Question to gamers...

SO many of you here met your SO's through online games, as well as a dear friend of mine who met her husband who was both younger and Canadian. TO me this is mind-boggling to say the least, as being a single parent, I could barely find the time to take care of my 3 kids, work and keep up with life!

But with that said, I am curious in regards to two areas for the women: first, how did you even find out about these games as to me they would never have even come to my mind to even go and look for them, and then find the time to do it all, and second, are there any young women who play these games as well? As it seems all I hear/read about are younger men and older women playing them!

I admit I am only new to the world of computers for entertainment/ socializing (since 2001), so is that part of my naivete?

SO many of you here met your SO's through online games, as well as a dear friend of mine who met her husband who was both younger and Canadian. TO me this is mind-boggling to say the least, as being a single parent, I could barely find the time to take care of my 3 kids, work and keep up with life!

But with that said, I am curious in regards to two areas for the women: first, how did you even find out about these games as to me they would never have even come to my mind to even go and look for them, and then find the time to do it all, and second, are there any young women who play these games as well? As it seems all I hear/read about are younger men and older women playing them!

I admit I am only new to the world of computers for entertainment/ socializing (since 2001), so is that part of my naivete?

Well as to finding the time, I guess it is like any hobby you find time to do... you just DO find the time. I play mostly in the evenings and weekends (okay can't lie here... sometimes if I'm *really* obsessed with a game... I have to actually call off work and stay home to game... but then I'm really sick rofl).

Gaming has been something that I've been doing so long that I'm part of the community. You hear about games by playing games. It is a social pasttime. You do talk to other gamers... a lot. I've often migrated from game to game with other gamers I play with.

Of course there are yw playing these games! I think you hear about ow/ym couples because thats what you know... ow ;)

I'm a pretty big gamer, not played many MMORPG's, only RuneScape (which turned crap as soon as it went 3D). I'm currently replaying through Railroad Tycoon 2. Trains are awesome.

I have an Xbox 360, and so have some of the best games on the system. Not any newer titles though unfortunately, as my bedroom TV has been faulty for a while.

I want a DS Lite, as it's seems to have won me over. The insanely hot girl in this ad helps. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5db37dZWDs8

Such a shame i've never seen a hot girl like that wandering around with a DS. :rolleyes:

Well I played late at night which is probably how my mate ended up being from a different timezone than me!

Just like people squeeze time in to read or go shopping, that's how I squeezed gaming into my life.

Usually after the kids went to bed for about 2-3 hours I could play. Though it cut into my sleep if I it hit closer to 3 hours! :(

I'm a hardcore gamer. I read magazines and have subscriptions. :o

There are gaming forums and development teams that I follow (EA, Electronic Arts or Blizzard put out a lot of games). You can check their sites to see what they're working on or the anticipated up coming game.

Much like movies, games are being worked on for months even years prior to release, so if you follow the industry it's very easy to find things that interest you. Games are broke down into genres in a similiar fashion as movies except we have a racing, fantasy, first person shooter, RPG genres (and more!). So most people don't get into every genre like most people don't enjoy all genres of reading or movies.

For me, I like first person shooters and RPGS (role playing games) whereas my fiance loves racing and first person shooters. Of course there are games that are exceptions for people. For example lots of people who generally don't like role playing games like World of Warcraft.

Then there are games where people play online with or against each other. It takes the entire gaming environment to a new level and most people find interacting with other gamers a mix of enjoyable and annoying (lol). It's like going to the movies and sharing the experience with everyone else. But in these 'worlds' (if you will) everyone takes a role on. So you may sell tickets and another random person may sell popcorn and even another person may sell drinks.

In this world you can share experiences together, like a family. So everyone may meet up in your family and go do something together. That's the draw of the online gaming world.

They refer to the games as MMO's ....Massive Multiplayer Online...and then whatever genre they are. So World of Warcraft is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) style game.

A lot of games are considered a franchise for a developer. Where they have a lore to the game, or background. The lore can be simple or complex and encompass many books and are sold at Barnes N Noble and other book stores (look for the fantasy section next time you're there and search out Warcraft, the lore is overwhelming that exists). The only limit is the developer's money and imagination.

There are TONS of people gaming out there. The age range is usually dependent on the style of game. A more across the board pleasing game will include most age ranges, though it's rare to see people over 50 gaming.

For example WoW (World of Warcraft) generally has a broad range of players and tons of YW gaming. But games like BF2 (Battlefield 2) tend to draw a heavy male gaming population, but there are females like me that game it.

In fact for Counterstrike (a male dominant game) one of the hard core gaming teams that play in comptetions for money are women. They pwn (own) their male counterparts!

It depends on the game, and hard core gaming chicks, while lower in population are starting to catch up with their male counterparts. I think the ratio (I can't be certain) that I saw on the G4 TV (which is a cable channel dedicated to gamers) was that 1 in 3 gamers is a female.

