I will post my brief view on MMOs, that is very harsh, cruel, and mean, I am sorry, it is a phenonmon that I do not understand and ridicule in confusion.
MMOs are not fun to me. It is a replication of life, but is not life itself. Such qualities as hard work apply, but it is not all real. Instead of an escape from a real life, it is just a new life, which is not what I look for in entertainment industry. Why replicate what we do so exactly? You can play roles in real life as well, I envision myself as a Byzantine, of course. This women attention issue, is a supporter to my theory. It is very stupid to try and get the approval of someone just because they are of a certain gender in a game. It is as ifs it mimic the real life old world male trying to impress a female for relationship and starting a family. The game in a game is a symptom of this, not an alternative fun side break, but truly a new life. It baffles me, why impress digital women when you can impress real women? I never understood the fun of MMOs, you work towards goals, and feel good from achievement. Its what I do in the real life. I wish to have a fundamentally different experience, and am, apologetically, baffled that others do enjoy MMOs. I want meaningless fun in my games, or a bit more interactive role play. I enjoy GTA IV, because it lets me be East European in NYC, I can do the comical story, or the chaos, or make movies about it. Its enjoyment is not in end goal, but in process of the digital battles. The girl flocking reminds me of something I saw in real life.
I saw this in a circle of geeks/nerds in my prestigious secondary school. This lame girl, who was very dumb, a bit awkward, but attractive, hung around dumb, ugly, nonathletic, and socially awkward guys. The guys worshiped this girl, and she had an ego because she was used to being adored, and chased by them day to day. They all wanted her as both friend and lover. In my early days before athletics, and Byzantine discipline, I still viewed her as the dumb peasant she is, and she was confused, and thought I must be the dumb one to not chase after her like her moron friends. She was always surprised of the numerous awards I had won, and by the end of days I was teaching her much, for she knew very little. Yet she never wanted to acknowledge my superiority, it was always a anomly when I would beat her in something and appear intelligent, and gain notoriety and fame around school for my exploitations. She is now attending a garbage university, she choose a fake world where she would be loved regardless, chose to be queen of the bottom dwellers. She was looking down, and descended so, she should have aimed upwards, as I did.
I do not discount possibility of MMO being geneuinly fun, but I feel for many it is a trap and symptom of caving in life. Its a wonderful conceptulzation of a new world, but often it fails, role playing is good, but how it is always translated seems to mimick bores of life so much. Not to mention lack of Byzantines.
