Is it safe to come out?
“Don’t tell anyone but…I’ve never played World of Warcraft.”
Apparently this statement is borderline between naivety and stupidity. Among my group of friends over the course of 10 years, I am the least hardcore gamer and therefore slouch over when they all stand in a group with their big gaming vocabulary and leaving me to guess what the hell they’re talking about. Of course, all my friends are super hardcore so me saying “least hardcore” really means I only play for 40 hours a week and not 80.
Go out into the real world? Not so much, it seems.
Back in January my ex-boyfriend and I went to the city (San Francisco) to indulge in some amazing food and, what we hoped was, amazing company. After enjoying dinner with friends and the need for alcohol could not be suppressed any longer, we headed outside to drive where the rest of our group would be. This…did not work out so well. Halfway out the door and we met some guys who seemed fairly entertaining and invited them out. I made a passing comment, mostly intended for the ex but could be enjoyed by all, about WoW. Then, like a level 10 walking through Eastern Plaguelands, I was verbally assaulted with jokes made at my expense. Okay, one is fine. Oh you want to join in too? That’s okay, let’s keep it to a minimum. No? You just won’t stop? Why am I giving you a ride? You can find your own way home.
My friend Quinn, who set up my site for me, was one of those people. Unlike the rest of them, however, he is an awesome individual because he apologized and listened to the reason why I play WoW – this is why he deserves major props.
The other ones…well…I stopped talking to. Literally. That seems a bit harsh but they’re assholes anyway.
My point is that it’s hard for people to come out and say they play this game. If you’re an avid Xbox player or you can’t stop talking about GTA4, you’re just a casual player and who cares. But the moment you slip into an MMO…it’s like you’re walking around with a target on your forehead through a rifle range (I’m coming up with some great analogies tonight). When is it ever going to be okay to play video games? It’s like hating a certain race because one or two people wronged you, or like saying all gay men love to wear pink and go to Folsom Street Fair and wave wands around like a pretty princess – it’s only true for a small, and much more fun to be around population. Stop generalizing.
I admit though, I generalize a lot too. Like when I see a guy with a striped pink popped collar white shirt, I’m going to automatically assume he’s a douchebag. Or if a guy starts spouting off philosophy quotes like he memorized them to get laid, I’m going to automatically assume he’s not only a douche, but pretentious too. Then I’ll steal his classical CD’s.
This is different. There are over 11 million regular subscribers, with more than 30 million having tried the game out at least for a 10 day trial. You can’t say that every single one of them is missing work for raiding, or fat, ugly, etc. Most of us have jobs, a real life, and can only level when they have time for it. If I knew a hardcore WoW player I’d probably make fun of his ass too. Just saying. (And I do…my roommate)
Now if you will excuse me, I have to get to bed because I’ve been staying up way too late this week leveling my character. It’s time for a break. Someone please hide my laptop.
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