Here's some gaming links of gaming sites:

PMS CLAN (http://pmsclan.com) This is the top elite ALL female PROFESSIONAL gaming clan. They win LOTS of money.
G4 TV (http://g4tv.com) This is a channel dedicated to gaming.
PMS CLAN IN THE NEWS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBA4d1zXlOU) This is a news article on female gamers.
Game Informer Magazine (http://www.gameinformer.com) Big magazine that dedicates to reviewing games.
X-Fire (http://www.xfire.com) Messenger service similiar to Yahoo/MSN for gamers. You can add friends, keep track of the hours you play games, and join the game a friend is playing by connecting to their server (if it's online)

Music dedicated to gaming? Check out BassHunter (DOTA or Boten Anna on YouTube) for example. Skits dedicated to gaming reviews? Look for the Angry Nintendo Video Game Nerd (You Tube as well).

I can really go far on this subject, I embarrassingly admit, and me and Marcy are some hardcore gaming chicks that BETA test games (play the games before release to help the developer detect errors).

I'm part of Playstations Gamer Advisory Panel, which is invitiation only by Playstation directly and between Marcy and I it would be a safe estimate to say we've BETA'd probably 100+ games between us on every system imaginable.

I also am an old school gamer and collect all the systems which is also a little branch off in the gaming world much like collecting stamps etc. except we collect systems and games (which can be found cheaply at flea markets / ebay, etc.)

Hope that helps!

I mostly play Football Manager. Took Liverpool to the Quadruple on FM06, but last years was pretty crap. And from what i've read of this years, things haven't improved much. It's called EA syndrome. :yes:

http://gonintendo.com/?p=28766

Longer version of the DS lite girl!

I think i'm in love :o

Dang... this is all like GREEK to me!!!!! But when did all this "game" thing begin? I mean HOW did one even fall into it at the beginning?? AND I bet it did not begin on Yahoo???

As a kid of course!

My parents bought me an Atari and I was hooked from there on! :p

I think i'll be getting COD4 soon. The 'Last Stand' while playing online is a fb feature. You basically get shot, then have 5-10 seconds to kill anyone with a pistol before you die, or they finish you off. :D

I think i'll be getting COD4 soon. The 'Last Stand' while playing online is a fb feature. You basically get shot, then have 5-10 seconds to kill anyone with a pistol before you die, or they finish you off. :D

I've preordered COD4. I'm flipping over the graphics. And Warhammer Online is another game I've got preordered.

That's what I'm looking foward to!

Dang... this is all like GREEK to me!!!!! But when did all this "game" thing begin? I mean HOW did one even fall into it at the beginning?? AND I bet it did not begin on Yahoo???

Can just talk about myself but I always enjoyed computer/video games, even back in the 80s (with the old C64 and Atari stuff, so stone age gaming so to speak) - so I kept playing computer games over time when something took my fancy which normally works by the word of mouth. Initially, it was just client-based games, but when the first intensive MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online rollplay games) came out (Asheron's Call, Everquest etc.) AND when internet access became more affordable and widely spread (late 1990s that is), I started on that and have enjoyed it ever since (obviously been moving along with the games lifecyle ;) ).

Met lots of nice people online, got used to the way these communities work (and which is very much in line with my personal preferences ;) ) and finding new good games works usually through friends and the community ... Same as everything else I guess, just internet base ....
^_^

BLAME MY SON!

I had always loved games..Nintendo and so on. Well First he got me into Everquest. I had quit for a long time until one day he goes "OOOOOHH MOM you gotta see these graphics! I told him NO Im not playing..YOU WONT MAKE ME..well curiousity killed the cat..SIGH

THEN BOOM met kai LOL

As marcy said Its like a hobby, I dont spend hours on it maybe 2 to 5 a week..BUT YA ooh lala gotta love it hehe

PS NOW im into dungeon runners LOL..WE LOVE IT!

I've been a gamer since "Pong". Actually, I grew up doing crosswords and other word puzzles. If I had nothing else to do, I'd write down a word, like, Christmas, and see how many words I could make out of that word.

I used to be a Pole Position champ in a local bar. I'd have guys line up making bets for or against me.

We had Nintendo. I played Tetris till the city of Moscow took off. My kids were all teens and/or gone by then. My son bought his first computer, an Acer, while in college, with my help. After he graduated he bought a newer one and I got his old one. I played King's Quest, and the Ultima games. Loved them. When Ultima Online came out, dial up internet had just gotten affordable. My oldest was in Japan, my youngest lived a few towns away, and we all played together. It was like crack cocaine. When my oldest caught himself calling in sick to work to play, he stopped. The other one did too. By then my marriage was pretty well shot, so that's where I spent my evenings after my baby was in bed. I got to feel a lot more powerful in there, than I ever did out here, and met lots of nice people too.

Chat rooms never did turn me on too much, I wasn't interested in the old a/s/l routine, but gaming, and surfing....... who knew such a world was out there, and how wonderful to find other people who were like me. I'd never really fit with others before, being something of an odd geek. In computerland, I wasn't only normal, I was rather pale compared to many.

