For me it all started in the early 90s with the PlayStation One and Japanese games like Wild Arms and Suikoden. The simple graphics of those games of yore belied a serious commitment from the player to get through them. It was a lot of nerdyness in front of the cathode ray tube - pretty hard on the eyes. As for girlfriend magnetism - well....
The only social networking then was the phone and whoever happened to drop over - maybe for a beer and a meal (cooking is another one of my hobbies).
When I play MMORPGS these days I see many elements of those old games in the new games. The big difference now, of course, is that there are other players in the game world with you. Maybe you are not so isolated this way. Maybe you are. Either way the result will probably still not impress your girlfriend (or boyfriend).
When I play MMORPGS these days I see many elements of those old games in the new games. The big difference now, of course, is that there are other players in the game world with you. Maybe you are not so isolated this way. Maybe you are. Either way the result will probably still not impress your girlfriend (or boyfriend).
Maybe that is changing also?
For me, being an old-school RPG guy, I’m fascinated by the mechanical elements - all those menus and dialogue boxes, statistics and levels. I’m pretty slack at social stuff like forming parties (except perhaps at my place - er my real place that is).
How these complex mechanics might resonate with forms of Postmodernism is one thing I’d like to think about in this blog.
My interest in Postmodernism, by the way, started with Foucault's The History of Sexuality - An Introduction (1976). Not exactly a MMORPG classic. Still, it was an eye opener. At the time I read it - the 80s - continental philosophers were routinely name-dropped in trendy magazines like The Face. They were cool. You could discuss them wearing Ray Bans. Check out old Hal Hartley movies if you don’t believe me. However those books struck a chord with me that was not just about lattes and wearing black. Not that I am against doing either!
Now, nearly twenty years later, I’m wondering what this form of thinking might say about MMORPGs as I play them. Hard to figure that out right right away. Will have to think about it.
As to what my girlfriend thinks of all this - well we’re getting married! Maybe times have changed.
For me, being an old-school RPG guy, I’m fascinated by the mechanical elements - all those menus and dialogue boxes, statistics and levels. I’m pretty slack at social stuff like forming parties (except perhaps at my place - er my real place that is).
How these complex mechanics might resonate with forms of Postmodernism is one thing I’d like to think about in this blog.
My interest in Postmodernism, by the way, started with Foucault's The History of Sexuality - An Introduction (1976). Not exactly a MMORPG classic. Still, it was an eye opener. At the time I read it - the 80s - continental philosophers were routinely name-dropped in trendy magazines like The Face. They were cool. You could discuss them wearing Ray Bans. Check out old Hal Hartley movies if you don’t believe me. However those books struck a chord with me that was not just about lattes and wearing black. Not that I am against doing either!
Now, nearly twenty years later, I’m wondering what this form of thinking might say about MMORPGs as I play them. Hard to figure that out right right away. Will have to think about it.
As to what my girlfriend thinks of all this - well we’re getting married! Maybe times have changed.
