10 ways MMORPG's will change the world

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2005-08-08 07:52pm

If you don't know what an "MMORPG" is, don't worry. It's a geek term, like "e-mail" used to be a geek term. For now let's just say it's the most instantly gripping, involving and demanding entertainment technology ever invented. The addiction rate appears to be about twice that of crack Cocaine. There are 10 million MMORPG users in the world and their population is doubling every two years.

A realy good read
And pretty damn funny to.

Post by **weemadando** » 2005-08-08 08:34pm

No.3 is what makes me absolutely terrified.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-08-08 08:35pm

Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find that guy funny.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-08-08 08:45pm

I found it pretty boring too.

I suppose there's a point in there somewhere, yeah, MMOs are like crack, take over people's lives, yadda yadda yadda, but then we already knew that.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2005-08-08 09:13pm

Thats just lame. 'My addiction is so valid! I'm not contemptible!'

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2005-08-08 09:30pm

I cannot be bothered to read this entire article. It's taking up far too much of my WoW time, and my place in the battlegrounds queue is almost up.

BlkbrryTheGreat · Post by **BlkbrryTheGreat** » 2005-08-09 02:07am

Stark wrote:Thats just lame. 'My addiction is so valid! I'm not contemptible!'

You remind me of the people that laughed at the horseless carriage.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2005-08-09 03:55am

BlkbrryTheGreat wrote: You remind me of the people that laughed at the horseless carriage.

Oh noes! I think game addicts are dumbasses! I'm such a horrible person!

sparrowtm · Post by **sparrowtm** » 2005-08-09 04:33am

What is not a hoax is this machine somebody invented that operates on the user's thoughts. Yeah, that's right. You think it, the machine does it. That machine exists right now, as you're reading this.

Yeah, that machine is able to guide a cursor on-screen by analzying what part of the brain is active in order to move the cursor. Doesn't match my definition of "OMG TEH COMPUTERZ ARE REEDING MEH MIND!!!!" A many years will pass until we'll come close to something as he describes.

If the metaverse interface is good enough, why not? You have a woman who, in real life, weighs 400 pounds and has a thick, neatly-trimmed beard. But she has a heart of gold. A thousand miles away you have a guy with three eyebrows and a hairlip. In reality he lives in a trailer with his 14 cats. In the metaverse he lives in a stone palace with 14 magical flying cats. They marry, the woman showing herself as a beautiful princess, the man a handsome prince. What do they lose by not meeting in the flesh (or "meating" as they will call it)?

Yes, and long distance relationships as they exist since the invention of letters and later telephones are totally different from that, right. This guy just reinvented the wheel.

Can anyone prove that such a marriage would be less "real" than the ones we have now?

Well ... not being able to fuck is what I'd describe as not-so-very-real-as-an-actual-marriage. I also do not see tax cuts coming for online relationships within the next 100 years. Or child-birth, for that matter.

Anything manufactured by machine is destined to be better and more free of defect than anything created with human hands. Why not extend this idea to reality itself? It's the end of evolution, and I welcome it.

Ah heh. Ah heh heh.

This guy seems to be just another advocate for the horrifying changes technology will bring, making us less and less human each day. Exactly the guy who likes to think up conspiracy theories.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2005-08-09 08:16am

sparrowtm wrote: This guy seems to be just another advocate for the horrifying changes technology will bring, making us less and less human each day. Exactly the guy who likes to think up conspiracy theories.

...while I find the article insipid and its author a fool, I have to say your statement seems technophobic in the extreme.

As for MMORPGs, they come with a number of problems:

Everyone's the hero. There's rampant power inflation going on - the pure and simple fact is that, in general, just as in the real world, you're not important. Contrary appearances are merely cosmetic, done by the simple trick of assigning everything more impressive names and graphics as they level up. I've always been surprised at how people lick that shit up.
It's naught more than hack and slash of the two-dimensional variety. It's a numbers game, optimized for killing stuff and looting. Even d20 games show more variety than, for example, World of Warcraft.
The sword example is fucking moronic, and symptomatic of the schizophrenia inherent in these games. A MMORPG is supposed to be a playground, not a fucking attempt at emulating all the griefs and woes of our society. If you pick the profession of the thief, does this mean you're liable for criminal persecution offline? Do you have to register anonymously in order to use the class to its intended purpose? It is laughable.
You can't keep the morons away. Self-evident, and not worthy of further elucidation. The simple fact is that the game will never feel like true fantasy because most people who enter don't care about that when there's killin' and lootin' and levelin' to be had.
You can only choose among a severely limited list of appearances for your avatar. Ditto for the accoutrements and the weapons and the armor... why anyone would feel armor is at all time necessary is beyond me, though. Perhaps it has to do with a deeply seated emotional insecurity.