Then I moved out, and had no social life other than the computer, as he went a little crazy with hurt and anger, and was rather stalking type acting, till I got a restraining order. Meanwhile my guildmate buddies, were my emotional support. Then especially one kid......

The rest is history.

Hi Linda!

I probably don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. It really is just a hobby/pastime like anything else. Everyone has things they enjoy doing. You find the time to do the things you love. Gaming isn't the ONLY thing I like to do, just one of them.

I've always loved electronics, and I always loved box games as a kid. One day, games became electronic...and I about flipped out. I have this old, old hand held Pacman game, shaped like a Pacman. I loved that thing. My kids were babies when I got it. There was Atari, and then Nintendo, I was hooked from day 1. I didn't buy it for my kids, I bought it for me. In fact, only one of my four kids likes games like I do. My favorite types of games were adventure/rpg type. On the SNES, my favs were Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, the Final Fantasy series, Zelda, there were so many. I love collecting the old systems and games, I have soooo many. I've slowed down quite a bit in my game playing, and right now I only play Warcraft.

I met my guy online in a gaming forum, not actually IN the game. It was a gaming forum for one of the gameboy versions of Final Fantasy. (anyone remember the All About Games boards?) But we both play Warcraft. When we lived in different states, we played together all the time. It was something we could do together on a Saturday night when we couldn't actually BE together. A non gamer couldn't possible understand how fun it is, I won't even try to explain. :)

Kye

Well I'm a yw...and I must admit...I just don't get the whole gaming thing.

I like video games and computer games. I own an original Nintendo unit that I took apart...cleaned...and put back together to make it work. :D I pull it out when friends come over.

If I get bored I'll hop onto yahoo games and play a little bit.

But thats it. Newer gaming systems have such strong graphics that I find myself becoming sick when I try to even look at the screen...let alone play. It's like a 3-D motion sickness.

I also have no like/love of fantasy stuff. It irritates the crap out of me honestly. So most of those games have no appeal for me.

I'd rather read a good book. :D

Nadine.

Thanks all for responding to me. To be honest, I missed out on all of this as I never really even played Pong or Pacman but maybe once or twice in a bar. And when my kids finally got a Nintendo due to grandparents, I would watch them play video games and even tried Super Mario and Zelda, but to be honest, after a few tries, I lost interest. I guess I am not wired (pardon the pun :p) in this area at all; but then neither are my kids to any full extent as none of them (esp my daughter as she still doesn't own a computer!) have ever played online interactive games that I am aware of.

But looking back, I guess maybe since I am older than most here, plus never having had cable tv (until a few months ago~! :eek:) nor the internet until 2001, this idea of gaming was and still is almost non-existent to me. So you are right Kye, that I cannot possibly understand how fun it may be.

Bella, I do have to ask though... back then when all of that happened, how did you even find out about those games online? Did you feel weird being older and a mom and playing those games, for I would think that there were not tooooo many older women even on the computer then? Or am I really off??for to me, the computer back then was just a glorified typewriter!

PS Angel, thank you for that in-depth look at the "other side". But 2-3 hours a night?? YIKES! Do you play still play that much now?

Hmmm. I've been playing videogames since PONG. Our next game system was an Atari and on it goes. I started playing the Sims and when that went online, I was mesmerized by the idea that you could play with real people in an imaginary world. My son was big into playing shooting games with a few other kids online back before the huge MMORPG's. I'd watch him play and thought it would be fantastic to have friends to do this with, but you are right, there aren't many people in my age group playing. Never in a million years did I ever think of these games as being a vehicle for hooking up with someone. I also worried about how women with young children could possibly find the time. When I told friends about this, they were intrigued and all thought it sounded like fun, but then my closest friends are sort of a sweet but whacky bunch of women!

But 2-3 hours a night?? YIKES! Do you play still play that much now?

Psssshaw... light weight ;)

Psssshaw... light weight ;)

ya for sure i use to play 8 or more a day LOL:tongue2:

Roz, ya snuck up in on me! You have been playing that long too?? Goodness! I had to chuckle, however, about your comment : " I was mesmerized by the idea that you could play with real people in an imaginary world." for I still am whenever I go into a chat room! IT boggles my mind at how small the world has become; and that so many people are now meeting their "true loves" due to this cyber interaction...and I often wonder if those of us who did meet our SO's this way, would still be single if it weren't for the net. For me, I think I would be...:( So thank you BILL GATES and all the others! :D

Psssshaw... light weight ;)

Shhhh Marcy, I don't want to make her think...OMG.

There were moments, and I do not lie that I could game 16 hours a day. When me and my exhusband first split up, every other weekend he would get the kids. So I would scramble to get things done and the minute they left I'd order a couple pizzas and pop and eat that all weekend long whilst gaming! It was GREAT! :bgrin2: I woke up, showered, heated up the pizza and 'vegged' all day long until I was too tired to think and then I would go to bed and do the same thing the next day.

