MMO Gaming: It’s Just a Game?

“It’s just a game…”

If you have ever played an MMO, RPG, MUD, or any game that takes time
to complete, you’ve probably had this said to you. And it might have made you feel a little bit
smaller. You enjoy spending time in a game and the people who say this phrase do not. Earlier this week I asked a fellow guild member what his thoughts were about this phrase, his reply was “I’m probably more on the, ‘It’s just a game side of the spectrum.’” Now this is a guild member, who I have played countless hours of MMOs with, a member I have followed to new MMOs, and has followed me to new ones, so it goes to without saying I’ve witnessed how much of his time he has invested into MMOs. I told him I don’t think he is.

It is not uncommon for MMO/RPG/MUD players to spend a lot of time just on the character
creation, making that perfect fantasy replica of ourselves, or the perfect ideal woman/man we’d
want. In SWTOR, I spent a good bit of time–upwards of 1-1.5 hours creating my characters.
Same for Guild Wars 2, Skyrim. When World of Warcraft introduced Transmorgification I spent
numerous hours searching online for that perfect set of gear, gathering pieces from all over
Azeroth, to make sure my character looked good. And I’m not the only one, people care about
their characters, they spend a lot of time with them, they become proud of their character, and
their accomplishments.

This is why I told my guild member I didn’t think he was on the side of “It’s just a game.”
Answer this question: You have a maximum leveled character, almost geared the way you want
him to be, a few pieces are missing, your professions are almost done, you’ve worked so hard on
this character, can you delete your character without hesitation?

The reply I got was from this same guildies was, “I would hope so; it wouldn’t be my first option
or my favourite one.”

The reply: “I would hope so…” I think everyone would hope to be able to just walk away from a
game and forget it, but that is never the case. We as gamers begin to get a sense of pride for our
characters, they become part of us, deleting a character is not a easy choice for someone to make.
I played World of Warcraft from Closed Beta, all the way up to Mists of Pandaria expansion. I
have had multiple accounts in the past, and I still remember every single character I played. I
have quit World of Warcraft for roughly 6 months now, and I have pondered what to do with my
account, do I keep it? Give it to a friend? I have had this account the longest, I have made some
great friends, who I have come to respect outside of the gaming world, but no matter how far
away in the gaming world I get, I will always be known as Garbrac, the Tree. Garbrac is part of
my history now, and to get rid of him, I don’t think I could ever do that, I would in all honesty
miss him. I don’t play the character any more, but that isn’t what I would miss. Giving away
Garbrac would be like giving away a part of me.

I am writing this article trying to explain how this would feel so that someone outside of the
gaming world would understand. To them they are reading this and thinking, “it’s just a game,”
and I am hoping the gamers reading this will understand the pride and passion we have for our
characters. Your characters sometimes represent you in real life as well. My non-gamer
girlfriend who has somehow stayed with me while I played countless hours of MMOs and when
I ask her if I should give away Garbrac her reply is “No, Garbrac is part of you.” She would
often sit next to me on the couch while I’m in a raid, and she would hear people call me Garbrac,

she became accustomed to me being called Garbrac. She has seen the time and dedication I have

put into my games, and understands the passion.

Why do Gamers have so much passion for their characters? It’s simple. I’ll answer it with
another question, why are car enthusiasts so passionate and have so much pride for their cars?
Why are athletes so passionate about their medals, and rewards? They are examples of the time,
strength devotion they have put into something they enjoy doing. Some do it as a hobby, some
do it as a professional career, just like gamers do.

We are gamers, we care about our games, our characters, and we are PROUD of it.
It’s NOT just a game, not to us. It is our escape, our freedom, our passion.