In which we think about MMORGs....

Inspired by the ever insightful (but apparently easily mistaken for Rich Dansky) lucien_soulban  , I found myself expounding on MMORGs for longer than I'd expected to in his comment section and decided to port it over here as a general post.

His entry was titled "The Gentle Addiction", and he discussed the fact that he had friends who had expressed fear about becoming "addicted" to MMORGs, or saw them as "the enemy".

My views?

I don't see MMOs as "the enemy", nor do I "fear" them, per se. I do, however, realize that for me it would be very easy to lose hours and hours to them on a daily basis. The illusion of short-term investment in the form of quests (which become long term time investments because of the number, variety and unexpected time sinks (regen, travel, etc.)), coupled with the random positive reinforcement (sometimes it's just very soothing to beat on things until candy comes out) is so tempting, not because I have something missing in my life, but because it's so darn easy. It's pretty pictures, instant gratification and deceptively time-consuming.

I got a free 10-day trial (sent by my nephew) and am currently using it to test my hypothesis. Even while I am in full awareness of the experience (sitting over my own shoulder and watching with one part of my brain in clinical analysis mode) I have, in that ten days, spent easily 30 hours fulfilling electronic quests for virtual rewards that I /know/ will go away in ten days. I've found myself starting up WoW thinking "I will just play for a half-hour" and looking up two (let's be honest - three... four?) hours later finding that the sun has set and it's time for bed. I do not anticipate this would change if I got a subscription. :)

I've almost entirely avoided playing with friends or building friendships in game (because it's always harder to cut ties when you have the social aspect built - it feels like turning your back on your friends, not just deciding not to play a game).I know that many folks profess to play "because that's where their friends are" and I have no doubt that some folks have built wonderful friendships over Duraian Tiger slaying or Peacebloom gathering. However, I already have a huge number of friends who, because of our two cross country moves in the last 3-4 years, I only interact with in a virtual format. With some, the virtual interaction is a placeholder, a way to keep in touch until we can see each other in person again. With others, it's devolved to the occasional "wave, how you doing" that you'd share with co-workers or neighbors that you pass by in the hallway or sidewalk but never really get to know. I don't think that an MMORG would change that fact. If anything, it would give us one more thing that builds the illusion of friendship without any deeper connection, something I already discovered that being a part of my global LARP can do. Maybe I'm jaded, maybe it's just years of experience talking, but I've discovered that friendships built predominantly around a single shared activity (my experiences were based on SCA and LARP, but its possible it applies to other, non-geek activities as well) rarely have the roots to survive outside of that environment. Not to say that I haven't got a lot of great friends that I met through SCA or LARP, but most often the ones that have survived my stepping away from one group or the other for a time period have involved more than /just/ SCA or LARP. I assume MMORGs would build the same sorts of friendships, further complicated by the total lack of face-to-face opportunity to get to know/do things with the folks on the other ends of the pixels beyond the game.

So, I don't fear MMOs, nor do I worry about becoming "addicted" in the sense that one becomes addicted to a drug (although I have personally lost at least one friendship purely to the draw of MMORGs, back in the day.) But I do recognize that there are other virtual entertainments that I will enjoy but which will be less likely to eat several (three, four, five?) hours of my time on a daily basis, and into which I will be less likely to get lost. Does that make them less "satisfying" or "enjoyable" to play - maybe to some extent. But I'm willing to take a B-level game experience that I lets me still maintain A-level family and work experiences, rather than an A-level game experience that's specifically (and effectively) built to encourage me to play as long and often as possible, which I know (now that I've tried it out) would cut strongly into my family and writing time.

For example, I'm really enjoying Wii right now. I started with Wii Fit about a week ago, and while it's not as addictive as WoW, I am able to take it in 30-40 minutes doses without feeling like I'm "cutting myself short".

Now if they'd just let me kill Shambling Cove-creepers with my work out...

In which we offer the opportunity for your voice to be heard...

Stolen from ashkes_muse , who stole it from someone else. It pretty much stands as written:
 

This poll is being conducted by PBS, asking the internets, in their infinite wisdom, whether or not Gov. Palin is qualified to be the VP. I don't normally get involved in internet polls, as they are about as unscientific and unreliable as any poll can possibly be, but hughcasey, whom I stole borrowed this link from, is right. This poll is the sort of thing that the mainstream media can and will pick up and use, so I'm passing it along.

I don't care if you think she is or isn't (although readers of by LJ can probably guess how I voted), I'm just passing along a link if you are interested.