The kids would come home and I'd flip back into my mom routine. And I loved my life like that. Then I had to go fall in love, have another kid, and kiss my gaming weekends good-bye, lol!

Right now I'm stuck in a chair because I can't really walk, so yeah it's probably easily 2-3 hours a day. 7-8 hours would probably be more realistic. I'm living a gamers dream right now. Confined to a chair with a computer in front of me.

But I look forward to getting out of this chair and doing things. When I was physically active, yes I probably gamed about 1-2 hours every night. Sometimes 3 on a Friday or Saturday.

I would go to work, take care of the kids and put them to bed at 9pm, clean up, and then game from 10pm until 11 or 12 depending on how tired I felt.

That's my hobby. I don't watch TV and I used to read on my lunch break @ work. Since we don't have cable in our house (it's either cable or internet financially for us) we entertain ourselves with games.

But it's no different from any other hobby and while it can obsess people, it just depends on the person. After all how long does a football game last? Or any other sport? Those easily last 1-3 hours as well! ...or dare I whisper *Ageless addiction*

Unfortunately an image gets painted that gamers neglect other things. Which I find rarely to be the case. Most people I know don't mess around. We know our limits, we know our responsibilities and we know how to get things done so we have enough time to enjoy our hobby. You could say we're extremely motivated to be speed cleaners! LOL!

We're just like other enthusiasts (car, movie, book, etc.) who find a way to organize their life enough to get their responsibilities done while also having enough free time to dedicate to their hobby.

Gaming is hard to explain to someone who doesn't enjoy it. It's like someone impressing how beautiful rap or classical or country music is to someone that doesn't like it. Ya just do or don't. :p

SECRET: angel plys 20 hours a day sleeps two and dont ask about the other 2 hours hehehehe:tongue2::bgrin2::eek:

SECRET: angel plys 20 hours a day sleeps two and dont ask about the other 2 hours hehehehe:tongue2::bgrin2::eek:

Don't let the cat out of the bag! I told you I'm trying NOT to make Linda flip! :p

My fiance looked at me and said...hon...you really need another hobby outside of gaming. I told him I do have one...Ageless!

Honestly how many hours do most of us spend HERE?!?! :eek:

Bella, I do have to ask though... back then when all of that happened, how did you even find out about those games online? Did you feel weird being older and a mom and playing those games, for I would think that there were not tooooo many older women even on the computer then? Or am I really off??for to me, the computer back then was just a glorified typewriter

Actually Linda, it's been my experience that the biggest populations are younger guys, and older women playing online. For some reason women in their twenties don't seem nearly as into gaming as women in their thirties and forties. And most men my age aren't into it either. It's guys in their late teens, and twenties, and older women.

I've always been a geek. I was mesmerized the first time I saw the web. Prodigy I think, at my brother in law's. I used to fight my kids for Nintendo time. We'd play together. I think it's a form of ADD or something. One of my biggest fears is being trapped somewhere with nothing to do. Or read. If I have a book, I'm cool, if I have paper and pen, I'm ok. If I'm sitting somewhere, and there's lots of people to watch, that's fine too. But I've actually made my family promise that if I'm ever in a coma, even if the doctors tell them I'm a vegetable, PLEASE keep audio books, or something going.

How'd I know about it? I'm not sure, but I've introduced my kids to things. My daughter's a Sims freak. She designs the most beautiful houses, and her people live the most interesting lives. She gets good grades in school, has friends, and reads, and draws, but she loves her Sims.

I love the roleplaying. I love the fantasy. It's like reading a great book, only making it as you go. I love figuring out problems. It's great escapism. And I can run around in a big ol' chain mail bustier, that would probably really cause a rash in real life. And need we mention the swords *sigh*

I also think maybe, it's because I don't do a lot of "friend" things. Sitting around talking about kids and the house bores me to tears. Jewelry parties, Pampered Chef, that sort of thing is about as much fun as getting my teeth cleaned.

I only do WOW online these days, with an occasional trip to Brittania via a free server. I'm dying waiting for Richard Garriott's new game, Tabula Rasa. He's the original Lord British, and the whole Ultima series is his baby. If I were younger, I'd learn to write programs, the whole process is fascinating to me, that you can use pixels, and make a world.

