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[Column] General: AMMOnition
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
"Why do you play?" Most ardent MMO players have had this question asked of them by those who are part of the great unwashed masses of the world. In her latest column, Genese Davis answers that question and the objections that are often voiced against gamers. See what she's got to say before adding your thoughts in the comments.
As gamers we encounter friends and family who, at times, wonder about the pros and cons of online gaming. They can misunderstand why we are committed to playing certain nights of the week, and make assumptions based on stereotypes. The benefits to playing MMOs are often undisclosed, so it’s helpful to explore more ways to describe those benefits.
Read more Genese Davis: AMMOnition.
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Comments
Thus we have mmo's and forums to the rescue.
Nice write up thanks Genese.
I can't say I 100% agree with the social part as I have found that speaking and interacting with people "in real life" to be more fulfilling and more "real".
Having said that, I've met some great people in game who ended up being "real friends", especially after we met outside of game.
However, suppose some people just can't meet people in their day to day lives and the only outlet they have is through games?
I have to admit, I'm considered quite the extrovert and I admire people who can just be plunked into a game situation and immediately connect because of their common interests in games. I always feel odd in those "game" situations.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Sounds like you need new friends or more understanding friends...sheesh.
I agree with mostly everything you said but it is important to get off yer rump and exercise your body.. Unless your brain is in a glass jar...then your fine to game all you want.
MMORPG Gamers/Developers need a reality check!
I think it's more that most "non-gamer" people see it as not only "playing games" but spending a lot of money and time "playing games".
My friends are pretty understanding of my hobby but their position if asked is "you can be doing almost anything else to expand your life".
Which is true. I could be going for my Ph.D., I could be finishing my writing projects faster, etc.
I but I don't know, life is too short not to have fun and also make it a priority
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I get this all the time, I do it to myself too though!
This feeling or need to make "Every moment count" is just unrealistic, sometimes you just need to sit back and just fart around.
MMORPG Gamers/Developers need a reality check!
Well I play games because it is my way to wind down and socialize with my friends online.
And it is my hobby since I was a child and I love to play. And since the 1977 Christmas when I did get the Atari Home Entertainment System I have enjoyed the escape and relaxation you get from playing games.
And it also have saved my life several times. I am diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar disorders and gaming have really helped me in so many ways. I can concentrate better because of me playing games. I have a higher tolerance towards other people in real life. I do not have as many episodes of social phobia as I could have had. And I am more active in life.
For the most questions, your friends are correct, real life is better then virtual world, most of the time people who play any game are lonely and depressed, so, playing games just killing their time and let you forget about real problems, that of coarse does not fix those problems people have.
Plus games give you some form of accomplishment which you can't accomplish in the real world.
People make new friends? please, you don't even know who is on the other side of the line, if you can't find friends in the real world around you? what make's you think you can on line?
In virtual world people often hide their true form or express their true nature of madness.
I'm a cop so gaming potentially assists me in relieving stress to a greater degree than other people, especially with some of the shit I have to bear witness to or be involved with. It's even advocated by our mental health professionals as long as it doesn't indicate an addiction.
The issue is that it's still more of a casual thing with most of the boys at work, and apart from maybe one or two people I know, most of my friends don't play games with any seriousness.
Strangely enough I also find it difficult to relate to people in MMO's compared to RL. I am a self professed nerd (I'm always helping fix the older coppers computers and phones and shit) but I have trouble for some reason coping with the attitudes of many hardcore gamers.
The only negatives I do see and hear about are the elitism attitude and the addictive nature that sometimes results in people becoming less physically active.
The elitist attitude that I've seen in some games unfortunately seems to carry across to all virtual and real social interactions which is rather sad. Whilst I do know a few people online have neglected their health and fitness because they've prioritised gaming over eating healthier, working out, sleeping, etc.
Anyway I'm glad the author has the energy to continue extolling the virtues of gaming to her friends as frankly I've given up. I've come to the understanding that my hobby is enjoyment enough to me that I don't really care what others think of it.
Now if I can just get everyone I know to read this....
I'm a Disabled Combat Veteran and I run a home for Disabled Vets here in Boston. For most of the reasons discussed in the article I tend to push games and MMO's specifically to people coming in the house who are having trouble getting readjusted to life as a civilian and with a disability. It's a safe way to experience social situations and gradually build a sense of belonging and value as well as serving some purpose, however small.
It's a rough road to travel from commanding men in combat and deciding something so important and wielding such power and respect to being stuck inside feeling broken helpless and alone. I can't say enough how grateful I am for games and the experiences they allow us to have that are no longer possible for us physically and/or socially.
My guys are constantly coming to me surprised at how supportive the communities and groups/guilds are and how it really brings back some of those feelings of being needed valued and depended on. I mean it's no fire team assaulting through an objective but running dungeons as a healer or a tank can be very rewarding in a similar sense.
I've always been interested for a study to be done using returning Disabled Vets some like myself suffering with PTSD and anxiety related to combat and exposure to see how therapeutic social gaming or gaming in general can be. We've seen some very interesting and positive results here but it's not a clinical or controlled environment by any means.
Thanks for this..
As a human being i have an overwhelming drive to experience Wonder and Aw with a sense of adventure that i can not find in Real Life.
I used to find that in MMO's
Now i do not.
Whenever someone comments on me playing games, I always change some words they say and apply it to their use of facebook or twitter.
For example: playing mmos is anti-social because you sit behind a computer. => My counter: Playing mmos is social, while yes, I sit behind a computer BUT so do you when you chat with people on facebook. I just add a little extra entertainment to the everyday chatting.