I want everyones answer to this

[Aeni]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

I think it's fair to assume that FFXI is how you make it to be. You can decide to play this game only once a week and no one will persecute you if you decide to go that route. You can play this every day for hours on end, but that's unhealthy and those dead Koreans should be a warning sign to our society

However, I think in the end, this question can be debated to all corners of the earth and all answers would be the "right" one no matter who you asked. It's basically an opinionated answer that this question fields: Should FFXI be treated just a game?

Remember, drug addicts will tell you that they aren't addicted or that they have problems. In psychology, addiction to anything to the point of dependancy isn't just limited to alcohol and drugs. It includes FFXI as well. Many players I know say they aren't addicted, but those are the ones I see online 10 hours a day. If that's not addicted, then I don't know what is, because I sure as hell know for a fact that no one can have that much time on their hands.

[sevenpointflaw]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

With regards to OP:

I live in California. 99% of my closest friends live in Houston. This is a way we can do things together other than talk. When cash is low and my girlfriend and I can't afford proper dates, sometimes we play on FFXI together. Sometimes my entire household (six people) parties together. And its just as rewarding as say, going out and seeing a movie - certainly less expensive for us and certainly more interactive.

For those of you who argue "its just a game" or "its more than a game" please allow me to put things into perspective.

Yes, it is "just a game." Playing that game, however, has real life consequences. Sometimes those consequences are negligable (once a month you go to bed late) and sometimes profound (wife takes the kids and leaves).

But whether or not you walk away from the "just a game" with the experience of "OMFG these people fucking morons" or you walk away with the experiences "wow, I met a lot really cool people" one simple fact remains.

You DO walk away with SOMETHING. You walk away with real life experiences ranging from simple relaxation to life-long friendships. And it seems to me that by definition that "just is life"

2c

[TheGrandMom]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

With regards to OP:

I live in California. 99% of my closest friends live in Houston. This is a way we can do things together other than talk. When cash is low and my girlfriend and I can't afford proper dates, sometimes we play on FFXI together. Sometimes my entire household (six people) parties together. And its just as rewarding as say, going out and seeing a movie - certainly less expensive for us and certainly more interactive.

For those of you who argue "its just a game" or "its more than a game" please allow me to put things into perspective.

Yes, it is "just a game." Playing that game, however, has real life consequences. Sometimes those consequences are negligable (once a month you go to bed late) and sometimes profound (wife takes the kids and leaves).

But whether or not you walk away from the "just a game" with the experience of "OMFG these people fucking morons" or you walk away with the experiences "wow, I met a lot really cool people" one simple fact remains.

You DO walk away with SOMETHING. You walk away with real life experiences ranging from simple relaxation to life-long friendships. And it seems to me that by definition that "just is life"

2c

Wonderful words of wisdom, thank you Pooka. /bow

[Joester]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

With regards to OP:

I live in California. 99% of my closest friends live in Houston. This is a way we can do things together other than talk. When cash is low and my girlfriend and I can't afford proper dates, sometimes we play on FFXI together. Sometimes my entire household (six people) parties together. And its just as rewarding as say, going out and seeing a movie - certainly less expensive for us and certainly more interactive.

For those of you who argue "its just a game" or "its more than a game" please allow me to put things into perspective.

Yes, it is "just a game." Playing that game, however, has real life consequences. Sometimes those consequences are negligable (once a month you go to bed late) and sometimes profound (wife takes the kids and leaves).

But whether or not you walk away from the "just a game" with the experience of "OMFG these people fucking morons" or you walk away with the experiences "wow, I met a lot really cool people" one simple fact remains.

You DO walk away with SOMETHING. You walk away with real life experiences ranging from simple relaxation to life-long friendships. And it seems to me that by definition that "just is life"

2c

I'm not saying you don't walk away with something when it comes to games. Infact that's not my point at all.

A game is a form of entertainment. No matter how hard you try to spin that fact it will alwasy remain a form of entertainment. Does that mean that games can't teach us lessons or makes us smarter? No. They can certainly do all of those but in the grand scheme of things they are games, just like movies and books, and music they are all a form of escapism.

The day you let a video game be the cause of a bad day will be a sad day indeed. If you get upset over something that's supposed to be fun then you shouldn't play it anymore.

Games are meant to be fun, nothing more.

[Baldrik]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

Hearing all this is making me wonder something new: the social forum that is FFXI (and any MMO for that matter) is just another aspect. Apparently the game and the forum (and by forum I mean the gathering of people, be it in the game or in the web forum) are two seperate things. I've met very many people in game but I don't care about them at all in the game world. Yeah, they are humans on the other end, and I respect them. I'm sure they're great people, so I am nice to them.

