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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast 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 5 of 9)
Mortenebra Feb 17th 2011 10:47AM
Sounds like a tank-and-spank encounter to me!
Zhiva Feb 17th 2011 12:29PM
I put on my robe and wizard hat...
Xantenise Feb 17th 2011 8:36AM
Aussie gamers may recall a story on A Current Affair several years ago where a sixteen-year-old boy got up at 4AM to play WoW and didn't stop until midnight, every single day, and dropped out of school to play it. He punched holes in walls because of it too. His mother was in tears about it.
Obviously it's the game's fault. And not, say, his mother's, for *turning off his fucking internet*...
Raginghobo Feb 17th 2011 6:43PM
Fortunatly I don't think anyone could possibley take Tracy Grimshaw seriously, I mean come on her name sounds like she could be an orc npc (she looks like one too)
Possum Feb 18th 2011 2:16AM
Nah I'd say she's more troll.
Jayjay Feb 17th 2011 8:42AM
I think I prefer the kids playing video games than hanging out on street corners/at the mall/walking down the street waiting to be shot/raped/robbed by so-called 'social people' in the 'real world'.
I think commentators mix up single person games with MMOs and apply the same 'values' without actually checking to see if WoW (or similar) involves socialisation/interractions with others.
Someone once did 'tell' me that wow was very violent - I just mildly mentioned that theres hardly any blood in it at all and its no more violent than a Tom and Jerry cartoon - probably less so come to think of it.
Marn Feb 17th 2011 8:45AM
Druids can have sex in WoW I'm sure of it. Why, only the other day this forum was filled with comments of how Blizzard was shafting them... ahahahhahaaaa
Shoikler Feb 17th 2011 9:05AM
Son of a...! For decades now, it's never even occurred to me to think of that idiom in the sexual sense! I always thought it was like an elevator shaft, and when you "get" it, it's like being chucked down. Dangit, dangit, dangit!
Mike Feb 17th 2011 8:43AM
Anyone who would really get that uptight and fly into a "No, its not true! Its perfectly normal!" rant is doing more harm than good. My only explanation of the game when anybody asks (but since I never offer up to anybody that I play and never drop hints about it in social situations, nobody really knows that I do...) is that its like any other video game out there, except all the other people you see in the game are really other people. Thats as far as I explain it. Any more would mark me as the nerdy dork in others eyes. As much as you don't want it to be true, thats how most people perceive gamers, and for the most part, gamers aren't doing much to change that perception.
theanorak Feb 17th 2011 8:51AM
I'm always amused by the "OMG you can have sex in this videogame!" """"scandals""""" that pop up in tabloid-style news of all kinds from time to time.
There's sex in movies, running the gamut from brutal torture through tender and romantic to bollock-tinglingly erotic. There's the same but moreso in books of all kinds. In music. In art.
When a game *does* manage any of the above, it will be a glorious achievement. Not a scandal.
Nagaina Feb 17th 2011 1:44PM
PREACH IT. I'm so freaking tired of culture critique that treats sex, no matter how mild the example might be, as though it's a terrible, dirty, shameful thing that must be kept hidden at all costs lest some impressionable person -- usually a child -- get the idea that sex is not only normal and healthy but one of the *best things in the world!* AND THAT WOULD BE THE END OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION!
I swear, I sometimes wonder how our species managed to balloon to its current size with all our self-imposed hang-ups about sex and sexuality.
Possum Feb 18th 2011 2:19AM
It's because most people who don't play video games assume they're only for children. They don't get that the average gamer is over twenty.
Emprise Feb 17th 2011 8:53AM
I tell them to go jump in a pit of Troggs
Hidendragon Feb 17th 2011 8:54AM
The best case of this has to be Southparks show. A portrayal that we cannot move from our PC's, eat nothing but crap, and get our "mums" to run in with a Poop tray. Don’t get my wrong I though the whole shoe was hilarious and still do. However, whilst over the gym once a friend of mine noticed a picture of a WoW toon on my phones screensaver and asked about it. When I said I play, his exact words were
"I though all people, who played that game were like that southpark episode!!"
I am in very good shape; I currently am around 7% body fat, despite the volume of food I eat, its (mostly) not junk food and am very toned. In fact of all the people I know that play the game IRL, I cannot name one that completely neglects his health for the game. I appreciate that out of 10 million players there are going to be a handful of people that fit this, but then there isn’t a hobby in the world you probably couldn’t apply this too.
I frankly don’t care what people think of us gamers. If people are that simple minded that they believe what their told about everything then leave them to it. I personally see this as "building site" banter, or as we brits call it, “A bit of piss taking"
People just need to learn to laugh at themselves and not take these things so seriously.
Mylozen Feb 17th 2011 5:26PM
Your friend is a farking idiot. Anyone that thinks South Park or any other show that portrays gamers as fat, pimple covered mouth greatness that life in their parets basement is an accurate portrayal is quite frankly, retarded. In the case of SP it is done for humor, but to actually think that is the reality of the situation... And people like to say 'role-players' have trouble telling the difference between reality in fiction when in truth it is people like your friend. No offense.
Dannemmar Feb 17th 2011 8:55AM
In my experience the more you play online games the les you watch TV, so it's in the best interest of broadcasting companies to scare peaple abount games
Possum Feb 18th 2011 2:25AM
That's the thing though. At least 3/4 of the people I've known who would criticise playing video games as a waste of time spend 3/4 hours watching tv every night.
Myramensgone Feb 17th 2011 8:56AM
Most of my friends are in the wow is for (homophobic expletive deleted) club save for one who I've played with for almost 3 years now so I get it a lot. I usually point out I think their sports games are dumb or how I can't believe they can record and edit every Cod kill they get.
Darias.Perenolde Feb 17th 2011 8:58AM
The various comments on SG1 when Dr. Lee brings up WoW are a good laugh for me every time. The one where Carter fakes playing the game to distract him was awkward and epic.
Gamer chicks are only rare that hawt. One can dream though...
mibu.work1 Feb 17th 2011 9:00AM
When people claim that WoW is anything other than what it is, this is what I say:
No, it is not X, Y, and Z. You cannot do X, Y, and Z. It is more like going to a public basketball court. Sure, you can stand around and shoot hoops, practice your dribbling, and even pull off some pretty badass stuff, but then you get a friend to play with you, or two, or nine, or even more. Suddenly, it's a huge social event, everyone has their own personality, their own tactics, things they are good at, things they are bad at, and they balance you out. Suddenly, you're playing against each other, with each other, and everyone is having a good time.
Now, imagine that all your friends are busy for some reason, and none of them can come and play. That's okay, because there's over a thousand people in immediate reach who are perfectly willing for a Pick up Game, and they know when they arrive who's skins and who's shirts.
After all that social interraction is established as the premise, give it a backdrop of environmental conflict, civilizations going to war over scarce resources, and great political drama, for the scope of the world. Even at the smallest level, there is the personal story of an old woman still in mourning for the loss of her son years back, the farmer having trouble with local pests, and the son unready to fill his father's shoes. Those are people who need your help, and that's what you do.
That is World of Warcraft in a nutshell.