Suboptimist

Video Games are Often Classified as Escapism…

…But they really aren’t when you add a human element to them, like in an MMORPG, especially a game like World of Warcraft. WoW does a good job at replicating the mundanity of daily living, like having a job and learning new skills to perform better at your job. These are programmed components of the game. While it’s fun to look at the programmed necessity to maintain steady employment in WoW, it’s more fun to look at the social components we bring into the game from the real world. Chances are, if players are kind hearted in the physical world, they will be so in the virtual world; if a player is an asshole in the real world, he will be a prick in the virtual world as well. If a group of players hates the Chinese enough, they will hunt Chinese players down and massacre them. (Thanks to Erin for sending the article).

As anyone who has been to elementary school will know, the new kid is often tormented, criticized, and otherwise [unjustly] maligned. I see the same thing in WoW (which has young players, but has plenty of grown adults, as well). When I was new to the game, I had to deal with the constant criticism of more experienced players. Some of it was helpful, but most of it was downright unnecessary. I learn quickly, so the insults soon subsided. This evening, however, I was playing in a group with newer player who doesn’t learn as quickly. The group was cruel. They didn’t need to call him an idiot, all they had to do was tell him he did something wrong and how he could correct it. After we wiped and the group blamed it on him (I blame the warrior for terrible tanking), the insults started flying and the other players starting calling him ‘gay,’ I told them to f*ck off, and I left. Stupid noobs.

Anyway, that being said, with school starting, I will have less time (if any at all) to do fun things which aren’t school related. I’ve been spending the last bit of the summer doing non-academic things for the most part. I’ve been playing WoW, of course, but have also been reading The Brothers Karamazov, which I figure I will have little time to read once school starts.