To add another dimension to the question: How does Super Mario Bros. effect your life, as well as FFXI? People are people. Games are games. I understand the social aspect of MMOs, but it's just common curtosey to be nice and respectful. And as in RL, if you're offended by something, you just deal with it. The game isn't a gov't, and things aren't always what they seem.

To TheGrandMom: I understand your position on this. A wonderful lady in my life (she is like a mother to me) is in a similar condition. She's up and down, and no doctor knows exactly what is wrong. She spends a lot of time in web forums discussing books and movies and stuff, and I call her now and then to see how things are with her.

People are important to our lives, and they are everywhere. I think my main purpose for this questioning is to get a feel for people who play games in general.

For example, Kailea told me if their servers were wiped, she would lose the drive to play the game, and would therefor quit the game for loss of a character.

Also keep in mind this: what would you do without the game, where would be? Consequently, where would you like to be? (okay, that's a loaded question, but still one that could bear interesting results)

[Rodin]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

Without FFXI, I'd probably be playing another game. Right now my life isn't very eventful. I go to work, I study for college. And when I have free time, I play FFXI. This game doesn't really affect my life at all. Yeah, I might play this game a lot compared to others, but that doesn't mean my life revolves around this game.

Some people also plan this game around their life. They make their work schedules revolve around HNM times, dynamis times, etc. They don't go to sleep and end up losing sleep because of this game. I also try not to get emotionally attatched to anyone, because I know I'm not going to meet them IRL. A friend of mine recently left my HNMLS because a "girlfriend" (girl he's never met, but was engaged to in the game) didn't return a sniper ring he let her borrow. Somehow, this got stretched out to a big fat lie, saying he let her borrow 15mil in gear, and she didn't return it. She just got back from playing WoW for like 6 months, and this whole big ass event erupted when she came back. I don't want my life to turn out like this.

For some people, this is just a game.
For others, this game is life.
It's all about how you let this game affect you. If you're seriously that socially in-ept, that the things you care about most in life are the things you have in this game, then this game is more than a game to you.

[Medalink]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

FFXI became alot more than a game when SE made it 99% player controlld. You could compare this to a company, you have your "job", you get payed (exp in-game) you work and move up, you have bosses, you meet people, etc, etc.

This has all aspects of anything IRL, If you were to stock 10 items on a shelf, you where doing your job, same as if you killed 10 mobs in FFXI, you did your job assigned from SE. So this is no longer just a game we waste time on, this is an enviorment that we choose to play and choose to meet others and choose to work at. Its not pointless, we all play for our own reasons.

Another way to put it, its like haveing a pet, you have to do the required tasks, you get enjoyment from your pet and you have responceabilitys. Same with FFXI, this is no different then me haveing a dog or playing FFXI.

I dont think we should ever miss meals or stay up all night, but I dont think becomeing addicted to this is so bad, as most in game drama is alot safer than RL.

Medalink

P.s I think people try to mask this as just a game as they dont like to admit there attatched to it, you wouldent mind saying

"I love to play with my dog"

But would never want to say:

"I love playing my FFXI Char"

But both are the exsact same. Whats odd about life is we find anything to entertain us, FFXI just happens to use Technology to do that and not a physical object. It is man made and not natural, we call that a game ^^ Also note i probably misspeld alot of stuff but Im tired so exscuse me >.>

[DakAttack]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

It is just a game, but that phrase can not be used so lightly anymore, not when the game in question brings multiple cultures together and forges friendships between them.

[Cade]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

People read books an watch movies for the drip of suspense... the jolt of adventure... the warmth of romance.... entertainment is meant for taking advantage of our emotions an stirring them to how we see fit.

Games are merely a form of entertainment, yes. An as time passes an designers learn, they are more an more becoming like a good book/movie....

Truely nobody would like to sit through a film or read a deathly boring book when they are far from enjoyable. With games involving real players though, it can be a different emotion each time. Some good. Some bad. It's the good ones that keep us coming back to it.

'Game' is too simple a definition for FFXI an others like it. It is a 'game', in the literal sense.

But in the literal sense, anything can be contrived as a game ...love ...war ....politics ....golf.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

For some people, this is just a game.
For others, this game is life.

For me, this is just one of the many games in my life. Gaming is my passion, my family is my life. I totally agree with your friend taking it too far though. I've seen SO MANY young people getting so attached to people they have never met and make rash decisions. I even had a friend that was going to move in with 2 people he met in game and he had never met them in real life........and they lived in a different state!

