When my "to-do" list for the game is 3 times as long as my "to-do" list in real-life ....should I be thinking "addict" ???
Learn to cook...learn to fish...learn to use a dagger...make arcanite bars and sell them at the Auction House...do my banking...farm herbs ...make potions ... get my skill levels up...download add-ons that will help me...gather quests in a single area to maximize my efficiency at completing them...level...train...complete more quests...level...assign talent points ...(did I mention level yet ???)
First thing in the morning I check in with coworkers on how their game is going and ask any questions I have from my prior night's playing. We share stories and pointers (mostly I RECEIVE the pointers !) By mid-afternoon, I am thinking about what I will work on that evening. Weekends are planned to allow adequate sleep around at least 1 (sometimes 2) long days and nights of play. Granted, it is winter and I always hibernate a bit more in the winter so this is not actually cutting into any thing REAL I could be doing ...and it has totally replaced my TV watching for the past 3 months ...but IS this addictive or is it just so engaging and fun that it has become is a daily activity I love???
Some people exercise every day - they enjoy the benefits, or the process itself, of exercising. Their body and mind respond to the practice of exercise - perhaps they have friends they work-out with, perhaps they look forward to the comaraderie (or solitude) they have built around that activity. Exercise can be addictive - but for the most part it is satisfying and healthy and often social.
The Guild (group) I belong to in the game is made up of people from all ages and walks of life. At almost anytime round-the-clock - someone is online and playing. We live in all different parts of the USA and of the world. If I want to chat with, or quest with, people that I have come to consider my friends (and like-family) online I can do so. I can also just play the game in peace and quiet and solitude. I get satisfaction out of accomplishing goals, learning new things and making progress in the game. I enjoy the mental activity (they say you need to keep those brain cells firing as you age!) and the challenges of mastering strategy to be successful...and I love my fellow guildees and other friends I have made in the game!
I think that this game, like exercise or other things we do for enjoyment, is basically a good thing. Those who choose WOW over running a mile, swimming laps, quilting ...etc. are just expressing "them"selves to their fullest. Games are fun and stimulating ...interaction with others is healthy (yes, even ingame interaction IS interaction) and loving what you're doing is the best feeling of all.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Choosing sides ...
In WOW, you are given 'quests' (tasks to complete) that will gain you money, goods to keep or sell, or provide you with 'reputation' amongst other groups within the game. A recent quest I was on required me to gain the favor of one group over another. I could choose which of the two groups I wanted to side with, but I then had to kill enough of the other group to gain favor with my chosen side.
The first thing that got my attention as I started killing the MOBs (characters) that I had labeled 'the bad-guys', was that I lost 100 points of reputation (favor) with their side while only gaining 4-6 points of favor with the side I was currying favor with !!! Over the course of my killing spree I had killed quite a few of my chosen bad-guys, making their side totally pissed at me, while I still had NOT gained favor with my chosen good-guys.
RL (real-life) is often a losing battle like this, I think. Often we try to gain favor, and in the course of our attempts - the scales do not balance between the weight of harm we are doing and the results we are trying achieve.
How many times in childhood, school years, and adult life have you felt pressure (from within or without) to choose sides? How many times do we let ourselves be governed by some arbitrary set of rules into behaving in ways we would not usually behave? I can well remember such times in my life, and in the actions of organizations I belong to, communities I have lived in, and jobs I have held. I am sure I have been party to such actions many more times than I care to admit.
Personal memories of having school friends that spanned diverse cliques flooded my memory. Always wondering WHY should I have to choose one set of friends over another; WHY can't we all just get along; WHY should I scorn, or ignore, someone I would otherwise befriend just to fit in with a particular group; WHY can’t I just be friendly with whom I choose?? WHY WHY WHY ...
Although there may be millions of seemingly valid reasons WHY we do these things in life...I hope I never forget to stop once in a while and remind myself that I have choices - not mandates - and I hope upon weighing the outcomes I make better decisions ...after all ..."why not"?
The first thing that got my attention as I started killing the MOBs (characters) that I had labeled 'the bad-guys', was that I lost 100 points of reputation (favor) with their side while only gaining 4-6 points of favor with the side I was currying favor with !!! Over the course of my killing spree I had killed quite a few of my chosen bad-guys, making their side totally pissed at me, while I still had NOT gained favor with my chosen good-guys.
