WoW And Real Life People

So I decided to make a thread on this cos I thought it was a very interesting topic and my own spam even annoyed me.

So, how do you view WoW. Is it something you have openly admitted to playing with close friends? Do you hang out with gamers? Do you hide it? Have you no problem talking about it in public?

Myself, I keep it hidden mostly, as said by other people it has a stigma and I don't like being known as "That WoW Nerd". It's something you shudnt be shouting out if you want to fit in/be popular, especially in high school/college.

In the red corner we have:

Corleth wrote:if you openly admit to roleplaying/playing WoW/spending a lot of time on the internet and/or gaming and are not called out on it in social situations, then you're either
1.) playing too much games and not speaking to much people
2.) have a friend circle consisting solely of other 'nerds'/gamers
3.) being spoken about and laughed at behind your back

das just the way it is

And in the blue corner we have:....well some other people.

this has a lot to do with gender regarding the outcome imo. Playing WoW and admitting it has never held me back, because tits.

Depends, my closest friends know I game, but also don't give fucks 'cause I also party and just socialize with them too, at an equal rate. If not them more than gaming.

But new people I meet, or people I don't know all that closely, I rarely dwell into the subject with unless I know they're into gaming too. Simple. Why pester someone not interested in it to begin with?

Everybody can know I play video games. Everybody plays video games anyways.

The social stigma hangs mostly around World of Warcraft, but once you explain to an interested person that you role play, they're absolutely fine with it. I rarely ever bring it up, since it isn't exactly conversation material.

Regardless, my close friends aren't gamers, and have even declared me non-gamer, since apparently I play games for 'all the wrong reasons'. Role playing isn't video gaming, it's storytelling, according to them.

So no, playing video games is normal. Nobody cares what you play, or how you play them. You will only be frowned upon if you come across as a basement dweller; a person that does not look after him/herself.

Most people I know, know that I RP on WoW. I've not got any bad replies about it, people don't generally care if you show that you don't.

When I was about 15-17 I was laughed at for roleplaying.. but other wow players. Cause they didn't roleplay, that was nerdy, gay and so on.

Haha, the sweet ignorance. But aye, wow is a stigma even among wow players as I just made an example of.

Yeah I wouldn't even begin to explain roleplaying to someone.

It's weird though, some games are socially acceptable.

I can tell someone I spent the entire day on my ass playing CoD and get laughs from it and seem completly normal. People joke about it on facebook all the time "my boyfriend spends more time on CoD than with me" etc. It's weird.

As said in the other thread, I am completely open about my hobbies. I don't go out of my way to tell people just for the sake of telling them, but I have no problem talking about it if it comes up in discussion.

This goes for games in general, WoW, and even RP.

do you guys reckon admitting to RPing on WoW is in any different to tabletop RP like DnD

back in the day if you admitted to playing DnD you were almost guaranteed to be cosigned to a fate of involuntary celibacy and loneliness

to those that have admitted to RPing on WoW but are not living out a miserable existence of social rejection, either views towards RP have changed (im of the opinion that they generally haven't, at least in England) or WoW is somehow seen as different to DND, if the latter is true, why?

OHLOL. Tabletop RP. I know a few that do it. They're the like, outspoken, telling everyone, post about comic books on facebook, happy being a nerd type of people. I really pity them.

Yeah no that is litterally just going to kill any social standing you have left after telling them you play WoW.

Perturbo wrote:OHLOL. Tabletop RP. I know a few that do it. They're the like, outspoken, telling everyone, post about comic books on facebook, happy being a nerd type of people. I really pity them.

Um what? Why do you pity them? I think it's fantastic that they're so comfortable and happy with themselves. Heck, I wish I was more like that ...

Corleth wrote:do you guys reckon admitting to RPing on WoW is in any different to tabletop RP like DnD

back in the day if you admitted to playing DnD you were almost guaranteed to be cosigned to a fate of involuntary celibacy and loneliness

to those that have admitted to RPing on WoW but are not living out a miserable existence of social rejection, either views towards RP have changed (im of the opinion that they generally haven't, at least in England) or WoW is somehow seen as different to DND, if the latter is true, why?

Definately. Public opinion on D&D has shifted dramaticly, thanks mainly to the mainstream success of Lord of the Rings and mainstream genre movies. I'm in college now, and either people get a twinkle in their eyes when I mention I play D&D, or they don't really know what it is.

Really I found that people are much more accepting of geekery these days, even even moreso at the university. Chicks dig pokémon red.
No, really.



