any, have answered the actual question. Admitting you enjoy MMOs and use them to pass your free time isnt the question that was asked.
MMORPGs are designed in a very precise manner. Addictiveness, either effective or not, is at the fundamental core. Regardless how many "answers" are given, few will be absolute truth.
Im accepting i might get flamed for this post, in more ways than one.
Positive. For many reasons.
@ OP- I'd go with the exams, the game will be there when you're done.
MMORPG's have been a safe place to talk to people without having to get involved in their lives. I like having an alter identity I can jump into. I'm sad I have almost as many bad memories as good. Some were my own stupid fault. Some not. I really hate forum/game trolls. Some of the biggest trolls of all were moderators - people you expected would bring order but instead degraded the clientele. Added up I count mmo's as a good experience. I don't think I have ever had such a great time that I would neglect the people important to me in real life.
MMOs have had a very positive impact on my Life.
Started with UO as well, and it has contributed to the Contents of my RL character on multiple levels, from the way to view the world and the people in it to the way I take and make certain decisions to the way I interact with the people in the world. It contributed to my Professional Success as well, but most importantly, playing MMOs has helped me keep a Young Spirit, an Activelly Creative mind and upkeeping a level of divergent intelligence (which most people lose as they age, replacing it with more convergent ways of thinking).
I still play MMO's today, for 16 years now. Albeit not as intense as back in the early days, mainly because I am involved with many other things in life (due to the Above contribution of MMOs to my life), but also because I feel present day MMOs offer a fraction of a shadow of what UO did as a gameplay experience, I think the Genre is just going through a sorts of Dark Age.
Nevertheless, MMOs do have a place in my life and will continue to do so untill I no longer exist upon this planet.
Cheers!
Order of the Silver Star, OSS
ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard