Old Farts , Young kids...

chaintm · January 2006

Think of this as an editorial....

Something I have noticed as of late is the difference in maturity levels on the community. This subject lately has become more and more apparent as more of the younger generations starts in the online phase. Most will argue and I would surly agree that maturity levels of players is not age limiting. However this writer would concur that the majority are in the younger generation.

Would this new found interaction with todays youth really show the differences of past youth interaction? I would say no. If we had the same interaction that we have today, it would surly be taken in the same grace. While there is more profanity, sex, drugs etc.. this comes from somewhere. Today's youth did not just open their eyes and say " hey I think I will start having sex and take drugs". They learned this from someone and most will blame the parent, which I would back that 100% in this theory.

The world today has made these "immature" gamers part of their lives, threw past and current actions. So there is no one to blame but themselves. What could rectify these issues? The parent of course, as this writer has experienced. When you confront someone of the younger generation and talk about their parents love, commitment to them and more, they take a defensive stance and in many times will just log without confronting the issue. It definitely seems to me that the parents in most regards are to blame for not paying close attention to their sons and daughters.

On the other side, there are immature adults too, who take it upon themselves to use the online genre to let out their frustrations then to do so in their real lives were they could not obviously say or do such things. In this , their maturity level in the online industry is just as bad as those who are considered youths. It all then comes down to the latest question and or discussions depending were you visit.

The biggest discussion as of late under this topic is server age limits. That's right, people are talking about having servers dedicated to an age group. While the concept to this writer would be great, there is no way currently to enforce such a service. Because these same parents who allow their kids online without supervision and have interaction with complete strangers are the same ones who turn over their credit cards for any new game the child want's to play. More over, if such an idea could be done correctly, you will still end up with some immature players no matter the age.

However this writer believes that it would be (as many have discussed) a good idea in the long run. Sadly thou, it could end up backfiring on those who are within a certain age group being defined as something they are not. Say for instance , 2 servers are made. One is for ages 20 and under and another is 21 and older. While you find immature people in both servers, you would deni those who are mature, but sadly are forced to be with people who are not. So that 16 yr old boy will not be able to find such a mature group as he would with the 21 and older crowed that he is use to grouping with.

While I see the idea of age servers has it's good points, I don't believe it truly is a fix to the problem. The only true fix is for parents to become parents and supervise their child while he/she is online. However it still will not stop some of the older immature players from doing their banter, but it would be a start till some sort of other remedy is found.

Rikimaru_X · January 2006

I read 4 paragraphs, gave my cat a dollar and she attacked me. I'll countiune this in a bit.

Saggitarius · January 2006

The preanounced forest cut in Syberia is probably going to hava drastic and catastrophic effect on the mass underwear production for guinea pigs

And that is a respectfully respectfull and above average thought of a brilliantly pure mastermindly mind

Gideon · January 2006

Originally posted by Saggitarius
The preanounced forest cut in Syberia is probably going to hava drastic and catastrophic effect on the mass underwear production for guinea pigs
And that is a respectfully respectfull and above average thought of a brilliantly pure mastermindly mind

I total totally agree... ::::35::

Nihilanth · January 2006

When I play MMOs, I don't tell my age to people in a group or a guild or anything until I know them well enough and they know me. Why? Because I'm 15 years old, and I've been attacked many times in games for my age. Even if I've been playing with the person in a group for five hours, have barely said ANYTHING let alone something stupid or immature, the second they find out I'm 15 it breaks out into things like "isn't it past your bedtime" and "does your mommy know you're playing this game"?

Even on this website I don't give my age out that much (obviously now there's really no option). It's gotten better as I've been here posting for longer, but I remember a while ago when I first started on the forums I posted my take on a game. The response I got was something along the lines of "oh well you're only 15 so your opinion doesn't matter." How does that make sense? I play the game don't I? (And yes, I DO pay for my games myself, the only thing I don't pay for is the internet connection.) So why doesn't my opinion matter?

I'm not denying that the majority of the immature people in the community are in my age group. I know for a fact that it is, and to be honest I wouldn't want to play the same MMO as a lot of my real life friends because they'd make ME look bad (guild by association).

I think although immaturity of youngers gamers is deffinitely a problem, I speak from first hand experience when I say that just as bad is when people get so tied up in the idea that "younger games = immature gamers" that they take it out on people that haven't even done anything wrong to begin with.

