C'mon peeps...

[madmurr]

As you can see, I'm new to posting in this forum, but I'm not new to this site...I've read several of the rants in here (and also the subsequent warnings from the moderators...) The point: folks, this is just a game. It seems that some of the peeps in here get their blood pressure all in a boil because this didn't work or that didn't work. Can we just keep in mind that this is just a game? Just sit back, take a deep breath and think to yourself that in the whole grand scheme of things, it really isn't all that important! I've played EQ since 2000 and yes, I've been upset over this game before (like when my computer kept locking up after LDoN came out...), but I've never gotten so mad that I wanted to do harm to something/someone. Nuff said...

Madmurr

[sumamael]

There are a lot of people for whom EQ is a lifestyle and more than "just a game".

[Lilosh]

Re: C'mon peeps...

Originally posted by madmurr
As you can see, I'm new to posting in this forum, but I'm not new to this site...I've read several of the rants in here (and also the subsequent warnings from the moderators...) The point: folks, this is just a game. It seems that some of the peeps in here get their blood pressure all in a boil because this didn't work or that didn't work. Can we just keep in mind that this is just a game? Just sit back, take a deep breath and think to yourself that in the whole grand scheme of things, it really isn't all that important! I've played EQ since 2000 and yes, I've been upset over this game before (like when my computer kept locking up after LDoN came out...), but I've never gotten so mad that I wanted to do harm to something/someone. Nuff said...

Madmurr

I have a fundamental problem with the "It's just a game" argument.


Football is a game, and yet people make millions off of it every year.

Poker is just a game, and people have been shot over it.

Monopoly is just a game, but people fight about it all the time.

Games do not preclude something from being important to people, nor does something being a game preclude concerns about the game from being valid.

-Lilosh

[madmurr]

Well, I have a fundamental problem with your argument. Football, poker and Monopoly are all games that you can actually lose ...playing EQ, the only thing that you really lose is time for doing other things. My point is that there should be no reason for getting mad at a game that you can't lose at...

Madmurr

[eqNichola]

It's a SERVICE. Not a game. It's a WORLD. Not a game. It's a COMMUNITY. Not a game. Anyone who says, "it's just a game" is missing the point.

[Ngreth Thergn]

Originally posted by eqNichola

It's a SERVICE. Not a game. It's a WORLD. Not a game. It's a COMMUNITY. Not a game. Anyone who says, "it's just a game" is missing the point.

Sure...

but...

SOE is not out to destroy your COMMUNITY.

SOE is trying to provide the same service to 400,000 people... that means that sometimes what *YOU* want will not SERVICE the COMMUNITY or the WORLD.

Sometimes what needs to be done to save the WORLD will adversely affect your COMMUNITY. It is NOT because SOE hates you or your COMMUNITY, it is because SOE has to preserve the WORLD.

Even *IF* you see it as more than a game, but instad all of this stuff (Service, World, Community) is it really worth destroying your health on it? I mean really.... People DO do things that adversly affect their health, for this game. And that really disturbs me.

[Lilosh]

Originally posted by madmurr
Well, I have a fundamental problem with your argument. Football, poker and Monopoly are all games that you can actually lose ...playing EQ, the only thing that you really lose is time for doing other things. My point is that there should be no reason for getting mad at a game that you can't lose at...

Madmurr

I'm reasonably sure that If I got caught in a death loop, and my corpses rotted, I would consider myself to have "Lost" everquest.


There are people who would say that if they lost their 8th Shawl, Aid Grimel Earring, or Epic , that Everquest would be lost for them.

Most people consider there to be a little bit of themselves in the characters they play.

Games are taken to heart by people, and we put a lot of emotion behind the games we play. Calling them games doesn't take that away.


-Lilosh

[Phabos]

Originally posted by Ngreth Thergn


SOE is trying to provide the same service to 400,000 people... that means that sometimes what *YOU* want will not SERVICE the COMMUNITY or the WORLD.

Sometimes what needs to be done to save the WORLD will adversely affect your COMMUNITY. It is NOT because SOE hates you or your COMMUNITY, it is because SOE has to preserve the WORLD.

Amen. One of the few posts on this set of subjects I agree with entirely. Well spoken.


Phabos Apshion

[Ngreth Thergn]

Amd I have more to say on it... but I often fail to put it down properly.

One thing I see people with such huge stress over is not being able to get in the game, or crashing from the game, or getting disconnected from the game by Person computer or ISP problems.

If you view it as a GAME... then chalk it up to the temporary problem that it is an either fix the temporary problem (if it is something you can fix) or do something else for entertainment and wait for it to be fixed (if it is outside of your controll/ability to fix)

If you view it as a COMMUNITY or WORLD...

If this COMMUNITY is of friends... are you telling me that these freinds are such horrible people that they cannot understand when there are things outside of your control that keep you from playing? If this COMMUNITY cannot understand that problems happen and would treat you that badly... then I think you should find another COMMUNITY and therfore enjoy less stress.
If this COMMUNITY is as it should be, then don't give yourself a Heart attack or anurism over it. Your COMMUNITY will understand, and laugh with you or comfort you over the problem.

