Dealing with younger players, both good and bad
by Mike Schramm 
May 8th 2007 at 12:44PM
We've covered this kind of thing a few times before (quite a while ago-- man I'm getting old), but it's an issue that I find perpetually interesting. Tviokh over at WoW Ladies had to deal with a bad kid in her guild-- he constantly requested help for stuff that was easy to do himself, and constantly bugging the guild to try and fight a world dragon that no one really had any interest in fighting. Finally, the kid blew up in whiny 10-year-old fashion, and /gquit... only to pester another guild with his whining and begging.Now, I should emphasize (since I am older, and have learned to be more and more patient over the years) that this is in fact a bad kid. While there are lots of younger players in Azeroth, not all of them are whiny beggars, and there are quite a few of them that are fun to have around. We've got a kid in our guild, and while he misses quite a few raids (because he has a little bit of a problem doing his homework sometimes-- his parents are in touch with our GM, and the fact that they keep him from playing when he shouldn't be only tells me that they're good parents), he's a fun guy to have around, and a respectable hunter.
Yes, he sometimes bugs us (as level 70s) to run Sunken Temple with him because it's his favorite instance, but in general he's a good kid. So Tviokh's experience isn't necessarily the norm.
Then again, there is part of me that still wants that adults only server, and I can definitely understand why some guilds don't allow younger players. But, as I'm sure WoW-playing parents will attest, not all kids are trouble.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Tricks, Fan stuff, Virtual selves
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Hellbena May 8th 2007 12:56PM
It really depends on the maturity of the younger players (although there are older players that can put the annoying kids to shame). I have met some very well behaved kids in WoW that are willing to take the time to learn an instance the way it's suppose to be done so if they run it again, they'll be able to give instructions on how to do something, and figure out what has to be changed depending on group makeup.
ajpally May 8th 2007 1:03PM
I personally can't stand children that play wow. By children I mean anyone around or younger than age 14.
I realize that it has to do more with maturity level rather than you age in years but quite frankly I can't stand kids that play wow.
I also understand that wow is for entertainment only and is just a video game but to me it's something I relax and enjoy spending time doing: working towards a goal, be it pvp, end game, getting to 70 etc. It's just to easy especially on a pvp server for children to get in your way, annoy you, or slow you down. And with a level 70 and another on the way, I've even had kids intentionally try to get me killed or they are just so ignorant they won't even know how to play the game, let alone their class.
I am 100% for an adult server. Not to say there won't be "children" on that server to but I think it would alleviate many problems each of us face everyday.
Finnicks Daerkhiv May 8th 2007 1:03PM
The only problem with little kids playing (by little I mean less than 13 year old) is that they tend to be a lot less independent.
Granted, there are exceptions, but little kids brains are still forming and they still don't function on the same cognitive level that we "grown-ups" function on. There are some things that, easy for us, are very difficult for them.
My cousin didn't learn how to properly look for something until he was nearly 12. You could point right at it, he could look RIGHT AT IT, but he still wouldn't see it. He's not stupid, or retarded. That's just how little kids are.
And that, friends, is the reason that Blizzard requires players to be 13 or older. :) I have no problems playing with younger children, I just like to make it clear to them that I'm not their parent, and if they don't understand something I'm only going to explain it once or twice as best as I can for their age level, and then they should ask Mom or Dad for help, because that's their job.
If a parent allows their child to play WoW, they really really ought to take time out to talk to their child's guild-fellows and leaders, his chat friends, and find out how everything is going in the game. They might be shocked to hear that their kid does nothing but bother other players with "begs" for help with ridiculously easy stuff.
I feel really guilty whenever I say this to a younger player, but sometimes after the 3rd or 4th time he's asked "where are the s for quest?" Eventually I always lose patience and say, "Look. Part of this game is about exploration. When I was your level, I explored until I FOUND the right mob. After you look around the zone for half an hour and STILL can't find the mobs for the quest, THEN ask. But you gotta at least try."
Jeff May 8th 2007 1:05PM
We recently recruited a young fellow in our guild... lol he's a typical noob warrior (Needing on stuff he dont need, and ranting about his "Pwnage"... But we're working on teaching him the basics.
At first he was asking instances runs but when he saw we are rarely interested... He didnt ask anymore.
