Anyway, today on Kotaku, they ran a very short news bit letting the gaming community that today is the 10th anniversary of EQ and there was much celebrating. It was very short:
So I Guess Everquest Turns 10 Today [Kotaku]
Here's the part that irked me:
EverQuest went live March 16, 1999 and rose to gamer fame over the next decade, spawning 15 expansions and a full-blown sequel that still feeds on the souls of the unwary MMO gamer.
What's with the bitterness? Seriously. When I played, I maintained a healthy relationship, was able to parent my child, and even went out with my friends. EQ never had the subscription base that World of Warcraft has now. But articles written about just about any MMO often ring with this same sentiment. But being so into Halo that you paint your game room green is totally fine. Or decorating your bathroom walls with Mario. Or painting the entire Legend of Zelda world map on your car. Those people's souls seem to be unsucked and just fine. That's such a double standard.
MMO gamers are not all pimply losers anymore. MILLIONS of people play them, but I don't see society going to complete shit because people aren't showing up for their jobs in order to raid. Yes, there are exceptions: people who play so much that they have seizures or flunk out of school, for example. Most of the people I know who play MMO's are working, responsible adults. Sure, they spend a lot of their free time in front of their computers, questing, raiding, or whatever. But I really don't see how that's SOOOO different than some guy sitting in front of his TV and Street Fighter IV, trying to master all the special moves for all the characters so he can kick ass online. When I see my friends doing that, I actually think their souls have been sucked far deeper than mine. I take breaks. I do other things. I work. I go to school.
So, yeah, I'd really appreciate it if journalists would stop stereotyping us. Especially the gamer ones. They should know better.
1 comments:
I used to think I knew a few people who were those considered "addicted" to gaming. But then I remembered seeing some sort of TV special more then a few years back about people who literally just live to be in the game. I mean these guys are packing in roughly 18+ hours a day into it.
What I thought was sad and a little stupid at the same time, is people who are so absorbed into the game that they end up committing suicide when they get screwed over in-game.
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