RPG Experiences Blog Post #2

                Reading Waggoner’s Essay brought back so many memories for me. I went through the phase of addiction, when I use to play games for countless hours. I played games on different source of platforms that involves games such as, Runescape, Maple Story, Kingdom Hearts I and II , Counter Strike,  and etc. The funny thing about these games that I picked was the use of avatars as a way to identify myself in the game.  I had various issues designing the avatars. Usually the avatars that were offered back in the days of gaming were very limited.  I had to adjust to this by realizing that after a while of playing the character, they eventually have the ability to look unique.

My greatest experience with role playing games is with Runescape. I spent nearly my whole elementary school year and junior high year on manipulating my avatar in the game. Runescape is a MMORPG(Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) and the difference between this and all of the other games I played besides Maple Story is the massive amount of players that were online. Literally this game resembled real life aspect and it require accurate duration of time to do a certain activity. I found this to be very addictive because it provide a virtual reality where I could do things beyond my imagination. My avatar is just like any other human , it requires skills to survive with over 35 different set of skills to train. It would take over ten years of consecutive playing to master it all.

                At one point after playing RPG game,s I felt that I was in the game as if it blended in with my life. I felt as if I had a life in there that portray my true potential in reality. I had plenty of dreams at night about what I would do the next day on Runescape. Even though everything was a fantasy, I still enjoy the items that I acquired with happiness just like I would have if I had it in reality. I did not realize that these things were happening to me as I was playing this game. The effect it had on me was very addictive and it was hard to distinguish it from fantasy and reality.

                When I play these MMORPG games, I usually have friends who tell me about these games.  And when I play and meet them at a certain place in the game, I felt the same connection as if I was hanging out with them at school. With the ability to form clans/guilds, I had a chance to fit into a group that share the same interest.  The most addicting part about MMORPG games,  was the reason why I was playing. I was eager to be the top player in the game, just like society, we try the hardest to raise ourselves in our ranks. With all the time consumption that were involved, I felt that I wasted a big part of my life playing RPG games; hence the term, “role- playing” game.