Breakfast Topic: The meaning of WoW
by David Bowers 
May 29th 2007 at 8:00AM
The Proverbial Critic points his finger at you and claims you're wasting your time, developing an addiction, and ruining the lives of children everywhere. "But no!" you reply, "I play after I do my chores / put my children to bed / have a healthy jog around the park! I'm perfectly reasonable and responsible."The Critic is stunned for a moment. He seems to tremble under the force of your logic. "In fact," you go on, feeling really inspired now, "WoW is not just a way to pass the time for me, nor is it mere entertainment! It has actually improved my real life, since I started playing!"
Your opponent grins, thinking he has gained the upper hand at last. "O RLY?" he responds, "Prove it."
How would you answer him? One way that WoW has brightened my life, personally, is to provide a way to keep in contact with the fantasy culture I love back home, while I live abroad in China. How would you say WoW affects your life meaningfully -- that is, aside from taking up time in a fun way? Has it helped you make much-appreciated new friends? Has it exercised your brain to be better at solving problems?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, RP
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lykaon May 29th 2007 8:24AM
If nothing else, WoW sure has saved me a LOT of money. I buy less games, I go out and watch less movies, and I generally spend less money on frivolous things.
Before I would go out shopping out of boredom. Now I have WoW to cure boredom.
It's also been a way to spend time with my wife. We have a hobby that we can enjoy together and that was previously a difficult thing to obtain.
Mats May 29th 2007 8:30AM
I have to agree with the common hobby with the girlfriend. Working togheter towards shared goals, questing and raiding, leveling alts with each other.
Tool May 29th 2007 8:31AM
WoW, my anti-drug.
Dave May 29th 2007 8:36AM
WoW is literally my anti-drug. I'm a recovering alcoholic and I play whenever I feel the urge to drink. Guess how many level 70 characters I have...
Sylythn May 29th 2007 10:51AM
WoW's pretty much a second job for me - one I love signing on for nightly. It also let's me keep in touch with my gf, halfway across the country. I don't have a lot of friends in my hometown, and after 25 years here it really seems like there's nothing left to do - so WoW brings me new friends and new things to do. But it also doesn't suck my life away - I still go out and take vacations from the game, real life is still a priority.
Savok May 29th 2007 8:52AM
It's something I can direct my pent up hostility towards the decline of civilization at.
Sylythn May 29th 2007 10:52AM
Oh, and I'll have to second Lykaon's statement that WoW saves money. I used to watch TV when I was bored, even drivle I didn't much like...now I've canceled my cable because I just don't watch anymore. I don't buy other games, or even play them (with the exception of small sessions of Guitar Hero or DDR here and there) anymore. In fact Neverwinter Nights 2 and Oblivion have sat at 10% completion each for ages. $15 a month has translated into something more like -$30 a month.
Nannou May 29th 2007 10:45AM
WoW made me realize that college is not important.
Hugh "Nomad" Hancock May 29th 2007 9:21AM
Lots of difficult-to-quantify personal benefits. Closer relationships with friends, shared achievement, enjoyable relaxation that's very cheap indeed, improvements in my communication and teamworking skills...
But there's one very quantifiable thing. Playing WoW makes it much easier to network at virtually any vaguely tech-related business event. I've developed a few valuable contacts by chatting about the struggle to find Fire Resist gear and amusing stories of Wipes We Have Known.
WoW. Like Joi Ito says, it's the new golf.
Venkman90 May 29th 2007 10:04AM
WoW has saved me a fortune in Console games (I used to own all 3 systems last gen and would buy 5 games a month). I never priorotise it over seeing friends but in the week / on quiet weekends it beats watching TV.
No big deal for most people, it's the percentage who take it too seriously or shrug off RL to play that have an issue and make us look like crack addicts.
Elbows May 29th 2007 9:10AM
The only person I have to justify WoW to is my girlfriend, and she will never accept it as a reasonable way to spend ones time so it's a lost cause.
