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January 15 The everlasting questThe day before yesterday I went to play World of Warcraft at my friend's boyfriend's apartment (hmmm I know it is complicated). Both of them are loyal addicts of WoW (that is how they call it since it is such a wonderful thing) and actually WoW was the reason they found each other in the real (virtual, actually) world. I used to be an addict, not surprisingly, to those beautiful Chinese role playing games. You know what I am talking about if you happen to be one of the privileged college students who could afford the time and equipment to play computer games. Yes, I used to think what motivated me to play were the narrative (absolutely beautiful and interesting story, trust me) and the sense of exploring and shaping the lives of those characters, as well as conquest, achievement, and completion. I have to admit, rather reluctantly as a used-to-be gamer, that I haven't really understood the sweeping success of massively multi-player online role playing games (MMORPG). Yes they got pretty 3D environment and interesting quests and weapons and guilds and all that, but there are no uniform story to tell, no final ending, no success of killing the ultimate boss 'cause there is no ultimate boss, and you just never reach the point of success. And people are paying 15 bucks a month, spending hours and hours, and even get websites and formal schedule to organize their guild of manpower (or should I say horde power?) to finish some quests, and they boast about and kill for some mysterious weapons and clothes. The gist of playing is well beyond exploration and finishing a story, but also status and accomplishment (it is all about level! People look up to you when they see 60 or a purple icon) This is exactly what Justin Hall's idea about passively multi-player games ((http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/16/passively_multiplaye.html). When you take that out of MMORPG and look around people working in front of a computer, you get the sense of an everlasting "leveling up". There are those who associate themselves with del.icio.us, those who put up a banner of creative commons, those who have facebook profiles, and those dudes who only check news and weather (you know you are out of date!). All these activities with the internet tells us the degree of acquaitance with the newest communication technology online. And, of course, there are people who get points/experiences for being at a forum, filling their to-do lists online and speaking like an expert. I am always interested in the symbolic value of being someone "senior" and Justin Hall has provided an interesting angle for looking at this. After all, we are all aspiring to the next level, and want others to know about it. Comments (6)
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