From Kotaku: My First MMO
Favorite quote: “I was fascinated to discover the hysteria over PWI’s decision to offer a PvP and a PvE server. Not being sold on this whole ‘MMO’ thing in the first place, the PvE server seemed like the best choice for me — other people clearly enjoy the whole PvP experience, and they had a server for that, too. Surely that couldn’t be cause for consternation, could it? Of course it could, this is the internet we’re talking about.”
Read the rest for her comments on the microtransaction stuff, and more. Having a veteran gamer and writer stumble into an MMO is always interesting!
The battle cry of “Introverts Unite” seems doomed to failure from the start. In this case, it seems to have worked out for the writer, who confronted her social shyness and tendency toward economic frugality. The article reinforces that gamers are, after all, people – not faceless subscribers, nor semi-random ones and zeros. The article is a direct contrast to the jaded “Try Being a Guide, You …”.
Grin. I know, I thought I was jaded when I wrote that nine years ago, and now look at me!
I don’t know that I would interpret her post as introversion. I know some pretty extrovert people who dislike MMOs for similar reasons. I don’t think its a fear of other people, but a healthy distrust of people who play MMOs. Not wanting to go to a Scientology party doesn’t make you an introvert. There’s a perception that online gaming is D&D online, some kind of BDSM/cybersex geekfest. Even amongst gaming geeks.
I think it reflects the adjective. 15 years ago, you were a nerd to play computer games at all. “computer games”. Today they’re just games. The adjective remains for “online” and “mmo” which gives it that extra little tip that makes it not mainstream and therefore “alternative”. Alternative peoples are always … You know… Edgey. Weird.
You see the same thing over the years in the presence/absorption of adjectives in musical genres. The adjectives become unspoken, a genre becomes mainstream, and the communal finger points at a fresh clique.
A lot of the people in an MMO are always going to suck – from your worldview, whether its your take on the etiquettes of communication or your political beliefs. 11 million people play WoW, but your avatar is only going to coexist with a few thousand of them, and only meet a few hundred. Thats equivalent to up and moving home by throwing a dart at a realtors availability list.
Most people generally want some degree of control over the environment they will be socializing with. Shoebox online games offer that because you have great freedom of hopping around without wasting too much investment. MMOs still move you into an apartment in an unknown neighborhood with no means to relocate except to start over.
That’s not conducive to most peoples’ idea of socializing and it transforms smart, literate, personable people into the unrecognizable drooling idiots that scream into CSR channels as though the color of their mangina’s ear-fur is a life-or-death issue.