When a person asks me what online gaming is, I really can't summarize it in just one sentence. You can't just define online gaming as a virtual avatar that gains power by doing quests and killing monsters. It's more than that, especially here in the Philippines. At the very core of MMORPGs is the community - the "heart" that literally gives life to the entire body. It's the community that makes the game special and worth playing.
The question now is - when do you cross the line from a simple online game and accomodate it into your real life? I've had my fair share of experiences with this being a guildmaster in Philippine Ragnarok Online. I've organized EB parties, lan tournaments, and simple gimmicks to the mall. But now that I'm working for an online gaming company, I now see it from a different point of view. It's really bigger than that.
ONLINE GAMING IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
"No man is an island."
Unless you just want to be a less-than-average gamer, you really have to connect with other people in-game to advance. MMORPGs these days put a lot of emphasis on team play - especially with the high level content. You want a big axe that will tear the world asunder? Well, you have to find a team first to kill the bad ass monster that drops it. Oh, and you'll have to do it several times since he won't just give it to you the first time to take him down. Did you get bullied by a high level PK'er? Then call on your guild and teach the bastard a lesson he won't forget.
Cooperative team play is key, and this is evident in the top global games in the market like World of Warcraft and Ragnarok Online.
ONLINE GAMING IS A LIFESTYLE
Being a gamer is not just all about playing games all day. It has evolved into a culture, a lifestyle that a lot of today's youth have adapted. It's no longer "geeky" or "nerdy". In fact, a lot of celebrities and athletes play games. Let's face the facts - online gaming is now part of pop culture and there's no way to go but up. Being a gamer is now about the clothes you wear, the way you talk, the way you move, the way you sleep, the way you dream, and everything else about you. It's a world that literally collides with the real world and everyday barriers are being torn down and it's becoming more of a social revolution than technological.
If you ask me again what MMORPGs are all about, I really can't give you a straight answer. It's too complex and deep to summarize in just a couple of sentences.
One thing is for sure, MMORPGs is not just about games.
I dont think its realy part of pop culture yet, at least not in america but its getting there thanks to WoW. I play online games to have fun and keep me busy, I could care less about how my characters look.
Tue Jan 29 2008 12:03PM ReportStill its just a game you play nothing more, if a person want to be more then that, goahead.Becouse your now work for game company you just try get more peeps playing games and tell them, it can be your salvation and belong to a group that will give you your identity lifestyle and culture lol, what a load of crap hehe.Its not a religion preacher:PIts not complex and deep at all, you seems not to know definition of that it seems.Games are fun as it should be, but how you describe it is scary, trying kids to convince play it or be left behind:(, if you not step into the boat your lost:P
Tue Jan 29 2008 3:43PM ReportMMORPG.com writes:
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