WoW - a cautionary tale

[Vuudu]

http://soulkerfuffle.blogspot.com/2006/10/view-from-top.html

The attached link is to a blog post from someone who truly got addicted to playing WoW and lost a lot of himself in the process. I'm posting it here because it is good to read, and to make sure that we keep our real lives in perspective as we play.

[Fhenrir]

Is this "RL" a new battle ground in the expansion??

[Cedes]

The game also provides people with a false sense of security, accomplishment, and purpose. Anyone can be a superhero here if they have the time to put in. Not only that, a few times I've seen this breed the "rockstar" personality in people who have no confidence at all in real life. Don't get me wrong, building confidence is a good thing and something, if honed appropriately, the game can do very right. But in more than a few cases, very immature people with bad attitudes are catered to (even after insulting or degrading others "in public") because they are "better" than the rest. Usually this means they played a lot more and have better gear. I'd really hate to see how this "I'm better than you attitude" plays out in real life where it means jack how epic your loot is - when you say the wrong thing to the wrong person it's going to have repercussions and you can't just log out to avoid the effects of your actions.

aint that the damn truth

[Malebrignon]

Thanks, Vuu. This hit startlingly close to home. Gonna have to re-evaluate some personal priorities now.

[Danyxandra]

It was a bit wordy, he'd start to get somewhere and then he'd go back to square one repeating the credentials of the guild he was in.

ANYWAY....People that get like this who get addicted, and true, there are these people, have addictive personalities anyway. Seriously, if it weren't WoW, it would be something else ranging from anywhere from working out hardcore at the gym to the typical addictions of drugs.

Wow is a great game because it's one of them that, yes, there is hardcore gaming options, but there are also options for the CASUAL gamer. You don't HAVE to be a hardcore raider like the guy in the blog. Becoming one is a CHOICE.

Almost everyone in my family games online. My family has a critical nurse, three people that have graduated with honors, two are still in college continuing education, and then there's their parents, the insane troll and her spouse the cute little undead chick guild leader. Furthermore, we have people that are in the TNG community that are in bands, some in school, some in the military, some in corporate jobs. We find time to go to the pumpkin patch, go to renesance (sp?) fairs, watch CSI and Stargate and whatever favorite TV shows, and movies with friends and family. The majority of us have NO problem with making the right choices in time management between RL and gaming time.

It's not the game. It's the person behind the keyboard.

[EnheilRas]

SHUT 'YER LOOTHOLE!