The MMO Stigma

I had an interesting experience this week, well I say interesting, I think I really mean challenging. I was talking with some others and during the course of discussing different online materials, I mentioned this blog. Oddly enough, having a blog didn't seem to be of any interest, however to a certain individual they were taken back by my saying it was because I like playing and talking about MMO's. Well I said Online games because I didn't want to baffle a noob. Only joking!

Online games? Surely not!

There was a look of confusion mixed with disgust as I said "I really enjoyed playing online games". I began defending myself as they asked how I found time to play them? To be honest, that question was in fact very strange. I feel like asking, “how long do you think I need to play one?” As if any and all online game has to be played 25 hours a day. Now don't get me wrong, we have all heard about the people who played so much they didn't eat and ended up dying or even more terrible, left a dependant to perish for the escapism offered by the game of choice. These cases are extremes and are far from the average experience of most people. This however does seem to have had an impact on how games, especially online games are viewed.

In my experience, games are viewed negatively generally by people who don't play games (well not the computer/console ones) and the infusion of online interaction has increased that distaste. Almost as if the bad and somewhat disliked feelings and elements of the internet are now attached to the online games. Obviously I don't think that is very fair, but then I am biased in favour of them.

That said, there is plenty of prejudice to different degrees going on all the time and to be honest I don't think this particular brand of prejudice is one that will get to top of my - Things that make the world bad - list. 

Swings and Roundabouts

I do hope however, like most prejudices, that as people get more information they can make more informed opinions or at least not adopted the opinions of others (I am guilty of this at times). That said, would I write this blog if I had loads of people to talk about MMOs with? Maybe... maybe not. Then I might not reflect on how that particular experience above really effected me that day.

Oh just for the comedy value, blogger.com has a spell checker that doesn't recognise "blog".