Second Skin was a very intriguing documentary because it really shows the lives of some people that take gaming to an extreme, particularly MMORPGs. I think the difference between those and "online gaming" is because you have a "life" in those games, while in let's say, Call of Duty, you're a nameless person that dies X times and "kills" X people. You never really change as that nameless person, and you have a username but that isn't your entire life.
While on the other hand, in an MMORPG, you start with X character at level 1, and go from (let's take WoW on current day basis which I believe the max level is 85?) 1-85, and you have a sort of attachment with this avatar of yours, and during this time you build up this character to reflect your inner whatever, to show everyone else in this virtual world what you are "really" like. In real life you might be 30 living in your parents basement, eating a bag of cheetos (the classic gamer stereotype), which isn't exactly what most people would view as successful, but when you log onto WoW, you are this level 85 god-figure that leads a "guild" and does amazing "raids" and is able to completely dominate and subjugate anything and everything.
So in that way, I can see the appeal with these types of games. I think unless you're in the position those people are in, it's very hard to understand why they are addicted to those things. Everyone has their own addictions. If those people were all multi-millionaires, perhaps they would like life a lot more and not even have the time for WoW. Most of those people have what they consider to be boring jobs, boring lives, and they don't like being just "fine" in life. They want to be more than that, but they can't in real life, so they turn to their virtual spaces to become something they can't in real life. Perhaps I cannot understand why they would do this now, but if I broke my back and lost all usage of limbs below my waist, I'm sure becoming level 85 in WoW and having a ton of friends that don't judge me because I can't walk would make me a pretty happy person, and would give me a reason to wake up everyday.
I agree that some video gamers take things to the extreme. I also agree that everyone is addicted to different things, but when it takes over your life then you need help.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comparison of COD and WoW. It seems like more people that let games consume their lives are playing MMORPGs. It is a lot easier for these "average" individuals to become a lot more then average in the game.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your opinion about gamers developing an attachment to the avatars they develop...I feel like that is a great way to describe the relationship. I also liked the insight you had on some of the games, because I am totally clueless about them and it helped me to understand what they're all about.
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