Socializing with who knows whom?

Week 3: September 21, 2008

I got online today to play a little more WoW and understand some interactions between members and social playing skills. Last week I had set up the voice software (Ventrilo) so I could now chat with other players online. I had gone to Fry’s to purchase the headset with a microphone and ended up buying the gamer’s version - Creative Labs, sound blaster Fatality headphones. As I was using those headsets, I was introduced to the Guild members who were online. They asked me about what kind of character I was playing (a Priest) and asked if I wanted to play a Rogue, since they needed some more of them, and if I really liked my Priest character that I should learn the damage spells instead of healing spells, since everyone gets a Priest that can heal. I kind of chuckled since I don’t think I would be much use to them, even if I managed to play long enough to get a high level character- I will never be the player who dedicates a certain number of hours a week (or day) to helping on raids or being a :leader: in the guild. I actually have some friends, the ones who gave me access to their account, who actually left a social party to run home in time to participate in a raid.

This particular evening added some interesting turns to my observation. As soon as I logged on as my character, my level 70 friend was online chatting in the guild and said that he hated all the people in the guild. And promptly after that statement, he quit the guild. Well, wow. Not only was he my “guide” to this surreal socialization game, but the guild was a group of people he had close contact with and socialized with often, at least in the context of the game. I was thinking that the guild would be a support tool, a support group of people I could ask questions to and who rendered help when I was unable to easily do things myself (like made me a few backpacks). Now I am unsure of what to do, since I am a real life friend of Scott’s and I do not know any of the guild members. How will they see me or treat me if they are not getting along with Scott? Can I still ask them questions? Should I also quit the guild?

Scott got back online at my request as his lower lever character so he could play online with me. He also introduced me to a friend of his, Stone, who is a 15 year old kid in the middle of rural Arkansas. It was then that it struck me at how the game forces us all to be social with people we might and probably would not ever seek out attention or time with in real life. We know so little about each other, we know little about our social and cultural expectations, the depth of life experiences, the interests or personalities and yet we willingly depend on each other for support on the game and work together as a team to defeat players or complete quests.

The game relies on socialization for a number of reasons. One, it is riskier to attack a creature if they agro (one gets attacked and all the others in the vicinity run over to help) if you are alone. As a non-risk taker (someone who doesn’t like to lose), attacking agro creatures doesn’t make me feel easy. I like the idea of attacking in a group, even if it means playing longer to get to the next level. Other quests and missions require group work, and many attacks are just managed better by using a puller (someone who can target a creature from far away and “pull” that one closer without pulling the whole herd of creatures, then using a good tank, a person who can take a lot of damage and inflict damage, along with a healer or spell caster of damage- this last person helps heal the group and can usually do a little negative damage to the creature. This teamwork ensures that all skills needed for an attack are well represented.