Breakfast Topic: How do you respond when others misrepresent WoW?
by Brian Cutaia 
Feb 17th 2011 at 8:00AM
A few months back, my wife and I were watching television, when suddenly my ears perked to the sound of a familiar phrase. The Big Bang Theory was talking about our beloved game! I had heard that this show employs people to keep its science talk somewhat authentic, so I listened curiously to see where they were going with this. Unfortunately, it appears that they don't exercise the same level of care when talking about video games.
"You know World of Warcraft?" Wolowitz asked Penny.
"The online game? Sure," she replied.
"Well, did you know you that the characters in the game can have sex with each other?
Hollywood has always treated video games more like a prop than a real live hobby, obviously. You're usually lucky when gaming characters actually continue mashing on buttons while they deliver lines, so an inaccuracy like this isn't exactly a surprise. Moments later, though, our phone started to ring. My wife picked it up and I faintly heard my father-in-law asking in his heavy Oklahoma accent, "What does Brian do in that game he's always playin', anyway?" She explained that -- despite tales of Moon Guard -- there is no mechanic in the game to have sex. Still, though ... to this day, when he asks about our "raider game," I swear I can see an incredulous eyebrow rise ever so slightly.
Society and the media haven't always done their best to paint the MMO genre positively or accurately. News stories constantly highlight the worst-case scenarios, and innocent jokes like this can send the wrong impression to the uninitiated. Is there anyone in your life who is convinced that these stereotypes and falsehoods are true? Did you ever try to educate them, or do you just nod your head and laugh to yourself when they mention the game?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Myk Feb 17th 2011 8:08AM
It makes you wonder what other kinds of stereotypes they are painting wrongly on the tube.
And the Big Bang Theory is one of the reasons why people who play video games are never taken seriously.
styopa Feb 17th 2011 9:07AM
Please.
Let's be clear.
Until really World of Warcraft made it marginally socially acceptable to the mainstream to play 'video games', "gamers" (as opposed to people who occasionally played video games) were generally people that spent obsessive amounts of time playing video games. Generally this was a sign of an introverted personality, and often was accompanied by a set of fairly stunted social skills. Aside from these things often being present in the same person, "gamers" were no more ridiculed than other obsessive personality types, who routinely believe that others share their obsession (be it fishing, knitting, curling, or NASCAR).
Big Bang theory is mocking us just like they mock a lot of things. BBT certainly didn't build the situation.
carebear Feb 17th 2011 10:54AM
"Let's be clear.
Until really World of Warcraft made it marginally socially acceptable to the mainstream to play 'video games'"
i dont think youre being clear
Wolfshanze Feb 17th 2011 11:13AM
Two words...
Mazes and Monsters
-that is all...
(if you know the term, you know the effect)
Portals Feb 17th 2011 2:54PM
Prisons and Lizards?
Grumpy Wow Guy Feb 17th 2011 2:55PM
@ Wolfshanze:
Omg, Mazes and Monsters... That was the "Reefer Madness" version for RPG's.
Basic plot for those too young to remember: it was a bad tv movie about college kids who played D&D frequently and went insane as a result and started killing people.
Whoever produced that piece of tripe should've been retroactively aborted.
Grumpy Wow Guy Feb 17th 2011 2:59PM
@ Wolfshanze:
Omg, Mazes and Monsters... That was the "Reefer Madness" version for RPG's.
Basic plot for those too young to remember: it was a bad tv movie about college kids who played D&D frequently and went insane as a result and started killing people.
Whoever produced that piece of tripe should've been retroactively aborted.
Wolfshanze Feb 17th 2011 3:21PM
If anybody doesn't know Mazes and Monsters and wants a good summary of what it means/meant to the gaming world... it's the grand-daddy of media scaring parents into the horrible world of geek gaming, and Tom Hanks played the title character that lost his marbles (as anybody who plays geek games inevitably does).
Best summary is here:
http://www.ironicconsumer.com/movies/mazes_and_monsters.html
Meatdraw Feb 17th 2011 6:09PM
WOO! found Mazes and Monsters on Netflix. Fine viewing for any full grown RPG fan!
Billlop Feb 17th 2011 8:08AM
I just hate it when people misrepresent gaming in General. Usually its Fox "news".