Well ANgel love dont ask me I lost the hours already..I mean days..or is it weeks now *shakes from caffine high*

PS When Kai gets here I plan on making a night elf costume and showing him what WOW is really ALL about *wiggles eyebrows*

Marcy.... you are a hoot!:tongue2:

Angel, you are right about the fact that some people may think that mothers ignore their children when they become so wrapped up in these games, for I was/am one of them. I am glad though, that this is more than often not the case, for we all know there are sooooo many addictions out there that can can ruin a person and a family. I guess since this is a new thing, I guess I just look at it differently, for to me if one is addicted to TV it is a "passive" addiction and life can easier intefere with it than live interaction with someone else, perhaps. I know from experience as well, for when I first got on the net in 2001 my life changed. I had it for 5 months, and still used it only for school as when my friend (who was a gamer) slowly withdrew from her real "live" circle fo friends and seemed to replace us with her cyber ones, I was both saddened and learly about all of it; plus I had no time to explore anything, as I rarely do when school is in session. However, when summer came, one morning I ventured into a British chat room and became addicted. I never knew a WORLD was out there!!!!! However, IT all came to a head one weekend, when I never got out of my jammies and hardly slept as I could not tear myself away from the machine and just waited for any of my "friends" to come online, and when they did not, I went into chat and added more. After 3 days, I looked at myself in the mirror, and my house, and after had a morning coffee on the patio and heard the ocean for the first time in 3 days, I decided if I were not careful, I would no longer have a real life (and I know that cyber is real to many, so I do not mean to offend) nor real friends (as I didn't even answer the phone), if I continued on this way. It was a sobering experience that is for sure, but I was glad that I was able to strike a balance (even though I do have a day or two when I don't turn it off but basically either due to ageless :p or Nikola miraculously has an off day!!).

I can see how this mode would be better for those who are laid up or may be handicapped, as it does open up a world that they may not have known as well, and it is better than just watching tv, as it is mentally active, and that is a good thing.

Bella, it is interesting about your observation in regards to the ages and sexes, for I too know of no man (but no woman my age either) who games. Could it be because the "geek" guys were the first ones to embrace this and that for single mothers who had no money nor inclination to go out to bars were drawn to this medium? For upon further thought, none of my daughter's friends game either (28ish) and none of my boys are "geeks" but athletes and are like never home! In fact the only time they are on here is for the fantasy sports and email.

I can see how this would be a good next step after an escapist book, and it would be great fun to actually participate in one of those eras, as I love the "romance" of the medieval period (I have knight posters over my bed, with Ni's pic next to them of course! :p.), but I think time passed me by on that one! I can also see ROzie's point that one never would go into a game thinking of meeting someone, but to me that would be a natural progression too, for once people connect on the cyber level in the ways I have heard of, how could it not transfer into real life? And that is what disturbs me too in a way, for it can be dangerous to become so attached to someone cyberally when one is married, I think, but I am not an expert! And that is why that new "thing" Second Life?? scares the bejesus out of me, for I see heartache ahead for many due to it.

Regards to all!
And happy gaming! :)
PS Has anyone thought of writing a book on all of this??

Wow, Bella, I think we are the same person. :)

Again, we all have our own interests and hobbies. I haven't had a TV for a year, when I moved to this house a year ago, I never bothered to hook the TV up. I have no idea what's on TV, and I frankly don't care. To me, TV is boring. I watch the news, and anything else that I need to watch, on my computer. I've always been a computer geek. I was THRILLED when computers first came out. My first very own computer was a 486 with a 345 MG HD...and I was the envy of my neighbors with 8 MB of RAM. (and actually, I upgraded that myself...it came with only 4 MB!!! hahahahhahaha!!!!) But I could take that thing apart and put it back together blindfolded. I loved it. I loved DOS. I loved every inch of my new computer. I never did the chat room thing, or anything like that, I loved digging around in the software, and messing with the hardware more than the places I could visit online. I did find a MUD years ago...that was a funny experience. Kinda like and Everquest type game, but all in written word, no pictures. I couldn't remember where things were! lol, but it was fun. I don't necessarily like "chatting" or being social. In a game, I can roll up a ball of fire and hurl it at someone instead, much more fun.

I'm a very busy person, so I don't spend nearly as much time playing games as these other ladies do, but I would LOVE to have more time to spend playing. I'm pretty strict with myself, all my other stuff has to be done first...then I'll play. Usually it would be very early morning, or late evening on a weekend. And again, I'm kind of "done" with video game systems, I'm down to just Warcraft now. How did I first hear about online games? One of the doctors I work with was in Everquest...and he got me hooked. Oddly, our group consisted of grown up professionals that I know. Its like everywhere I'd turn, I'd find someone else I knew that played Everquest. We all switched to Warcraft when it came out, we like it better.

So, its not like I felt like a "mama" playing with a bunch of kids. On the contrary, our guild members consist of some pretty fancy people in high places. People get it stuck in their head that its all young guys, its not. I've never felt out of place. Warcraft can be a kids game, but it can also be a very, very complex adult game. Its more than a game, I hate to even use that word.

I'm very ADD, too, like Bella mentioned. I can't sit still to save my life. I have to always be busy, and if I DO have to sit still, I have to have a book, a gameboy, SOMETHING to occupy myself. TV is too boring for me, I can't just sit and pay attention. I want an interactive form of media....gaming! I want to control my own characters, make things happen!!! Also, I have a wild imagination, and love fantasy. And, I'm an artist. Throw that all into the mix, and you come out with a game lover.

