I really don't like Ysharros, because every time I visit her site I end up kicking myself for not coming up with the great topics that she comes up with. Then, I end up writing these long in depth comments when I should have just posted them here and generate my own traffic.
While crafting my latest response to Ysh's recent thought provoking post, it occurred to me that today's MMO player has become quite possibly irreversibly, socially retarded. More to the point, that their social skills have become stunted, maybe even under developed. I'm not sure how this happened. I propose that maybe Blizzard had somehow contributed to this problem by dumbing down their MMO for consumption by the average or below average player. That they somehow have unleashed upon the gaming community a plethora of selfish brats that spend most of their time, being rude to other players, trying to one up their fellow player anyway they can and very possibly have lost all respect for their fellow gamers and think of them not as people, but as tools for them to use for their own profitable end game endeavors.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong and people have evolved over time into these heathens through real world experiences rather than virtual ones. Everybody is rude, pushy, and socially inapt and MMO's are just a reflection of what is happening in the real world. Maybe today's games introducing more soloable content and less dependency on grouping are creating a whole new breed of player that just doesn't understand how to behave around others. The idea of who has the shiniest armor, who gets to kill the mega boss at the end game, or who can out DPS their neighbor may be a result of the stunted, under developed socially inept player or it's also a contributing factor, who really knows.
There, I feel much better now. Coffee and a rant, who could ask for a better morning, right Ysh?
I agree. Its a combination of things if you ask me though. WoW did bring the masses to mmo's. With that comes an influx of lowlife players that use internet anonymity to wreak havoc on others. Another part of it is that many kids (and ones that act like kids) playing these kinds of games lack social skills, or at least lack maturity. Lastly, I think as we age our tolerance for youth and immature behavior lessens; enter grumpy old men.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, man, I turned into a hardcore solo player BECAUSE of the rude, childish, immature, moronic players that now seem to congregate in groups of six, 12, 48, or more. They move in packs! LOL
ReplyDelete"We see things not as the World of Warcraft is, but as our characters are."
ReplyDeleteI think someone said something like that once.
It means, all you have to do is create a new character and role-play that new character as though you were that overly cheerful girl in the corner of the office that everyone likes. Then life will all seem so much better.
I have a friend who wasn't really into PVP, but played on a PVP because that is where the rest of us played. He and a few others left for a PvE server, because he got tired of getting camped and ganked by 12 yr olds. But truth be told, I don't think those rude griefers were actually that young.
ReplyDeleteI know I lack social skills because I was playing MMOs more than I was communicating with people irl. Not WoW's fault, cus I hate that game, and that makes me cool.
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