The MMORPG: Time Suck or The Future of Social Communication?
Ask someone who’s never played a massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG) what they think of games like World of Warcraft and Second Life and it’s possible they’ll say they see them as an activity for less socially adept individuals and a waste of time and money. However, ask a gamer the same and they’ll passionately disagree with the non-gamer’s viewpoint, citing their social interaction and communication with others is enhanced (not diminished) and just as validating as “real life” connections.
MMORPGs have existed by their current definition since the early 1990′s, but their roots can be traced further back to the late 1970′s. Like all role playing games (RPGs) players assume the role of a fictional character in a fictional world, but MMORPGs are distinguished from other RPGs by the “massive” number of player interactions and the persistence of the world in which players exist. MMORPGs require participants to complete objectives before advancing (as all games do,) but unlike “traditional” games, these objectives can take hours, days, or even months to complete. Additionally, board games and other digital games require the player to purchase the game before playing – most MMORPGs require the player to not only buy the game itself, but to subscribe to and pay a monthly access fee.
Considering that MMORPG publishers earn billions of dollars a year and media coverage about gamers spending too much time online and “addicted” only adds fuel to an anti-gaming viewpoint. On the flip-side, gamers will tell you that it’s their money and time to spend as they choose and will vehemently defend their in-game communities and social interactions as just as valuable and real as, well, the real world.
Who’s right or is the verdict still out? Are MMORPGs a big time suck or truly the future of human socialization and communication?
Personally, I’m a bit of a latecomer to the world of online gaming having only begun playing MMORPGs regularly in 2009. Prior to last summer I was perfectly happy socializing with my “blog buddies” and embracing my social media “family” through web-based communication sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Seesmic. Because I’ve always been somewhat of an “open book” on the web (I’ve never been afraid to say what’s on my mind or tell you the embarrassing details of my daily life) I saw no need to create an animated version of myself in a cartoon world in order to feel social or connected.
Until recently I stereotyped MMORPG players as people in denial of their own reality, unable to communicate in ways other than through headsets hooked to Vent servers or via “/tells”, and that they must be socially reclusive, non-communicators. In other words, I bought into the “non-gamer” stand without having ever played a single MMORPG in my life.
I was wrong.
First and foremost, I believe that just about anything can be a catalyst for addiction and can become harmful no matter how benign if applied in excess. Understanding what mom meant when she said, “everything in moderation,” solves the problem. For example, I only play once my real life responsibilities to my family and friends are finished. I also don’t plan my life around my in-game “schedule” (rather, the opposite). Additionally I’m happy to pay the small subscription fee per month for both games I play – the cost of which is less than going to one movie at a theater with my husband and son.
Above all else, my favorite part about playing MMORPGs is the social and communication element. I only realized when I started playing EverQuest II (followed by WoW) in 2009 how much personal interaction I’d been missing and how many social opportunities had been passing me by. Because of my experiences in-game with both people I already know “in real life” and new acquaintances I’ve made online, I now believe that MMORPGs are one part of the many ways social communication (as a whole) is being shaped and navigated. I think MMORPGs are the future of communicating as individuals and in groups and before long it will be technology trying to keep up with us, not us trying to keep up with it.
I think those who learn to navigate the ‘net effectively in multiple ways and who learn to create positive relationships with others online will have the advantage in the future. I don’t see that the future of socializing is being flushed down the proverbial toilet because we’re becoming more and more “plugged in”. I see it in a sense that we’re becoming more CONNECTED with each other and that connectedness is enhancing our relationships and our ability to communicate.
Where does the future of MMORPGs lead us? Will we find a disheveled bunch of socially deteriorated addicts with calloused fingers or will we meet a population of techno-savvy, socially-forward individuals with enhanced problem solving and communication tools at their (literal) fingertips?
As for me – I’ll be paying my $14.99 a month to be the latter – see you in Qeynos (and Azeroth!)
Category: Entertainment, Social Media
I totally agree with you. Playing online helps me a lot because it is a great way to improve my English, ‘cuz my mother tougue isn’t English. Nonetheless I made a bunch of friends from my country and abroad… Now I believe is time to move on… No I’m not quitting online game, just move from L2 to WoW
Last but not least, monthly fee to play a MMORPG is kinda cheap, even though living in South America still cheap… ‘cuz sicerely I would spend that amount have some at a bar while I try to call some strange’s attention.
Jucenir -
Using a game to help improve one’s English (or any other non-native language) is something I hadn’t thought of! What an interesting way to also see how others interact with each other from different parts of the world, too.
… and my $14.99 a month would otherwise be spent on Starbucks (and more Starbucks) so I’m happy to get an experience that lasts longer than a couple of expensive coffees
I think the RP is rather hard to find these days in MMOG. But I’ve played some social games that I never imagined, is heavily RP’d despite it only being a social game. Though being stuck to “nodes” where you either sit stand or dance. I think most MMORPG are missing that RP element. Doing quests and all are great for getting a higher level, but the desire to RP is lacking among players. It’s hard to find an mmorpg that is not centered around combat but still has a large world and has combat available. I don’t think even to this date nothing beats the old T1 combat and living in a 3d game. It’s a writer’s paradise. I just wish more were open to it and more games supported the interactions T1-T3 bring. I don’t fight much through RP, I just enjoy being someone else for a change and live the experience on my own actions, not what my character is doing.
On the matter of most MMORPG, I believe that the free games out number the pay to play games 10 to 4. Though missing some elements they are not that much different from current day Giants of the gaming world. A major downside is the social interaction is plagued with spammers, bots, scammers, trolls, cyberers, little kids and the casual Egyptian crazy.
I think maybe in a few years the wall between the real world and the internet world will be almost gone. When you can access the internet from anywhere from a terminal that does not weigh more than a pound and is more like a full view screen that travels with you, then the social interaction will be more valuable and more than just meeting friends online, but an asset for live support and guidance. MMORPG are only the social end with an attempt to entertain while building a community devoted to it.
So for now, a game is a game.
I never really thought about an MMO as a social media tool. Although, when I was at my most active(Dark Age of Camelot and Star Wars Galaxies) sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter either didn’t exist or were in their infancy.
Thinking back now, SWG was a very social game. Players would sit in the cantinas for hours talking. This was mostly because buffers were always there, and buffs took quite a while to be at their maximum effect.
I had a ton of friends in both games and had so much fun playing them. I think it was because of the community not the game to some degree. Because, I had a hard time sticking with WoW because most of the people from SWG and DAoC didn’t come over. I played WoW through vanilla and quit when BC came out.
I have played off and on since then. I’m coming back to it for Cata hopefully I will find it enjoyable again and get back into the community.
With the addition of RealID, I think WoW will become a powerful social tool. Although, I think there are a large number of people that do not want people on Facebook, Myspace, etc. to know they play. There is still a stereotype associated with gamers.