A Quick Response.

April 24th, 2009 by

It’s been a while, here’s a little something I found interesting.

My response,

I am, as a gamer myself, completely offended by this. It makes the insinuation that all MMO players are completely and hopelessly addicted. I have played World of Warcraft for the past 3 years of my life as a passtime, which it shall remain. Gaming doesn’t always become an addiction, even MMOs can be played casually, depending on the players level of commitment. There are few, very few, actually psychologically addicted gamers out there.

Sorry it took so long. :P

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Senior Year Almost Over!? What to do!?

March 19th, 2009 by

As the title says, my time as a Senior in high school is approaching at a ground eating pace (which isn’t fast enough in my opinion) and your lovable author is filled with indecision.

To game, or not to game, ’tis the question that has afflicted the minds of many great heroes throughout the ages. Well, that’s not true, but I’m sure some of you have at one time or another asked yourself if gaming is impeding upon any aspect of your life. My problem seems to be whether or not I should continue playing video games at the rate I do now, upon entering the golden gates of college. I know there’s plenty of room for gaming, but at what price? Will I sacrifice an A in my classes? Time meeting new people? Questions questions questions. And no answers! Hmm… My style of gaming doesn’t allow me to be what many people refer to as “casual” and I have to find time to balance out my two lives, and in effect consistently seem to forget someone, or something, in the process. I guess in the future the balancing equation I have learned so hard to create will have to have its variables adjusted.

Ah well, the future is yet to come, or wait, the future is now! *scrambles to reorginize said equations* I’m not in college yet. Oh yes, forgot about that. Never mind. The future is yet to come. I guess in the meantime I’ll resume my gaming. *alt+tabs back into WoW*.

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Ventrillo, Skype, Teamspeak, Oh My!

March 19th, 2009 by

As I was reading my newly installed Google Reader World of Warcraft feed, I came across an interesting article on WoW insider about proper etiquette of speaking or not speaking in Ventrilo. Recently one of my favorite new blogs, Holy Deug, did an interesting article on the different types of people who like to talk (or not talk) via Vent. 

So I’m here to talk to you today about when it is proper (and not proper) to talk in chat.

For example, my guild loves to talk. We’re all extremely social-at least most of us-and love to chat it up while raiding, or just playing socially. The only time I’ve noticed there to be a problem with people talking to much, is when our guild is pushing content, and it’s time to get down to business. At times it’s fun to joke around, I do it myself from time to time. It can be extremely frustrating when halfway through a boss fight, the Vent clown decides to make some absurd comment. As a result, the entire raid bursts into hysterics, except of course the staunch raid leader who promptly chastises the jokester, which as a result wipes the raid. I like a good joke as much as the next nerd, but when you’re halfway through a 10 minute fight, no one wants to have to go back and do it again, wasting time and gold, because someone said “look at that dragons wango bango” at an inopportune time.

So this all comes back to webicate, the common courtesy people should be showing while using the web. What you say can have as much as an effect as what you type, and it’s important to think before you speak, especially on the web.

(citations to come, stupid school computers block my websites…)

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Aspect of the Socialite

March 8th, 2009 by

Picture the stereotypical gamer, sitting by themselves in a lonely basement, headset resting upon their forehead, mouse fervently shaking in hand. An outsider might label this person as anti-social. However, in fact this person is exactly the opposite. What the outsider does not realize is that apparently lonely gamer is in fact conversing actively with hundreds of people, monitoring chat channels, and actively participating in lively discussions on the finest workings of the game they’re playing.

Especially in MMO’s, the social aspect has become the most important mechanic of the game. It’s what makes a hit game a hit, or a bust game a bust. The community of players that supports a franchise is the most important tool that franchise has. When people make the assumption a gamer is being anti-social, they just don’t see the other side of the game, where the gamer is being quite the opposite.

The guild plays an incredibly important part in MMO’s. As mentioned in an earlier post, guilds make up an active chunk of the community in a game, and provide a unique social aspect to the game. The channels for communication are skewed in a way that’s different from normal life. Instead of face to face communication, talk in game is either done primarily through text, or over a median such as Ventrilo (A program similar to using a conference call, through the Internet). These alternative channels for communication make conversation much more indirect, but often more fun, allowing insertions of emotes (smileys) to convey messages, and creative use of capital lettering.

Communication has changed with this new revolution of games. It’s very different than what most are used to, but many find this alternative a happy exchange for face to face talking. It’s the wave of the future, and must be embraced.

