Breakfast Topic: When other players become other people
by Heather Millard 
Apr 26th 2011 at 8:00AM
Since World of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, we know from the beginning that behind every character name on the screen is another player. However, since all we see of other players is that character, it's often hard to remember that there are real people on the other side. But sometimes, that reality sinks in fast.
In my first guild as a brand-new player, I looked up to my guild master as if he were a decorated general and I was a recruit shaking in her boots. In raids, I was amazed at the respect he earned from other players. When I browsed the forums, I found threads in which the opposite faction called him out, requesting duels so they could try their skills against his. He was larger than life.
Then late one night in guild chat, it was mentioned that one of our warlocks was named Matt in real life. The guild master happened to be online, and he chipped in, "Oh cool. My name is Matt too." He linked his Myspace and offered to add us.
It was as if Toto had pulled aside the Wizard's curtain in Oz. Suddenly, my guild master wasn't just an epic-geared raid leader with a huge reputation and enough skill to back it up ... He was a dude named Matt, slightly balding, with two kids. This scenario repeated itself over and over, as the orcs, trolls, undead, and tauren turned out to be college students, office workers, military personnel, and stay-at-home parents. They were real.
Have you ever had a moment when another player "became real" to you? What was it like?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
sullyXXX Apr 26th 2011 8:07AM
That keyboard looks pretty cool...what is it?
niko Apr 26th 2011 8:10AM
i'm pretty sure that's a standard came-with-the-dell-computer keyboard there.
DaveyMcDave Apr 26th 2011 8:12AM
http://www.computer-reclaim.co.uk/ekmps/shops/comprec/images/dell_keyboard_1(1).jpg
Looks like a standard dell keyboard to me.
In response to the actual topic, my guild knows each other quite well IRL, we've spent quite a bit of time getting to know one another. In some ways, I assumed they were all going to be nerdy kids, but most of us are 20-somethings with relatively normal jobs, lives, and girlfriends.
sullyXXX Apr 26th 2011 8:18AM
Cool thanks. We don't really get Dell here so I'm a bit clueless XD
Swifteye Apr 26th 2011 10:17AM
If it's any consolation, Dell's motherboards have a nasty habit of blowing up for no apparent reason... I'll take the more "boring" keyboard on pretty much any other type of computer, thanks.
Drakkenfyre Apr 26th 2011 10:37AM
Swifteye, you know it's possible to buy a keyboard separately from the computer, right?
niko Apr 26th 2011 8:09AM
Once I needed Vent, all bets were off.
I did quite enjoy being oblivious to the reality (suspension of disbelief FTW!), but when it finally came time to raid, and vent was required, that's when Lolegalas turned into Steve.
It's okay though, most everyone I've played with that long has benefited from being more transparent than otherwise.
great topic, i'm sure there will be lots of good stories from this. :)
Noyou Apr 26th 2011 10:18AM
Suspension of disbelief (or belief) is probably a fitting phrase to use for most encounters. I usually see a character as another person as soon as there is an /emote or dialogue directed at me. We all go by toon names in guild chat. There is only a couple who know my real name and vice versa. We talk about a lot of RL stuff (sometimes I wish certain people would edit themselves :p ) a lot. I am the type of person who generally cares and wishes well for most people so I don't really have a disconnect between toons and them being real. Sure some might seem more or less "real" than others. But that's just like in reality. Some people you know who they are and might say hello to but until you exchange more than a pleasantry they could just be the lady/man who walks the dog, etc.
Rezai Apr 26th 2011 8:15AM
All my guildies are real people. In fact, if you don't personally know someone in the guild, you won't be in our guild.
I had the exact opposite thing happen to me when I rolled an alt on a different server to play with a friend. Everyone was there character name only some times they were on an alt and they where called by there main's name on their alt. It felt so foreign and weird........
Kurtis Apr 26th 2011 9:39AM
To try to address the issue of alts vs. mains, we use a combination of ranks and guild notes to identify who a particular person is.
But yeah, we've got one person in our guild who is primarily known by a character name that she hasn't actually played in a couple of years other than for banking/auctions. Her new character's guild note even says "[old toon name]'s main" :)
The Angry Intern Apr 26th 2011 4:57PM
@Kurtis - same here. My first "main" in the guild was a mage named Darkhelmet. People just shortened that to "DH". I don't play that mage that much anymore, but people still call me DH when I'm on my alts or my current main, my hunter.
Darky Apr 26th 2011 8:17AM
Yeah, my old raid leader whom we all thought was named Jack, turned out to be Tom, and he lived near by to me and my friends. So now we're good friends, even though he doesn't play WoW anymore.
docdragond Apr 26th 2011 8:17AM
The best is when that Orc female you're fighting next to looks almost identical in real life.
B1ue Apr 26th 2011 10:46AM
What, stacked, smooth skinned, able to bench press a small car, and more the beer and pretzels type than wine and chocolate?
This seems like someone worth knowing.
Revnah Apr 26th 2011 8:19AM
I've "de-virtualised" quite a few people I met over the internet in one way or another (forums usually) before WoW so that was just another step, so to speak. Still, it took some getting used to the overweight, long-haired friendly teddybear the lean, gorgeous nelf turned out to be ;-) Regardless, we became Facebook friends, then met on holiday and he's been a wonderful, cuddleable friend ever since.
I play with several people I know from rl (and have recruited to WoW) and my guild is mostly composed of real-life friends but they live in a different country so one day, one day... I'll book a holiday there and hug them all irl :-)
MusedMoose Apr 26th 2011 8:21AM
With the exception of my best friend, I've never really met any of the people I play WoW with, or even seen their faces, but my guildmates are definitely real people to me. A lot of it comes from just spending time with them, doing stuff as a guild, y'know?
For example, last week, two guildies and I spent some time running classic raids; a third joined in for one run. We had a great time, chatted and laughed our way through Molten Core and Blackwing Lair and the Ruins of AQ. I got to learn who was married and who wasn't, and whose wife didn't like WoW. ^_^ So now, they're more than just names in the guild, or the guys who helped me get Chromaggus for my hunter. They're the people I play WoW with.
Piesmarts Apr 26th 2011 8:22AM
Oh, for sure. I'm fb friends with several people I know strictly from WoW and even text a few. None of my IRL girlfriends play it so sometimes I can relate to my WoW friends more. It's nice.
Nina Katarina Apr 26th 2011 8:24AM
Apparently I have a very nice voice that makes me sound much younger than I really am.
At different points in time, young men who I've raided with have seemed to begin to develop crushes on me. I've taken to making cracks about my age when I meet someone new in vent. But it's sad to see the moment when someone's fantasy of my unreal self meets the harsh reality that I'm just about as old as their mother.
Revnah Apr 26th 2011 9:20AM
Haha, same here! Fortunately I have no issues about my age (love it, in fact) and so I always dropped it into the conversation early that I'm 41. Crushing the crushes in the bud, so to speak.
I'm now in a guild which has more people around my own age and we're all either happily settled or happily single so it hasn't come up at all, and I really appreciate that :-)
MattKrotzer Apr 26th 2011 9:59AM
It always amuses me to hear the vent silence following a female guildies' first time speakin g on vent. All the single guys are like "Whoa..." and all the married guys are laughing at the single guys.