Television and MMORPGs

[BlaqueKatt]

*disclaimer I am currently very angry at the momment

One of my cow-irkers attempted to have a conversation with me about some TV show that I don't ever watch-why? Because I don't have cable, and can't pull in local channels-when we did have cable we never watched it-so we cancelled it and are saving about $70 a month-yay!

It kind of scares me to think that I know people that plan their life around tv shows(or "tivo" everything), and the only thing they talk about is what they watched last night like it was actually important, or relevant to ANYTHING. I'm sorry but nothing I get from Stargate SG1 is going to do anything to contribute to my life, make my job easer, or end world hunger. I'm not learning anything, or making myself a better person/the world a better place if I'm parked on my sofa-so what's the point?

Of course these are the same people that tell me the people they meet "in game" are 100 times cooler than anyone they'd possibly meet in real life, so why bother leaving the house to do something. I also get to hear in graphic detail what they do "in game", and how my going rock climbing, walking through a nature reserve to take pictures, repairing the space shuttle with chewing gum and saving the lives of 23 astronauts*-is nothing compared to the raid the had last night "in game".

Sigh and everyone wonders why I HATE MMORPGs

Hint they turned people that used to do things and have a life, into people that live only for "the game"-me suicidal called one of them- got told-"well I have an important raid tonight, and I can't disappoint the team." Always good to know pixels on a screen are more important than another human in pain. Every single person I used to call friends is now like this. One started and got the rest "hooked"-I on the other hand have a life, pathetic though it may be, and I don't want to spend it parked in front of a screen doing nothing. One group of three sees nothing wrong with having 3 different accounts, for three different games, when they only have two computers. So that's 9 accounts at minimum $15 per acct per month (9x15=135x12=1620.00 a year to play games+ the $100 a month for cable adds up to $2,820 a year), and they wonder why they're always broke, can't afford insurance, or anything really, and why all of them are over 300 pounds-Hmm maybe if you came hiking with me instead of sitting on the couch watching TV or at the computer for a combined total of 6 hours a day....

One actually went so far as to print and distribute "wedding invitations for her "in game" wedding, and told me to just install the free trial to attend. Um how about no, too many people I know treat MMORPGs like a drug. They can't go a week without it. I see no reason to buy a game for around $40, then pay $15-20 a month to be able to play it. There's no single person or offline content, so it holds no attraction to me. I play games to get away from the stress of dealing with people every day, why on Earth would I want to bring strangers into my decompression/me time?

Yet they persist-and I get more and more annoyed and anti-social and they wonder why.

*your astronauts may not actually be saved by chewing gum-do not taunt happy fun ball.

[Greenday]

Your friends play WoW, don't they?

[AFPheonix]

That's what I was wondering. For some reason people who play games like City of Heroes, Evercrack, or Eve are never nearly as nutty as WoW addicts.

[Norton]

I play games to get away from the stress of dealing with people every day, why on Earth would I want to bring strangers into my decompression/me time?

I agree completely. I'll take single player console games over MMORPGs any day. The real world is filled with enough rude and/or stupid people - I really don't want them interrupting me while I'm trying to play a game and relax. I also don't like having to depend on other players in order to move forward in a game. I work alone.

[AFPheonix]

I like to play EQ2, but it's not an everyday thing for me. I solo a lot, but sometimes I'll group up to go on a loot raid with some other peeps. Usually they're great groups who know how to do their individual jobs really well to make a cohesive team.
I'm getting my highest level character up so I can team up with my husband's main character more. It's fun to play with him.

[LadyBarbossa]

I hear you on the TV thing. I've gone my whole life without ever knowing the luxury of having cable in the house, and where I live now, we're lucky if we get three channels in with rabbit ears. But it doesn't really bother me.

I know someone online, however, that it's gotten literally unbearable to talk to. All she would go on about is what's happened on the latest show she's watched, and when I mention my 'no cable' status, she went on to say something along the lines of "Oh, I used to not have cable, but I would still buy magazines and read what was happening on shows I'd never seen so I could keep up."

Oh my gosh . . . can we say get a life?

This is also the person who refuses to use her degree to get a non-retail job because she feels she'll get more attention as a writer if she polishes her blog and keeps publishing fanfictions.

[BlaqueKatt]

This is also the person who refuses to use her degree to get a non-retail job because she feels she'll get more attention as a writer if she polishes her blog and keeps publishing fanfictions.

my guesses 1)she's a bad writer and can only write situations for characters others have developed, or 2)if she got a real job writing she may have to miss a few episodes of whatever due to deadlines-or both

[LadyBarbossa]

I've no idea, honestly. You literally can't talk sense into/with this person, and I've blocked them from my IM list. That sounds mean, but when you spend an hour having someone spout their grief at you because (and I'm serious) they just "Can't deal" with the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean is not history, is not real, and nor are any of the characters featured, you have to do something.

I draw the line at not being able to decipher fiction from reality, especially when the person in question is in their mid twenties.

[BlaqueKatt]

when you spend an hour having someone spout their grief at you because (and I'm serious) they just "Can't deal" with the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean is not history, is not real, and nor are any of the characters featured

wow that's like 20 pounds of crazy in a 5 gallon bucket

[Seshat]

they just "Can't deal" with the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean is not history, is not real, and nor are any of the characters featured, you have to do something.

Um. That's where you get to the 'needs a carer & professional help' stage. Being unable or unwilling to tell fantasy from reality is probably a symptom of some underlying disorder.

But IANAPsychiatrist. Maybe it's not. Can this person function in society? Are they happy and able to keep themselves (and anyone they're responsible for) safe and healthy?

[LadyBarbossa]

Believe me, I tried having that talk, and was just given the "Never mind. You don't understand" speech. This person works probably 10-15 hours a week at a burger joint which shall remain unnamed, and to the best of my knowledge, spends the rest of her free time online/watching tv shows. And not to derail the OP's thread, but I met this person on a PotC fan site. Fandoms are great, they really are! But when they get to the point of taking over your life, something is wrong. This person is 24 years old and shamelessly admits to 'not sleeping very well' when they read a leaked script for the final film and found out that their favorite character was set to bite the dust. Tends even now to refer to said character by his first name as if he were a real person and is upset that he was killed by pirates Also, she refused to watch the season finale of Lost because she 'couldn't handle!' seeing two of her favorite characters die in the same week.

Wrote an extremely long, disgruntled, and overly detailed review when the film came out, does the same for similar films, and writes essay long arguments on message boards regarding certain points and such. At first it was annoying, and then I started to think "Ohmygod . . . this isn't normal!" I tried telling her to go out and get a better job, even if it's not the dream writing or editorial job that she's fantasized about for so many years, or even take a lower-paying job at a store or something just to get out of the house. Even when I was putting in 40 hours at Wallyhell, I was still much happier than I would have been sitting at home idle.

Sadly, it was like speaking to a brick wall.