As far as everyone else is concerned I couldn't care less if they think it's a waste of time or harmful in any way. I've been playing video games for going on 25 years, and they have been without a doubt my absoulte favorite thing in the whole world. Video games and especially RPGs (paper and video) have ruled my life since I was a child and I have no problem with that what so ever. I make no excuses for how I like to spend my free time.
Zodaic Sep 7th 2007 9:43PM
I live in germany and play on an english EU-server with people from all over europe. In my 2 years of playing, I improved my ability to write, speak and understand the english language a lot.
Plus, I met a lot of people from different countries, learning things about different cultures and I even dare to say made friends that I otherwise would have never met.
In fact, just 2 days from now a guildmate from sweden will come to germany to visit me.
Apart from that, the game itself is a great way to develop social skills. You learn to deal with different kinds of people, and you don't have to worry about what happens if it goes wrong. After all, it's just a game.
You learn a lot about teamwork, raids beeing the best examples for that. You learn how to put up with idiots, how to get a good reputation on your server. And you may learn how to lead people, depending on the role you play in a group. Leading a PUG, a raid or even a guild is maybe the best training you can get for leading people in other areas of life, for example in your job.
So I think if you are willing to adopt these parts of the game, you can get quite a lot out of WoW.
Trahlys45 May 29th 2007 9:32AM
I started playing WoW about a month before my father died. During the week we where getting thing in order for his funeral, playing WoW was more than an escape form having to deal with life. Completing quests and leveling made me feel like I was doing doing something. I also created a character in his memory, a Tauren Hunter, Yellowjacket, names after one of my fathers favorite bulls (He loved bul riding). Waste of time and an addiction, more like cheap thereapy. I should know,I'm an addictions counselor.
Juicydrapsag May 29th 2007 9:40AM
WOW for me has been a great comminication tool. My closest friend and his wife moved away about a year ago but nearly every night we all hang out on WoW.
Also its a hobby shared between my wife and I.
Ive used it in the work place as a tool to create a strong network for advise in both my business and in WoW.
Its also helped my typing skill!
Arispere May 29th 2007 9:52AM
I'm not sure if I can prove a direct causative relationship, but I recently got a pretty good score on the quantitative GRE and in my mind at least, I'm thanking the mental gymnastics I have to perform routinely in WoW to determine whether a new piece of gear will improve my DPS :-P
Nathan May 29th 2007 10:02AM
Since I started playing WoW, whenever I go down to the local tavern, the wenches are all over me.
Venkman90 May 29th 2007 10:07AM
oh and
"I make no excuses for how I like to spend my free time."
QFT
Rainwizard May 29th 2007 10:39AM
Well, everyone I know thinks WoW is a time-sinking waste of time. I constantly get berated for wasting my life. Funny thing is...I thought it was MY life to waste if I so deem. Anywho...
I don't have many friends, being a veritable social recluse, so WoW is really my only form of socialization besides work.
I also spend less money on things...
Kudos to those of you who are using WoW as an anti-drug. Very innovative, and very effective I'm sure. Hehe. WoW *is* an addiction for some, but I don't think anyone would disagree that it's a less dangerous one. Not many were ever killed by a WoW-addicted driver, but lots of people are killed by alcohol addicted drivers. Who ever died by OD'ing on WoW?
But, addiction to ANYTHING can be bad from a socio-psychological standpoint; be it TV, Monopoly, Hot Pockets...moderation is key. Everything in moderation, as it were.
My point is...there are worse things a person could do than play WoW.
Jason McLeod May 29th 2007 10:51AM
Wow is very much a social thing for me. My buddies come over with their laptops, we have a few drinks, do a dungeon. Good times.
Plus the ability to code addons as rekindled my desire to create a little project I'm currently working on. Stay tuned.
Metaphyzxx May 29th 2007 10:51AM
Well, there's the "spending less money" thing, the shared contacts, the conversation starter/network tool side of it. Guild management also should be a resume level skill... I applaud the leaders of D&T and Nihilum, as that's almost corporate management right there. I honestly think large companies should sponsor a WoW guild, and have upper management run the guild... I betcha THAT would weed out the undesirables.