RL (real-life) is often a losing battle like this, I think. Often we try to gain favor, and in the course of our attempts - the scales do not balance between the weight of harm we are doing and the results we are trying achieve.
How many times in childhood, school years, and adult life have you felt pressure (from within or without) to choose sides? How many times do we let ourselves be governed by some arbitrary set of rules into behaving in ways we would not usually behave? I can well remember such times in my life, and in the actions of organizations I belong to, communities I have lived in, and jobs I have held. I am sure I have been party to such actions many more times than I care to admit.
Personal memories of having school friends that spanned diverse cliques flooded my memory. Always wondering WHY should I have to choose one set of friends over another; WHY can't we all just get along; WHY should I scorn, or ignore, someone I would otherwise befriend just to fit in with a particular group; WHY can’t I just be friendly with whom I choose?? WHY WHY WHY ...
Although there may be millions of seemingly valid reasons WHY we do these things in life...I hope I never forget to stop once in a while and remind myself that I have choices - not mandates - and I hope upon weighing the outcomes I make better decisions ...after all ..."why not"?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
My life as ‘Pi’
My life as ‘Pi’
Reflections on becoming a ‘Toon Part 1 January 2008
At the ripe age of 51, last fall, I was finally cajoled into trying my hand at online gaming by several coworkers. I never really played video games before – let alone online games of any kind..I do however come from a family where board and card games have been a part of family gatherings for my entire life. I decided to try it for a month, if only to be able to honestly say “I tried it and did not like it”!
Not only did I like it, I am HOOKED !!! I fell hook, line and sinker into the world of WOW ..(World of Warcraft ™). I have found an exciting new perspective on the meaning of the word ‘community’ … and the similarities to real life astound me every time I take a moment to compare, and contrast, life inside and outside of the game.
As a total novice to gaming, these ramblings will reflect my own personal experience as I navigate a totally new world. As you can imagine, entering a new world for the first time there are the obvious social and language problems. Acronyms abound! Not being from the “text-me” generation, I am having to learn an entire new vocabulary and learn it in abbreviated form to boot! Learning to maneuver my ‘Toon (character) in a new environment has also proved challenging. Not having mastered the eye-hand coordination necessary for gaming quite yet, I can be seen walking into walls, falling off of bridges, and spinning in circles frequently. Add in a little computer lag time, and you might also see me sailing back and forth across a ocean repeated times while being unable to disembark from my boat!
I have had to learn all about map reading and compass directions. There is nothing quite as frustrating as looking at the little compass in the upper right hand side of the screen, flipping back and forth to a map, and still ending up in the wrong place! For the first 8 weeks I played, I swore that the computer compass pointer was reversed. No matter what friends told me to the contrary, I had to finally figure it out for myself … the compass is always right …I was not!
Reflections on becoming a ‘Toon Part 1 January 2008
At the ripe age of 51, last fall, I was finally cajoled into trying my hand at online gaming by several coworkers. I never really played video games before – let alone online games of any kind..I do however come from a family where board and card games have been a part of family gatherings for my entire life. I decided to try it for a month, if only to be able to honestly say “I tried it and did not like it”!
Not only did I like it, I am HOOKED !!! I fell hook, line and sinker into the world of WOW ..(World of Warcraft ™). I have found an exciting new perspective on the meaning of the word ‘community’ … and the similarities to real life astound me every time I take a moment to compare, and contrast, life inside and outside of the game.
As a total novice to gaming, these ramblings will reflect my own personal experience as I navigate a totally new world. As you can imagine, entering a new world for the first time there are the obvious social and language problems. Acronyms abound! Not being from the “text-me” generation, I am having to learn an entire new vocabulary and learn it in abbreviated form to boot! Learning to maneuver my ‘Toon (character) in a new environment has also proved challenging. Not having mastered the eye-hand coordination necessary for gaming quite yet, I can be seen walking into walls, falling off of bridges, and spinning in circles frequently. Add in a little computer lag time, and you might also see me sailing back and forth across a ocean repeated times while being unable to disembark from my boat!
I have had to learn all about map reading and compass directions. There is nothing quite as frustrating as looking at the little compass in the upper right hand side of the screen, flipping back and forth to a map, and still ending up in the wrong place! For the first 8 weeks I played, I swore that the computer compass pointer was reversed. No matter what friends told me to the contrary, I had to finally figure it out for myself … the compass is always right …I was not!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