So, in other words, relax and don't make such a big fuzz about it. The culture's been all mellowed out in recent years.

Perturbo wrote:OHLOL. Tabletop RP. I know a few that do it. They're the like, outspoken, telling everyone, post about comic books on facebook, happy being a nerd type of people. I really pity them.

Yeah no that is litterally just going to kill any social standing you have left after telling them you play WoW.

Oh, well, that might very well be true, but to be perfectly honest I don't care much about that. I dont exactly want to have standings with people who would discard someone so easily for something so petty. It's actually a fairly good douchebag filter!

because they just end up in their own little circle with very little actual socialising outside their same 8 friends.

Perturbo wrote:because they just end up in their own little circle with very little actual socialising outside their same 8 friends.

You can easily have multiple circles - or rings if you prefer - of friends co-existing peacefully. Not everyone you know has to get along with everyone else.

I'm incredibly open to people about playing WoW/Warhammer40k tabletop/RPing etc. I'm an incredibly nerdy person, and I have no shame to admit it - Nobody should, in my opinion.

I think for the people who do only have 4-8 friends and very little other social interaction, it's fine. It's plenty to keep someone happy and content or they would seek others.

Perturbo wrote:because they just end up in their own little circle with very little actual socialising outside their same 8 friends.

Ok they've formed a clique, so what? How's it any different from any other clique you'd find at school or some other kind of social setting? I don't see what there is to pity. Like-minded people will become friends with each other, it's to be expected and it happens everywhere.

but when that's all they do, it just seems like their missing out.

not everyone who would get a bad impression finding out you play WoW/tabletop RP is automatic douchebag either

I'd prefer to have a handful of close, great friends who you get along with really well and whose company you enjoy a lot than two dozen friends you don't really like all that much, know very well or give a shit about their interests and hobbies >.>

Perturbo wrote:but when that's all they do, it just seems like their missing out.

not everyone who would get a bad impression finding out you play WoW/tabletop RP is automatic douchebag either

Stop looking at things from your perspective ... they might not be interested in what the other cliques are up to.

But you don't have to restrict yourself to either

So you participate in EVERYTHING, even things you don't enjoy? There's a couple of guys in my yeargroup who are total football freaks, all they talk about is football all they ever do is football

I shouldn't be forced to become friends with them cause I don't want to "restrict" myself ... that's so weird. And I don't know how big your year group is, but I think a group of 8 friends is a fairly large group honestly. There's like a maximum of 30 people in year 13 and like 70 in the entire sixth form so 8 is fine imo

I totally talk about perfume and handbags to get laid. Socially flexible, if you know what I mean.

Perturbo wrote:

not everyone who would get a bad impression finding out you play WoW/tabletop RP is automatic douchebag either

Granted, but they'd snub me for it, then I'm pretty sure they're the snubby type, and I don't really like snubby types.

I get what you're saying, though. It would be nothing short of foolish to deny that there is a social stigma, and sometimes it can be more prudent to keep the private private when you are, say, in a professional circle. Not everybody at work has to know that you RP, just like you don't have to hear that some other guy has some wierd sexual gimp-mask fetish. That's why we call the private private.

So, share what is appropiate to share with the people it is appropiate with, and keep things to yourself when it is more prudent to do so. It's all just common sense, really. I also understand the super idealistic "But people should accept me for what I am! The world may know!", but a little more nuance never hurt anyone. If it gets in the way of a healthy relationship when a healthy relationship is needed - say, work, or study buddies - then keeping things to yourself can be more prudent.

I mean, there's lots of things you keep to yourself anyway. I don't go running around wearing a T-Shrt saying "I DON'T ENJOY SHOES, I PREFER TO BE BAREFOOTED", or "I SLEEP NAKED", or whatever. There's aways a delicate balance of what you are, what others know about you, what you know that others know about you, and what you want others to know about you.

Yeah. Privacy. Privacy is an issue because we have private things that we want to keep private. Nothing wrong with that.

...I wasted way too many words failing to describe something that should be common sense.

Thelos wrote:Really I found that people are much more accepting of geekery these days, even even moreso at the university.

Mhm, I can see that. Mainstream shows such as The Big Bang Theory and such probably have a part to play. Nerds aren't really the distanced outsider that they once were, unless they stray into true basement dweller territory.

I even know hipster girls that will say they are 'influenced' by anime, and stuff. In the late nineties that would have been unheard of.

PERTUBO'S PERSPECTIVE IS LAW, THIS THREAD'S PURPOSE IS OVER.