RPGMMO

I stepped into the realm of MMORPG or Massive MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Games about 4 years ago, on my crappy laptop.  Crappy because its not meant to support MMOs well since lappys are for work mainly.

This is my character in FF14 or Final Fantasy 14, my first paid to play MMORPG.

When I first started, it was with a 'free to play' (FTP) which means, anyone (unless restricted by regulations of the country) can download the game and play.

That is the upside.

The downside is, that if one wants to get better gear, better outfits or better everything, one has to upload real money (usually through PayPal or direct debit or game cards) and that could be expensive in the long run.

I have, so far, played 2 free to play MMOs; and I stopped playing once I have obtained the 'end game' gear and the content is no longer 'new' to me.  I never thought about going back to play - because in my book, its done, finished and there is nothing else for me to want to 'achieve'.

In this paid to play (PTP), FF14, gear is distributed more evenly and there is no way to try to outsmart the game play.  If you have obtained your special gear (end game as well) you just cannot get another.  It helps keep the game balanced and busy in a fair sense.  Real money will not save anyone who is not cut out to be great at gaming because the end game best in slot gears are never tradeable.

I have learnt a few things about gamer behavior in such games.  At first, it was baffling even for me, a Psych Major.  BUT as years went by, I began to draw parallels.

We tend to meet more 'impressionable' people in Free to Play games - people who do have serious real life issues and are basically stalking the game arena to either take it out on another or just to prey.  Most of the time, gamers are people who do not have the opportunity to take the lead in their real life and they try so hard to be the 'know it all' in such games.

There are similar people in pay to play games - only thing is, their preying is at a slightly higher level.  The idea is the same.  They have this need to make another gamer feel totally useless by usually being insulting and verbally abusive.  In game, its called "trolling".

Pay to Play games are different in that you do need to have more gaming sense to get to end game content/gear.  Given that adults do play both FTP/PTP games its shocking that adults behave worse than the average teenage gamer.

It is inaccurate to say that only maladaptive persons get into the groove of gaming because I have met my fair share of regular people, with no chip on their shoulder, playing PTP, only because they prefer to spend the evening at home gaming, instead of going out or watching TV.  These adults have children, hold professional jobs - you can suss them out because they are not the ones who troll badly in general chat and they rarely are insulting to others.

The few bad apples, who use games to bully others are a handful, not enough to totally turn me away from gaming, but enough for me to eventually move on to another game or server.

I used to type to such gamers to kindly seek professional help for their real life issues instead of being a bad troll.

So RPGMMO is a great way to spend a quiet evening - but again, be ready to bump into people who need attention or people who are just there to get sympathy.  I have come across a mid-20s gamer, who went on to Skype inappropriately with another gamer, only to have her husband log into the game to vent it all in general chat.
I have also come across gamers who have children with special needs, which is why one of them (the gamer) is at home gaming and minding the children; leaving the game to fetch them from school etc.

Its a great platform to socialise, yet until the platforms are cleaned out of bullies and elitist gamers, less mature young adults and teenagers could be swept up by this and pick up the bad habits a lot quicker; for isn't the bad always the first we pick up?