Breakfast Topic: Do you treat Azeroth as a virtual extension of the real world?
by Lesley Smith 
May 19th 2009 at 8:00AM
So I'm fishing and I suddenly see my GM waving at me, dressed in her fishing gear (which also seems to include an Elegant Dress). So I invite, we get on voice chat and start talking while we fish, discussing everything from our real lives to the most recent wipe on Sapphiron. It takes me back to the days in my previous guild where I would meet a friend of mine to do some questing and then we would retire to a tavern, buy drinks, find chairs and chat over voice. Considering she lived four hours from me, it was the closest we could get to a girl's night out in the pub.
It's little things like this which make me thinks WoW is not just a game, it's a virtual world. More often than not, I log on not to play but to chat with friends who are scattered across Europe. Do any of you out there treat WoW as a virtual extension of the real world? Do you meet friends for a night out or use voice chat in lieu of a telephone call or in-game mail over email? Speak up, constant readers, and drop your comments in the usual place.
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
RetPallyJil May 19th 2009 8:06AM
Don't know how I'd talk to my Australian friends otherwise :)
But people I can meet face-to-face, I meet face-to-face or call.
Discrete May 19th 2009 9:00AM
Same here. A bit over a year ago, we had 3 "Kiwis" in our guild, and they ran with another guild for ZG, the oceanic group. I can remember pulling all-nighters, then spending an hour or two running with these dudes before going off to my midday classes!
Amelyra May 19th 2009 9:14AM
Likewise, as an Australian, I don't know how I'd talk to my American friends otherwise. =P
WoW is a fun game, but what makes it truly special to me is the social aspect. If I hadn't forged these friendships through it, I probably would have tired of it and quite playing some time ago. Instead, it just becomes an element of my social life for when I have nothing and nobody to bother close by.
Also provides access to a group of people who, typically, are interested in the same geeky things as I am... which has proven difficult to find en masse in person out here.
Sinthar May 19th 2009 8:08AM
Nah i usually use it as a game. Although with one mate we do quite often chat in game rather than use the telephone
Talaria May 19th 2009 8:12AM
I tend to use most online gaming facilities as a form of telephone/msn these days. It's just convenient to chat online to your mates (either on Xbox live or WoW) as you play.
Although it can be a pain when your busy in game and friends are expecting a full blown convo over text chat!!
airman_dopey May 19th 2009 8:15AM
I've met a lot of new people in game, and have surprisingly met one during a business trip. Don't know too many games where you can do that.
Demeternoth May 19th 2009 8:17AM
My guild has become a real social network with us chatting in game, setting up Twitter and FB groups and the like. I think it's worked in reverse, we didn't join to meet new people, but now we play, we go in game more to socialise as well as play and do more socialising with the people we've met in game outside of WoW too.
Last week we had a virtual going away party for 2 guildies who were taking a break from the game. We met in a tavern and then went off to slay dragons, using the in game chat to have a laugh and play music to each other and generally add to the atmosphere.
For me, it's definitely half the fun of the game.
Relyk May 19th 2009 8:18AM
thinking about it I have to admit I use the game as a way to keep in touch sometimes but other times I do meet with friends IRL so i gotta say its a 50-50 mix
Khavren May 19th 2009 8:21AM
My wife and I have two very young children, so WoW not only serves as an extension of the real world for us, but sometimes as our access portal to it. Our own parents had bowling night. We have raid night -- which reunites us with old friends and helps us make new ones.
LiquidFlames May 19th 2009 8:28AM
I don't normally log in for the purpose of just chatting. But its not really possible to avoid getting into a conversation about something once I'm in. The game may not be real, but the friendships formed because of the game are real.
Kolo May 19th 2009 8:28AM
I used to feel this way, but largely disagree, the internet ****wad theory has alot to do with this. At the end of the day, very few of the people you meet in game will not let you down. Compared to real life, a larger percentage of people will end up being ***holes somewhere down the line due to the relatively anonymous nature of the interwebs.
Lesley G May 19th 2009 11:44AM
I disagree with you; i'd say that the percentage of mean and disappointing people is the SAME offline and on - you just find out FASTER in game.
Bronwyn May 19th 2009 11:20AM
Pretty much this.
However, I follow one rule that has spared me from a lot of grief. No second chances, period. You do something douchey, you're off my f-list, ignored, whatever. For the most part my guild is fine, and I enjoy talking to them.
And as someone who's pretty much forced to spend a lot of time at home, it's really good to have ANY kind of social outlet, otherwise I'd go completely crazy.
Zerrian May 19th 2009 8:32AM
I met my last girlfriend through WoW. We would chat in-game, I would help her with quests (since I was a much higher level), and just talk about stuff. This was all before we had the built in voice system in the game as well. We then took our talking outside the game to IM programs and then eventually to the phone. Luckily for me, she lived only 5 1/2 hours away and up in Canada, lol.
WoW is definitely a great way to meet new people from all over the world, I've also met some Australian people, and a few others from all walks of life.
Bigmamapain May 19th 2009 8:42AM
I've been playing WoW since release on the Dalaran server. I began playing with RL friends on the Alliance side in a LAN setting, but switched to Horde after about a year to play by myself. Since then, I've met the man that I'm going to marry as well as made several friends who I consider to be *real* friends. WoW still allows me and my not-yet-fiance to spend time together while we're still living 400 miles apart, and I spend a lot of time in game chatting with other friends. I know that WoW is just a game, but the friendships that I've made through the game are real, and I hope that they outlast this time that we spend killing pixels together.
Talyre May 19th 2009 8:36AM
Without Wow, I don't know how I'd keep in touch with some rl friends. I moved away after college, but many of my friends are in my guild and we see each other regularly in Wow-world, even though I'm lucky if I see them once a year in the real world. Another good friend moved six hours away to start a job, but we chat most nights through the game.
I love Wow, but without the social side of the game and the ability to keep up with my rl friends, I don't think I would play nearly as much as I do.
Pexxle -=SilverHand (RP)=- May 19th 2009 9:14AM
^
This
I have some RL friends that used to live in same area but due to life, they live elsewhere and meeting up is hard because of schedules (work, family), if we ever meet up at all. So only place to catch up on any news regarding our lives is in WoW.
Malkia May 19th 2009 9:37AM
Yeah, if it weren't for the people I probably would have quit long ago. That and the new content...
Clearea May 19th 2009 8:44AM
Amazing topic Lesley Smith,
When I ran around the older area's of Azeroth, I'm filled with special memorys and moments of friendships and events over this virtual world.
After transfering servers sometime back and leaving most people I rolled with, I made the choice to come back to my orginal server, I visit my old stomping grounds and I was amazed to see many ppl I got along with so well, sadly there are people that have transfered servers that I spent hours apon countless hours pvping with.
Plus like everyone has incounted there are the people you want to forget. lol
So in a sence, even though I really don't know these people the experience of WoW is an extensionog real life.
Katerana May 19th 2009 8:49AM
When i first started my guild back then didn't use voice chat and i didn't play as much as i do now chatting away with guildy's on teamspeak that are 10-20000km away about rl stuff, in game stuff and so on. The game in combination with voice chat has indeed become a extention of my rl.
Most of my rl friends don't play wow and they can't grasp what it feels like having such a variaty of culture's and nationalaty's in your friend group :D
Without the voice chat i wouldn't play nearly as much as i do now.