Someone took me bowling once, I thought I'd die of boredom. Or golf...are you kidding me? Again, we all have our own idea of what fun is.

Oh I dunno. Its just what I do. :)

The Ultima games, which are what got me totally hooked, is a series. The main character (you) is an ordinary person whisked into a very extraordinary world, and not only having to cope, but being viewed as a savior by the locals. The same herbs are used in every game for the same potions, the same runes for the same spells. You can be good, or you can be bad. You can steal, or you can earn. The games will have different outcomes. Richard Garriott is my hero. I'll forever mourn that I never got to go to his ranch in Texas when he was still throwing massive Halloween parties for his fans.

From Ultima Online, all the rest of the online games have followed. It's simply too bad that they can't seem to visually fix it. Every expansion makes it uglier, and less of the magic remains.

When that game started out, I was enthralled. I'd played nearly all the Ultima games, and King's Quest games and when I heard about this new game I was so excited. I didn't get internet till the Beta testing part was over, but I was playing it in the first few months it began. It's been over 8 years now. What kind of world is it, that you can fight very upper level monsters with a group of friends, or just sit in the house you've built, and decorated, making clothing to sell by the vendor you hired to stand on your porch. You can make your living by defeating monsters, or you can simply shear every sheep you come across, or mine every mountain, and make clothing, or armor. You could become incredibly rich if you worked at it.

How fun to either wear super duper armor, or dye your fanciest dress a pretty shade of purple to go to a dance with your guild that night. Our guild did charity work, like at Christmas, making up bags with good gadgets and potions to hand out to new players. We actually were the government of one of the cities, and were recognized by the Game Masters AS that government. Our guildmaster was the mayor.

When that game was younger and smaller, if you got a good rep, and worked really hard, they actually "blessed" your buildings and incorporated them into the game. There is still a tavern, and a library built by players, and player towns that were built that remain to this day.

David and I were married in game, by a Game counselor, our marriage was registered in game, and we were given engraved rings with our own sayings on them. Those rings became a permanent part of our characters. We got married at 6:30AM the day of our third in person visit, before I left for the airport. Our friends hauled themselves out of bed to attend. I had a bridesmaid, he had a best man.

Technology passed UO by though. It still exists, but it's so dated, and visually icky, and has gotten so big and impersonal, that I just don't get excited anymore about it. There are no longer players actually employed, (for free) and trained by the game designers to assist with things. It was really fun to see one of those guys in their Counselor robes show up to ask your assistance with, oh, say an undead invasion of one of the cities.

WOW is good for an hour at a time. My dream is that there will someday be a world that is as encompassing as UO was, that the managers involve you in as much, and that you can either be challenged, or just explore in.

Second Life is pretty, but it's more of a social network, and that's not what I game for. I like the medieval feeling. I like being able to challenge something and figure out how to defeat it. I dislike games that you HAVE to group in, in order to accomplish anything. If I need help in WOW, David's usually got a higher up who can join me, and I can group with his guild if I need to. Otherwise I usually solo, and I like to just explore. And unlike out here in the world, if I challenge something and get, uh, killed, it isn't going to be permanent.

Psssshaw... light weight ;)

Lol yup. You aren't properly broken in until you have attended an 8-12 hr raid and your brains turned to mush and you can hardly see the screen. I've never encountered one in WoW that takes that long ( ok I've barely raided anything in WoW yet) but in Eq it wasn't uncommon to stay up all night to get one stupid boss mob down. For suicideblonde and anyone else interested in the MMROPG statistics and what people have to say about "the addiction" check this link out. This guy has been doing research on gaming for quite some time now.:bgrin2:

http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/

WOW is good for an hour at a time. My dream is that there will someday be a world that is as encompassing as UO was, that the managers involve you in as much, and that you can either be challenged, or just explore in.

I feel the same way too Bella. I miss the engrossing magic I had with EQ. I'll log on to WoW and play for about an hour get bored and log out.

Lol yup. You aren't properly broken in until you have attended an 8-12 hr raid and your brains turned to mush and you can hardly see the screen. I've never encountered one in WoW that takes that long ( ok I've barely raided anything in WoW yet) but in Eq it wasn't uncommon to stay up all night to get one stupid boss mob down. For suicideblonde and anyone else interested in the MMROPG statistics and what people have to say about "the addiction" check this link out. This guy has been doing research on gaming for quite some time now.:bgrin2:


LOL! True True!

I led raids in WoW (Molten Core, ZG, AQ 20, Onyxia) and PoD and PoS (Plane of Disease/Sky) in EQOA. Not sure if there are many raids in those pre-expansion places on WoW.

Many nights spent learning how to take down Ragnaros and Major Domo. C'Thun...can I get an ugh from the WoW'ers who had to learn that place or the bugs in AQ 40?!?! (though I loved the bug mounts there!) :D

I quit playing WoW because all those hours and dedication and I didn't even get to see all the end game content before the 70 cap was out and then those kitted didn't want to go back and show the rest of us that content. All those hours spent and didn't even get to see all of Naxx or BWL (I saw parts of both). And then the playing favorites or bringing people in for one fight to gear them and then out you go no matter if you want to see the content or not (on either side of that equation). Well all that blew and really killed things for me.