So because of this, I agree with you that age restricted servers will NOT solve the problem. They may make it better for people 21 and above, but they leave people like me forced to play with a server twice as full of idiots than the older servers for the next 6 years. How fair is that? It isn't, but the problem is that truthfully there ISN'T a way to deal with the situation that's fair to all people.

at least that's my 2 cents...

Saggitarius · January 2006

umm

You really said something , but all i understood was "Diapers"
isn't it time for you to go to bed?

::::16:: ::::15::

::::31:: ::::39::

Shadow786 · January 2006

its 10:30 he should be at nursery

::::15::

Nihilanth · January 2006

Shhhh, my mom doesn't know I'm skipping Mother Goose time to play WoW. Please don't tell her...

::::31::

Porta · January 2006

Great thread.

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While it's not an old subject, rarely do you see this topic presented and argued in such an articulate manner as chaintm, or Nihilanth.

I agree 100%, that the mixing of maturity levels hurts more than helps game population levels. In addition to enjoyable content, I believe Community is one of the most important elements that drive a successful MMOG title. People will often keep playing a game long after they've bored of the content, because of the people they play with. I myself played Everquest for 2 additional years after I'd bored of the game, just because I liked the people I shared my gamespace with.

I see this problem is largely the result of two problems:

1) Commitment and Reputation to a server environment

With respect to commitment and reputation, it has been my experience that gamespace is more enjoyable for all types of players when character reputation is important. If you behave like a jerk, idiot or a selfish piece of trash, your reputation is built around that and eventually very few players want anything to do with you. In games that require a substantial amount of time developing your character, I find that players tow the line a lot more, and work better with other people than they do in games with a more rapid developmental curve.

For example, World of Warcraft, while still a very "fun" game for me in terms of gameplay (I have only been playing 3 months), this game really falls short on community. I find populations in the newer servers incredibly transient, largely due to the rapid level curve and frequent introduction of new servers. Because of this, I find people care a lot less about their reputations on these servers... if they blow it on one, they can change to another with very little penalty. I too have tried a few different servers, hoping to find that perfect collection of players whom I can get to know better... but have found they are all the same. As a result, I have characters I enjoy on at least three servers now, but no real commitment to any one of them. The game has started to lose my interest, and without any real community tie... I can't see myself playing this game beyond perhaps another Game Card's worth.

Everquest 2 on the other hand, had my subscription dollars for 11 months. The game itself started to annoy me as early as three months after release, however, I was so attached to people I'd met in game that I kept playing until I really just couldn't stand the game any longer, and it was affecting me negatively as a person. Rather than take my frustration out on friends, I left the game, and keep in touch with them via the Web until another title comes along w that we can all migrate to.

2) Market appeal to age group demographics

This isn't something that has been explored very much in games. The same thing that entices a teenager to play an Elf will appeal to someone in their 40's. But... young people (on average) enjoy things unique to their age demographic, as do older crowds.

If there was some type of reward system built around age demographics, be it through prize incentives or content that is available through the game... I think we may find that age categories will start to move in different directions.

Using WoW as an example, what if a music entertainer subsidized each server? They have a rotating event in this game called the "Darkmoon Faire". It moves around and sets up in different places, appearing for about a week each time. There are different mini-events at these faires including collection quests, some of which take several months to collect enough "tickets" to get good "prizes". Imagine if some of those prices included Real World Music DVDs, concert tickets, etc. that players could claim by entering in unique codes assigned to them as prizes by the game? I have very little doubt that someone in their 30 somethings or older would have more interest in today's Hip Hop, than they would have in 90's music.

Why stop at Music though? What about shopping spree prizes? You could have everything from shopping sprees at The Gap to Home Depot! Someone in their teens is probably a lot less interested in home renovations than someone in their thirty somethings.

To this day, I can't imagine why relationships like these haven't been formed? It's a win-win situation from a business-business perspective on the level of game developers and other markets, and it would definitely help to collect and pool gamer demographics with players of similar styles and tastes... thus fostering stronger community bases.

Anyway, I really do hope MMOG dev companies start to put more emphasis on community development in more creative ways. Games are becoming more popular, and attracting more variety of players than ever before.

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Old Farts , Young kids...

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