Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Strategies to alleviate social anxiety disorder? Or most friendship friendly mmos?
Jemcrystal
Member UncommonPosts: 1,984
Some mmorpg's are best played if you call up a gamer friend in real life and meet up; creating characters at the same time (admit my preferred way). But a lot of people were hoping their mmo would net them new friends that carried over into real life.
What does it take for an mmorpg to promote bonding with a stranger? Know of a game that makes you feel more into getting to know your fellow players? How?
What does it take for an mmorpg to promote bonding with a stranger? Know of a game that makes you feel more into getting to know your fellow players? How?
Comments
Imagine being a player who enjoys chatting about real life while playing and hoping to find like-minded players in a MOBA. There are bound to be a few out there, but what are the odds of you finding them?
The genre itself makes it harder to have that attitude because you need to be constantly on your toes during the matches; most of the players behave like savages (whether it is just in game or they are like that in real life too is pointless, because what matters is how they are when you are interacting with them) and the most elaborate conversations consist of mostly memes and namecalling.
In the end I think it's very hard to form the kind of bonds where you trust the other part implicitly and games that match teenagers with players in their forties make it almost impossible.
And turn off world chat as soon as possible:)
Jumping into a game and trying to find groups and people to play with with no research or looking beforehand can lead to lots of bad experiences and frustration.
So in order to form an active guild. You'll need to have people playing at least 20 hours a week.
If someone suffers from social anxiety disorder, the last thing they need to be doing is hiding out in a video game. You're trying to get away from playing the wall flower... it's like saying sitting in your apartment talking on the phone is the same thing as sitting across a table talking to them. It's not. There is safety in putting up a wall between you and others. That is the wall that must be taken down.
It's like suggesting to someone who has a fear of flying that watching videos of flying will help them with their anxiety. It's the being on the plane whilst it is in flight that terrifies them.
People don't suffer from a fear of talking to someone they cannot see or touch. They have a fear of talking to someone that they can see and touch.
I never played mud or mmorpg to meet people but given that I like to talk and listen I have met up with bunch of people that i originally met in a game. Its more of acquaintances that I have gotten through gaming but that's because I connect with people all over europe.
Depending on the details, social interactions on MMORPGs may or may not be helpful as part of a process in helping a particular person cope with SAD. These kinds of issues do not have one size fits all solutions.
For your information, watching videos of flying could very well be an early part of desensitization therapy intended to help someone cope with a fear of it.
In the same way, social interactions in MMORPGs could be used as stepping stones in a similar therapy ultimately intended to ease direct social interactions.
My guild in WoW has a saying, "The guild abides." Well, 2, the other is "NoPants!" We are built around a website providing class specific information. However, we have many players of all classes active. People come and go due to forum activity levels, but there's a core of 7-8 people that are always there, and at least 20 others that are more casual. I can jump on at any time and strike up a conversation with whoever's there and get to know them in a very low-pressure way.
If this is what you're seeking check the official forums for a guild that's PvE, casual-friendly, and has a recommended amount of playtime(one I looked at recently was logging in every 2 weeks, so no pressure). Anything that helps you get used to holding up one end of a conversation will work, but doing it in an MMO combines a fun engrossing activity with slowly getting comfortable in a social situation.