My heart wanted to see all the content and I can't ascribe to a game that doesn't truly give me the ability without relying on so many other players. Even knocking it to 20 didn't help for me. Their dungeons should be 5 manned and you should have to defeat it on hero to open certain wings. That would have been fair to me.

I'm still heartbroken over the hours I spent there only to feel shorted by the end game experience because of the difficulty of getting 20 OR worse, 40 people to agree to things without pride and selfishness getting in the way.




I feel the same way too Bella. I miss the engrossing magic I had with EQ. I'll log on to WoW and play for about an hour get bored and log out.

I can't go back after what I wrote above. I'd just feel like it's another time sink that would leave me unfulfilled. Which really sucks because I've got 2 70's (Destruction Undead Warlock and Holy Troll Priest) sitting in Tier gear with flying mounts, and even they're not enough to draw me back. But I don't think I can go back because I too would feel much like you are describing here. I too miss that magic.

I miss having a house like I did in SWGs, as Bella was talking about.

/sigh

Now I want to game again but have nothing to game.

As a moderator of a gaming clan forum and a member of a game community forum (acecombatskies.com) (Fan owes me for yet another shameless plug :) ) I can confirm that there are YWs that play.

The ones I know of their age and existance on ACS are the ages of: 16, 19, 19, 20, 21.

We have one guy that is like 40 something I think, and another guy that is 30 something and he's a car salesman.

I also know the 16 year olds twin, shes obviously 16 too but Osaka (Her screen name) said she's not too into games but does play.

I also know one 19 year old that is my best friends gf that plays Madden. She also watches football on tv and likes to voice her opinion at the tv like the refs can hear her. She's just one of those guy's girls. :)

I have done rpg games since the seventies, though all tabletop gaming. I tried out the online gaming thing, but I just never got all that into it. I did meet my ex wife in a table top gaming group though.

Daniel

Always have played games since atari:p, so going into the pc world online was as normal as breathing, also my eldest son introduced me to WoW, so i blame him:bgrin2:.

My kids got me gaming

They used to play a lot of Runescape and it bothered me that they spent so much time on the computer. So they got me playing to see what it was like. Two years later i was still addicted.

however a mutual friend introduced us to WoW. Which is where I met my ym and now I play as often as i can. My housework and stuff g3et done around my game. I truly am bad LOL

Its a central place where my ym and I can be together. being so far apart we dont have the physical side of things that most couples do. the goodnight kiss the holding of hands and the quick cuddle as you pass each other

instead we kill monsters together. fish on game kill other players together. a much rewarding experience lol ;)

And that is why that new "thing" Second Life?? scares the bejesus out of me, for I see heartache ahead for many due to it.

PS Has anyone thought of writing a book on all of this??

Like "real" life... SecondLife can be good or bad depending upon what the person choose to focus on. I have three "businesses" on there... the primary one an art gallery where my art is for sale, digitaldragon's art is for sale, and a few guest artists. We are using it strategically to begin building him a following that will hopefully transfer to real life. It allows all of our work to be exposed to MANY more people than possible through traditional methods.

I have also used SL to promote issues for the nonprofit where I work ... again giving exposure to many more people from a wider geographic spread than would be possible in real life.

And yes, SL is where we met ... running the businesses is giving him some good experience because many of the basic concepts transfer directly (especially PERSONNEL issues lol). SL also give me a chance to interact with people at times when I'm on call and can't leave my area, or be in loud places, etc. I enjoy meeting interesting people from all around the world ... from age 18 up to ... I think 72 was the oldest so far? And I'm really brushing up on my foreign language skills.

Started out playing RuneScape for many years. I think my kids are playing my account there now.

And yes, there are SEVERAL books floating around out there. Interesting reading.

Actually, I read somewhere that women have more fine motor skills and thus women gamers can really kick some serious *** because of it. :P

And that is why I lead my own PVP preform and win 97% of the time! I have waitlists for folks to join it and when we were doing the old time honor grind I would play for a couple of days at a time, my those were fun. But getting back to it I can still lead the board for killing blows and damage done while I am hitting the M key to see placement on the map and direct guys where to go. Surprised everyone when I started pvping and fell in love with it.

And that is why I lead my own PVP preform and win 97% of the time! I have waitlists for folks to join it and when we were doing the old time honor grind I would play for a couple of days at a time, my those were fun. But getting back to it I can still lead the board for killing blows and damage done while I am hitting the M key to see placement on the map and direct guys where to go. Surprised everyone when I started pvping and fell in love with it.

Are you talking about WoW here? Because I know so many lady who play WoW with a passion and spend more time on it then guys.

Are you talking about WoW here? Because I know so many lady who play WoW with a passion and spend more time on it then guys.