It's still funny to have him around, he's our guild "joker" lol, always having weird ideas and explaining us his plans... :) Like saying he was going engineer, scraping his blacksmith to do so, then 2 days later, he went back Blacksmith...
Last time, he asked if it was possible to change hair style, etc ; some previous article was ranting about this on WoW insider... hehe I told him yes there was a Barbershop with a costly price to pay, in the Canals of Stormwind XD
LOL Poor young fella, he was running in the canals, for about 20 minutes, asking directions... We kept saying in the canals, all the way near dwarf district. :P
We we're bad, but still we laughed together in the end.
Sylythn May 8th 2007 1:26PM
I've had very few bad experiences with actual young 'kids' - the ones I tend to butt heads with more often than not are the young 'teens'. When leading a run, the 'kids' listen to you - the 'teens' think you're a moron. And yes, I'm making gross generalizations here - the majority of the time I don't have any issues, and even on nights when a teen guildie is being particularly a pain, I can often just shrug it off and not let it get to me.
I can definitely say adult-only servers will not solve a darn thing...some of my *worst* experiences in the game have come from 'adults'. I like the kids in our guild, even if it does take a bit extra effort to watch what we say in vent (sometimes they're quiet and you forget they're there - hehe).
I think the most annoying aspect of playing with young kids is the curfews, homework, etc. - which as Mike mentioned are signs of good parenting - but it can be frustrating to work around that and I sometimes feel bad for a our younger players that can't do many runs with us because we start too late.
Lori May 8th 2007 1:15PM
Lol, this topic has been covered here before and as before not all kids are trouble and not all trouble is kids. Our guild had a self proclaimed 'kid' in it who actually chated in complete sentances with proper spelling, grammer and punctuation. He was not annoying. But for some reason, one of the adult members could not stand him and constantly derided him, refused to go on raids if the kid was included and insulted him publicly. The adult was one of our better players, too, and behaved well in all other respects. I had the feeling that if the kid hadn't of 'come out' the would have been good friends.
Martineau May 8th 2007 1:19PM
It’s so funny this topic came up because I recently left WOW (for a short period of time) in search of an MMO with a more mature population. I ended up at SWG, but found that even old people can be immature and obnoxious. The idea for an adult’s only server would be a great, and a hit I'm sure; but unfortunately unless Blizz requires a personality test to play WOW, an adult’s only server wouldn't weed out the annoying gamers.
Jeff May 8th 2007 1:24PM
When I face such situation, I tell myself : we were all kid at some point lol... Their weak point is the RPG/Lore/Ethic stuff.
Maybe we are jealous sometimes, because they didnt begins on 8-Bit NES hehe and they begin their gamers experience with WoW.
Halicante May 8th 2007 1:25PM
Our guild is mostly working professionals and older college students. All have a sick sense of humor and we have a great time together working our way through raiding content.
However, we do have one exception to our 18+ rule...we do have the coolest 2 kids on the server in our guild. They fit right in and we'd miss them if they were gone. They're good kids.
Non-mature kids go straight to my ignore list.
Flit May 8th 2007 1:36PM
We have a kid in our guild who doesn't beg for too much. When he asks to down elites he doesn't need, we just politely tell him no, it wouldn't be worth anybody's time. He's pretty damn funny to (albeit, most of the time unintentionally), and everyone is fond of him, in a parental kind of way.
He's a hell of a lot better than someone who comes in the first day and says, "anyone have a 50-55 epic weapon i can have?"... /gkick
Druid dude May 8th 2007 1:46PM
We brought a kid in to our guild a little while back. Almost instantly, guild chat and vent were flooded with the kind of stuff you might expect. However, after a few weeks, he really calmed down, and to the surprise of many, became a really really good player. Now, he's like a model citizen in the guild; he helps people out, always brings pots and flasks to raids, asks the right questions if he is not sure about something, he's just a great asset to the guild and a super cool guy to do stuff with.
Gratned he is somewhat of an exception to the rule, but sometimes it is worth taking a chance, the kid just might surprise you!
Robert May 8th 2007 1:56PM
@12 I've had a similar experience when we allowed someone's younger brother into the guild. He had the typical 'omg i'm awesome dps' attitude, but when we went to Molten Core he was dead last in the damage meters. I was #1 so when I started talking to him in tells, giving him advice on gear and spec, he listened and really calmed down. Having something of a mentor really changed his behavior outside of raids, too - he dropped the immature attitude and became generally quiet and polite. And before too long he was chasing me in the damage meters, too :)
The lesson I learned was that kids can do alright but they need to feel acceptance. The selfish 'omg i pwn' attitude is a defense mechanism, but when they have a role model and feel accepted they drop it quickly.
