The Regular, Everyday, Normal Guy

The guy who enjoys computer games but is not hardcore, plays music but not for money, works for a living but isn't rich, reads books but not very often, likes the gym but isn't there enough, and likes the ladies but can't find the right one.

Author: jhazard

I begin today by saying that I'm a laid-back type of guy. It takes a lot to get me angry and I generally prefer to de-escalate tense situations rather than fan the flames of unrest. That's just my style, and I wouldn't thrust it upon anybody as the only option in an MMO setting. Some folks seem to enjoy flying off the handle in fits of vein-popping rage at the slightest provocation. I don't have a problem with this. I believe such people have a vital role to play in the life of a decent MMO game.

There must be drama to make the game truly interesting. And I don't mean fabricated drama in which a game developer tells you via a brief character introduction "You belong to this race, that means you dislike members of that other race". We all know that as soon as your little elf's feet touch the ground, storyline gets cast aside and you're just another hamster on the grindwheel, hoping to level up and find a good alliance that will aid you in your quest for gear.

I mean drama of the real variety. We've all witnessed situations (in games with appropriate PvP systems) in which "evil" players on a server band together in an attempt to consolidate their screwing-people-over-and-being-jerks efforts, meanwhile the server's good, respectable, decent folk congeal into their own motley crew and the stage is set for epic conflict. This classic antithesis fuels in-game tensions to the boiling point, and inevitably a fan-site forum becomes the favorite place to trade long-winded vitriolic posts aimed at destroying the morale of the enemy.

I personally think this is great. 99% of the time I find myself landing on "decent people" side of things, but that's mostly because the "competitive jerk" section is an average of 20 levels and 50 hours of playtime per week beyond me. At any rate, this type of tension is good for the community because it causes people to invest in the game emotionally. Sure, some folks might not be able to handle the pressure and will move on to greener pastures. Less people to kill the vibe, says I. Many MMO players have fantastic drama-queen capability when things don't go their way, and the cracked-mouth-drooling rage-outs on the forums only add to the most entertaining MMO gaming aspect of all.