Yes I am speaking of WoW, I spent 12 hours on it Saturday playing until 8:30 am Sunday morning. We did 30 battlegrounds and lost 2 "sigh" but still we kicked! :cool:

Yes I am speaking of WoW, I spent 12 hours on it Saturday playing until 8:30 am Sunday morning. We did 30 battlegrounds and lost 2 "sigh" but still we kicked! :cool:

30 battlegrounds:eek:, Oh i wish, still working towards my pvp epic mount for my main;)

I have the epic mount from AV, the war tiger, the war horse and the war ram lol and Justicaar title from being maxed in all 3 bgs prior to the expansion. I just love the bg's though I did do a Kara run last night. Must try to balance the playtime. :)

Question:
Does Rp-by-Post count as online game? :tongue2:

I have the epic mount from AV, the war tiger, the war horse and the war ram lol and Justicaar title from being maxed in all 3 bgs prior to the expansion. I just love the bg's though I did do a Kara run last night. Must try to balance the playtime. :)

Wow even keyed for Kara, this is but a dream for my main at the moment grinding for rep and leveling her gets to be very boring. My second "main" already has her level 60 pvp mount she is a 55 so much easier on her than my main.

Question:
Does Rp-by-Post count as online game? :tongue2:

I don't see why not:p

Aslong as you enjoy it, thats all that matters:tongue2:

Well, me and Nat met on a forum that she created a few years ago, called Shinobi Village (www.shinobivillage.net). It's an Rp-by-Post forum, with different Anime RPs, for example Naruto and Bleach, as well as several minor RPs. If anyone of you people want to try, you should come and join us. We need more members ^_^

Anyway, I joined there in April 2006, and two months later we were already together. The first contact we ever had, was me posting up a picture of myself, and Nat called me cute *chuckles* From there we started talking on msn, and then on Skype, and after two months we were "together". Right now, we are both Admins (I really worked hard for that position *winks*) and we've even created Dayani as our child in the Naruto Rp^^

Hi everyone. I met my YM on EQ. When he moved in with me 3 1/2 years ago we both quit playing.

A while ago I started thinking about leaving him, but then someone on this forum asked "Have you thought about what your life would be like without him?"

Yep, I did, long and hard. We're still together and I have no intentions of leaving him. And yes, I would be miserable without him.

The problem, I thought, was compatibility. So a few months ago I talked to him about it; about the fact that we didn't like to do the same things. So I suggested that we each name three things that we like to do. I had to pick one of his choices and he had to pick one of mine, and he agreed.

My choices - hiking, going to the gym, snow shoeing

His - bowling, movies, playing Guild Wars

Sooooo..... now he goes to the gym with me 3 times a week and we play Guild Wars together.

I like GW much better than EQ. In GW we can play for just an hour. In EQ that was almost impossible. We don't play with other people, just each other.

Much love,
K

Hi everyone. I met my YM on EQ. When he moved in with me 3 1/2 years ago we both quit playing.

A while ago I started thinking about leaving him, but then someone on this forum asked "Have you thought about what your life would be like without him?"

Yep, I did, long and hard. We're still together and I have no intentions of leaving him. And yes, I would be miserable without him.

The problem, I thought, was compatibility. So a few months ago I talked to him about it; about the fact that we didn't like to do the same things. So I suggested that we each name three things that we like to do. I had to pick one of his choices and he had to pick one of mine, and he agreed.

My choices - hiking, going to the gym, snow shoeing

His - bowling, movies, playing Guild Wars

Sooooo..... now he goes to the gym with me 3 times a week and we play Guild Wars together.

I like GW much better than EQ. In GW we can play for just an hour. In EQ that was almost impossible. We don't play with other people, just each other.

Much love,
K

Marriage sometimes comes down to a compromise. Smart men and women do it and learn to enjoy it. Dumb ones divorce because they selfishly won't compromise.

Glad to see you stick it out.

Thank you Cute guy. I am glad too. :yes:

Kalri, I play Guild Wars as well -- although a bit on the 'too much' side at times... It's a really beautiful and scenic game, I think.

Hi everyone. I met my YM on EQ. When he moved in with me 3 1/2 years ago we both quit playing.

A while ago I started thinking about leaving him, but then someone on this forum asked "Have you thought about what your life would be like without him?"

Yep, I did, long and hard. We're still together and I have no intentions of leaving him. And yes, I would be miserable without him.

The problem, I thought, was compatibility. So a few months ago I talked to him about it; about the fact that we didn't like to do the same things. So I suggested that we each name three things that we like to do. I had to pick one of his choices and he had to pick one of mine, and he agreed.

My choices - hiking, going to the gym, snow shoeing

His - bowling, movies, playing Guild Wars

Sooooo..... now he goes to the gym with me 3 times a week and we play Guild Wars together.

I like GW much better than EQ. In GW we can play for just an hour. In EQ that was almost impossible. We don't play with other people, just each other.

Much love,
K
EQ is important than IQ