If the problem is with the SERVICE... well... then report the problem. This SERVICE... even if you call it one and not a GAME... is **NOT** a life vital service like electricity, water or whatever(though there are plenty of people that can live without it... but lets skip over that whole topic... it is another)... it is an entertainment SERVICE. If it is a problem you believe will be temporary, report the problem in a calm manner not using emotions, and you will be much more likely to be taken seriously than someone that is ranting and raving and especially insulting the providers of the service. Again, there is not tons you can do about it. Make your opinion known, be clear, be concise... but don't kill yourself over it. raising your blood pressure and constantly being angry will do NOTHING to make them fix the service faster... it will just impact your health.

I understand that in a COMMUNITY you gain bonds, and bonds equals emotions... but really... you need to consider if it is worth it to let it upset you as much as it does. There are things in life worth killing yourself for... but is the SERVICE or COMMUNITY and this fictional WORLD worth killing yourself?

[Quinner Sparrowhawk]

Yeah! What the big Ogre said!

Ngreth, you eloquently put into words my exact same feelings.

[Daikoku Ashikaga]

I hate to disagree, but the one thing that really does seem to get listened to by SoE is mass hue and cry Whinning, I have not seen any appproach work as well as that. a Classes leader can talk to developers time and time again, in calm, reasonable language, and SoE will not really do anything but talk in nice, "We are listening and will DO SOMETHING language." where a total mass outcry will get something accomplished.

SK's asked and talked well for suspend minion as an AA, but people in other pet classes complained and it was striped, I fully expect, to what extend the class can be united, that they will get alot more vocal about things, because that seems to be the only way things get fixed or positive attention piaid to it.

Monks, who have a long history of being vocal about their class have a developer that posts regular updates on their board (well about as regular as SoE gets in their communications), SK's had one guy swing through to deny that the last chat was scripted, ignoring any other issue that was put in to question before their post.

Problem with the calm, rational approach, with serious discourse, is that the developers, with limited resources seem to work off the idea that "the sqeaky wheel gets the grease" not saying something bad, but they have a lot of fires to put out and those that seem the biggest issues will naturally get fixed first.

Notice I did not say the Biggest, I said seems the biggest.

Dai

PS Note I only talked about, and minor touched on a classs issue as I don't want to bring up tradeskill issues because there would be too much of a chance that what ever issue I brought up would over shadow the point of what I was saying.

[Ngreth Thergn]

But that has proven NOT true for this community (not sure about others)

This community calm discourse does get change. (whiney discourse also gets change... but if calm discourse ALSO gets change... why do it in a poor way?)

[KyrosKrane]

I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with both the "it's just a game" and the "it's a community" sides in this discussion.

One the one hand, it is just a game. If I die in-game and my corpse rots, I'll still have my job IRL, I'll still have a roof over my head, and I'll still have food on the table. EQ is a distraction, an escape from the humdrum boring routine of daily life.

On the other hand, EQ is also a place to meet, chat, and work with others towards common goals. It's irrelevant that those goals aren't real-world ones or life-and-death ones. They're still goals. Missing any goal is a source of disappointment and frustration.

If I agree to meet my best friend for lunch at noon, and I don't show up until 2pm because a monster traffic accident left me stewing in my car for the better part of two hours, I would be very upset. No, I can't do anything about the accident. I didn't cause it, and I couldn't have prevented it from happening. I didn't know about it, so I couldn't avoid it (or maybe it happened after I left). PerhapsI can call my friend if both of us have cell phones, and let him know I'll be late ... but what if one of us doesn't have a cell phone?

Again, I'll still have a job, a roof over my head, and food on the table tomorrow. But I'll still be upset at missing lunch with a friend -- and my friend would likely be upset too.

Same with EQ. If I miss a raid with friends because my ISP conks out at the wrong time, both I and they will be upset. It's not a big thing in the greater scheme of life, but it's also not something to totally ignore.

I guess it all comes down to keeping things in perspective.

[Koru]

Never been too impressed with people who'd go all insane over whether some guy kicked a ball at another guy from within that line or outside that line. In my experience highly competitive sports combined with people who become scary obsessed with them seem to be a bit like alcohol in bringing out the worst in people and at the same time make them incapable of seeing it's not a pleasant view.

So yeah, it's a game. Which is not to say it isn't important - games can be quite important and I'd certainly not want to be without games. It is however to say that in the end there are more important things than the game. There always are. I mean if you found out that a member of your family had 6 months to live would you play EQ instead of spending time with them? There's always gonna be something more important to a game, or at least there should be. Of course I play the game obsessively, but even so there are some limits. I've tried it with no limits and believe me, it's not pretty.

Like with say the tribute, of course I saw that one coming. Not gonna be upset at it, it was pretty obvious where it was headed and y'know something? It won't make a ****ed bit of difference how upset I get about it, it still won't change their um changes. Can't say I haven't had some frustrations with the new UI either, but it's here to stay. I'm not gonna bang my head against the wall on something I can't reasonably expect to change, all that will accomplish is to make me frustrated and not have fun. I did screaming-mad-at-what-the-patch-did-and-not-gonna-take-it-no-more thing for a year and got tired of it, it also didn't seem to have any effect.