Thursday, February 1, 2007

WoW 'Debate'

"Humans = Eat + Sleep + Play + Work
Pigs = Eat + Sleep

Substitute and you get:
Humans = Pigs + Play + Work

Now subtract Play from both sides
Humans - Play = Pigs + Work

Conclusion: Humans who don't understand how to play are just pigs that know how to work."

The quote (from and anonymous 'commenter') above, I think, is the most important thing to keep in mind when considering this 'debate.' I've used the quotations around the word debate, because I hardly think its such. After reading both posts, the negative and positive effects of gaming, it seems they are more so advocating the same thing; a healthy lifestyle,the exact point of the quote above. So what do these posts discuss? The first (chronologically, as well as in my order of reading), 'negative', perspective is the testimony of someone who let online gaming take an unhealthy hold of his life. For him, gaming occupied more time than a full time job, and took the place of many other healthy parts of his life; hobbies, relationships, the works. All of this time he spent achieving success online meant nothing for his life in the real world. Once I was done with this article my previous notions of role playing games were simply reinforced by this active user, who offered a less biased opinion than my own, since he had experienced this addictive virtual world first hand. Reading on through the comments to this first post only supported my opinion, that role playing games were wasteful occupants of useful time, more. I was so fueled with opinions, ideas, and related experiences I almost began this post before reading the second article. Thankfully I read the 'positive side,' or else I would have sounded as unthoughtful as the comment that spurred the posting of the quote I used above. The second post was that of an experienced RPGer as well. He recognized the first authors problem with gaming, and its prevalence with in the online gaming community “I don't want people in my guild who have the attitude 'screw this guild I'm sticking by my friends' You are NOT welcome in our guild,” he remembers one guild leader claiming. He, however, was opposed to this belief and maintained a healthy balance of the things he enjoyed in life, including gaming. He actually proved that WoW, the gaming community in question, and other, more simple, online games worked interactively to sharpen the skills he was already developing in his real life. After reading this post, along with its comments, I came to realize that online gaming, like any other hobby, or thing for that matter, can be lethal in large doses. As a life lesson, that I, and probably all of us, have struggled with, is maintaining a balance of the different facets of your life is key to living a healthy one. Furthermore, as demonstrated in the second article as well as this course (and other interdisciplinary classes), finding interconnectedness within those facets can only work to your benefit.

"A View From the Top." 17 Oct. 2006. 1 Feb. 2007 .

"Warcraft: Another Point of View." 19 Oct. 2006. 1 Feb. 2007 .

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