A kid went nuts because his parents banned him from Halo and he killed them. Of course Halo was to blame, the kid himself was obviously innocent. I mean, Why even sentence the kid, its obvious Halos the one to blame!
You can have sex with a member of your party in Mass Effect 1. Even though the scene was blacked out and you see NOTHING, it was obviously a rape scene. Did you know you can rape everyone in Mass Effect? Its true!
Did you also know, the GTA games have no story. They are all about killing hookers and then stealing their money. Its true! Theres no story whatsoever in GTA, its just purely about killing hookers!
Nick Feb 17th 2011 8:16AM
Actually GTA is all about killing hookers and cops. Anyone that plays them for any kind of story would put the controller down 15 minutes in.
I couldn't care less when they "misrepresent" gaming, or any other hobby of mine. Generally in shows like BBT it's done in a comical way and those that don't know it's tongue in cheek aren't the type of people I'd interact with anyways.
During news shows or whatever, it's actually very balanced in the UK. I've seen a few reports on TV (Manhunt being the most memorable I think) but each one has had the extremist "OMG people will copy it" person sat beside, or on the phone to an "L2 Parent, noob!" type.
Samutz Feb 17th 2011 8:17AM
Did you know Bulletstorm is the worst video game of all time? It's not even out yet, and we haven't played it, and we've only seen 10 seconds of gameplay footage, but we are sure it will destroy your child's psychological health. Our random expert, that we won't specify what he/she is an expert of, and who also has not played the game, confirms this. Also, your child may become a rapist.
(via FOX News)
JT Feb 17th 2011 8:20AM
Yeah, saying you play GTA for the story is like saying you read Playboy for the articles.
polydorr Feb 17th 2011 8:20AM
'I just hate it when people misrepresent gaming in General. Usually its Fox "news".'
It's not just Fox. You make it sound like it's a political issue and all gamers are liberals, and all the ones who hate us are dirty, dirty conservatives. You couldn't be more wrong and it's a poor way to polarize the issue.
Gaming is almost universally seen as the less productive hobby for nerds and poor social adaptors. I've seen this characterization on CNN, Fox, CBS, and ABC. They all love sensationalism, which appeals more to the couch demographic who have nothing going on in their personal lives and need something to be afraid about.
Wildstaff Feb 17th 2011 8:49AM
@JT
I actually do play GTA for the story. I get more fun from advancing the storyline than from unning around the city shooting cops hookers and tossing grenades under people's cars. I'm not saying i don't do that a lot, i just have more fun playing the missions and completing the story.
Shoikler Feb 17th 2011 9:00AM
You may scoff, JT, but back in college, I would read 'Playboy' for the articles, just to prove it could be done. Flip, flip, flip, "Oh look, here's an interview with Hosni Mubarak. Will he EVER get out from under Sadat's shadow?"
Billlop Feb 17th 2011 9:44AM
GTA IV had a great story. If you ignored that,, then i dont think you actually played GTA IV. I'm not even American so im not saying gamers are liberals at all. Im taking a dig at Fox news, but then again you americans always think everything is political.
Schadenfreude Feb 17th 2011 10:22AM
Video games are just the latest target. There have been moral panics over new fads and media since the first amphibian moved to live exclusively on land. MEAT EATING CAUSES ORGIES AND DANCING, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOUR OFFSPRING? STORY AT SUNSET BY THE BIG TREE.
Galestrom Feb 17th 2011 10:28AM
I'm afraid I fail to see how acknowledging the proven bias of Fox News devolves into a liberal vs. conservative debate. Skewed truth is skewed truth, no matter which side of the popular argument you find yourself on.
Guy Feb 17th 2011 11:03AM
Not to make this political, but, saying Fox News is to blame is misleading. Not saying you will not see stories like that on Fox News, you probably will, but you also will see stories on CNN, MSNBC and the local news. It was "liberal" or democrats who are responsible for many of the music and game lables. Tipper and Al Gore are the reason we have the parental advisory sticker on music today, they led a crusade against offensive music like 2 Live Crew and Twisted Sister. And Joe Lieberman is part of the reason we have video game ratings. He crusaded for video game censorship in the 90s. Both are democrats (OK Lieberman is an independent but he caucuses with the democrats) and were actually the democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees in 2000.
Sorry for the political points on WoW Insider