“Dude, Kt just tricked me, can you pray that I don’t have to run back from the graveyard?” Does this phrase make any sense to you? Maybe not, but for millions of gamers online, it makes perfect sense. Online games, also known as MMORPGs (Massive Multi-player Online Role-Playing Games), allow people to play together online from anywhere in the world. All you need is the Internet service, the game, and you are “g2g” (done).
There have been many articles over the last decade on the destructive effects of video games and especially MMORPGs. Players’ parents and spouses complain about the negative effects of video games all the time. But what about the positive effects of online games? I know what you are thinking “how can there be something positive in video games?” Online games are more than players running around shooting things. Online games are real communities where people connect with each other through in-game chat, or form guilds (like a cyber club within the community) and even connect and fall in love. I have years of experience participating in these online communities and I can tell you that these people do more than just shoot things. For many people, these online games are the only social network available to them due to disabilities of one kind or another. Many of these folks can’t leave home without difficulty, if at all, which is why the online gaming community is the closest they have to connecting with people outside of their family. A woman, “Sue”, has spinal cancer and plays from her hospital bed. Another player, “Joe”, has a permanent disability for life due to a serious work injury that limits his mobility. The online community helps these people to stay connected with others and prevents them from living a life of loneliness.
Not only is it an active communication network for people who have little or no access to other people, it can also bring families together. I know husbands and wives in real life who “search” together in games. I even know a family of four who play MMORPGs, with all of them on their own computer in the living room, and all playing together. Playing together interactively makes family time more meaningful than sitting down to watch TV or a DVD.
Another positive effect of MMORPGs is that the games are designed to work together with other players to complete missions. This means that players must interact with each other and learn to work together to achieve something.
Video games and MMORPGs are also good exercises for the brain, unlike watching TV, which is a passive activity and does not really involve the brain. Research shows that keeping your brain active is one of several factors in decreasing a person’s chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease (games like word puzzles, crosswords, video games) – anything that makes you think rather than passively entertain you.
Video games and MMORPGs are like most other activities in life. You need to exercise moderation when playing, as well as moderation in the number of hours you watch television, or moderation in your food portions, or moderation in the habits and hobbies you may have. MMORPG communities are a viable way to connect with people from all over the world, or even within your own backyard.
© 2010 Elizabeth Duvall