“It’s Just a Game”
I was reading a blog post on World of Matticus and decided to write my opinion on the subject of the “It’s Just a Game” mentality.
First off, it’s NOT just a game. When you bring a social aspect into it like there is in WoW, it no longer falls into the category of a normal game. There is another person sitting at the other end of the screen, typing away at their keyboard just as you are yours. That person has feelings, emotions, they get angry, sad, and upset.
Nobody seems to come to this realization. I try to explain this to people all the time, but they never seem to listen. They act like all the people they play with are mindless robots without attachment to anything. I understand that this is not the entire population, there are individuals that are likeminded like me, but a large majority of the players act as though nothing they do matters.
One thing that bothers me to no end is “QQ”. Do people not have compassion for other human beings? I don’t find it funny when someone else is angry, I don’t try to downplay it. When I notice that someone is mad, I don’t tell them to deal with it, “It’s Just a Game”, because I know that it isn’t. I do my best to resolve the issue, not make the person feel even worse than they already do.
This can also move into the realm of people such as ninja looters. Why do people ninja items from other people? What do they get from it? Sure, they can sell it for a few gold to a vendor, or use the item themselves if they need it, but what about the other people who helped to kill the boss, do the ninjas not see them as real people?
