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Out of Pod Experience

 
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'Thanks to my wife for quitting MMO'
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jyppy
Blue Republic
RvB - BLUE Republic
#1 - 2011-11-27 18:09:46 UTC
I went to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by some friends of my girlfriend here in the UK this weekend. They do it every year as a reason to be 'socia-bubble' (as the good lady would say).

Anyway, the main meal is eaten and before we start on the desserts we go round the table giving our thanks - usual mixture of platitudes regarding job security, health, good times etc. Interestingly, one of the guys present decided what he was grateful for was the fact that his wife has decided to give up playing her chosen MMO after 6 years (in this case WoW).

It was a quick statement which ended with the nugget 'she will be able to do more productive things with her time' , and of course several of the people round the table were nodding in agreement (my GF included).

I found it all very interesting, this guy for what he was sharing (he was apologetic for sharing something obviously heartfelt), the positive sounds and motions of several of those around the table (which is understandable for making someone want to feel better) and me sitting there, no doubt the only one of the ten of us who has any experience of online (social) gaming.

I have no idea what the relationship is like between the two of them, perhaps the lady in question is an obsessive-compulsive, but I know I felt a mixture of sadness at the all-too-predictable negative response to gaming (as I saw it) and with that a touch of pride (no doubt because at that table I was a part of the MMOG elite).

Just thought I'd put this out there while it's fresh in my head, I'm sure there are others out there that have come across this sort of thing before.

'I don't want to be a puffin'
Destination SkillQueue
Doomheim
#2 - 2011-11-27 18:21:14 UTC
You should have ruined the moment by casually asking "Can I haz her stuff?". I know it's an important social event for your GF, but GFs come and go, but you missed a once in a lifetime chance to troll them by making a lame joke and ruining the mood of the dinner. Bonus points for waiting for the awkward silence and then saying "I'll get my coat" and leaving the event.
Louis deGuerre
The Dark Tribe
#3 - 2011-11-27 21:09:51 UTC
Destination SkillQueue wrote:
You should have ruined the moment by casually asking "Can I haz her stuff?". I know it's an important social event for your GF, but GFs come and go, but you missed a once in a lifetime chance to troll them by making a lame joke and ruining the mood of the dinner. Bonus points for waiting for the awkward silence and then saying "I'll get my coat" and leaving the event.


So much win Twisted
SpaceSquirrels
#4 - 2011-11-27 21:23:55 UTC
Or pulled her aside later and begin talking about gaming or what her favorite class/dungeon was. Then pull out the app (Wow has a mobile app right?) and check it. See if she gets jitters and flop sweat.

Wasn't it in England that a lady was charged with child abuse and let her dog die because she played WOW so much? I know in china some people tried to sell their children over it. (Which in retrospect wouldn't it have been easier to have had them gold farm? I mean long term goals people!)
Liam Mirren
#5 - 2011-11-27 21:40:54 UTC
Gaming, and MMOs in particular, are an escape mechanism; you escape your daily issues and allow yourself to forget about them for a while. Thing is that every leisure is essentially like that, reading books is escapism as well and so is listening to music etc etc. Weirdly enough, people class gaming as a waste of time (which it ofcourse is), in a negative way, mostly because they can't relate to it and what you don't know is ofcourse very scary.

Excellence is not a skill, it's an attitude.
Buzzmong
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#6 - 2011-11-27 21:43:27 UTC
Liam Mirren wrote:
Gaming, and MMOs in particular, are an escape mechanism; you escape your daily issues and allow yourself to forget about them for a while. Thing is that every leisure is essentially like that, reading books is escapism as well and so is listening to music etc etc. Weirdly enough, people class gaming as a waste of time (which it ofcourse is), in a negative way, mostly because they can't relate to it and what you don't know is ofcourse very scary.


Which is quite amusing, as often those people are the ones that watch TV for hours on end, and/or love some tripe like the [country]'s Got Talent, Big Brother or somesuch rubbish.
Liam Mirren
#7 - 2011-11-27 21:50:06 UTC
Buzzmong wrote:
Liam Mirren wrote:
Gaming, and MMOs in particular, are an escape mechanism; you escape your daily issues and allow yourself to forget about them for a while. Thing is that every leisure is essentially like that, reading books is escapism as well and so is listening to music etc etc. Weirdly enough, people class gaming as a waste of time (which it ofcourse is), in a negative way, mostly because they can't relate to it and what you don't know is ofcourse very scary.


Which is quite amusing, as often those people are the ones that watch TV for hours on end, and/or love some tripe like the [country]'s Got Talent, Big Brother or somesuch rubbish.


Yup, exactly.

