2008 Woodie Awards
Gamer condemns 'Warcraft' stereotypes
David A. Lucio
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: OPINION
If not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic, not everybody who smokes is a chain smoker, and not all people who work out excessively are accused of being addicted to fitness, why do my fellow gamers and I get the short end of the stick?
Think about the last person you know who told you they play "World of Warcraft."
What was your reaction?
Unless you play games yourself, you probably snickered, laughed or lied through your teeth and said, "That's interesting."
It's a stigma that I've been trying to break for quite some time. There are far too many people that think anyone who plays massively multiplayer online role-playing games are addicted.
Let me be very clear: I recognize that there are a handful of people addicted to online gaming, but they don't represent the gamer community as a whole.
Most of us live relatively "normal" lives with "normal" jobs and spend our time around "normal" people. Through "World of Warcraft," I know an interior designer, a lawyer, a dentist, a police officer, a network technician, a beauty queen and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, to name a few.
I have been introduced to people from Rhode Island, California, Florida and other states in the nation, as well as people from other countries like Russia, Thailand, Canada, France and Colombia.
Yes, I know couples who have broken up over gaming, but I also know people who have started long relationships thanks to online gaming, as well. "World of Warcraft" is, in some ways, a glorified social networking tool no different than Myspace or Facebook.
We make friends, share common interests, have fun, and feel included and productive. In fact, I know many more people who have broken up because of Facebook than gaming.
Besides, even if you isolate online gaming as a habit, most outsiders don't look at it from a broad perspective.
This weekend, Blizzard released "Wrath of the Lich King," the second expansion of the "World of Warcraft" series.
Think about the last person you know who told you they play "World of Warcraft."
What was your reaction?
Unless you play games yourself, you probably snickered, laughed or lied through your teeth and said, "That's interesting."
It's a stigma that I've been trying to break for quite some time. There are far too many people that think anyone who plays massively multiplayer online role-playing games are addicted.
Let me be very clear: I recognize that there are a handful of people addicted to online gaming, but they don't represent the gamer community as a whole.
Most of us live relatively "normal" lives with "normal" jobs and spend our time around "normal" people. Through "World of Warcraft," I know an interior designer, a lawyer, a dentist, a police officer, a network technician, a beauty queen and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, to name a few.
I have been introduced to people from Rhode Island, California, Florida and other states in the nation, as well as people from other countries like Russia, Thailand, Canada, France and Colombia.
Yes, I know couples who have broken up over gaming, but I also know people who have started long relationships thanks to online gaming, as well. "World of Warcraft" is, in some ways, a glorified social networking tool no different than Myspace or Facebook.
We make friends, share common interests, have fun, and feel included and productive. In fact, I know many more people who have broken up because of Facebook than gaming.
Besides, even if you isolate online gaming as a habit, most outsiders don't look at it from a broad perspective.
This weekend, Blizzard released "Wrath of the Lich King," the second expansion of the "World of Warcraft" series.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
John Bobcat
posted 11/20/08 @ 12:15 PM CST
David is right! We should stop our bigotry towards WoW players. I mean come on if we can put our prejudices aside and elect an African-American president, then we can accept people who play MMO-RPG games. (Continued…)
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