In the meantime, I'll just make do with tabletop RPGing, with all the benefits I want and none of the drawback. The only thing it demands of me is imagination, and I have that.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2005-08-09 08:34am

Fuck, MMORPG's are bad for you if you play them too much, shit that's just like Star Wars versus Star Trek, FPS, chatting on the phone, smoking, gambling, and any other form of time wasting, what a revelation I gotta go delete my MMORPG's ASAP...

Brian

sparrowtm · Post by **sparrowtm** » 2005-08-09 08:38am

Eleas wrote:...while I find the article insipid and its author a fool, I have to say your statement seems technophobic in the extreme.

My post was meant to ridicule the authors attitude, it does reflect my own.

wautd · Post by **wautd** » 2005-08-09 09:31am

That article gave me an idea. Why the hell should I working my ass off for money in EVE while I can just as easely buy ingame money with real money

(or maybe I need help

)

Who wants to buy my KOL Mr. Assecoires?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-08-09 09:46am

Uraniun235 wrote:Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find that guy funny.

This is the same guy who earlier did the Gamers Manifesto, right?

Yeah, I totally agree. Not funny in the least.

wautd · Post by **wautd** » 2005-08-09 09:55am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
Uraniun235 wrote:Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find that guy funny.
This is the same guy who earlier did the Gamers Manifesto, right?

Yeah, I totally agree. Not funny in the least.

Err... I don't think either articles were supposed to be funny

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-08-09 10:08am

wautd wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
Uraniun235 wrote:Maybe it's just me, but I just don't find that guy funny.
This is the same guy who earlier did the Gamers Manifesto, right?

Yeah, I totally agree. Not funny in the least.
Err... I don't think either articles were supposed to be funny

Well they apparently weren't supposed to be good, either.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2005-08-09 10:42pm

sparrowtm wrote:
Eleas wrote:...while I find the article insipid and its author a fool, I have to say your statement seems technophobic in the extreme.
My post was meant to ridicule the authors attitude, it does reflect my own.

So you mean... it does?

sparrowtm · Post by **sparrowtm** » 2005-08-09 10:49pm

Eleas wrote:So you mean... it does?

...

Shiver me timbers! Okay, one last time, maybe I'll make it without errors: it doesn't. Phew. Success.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2005-08-09 10:59pm

sparrowtm wrote:
Eleas wrote:So you mean... it does?
...

Shiver me timbers! Okay, one last time, maybe I'll make it without errors: it doesn't. Phew. Success.

You're such an adorable urchin, Max.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2005-08-10 01:13am

I really didn't find it that funny, although it did make me wonder if, when they made the first MMORPG, someone on the development team quit and said that no more than five people would ever play such a game.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2005-08-10 01:47am

The article basically says 'MM addicts will inherit the earth', and that's lame. Oh no! People with jobs, relationships, skills, etc are clearly wasting their time, because in the future the whole WORLD will be run like an MM! They're changing the world, man.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2005-08-10 02:33am

Stark wrote:The article basically says 'MM addicts will inherit the earth', and that's lame. Oh no! People with jobs, relationships, skills, etc are clearly wasting their time, because in the future the whole WORLD will be run like an MM! They're changing the world, man.

You've posted the exact same thing, with slight varitions three times now, you don't like the aritcule, we get it, thank you have a nice day.

Admiral Drason · Post by **Admiral Drason** » 2005-08-10 11:09am

I just dont see his views on living in a shit hole being a good deal. I mean come on the futer holds for us a world where no one takes a shower because they cant get up from the game.

Lets face it if humanity ever falls that far then we deserve to be destroyed by are mechanical creations.

AniThyng · Post by **AniThyng** » 2005-08-10 11:04pm

Er...I thought this is a parody article? I don't think it was supposed to be serious;y advocating the rise and rule of MMORPGs...

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2005-08-11 01:01am

AniThyng wrote:Er...I thought this is a parody article? I don't think it was supposed to be serious;y advocating the rise and rule of MMORPGs...

If it's parody, it suffers from being too subtle. Not that I like the site, but Something Awful did have a far more effective article on MMORPGs.

++http://www.somethingawful.co*/articles.php?a=3060