I play games. Many people I know think I’m a fairly serious
person and the thought of me playing any game would be a departure from what they
expect. However, when they find out what KIND of games I play, they’re
flabbergasted – no mahjong or bridge or diplomacy here. I play MMORPGs. Plural.
MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing
Game. There are many of them out there, but they share certain defining
characteristics. MMO means it’s played with other people, lots of other people,
in real time through the medium of the internet. RPG
means you get to be someone else for a little while, doing things you would
likely never get to do in real life.
For years, I was reluctant to tell people how I spent
several evenings a week. There is a stereotype out there in the real world that
gamers are young, socially-awkward and quite possibly troubled people who play
video games because they have nothing else to do, nowhere to go, no-one to see.
The activity is often viewed as worthless or even detrimental. This view
persists despite the fact that gamers are now represented in every age group,
across genders, around the world, and regardless of IQ or socio-economic
status. That dad at the playground focused on Candy Crush Saga? Gamer. The
ex-marine who can’t get enough of League of Legends? Gamer. The girl-next-door who
drives sports cars insanely fast around impossible locations on the streets of virtual Miami?
Gamer. The student who is building a city and related economy and watching to
see what happens in that controlled environment? Gamer. The actor who is known
in certain circles more for her World of Warcraft history than her day job?
Gamer.
Why do I play games? It’s complicated. I started playing
them when my kids still lived at home and were spending their evenings playing
World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy. I saw the enjoyment they got out of
participating in something fun with others, and I wanted a little of that fun
myself. Shortly after, when they left for college, I played because it was a
way to keep in touch, a connection that we shared. Now I play because I have
friends there – actual people with whom I share mutual experiences, common
interests, and for whom I have developed a fondness over the years. We’re Facebook friends; text each other
regularly; chat for hours about nothing in particular; share stories about our kids, our pets, our jobs; help each other
through sad times and celebrate the happy ones. The fact that they live in
other parts of the country, and even the world, and that we talk in digital channels rather than face-to-face, doesn’t diminish their value to me.
So yes, I play games. Proudly.