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In Retrospect…

February 26th, 2009 by

As you know, I’m currently a senior in high school. I just want to take a second to look back on my life: in terms of gaming. It really all started with a fad back in kindergarten. I know all of you probably played it at some point, or knew someone who did. Tamagotchi, the foreign craze, had come to the U.S. My experience with this revolution began with me stealing one from a fellow classmate. I had no idea how to work the thing, and thus it died in my hands. After the tragedy which I readily recovered from, a new craze wormed its way into my life. I won’t delve into the details of Pokémon, but know it was an important phase in my life. And so began the hop-skipping and meddling into various childish games, until one fateful day in 5th grade. The game was called MOMT or Master of Medieval Times. It was my first experience with an MMO (though the game was incredibly small scale and I’m almost sure none of you have heard of it) I loved that game and immediately became steadfastedly addicted. I sling-shotted to the top of the rankings, created my guild, and fed my hunger for gold and experience. Well, soon the creator (I believe his name was Spidey) decided he wanted to get a life, and shut down the game. I was devastated, but soon found consolation in the game that almost every young RPer finds themselves sucked into at some point: Runescape. Oh yes, I became a member. Oh yes, I spent countless hours killing those Rock Crabs to gain 50 experience each, towards the millions I needed to raise my attack power one level. And oh yes, once again the thrill struck, I played that game straight until 8th grade, when the savior of my gaming life found me, the World of Warcraft. I ditched that silly 2D game I’d been playing almost religiously for the past 2 years and gave away my precious account without a second thought. WoW has become my “second life” throughout high school, and looking back I see how it has affected my life. Oh, the days spent at the screen. It is one constant thing in my life (aside from my family) and I know that every time I log in, without fail, there is a whole separate group of people waiting to greet me with a friendly “hey” or “hoy”. So looking back as a senior this year, I see how my progression with gaming has affected me and the people in my life. If I could change one thing, I wouldn’t. My life has turned out great so far (with maybe a few hiccups now and then) but as long as I have a game and loving family waiting for me at home, everything will turn out just fine.

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I Wouldn’t Call It An Addiction…

February 18th, 2009 by

The definition of addiction as defined by Urban Dictionary is;

“Addiction takes away your self esteem and self control and, basically, takes away your life. You become powerless to the addiction and it takes a stranglehold upon you which forces you to lose any kind of sense of your true self.”

This is why I wouldn’t call my relationship with World of Warcraft an addiction, I’d much rather call it a pass time that holds a sway of power over my day to day social interactions. Most outsiders see how much time I dedicate into this game, and have no problem calling me severely addicted. I believe the same could be said, however, for people who watch television for upwards of 2 hours a day, or who spend their free time on their Facebook. It’s easy to tell yourself you do not have a problem with a particular pass time or hobby. I try to take a third person perspective on my situation by asking myself whether or not my occupation with the game is affecting my social or school life, and whether it is taking away from time I could be spending with my friends or family. (This delves into an entire other subject completely, because I like to consider the time I spend in the game with friends, time spent outside of the game with them too).

I therefore, after much thought, have decided I am no more addicted to World of Warcraft than my sister is to sitting in her room listening to the radio, or my brothers recent obsession with Club Penguin. I like to think I do not have a problem, as long the game stays just as it was meant to be: a game. If the games I played ever became more than just something I used to pass time and to entertain myself and my friends, I would consider myself addicted, because I could not pull myself away from the game for long enough to realize that the game was not a game to me anymore.

As long as the game stays a game, I wouldn’t call it an addiction.

Love, C. “Addiction.” Urban Dictionary. 20 July 2004. 18 Feb. 2009 <http://www.urbandictionary.com          /define.php?term=addiction>.

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Modern Revolution, of the MMORPG

February 13th, 2009 by

I admittedly like most highschool guys, play video games. The types of games we play varys significantly between us, but a core group of dedicated geeks play a special kind of game. The acronym MMORPG has been increasingly found in the media as literally tens of millions of people dedicate a portion of their life to this alternate reality. MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game; this term has become a rallying point for gamers who want to add a unique social and aesthetical façade to their online experience.

The modern day MMO originated from simple text based programs; these programs allowed a player to roll play as with a “toon” and choose the fate of that character over the progression of the game. This keystone of todays MMO has been huge in developing the modern game into the complex and enigmatic program it is now. This revolution of the MMO is literally just that: a revolution.

MMO’s have become a basis of our society, generating billions of dollars in revenue and dominating merchandise sales all over the world. So of course this revolution has been the result of hardworking computer nerds, right? Contrary to popular belief, this statement is false. One important aspect that makes the evolution of this type of game so unique, is the strata of people who play the games. From highschoolers like me, to law students, to people who are ninety-two, the MMO reall covers all the bases. This is what makes the revolution impossible to ignore.

Posted in MMORPG, Uncategorized | tagged , , , , , | | 2 Comments