Over the weekend, I was reminded that I had not been updating my blog for the longest time. Its kinda flattering to know people are reading your scribblings, so easily flattered goof that I am, I shall be suckered into trying to update again.
Anyhow: The reason why I have been offline on Blogger is pretty prosaic - I have been disgustingly obsessively playing Dungeons and Dragons Online, which launched in in April. It's my very first MMPORG - Massive Multi-player Online Role-playing Game. Within 30 days, I have racked up a shameful amount of gameplay into the wee hours of morning. But hey, anything to pry that +1 Flameburst Morningstar from the cold virtual hands of the evil Minotaur Priest right?
So in a short bunch of weeks, I have become one of the subculture of gaming nerds that sit in the LAN gaming centres at 3am, yelling, "RUN! THE SPIDER IS BEHIND!! WAH LAUUUUUUUUUUU." I have become well-acquainted with the bursts of virtual gunfire from Counterstrike ("Lock and Lode!" "Terrorists Win!") as well as the grunts of hard-working orcs from World of Warcraft ("workwork").
Apart from fulfilling my persistent need for gaming, it's a really fascinating phenomenon to dissect psychologically and sociologically. Ok, ok - so it sounds like yaya papaya justification for an insidiously time-consuming teenage-boy hobby but REALLY, I think the applications of MMPORG technology and thinking in other fields would be interesting to explore.
Darling Wikipedia informs us:
"MMORPGs have existed since the early 1990s. However, they have a history that extends back into the late 1970s. Over 25 years ago, players would connect to an entirely text-based world (no graphics) called a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) which was usually hosted at a University, sometimes without the knowledge of the system's administrators. The gameplay and community of these games was similar to the MMORPGs of today. MMORPGs have begun to attract significant academic attention, notably in the fields of economics and psychology that study relationships between real world economies and societies vs. synthetic economies and societies...."
What I think is interesting is how we take our real life personalities and ethics into the virtual world as well. Gaming - like sports - presents insights into people's motivations and character. I read somewhere that the cleric class tends to attract certain types of people - either the person wants to be really independent and self sufficient (able to fight and heal himself at the same time) or he does not mind using his own resources to help other people (spending spell points on healing other people instead of conserving for himself) Sounds more or less like why I keep playing the class.
Now based on that little tidbit of human psychology, we tested it out in real gameplay. My friend played a wizard and she got herself cursed and blinded - essentially useless to the party. I was too low level a cleric to have the spell Remove Curse/Blindness. So we sent her to a tavern in the game where other players from all over the world hang out and had her send a virtual shout-out, "Alms for the blind? Help the blind and needy". In-game, when you are cursed it is obvious to everybody as there is a gigantic ugly red and black light above your head. Sure enough, a total stranger helped out.
She, being Christian, could not resist sending out another virtual shout-out, "I was blind but now I see! Thnx."
Heh. Ok, Shall go find more serious topics to write about soon.
Meanwhile, I am officially a geek.
But you know....even The Geek shall inherit. haha
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5 comments:
Neonangel! Maybe we can write a doctorate on the effects of gaming. would be very interesting.
that's a cool link kaif, thanks! i totally agree... online MMORPG gameplay is very revealing about one's capability to work as a team.
WOW management theory
MMORPG teamplay theory
....someone should write it up already. :)
the effects of playing Championship Manager, Railway Tychoon, Civilisation also should be studied. I feel kids who play those games well tend to be very good organisers...they are basically constructing imaginary empires day in and day out!
Dungeons and Dragons traditional pen and paper game also is an interesting study of ability to read human psychology. Out-smart your DM...figure out how to outsmart the diplomat that he created with what skills you have been alloted etc.etc
:) Today, a friend asked me "What does TPK mean?" and without a moment of hesitation, I said, "Total Party Kill".
ARGH. I am a nerd.
ooh that Steven Johnson book sounds interesting - is it a book or an essay? shall go kino to find.
and ya i agree, its what you make of junk that matters. I find trashy pop culture very revealing of human psyche - both of the viewers as well as the participants themselves. :)
WY - anytime, anytime. Am very easy to convince.
Rust - haha, I doubt I will have time to write a doctorate if DND online goes ahead and releases part 2. Does not help that Neverwinter Nights 2 is releasing as well! horrors. I need no longer sleep
Wah Lau eh, for this you diss our campaign.
heya mooms! sorry lah....had to retire my monk from B's campaign cos cannot straddle too many games :) Even our own pen and paper campaign has taken a serious backseat.
eh, you and B go online too lah....so fun we can go kill trolls together. you have to see it in action...really cool. My bad-ass halfling paladin-cleric rocks!
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