Of course there are some kids who are just spoiled brats. For them, a swift /ignore is the only remedy.
Mad Cow May 8th 2007 5:52PM
my guild is one of the largest on the server ... ZERO "people" under the age of 24. No drama, no crap ... its sooooooo great =D I
Kats May 8th 2007 2:30PM
My son plays and he got me to playing as well. When I started playing he was about level 15....four months later I'm level 60 and he isn't far behind. We are in a guild that has several parent/child combos in it. Yes, he needed to learn what need/greed means and he has changed professions a zillion times and he would love to down a world dragon....
But he plays his class extremely well, is polite and funny, learns from his mistakes and contributes to the guild in many ways. As a parent it has been interesting to watch his interaction with other players and to have the opportunity to give him "coaching" on how he might handle something better in future, etc.
Raynia May 8th 2007 6:17PM
The first time I met my youngest friend he was 14. He was top dps, more mature than just about everyone, and always helpful. Been friends with him two years now and well... I think he's prolly more mature than me. >.<
Avery May 8th 2007 2:48PM
My guild is full of younger players, both the good and the bad. Honestly - I think WoW, like all extra curricular activities - all depends on the parent. I remember we had some kid get upset because he was kicked out of a raid for several reasons (not paying attention and behavior were the main reasons I believe). The kid went and started bitching about it at home, and later that night the parent had a chat with our Guild Leader about what happened. The parent isn't even a gamer, (nor was he upset) but he wanted to know what happened from an adult point of view so that he could handle the situation at home.
While WoW is meant to be a game for all of us to enjoy, parents still should monitor the childs behavior in-game. Cause bratty kids are annoying in general, not just in WoW.
Mike Schramm May 8th 2007 3:05PM
Yes, someone identified a young person by name and age in this thread. I've deleted the original comment (and accidentally deleted the comment that pointed it out-- sorry about that lunanoir, you make a good point).
Anyway, let's keep this anonymous, just in case. It's fine to tell stories about how to handle younger players, but any comments that identify the age and name of any players on the servers will be deleted.
Mekias May 8th 2007 3:13PM
I used to be in a guild several years ago with a 13 year old who was one of the best people I've ever met. He played a healer and was very intelligent, courteous, and friendly. He would also go out of his way to help a person out.
He may be an exception to the rule but it just shows that you can't judge someone just based on age.
Becca May 8th 2007 3:53PM
One of the officers in a guild I used to be in had a seperate account for her 3 year old child to run around Northshire Abbey and randomly press buttons. That didn't bother me much...but when she invited the tyke into the guild and gave him a microphone to scream and giggle and cry (as youngsters tend to do) in TeamSpeak...well, I just had to /gquit.
Whenever her kid was on, we were very restricted to what we could and could not say. I'm not the type that drops F-bombs into every sentence and neither were many people in the guild, but I got lectured on why I shouldn't call a quest "stupid" because her little sunshine might pick up on "bad language". Call me old fashioned, but when I was three I watched Sesame Street...not playing an MMO with people at least six times my age.
My little sister also played WoW for quite some time when she was only 14, but she was VERY polite...mostly out of fear that her guild would /gkick her for being an annoying little brat. She stopped playing though...one day I checked my mailbox and all of her belongings were there. When I asked her why she quit, she said it was cutting into her homework time and she didn't feel like failing tests....smart kid! I would have never had the willpower to up and quit a game like WoW when I was her age.
Sorcefire May 8th 2007 4:03PM
My 13yr old sister also plays WoW...a lot. It's fun that she and I share similar interests considering our 18 year difference in age and she has never embarrassed me in front of my guild mates or friends online. In fact she has been a total gentle lady to everyone and has garnered respect for being both helpful and knowledgeable about her rogue.
Our guild sometimes uses some rather distressing language, but it's all in the name of fun and everyone tries to be respectful when she's online and she knows enough to ignore the language since we are adults and she is not on that often. Now if I could only convince her not to strip naked and dance in Goldshire I'd sleep better at night. :)