Excellence is not a skill, it's an attitude.
Tear Miner
Doomheim
#8 - 2011-11-27 22:06:51 UTC
Buzzmong wrote:
Liam Mirren wrote:
Gaming, and MMOs in particular, are an escape mechanism; you escape your daily issues and allow yourself to forget about them for a while. Thing is that every leisure is essentially like that, reading books is escapism as well and so is listening to music etc etc. Weirdly enough, people class gaming as a waste of time (which it ofcourse is), in a negative way, mostly because they can't relate to it and what you don't know is ofcourse very scary.


Which is quite amusing, as often those people are the ones that watch TV for hours on end, and/or love some tripe like the [country]'s Got Talent, Big Brother or somesuch rubbish.


So what you're saying is life is so mundane and inane for most of us, that we fill it with distractions.

Someone nominate these guys as Nobel Laureates.
Liam Mirren
#9 - 2011-11-27 22:22:12 UTC
Tear Miner wrote:
Buzzmong wrote:
Liam Mirren wrote:
Gaming, and MMOs in particular, are an escape mechanism; you escape your daily issues and allow yourself to forget about them for a while. Thing is that every leisure is essentially like that, reading books is escapism as well and so is listening to music etc etc. Weirdly enough, people class gaming as a waste of time (which it ofcourse is), in a negative way, mostly because they can't relate to it and what you don't know is ofcourse very scary.


Which is quite amusing, as often those people are the ones that watch TV for hours on end, and/or love some tripe like the [country]'s Got Talent, Big Brother or somesuch rubbish.


So what you're saying is life is so mundane and inane for most of us, that we fill it with distractions.

Someone nominate these guys as Nobel Laureates.



Your witty post would be better if you actually realised what we are talking about, now you just look like an idiot.

Excellence is not a skill, it's an attitude.
olo VonBorg
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#10 - 2011-11-28 04:07:32 UTC
I bet he was grateful

... 'she will be able to do more

like getting him fresh undies, relieve, and the security of her not running off with a 19 year old Ogre.

ofc he´s grateful !!!




PS: You should have asked, if any of the nodders and spouse were wasting their time on these " novelties" known as facebook and twitter.


PSS: I hope your gf didn´t give u a hard time afterwards about said issue.
Froz3nEcho Sarain
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#11 - 2011-11-28 19:50:37 UTC
My GF always give me hard time when I am playing EvE. 'Get it'?

It works btw, no addiction for me Cool

[i]~ When everything fades away, an echo is the only sound that will remain ~   ~ Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds ~[/i]
Iosue
League of Gentlemen
The Initiative.
#12 - 2011-11-28 22:58:28 UTC
Didn't know you guys did Thanksgiving in the UK. Did you eat a turkey or some other bird? I only ask because its hard to find a turkey out of season here, in the States.

btw, second poster nailed it.
Shivus Tao
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#13 - 2011-11-29 00:01:23 UTC
olo VonBorg wrote:

PS: You should have asked, if any of the nodders and spouse were wasting their time on these " novelties" known as facebook and twitter.





This.

Gaming is no longer the big time waster it was now that people are happily throwing their lives away waiting for facebook and twitter updates every moment of the day. Gaming is an enjoyable passtime. Facebook and twitter is concentrated digital heroine.
jyppy
Blue Republic
RvB - BLUE Republic
#14 - 2011-11-29 01:11:53 UTC
Iosue wrote:
Didn't know you guys did Thanksgiving in the UK.


We don't, to be honest (not that I know of anyway) - the couple in question like to have a social gathering before the hectic christmas period (which is by far and away the biggest family get together time here in the UK), and the idea of giving/sharing thanks is what they like.

It was a beast of a turkey and apparently around 10 million will be killed in the run up to christmas.

Most of the conversation was really enjoyable - intelligent and funny - and I know several of them aren't interested in things like facebook and other social media.

As one poster said, it's a shame that people do sometimes have perceptions of things that they don't understand.

Quote:
Gaming is no longer the big time waster it was


Ahhhh, good times...

'I don't want to be a puffin'
Vicker Lahn'se
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#15 - 2011-11-29 01:36:36 UTC
What gets me is how a person can waste hours a day reading trashy romance novels and they get labeled as a "bookworm" and stereotyped as some sort of intellectual.

My girlfriend always obsesses over productivity. She freaks out and has panic attacks if she's not up and doing stuff every moment of the day, and she likes to pack every waking moment with hustle and bustle. She got upset one day when I got her hooked on a computer game. She ended up playing it for several hours and then got upset about how much time she "wasted". I pointed out to her that she should think about whether or not activities that she considers "productive" are really productive, and asked her what it means to be productive. That sort of stumped her for a while, and she's still working on an answer to that one.