P.s I think people try to mask this as just a game as they dont like to admit there attatched to it, you wouldent mind saying

"I love to play with my dog"

But would never want to say:

"I love playing my FFXI Char"

But both are the exsact same. Whats odd about life is we find anything to entertain us, FFXI just happens to use Technology to do that and not a physical object. It is man made and not natural, we call that a game ^^ Also note i probably misspeld alot of stuff but Im tired so exscuse me >.>

I love playing my FFXI character. I love using her as a catalyst to make people happy or make them smile. She is the extension of me that people identify with. As long as I'm not running around in real life thinking I'm a taru, its all good. LOL

[Jei]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

excellent post sevenpointflaw. rate up. ^^w

[Jarre]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

This game, and any other MMO I play, is a godsend to my real life. I suffer from a very painful debilitating disease. There are days that all I want to do is curl up into a ball from the pain and lay in bed. Having MMO's and the friends I have made in game, helps me to "ride the rough weather". I recently went through 3 weeks of HELL physically but I forced myself to log on for ls events. It was amazing how the chatter with friends and the focus on our goal helped me to deal with the pain and overall poopy feeling. The few hours of happiness that I could enjoy in an otherwise crappy day is worth the $12.95! The friends I have made online are important to me. Yes, its a different type of relationship than my real life friends but its just as important.

I also play MMO's with my son, husband and other family members. I've played games with family for many many years and its only pulled us closer together. We've also played card, paper, and board games. Gaming can and always will be an integral part of our lives. And now I'm looking forward to expanding this knowledge to my grandchildren and will continue to game with them! We've learned a lot from the people we have met and continue to have long lasting relationships with some of the people we've met. It has opened up lines of communication, helped with self confidence, made us laugh and smile, and helped my our days brighter. What more could I ask for?

Sorry to hear that grandmom.

As a part time firefighter, when my pager goes you don't know what your going to go to whetehr your just putting out rubish or cutting dead children out of car to rescuing or carrying out people from fires. When you have to deal witha fatality, it can hit you hard especially with kids, we have a community with fireifhgters so we can talk to each other, but when you go your own seperate ways, it eats your mind. to have something that you can just leave this world and be something else, take your mind away from RL and imense yourself in a virtual world, where you can enjoy interacting, doing things etc to take your mind off what you have seen or done, this is the pulling for me. As a veteren FF player, FF online was always going to be the game for me over all teh other MMo's. My aprtner is a nurse and works nights, so when you think about it, if I attended a fatal at 7pm get home at 11pm I have no one to talk to so to imerse myself in soemthing else is a godsend.

If anyone tells me I could do better things, the only other things that I know some people do is hit the bottle, smoke lots or just get imensly depressed, at least i ahve somewhere I can get out of reality to without harming myself with the other options.

[Balgas]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

Oh I skipped the last page and a half of this thread, but I can tell you how gaming has affected me. Not so much FFXI, but a small korean-made MMORPG called NexusTK.

My best friend Amy and I used to play Nexus day and night. We had a lot of really good times and met a lot of really amazing people. One of my favorite memories is when I told her not to touch the golden bunny, she did anyways and died, it was a good laugh. We exp'd together, farmed together, roleplayed together, and became even closer friends through the aid of this game. There is even a couple people I still keep in touch with over the internet that I had met from Nexus.

So it did effect me. I now have more friends with which to do stuff with. It also saved me huge amounts of money because 10$ a month for unlimited playtime is a very cheap alternative to going out and paying for dinner, a movie, bowling, etc. That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself by going out to dinner once in a while, but the game never dominated my life.

Anyways, the point is, it's original purpose was just to be something entertaining to do, but it ended up being a way that I met lifelong friends and grew a deeper relationship with a friend I already had. I also learned a lot of words that I wouldn't have known otherwise, and I also learned a lot about ancient korea, geomancy, the legends of the Muse's, poetry, and role playing in general.

That sir, is how it effected my life.

[Medalink]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

If anyone tells me I could do better things, the only other things that I know some people do is hit the bottle, smoke lots or just get imensly depressed, at least i ahve somewhere I can get out of reality to without harming myself with the other options.

Hit the nail on the head with that one. Smokeing/Drinking/Doing Drugs is utterly pointless, but people do it and enjoy it for reasons.

Same as FFXI, it to a point is pointless, but the part of it that makes it compelling is the Players, I also find it nice to totally forgoet about everthing for a little while and focus on FFXI, and that my friend is the best medicine you can buy, and its only $12.95 a month.

In Short, ffxi is like a $12.95 a month medicine you can use anytime and it will cure any and all problems during use.

Medalink

[Zempten]

Re: I want everyones answer to this

Economics doesn't apply because its very one-dimensional, with obvious flaws (not realistic). You can't really form social bonds because you almost never physically meet the player. Drama happens 90% of the time because the player you "trusted" ended up being someone completely opposite of what you thought he was. Common sense, well, you don't really learn those in FFXI (you learn those in RL).

That's not very different from in real life. There are plenty of occassions where you think of your friends one way and when a special occassion arises they SOMETIMES fail to meet your expectations. I don't believe social bonds require physical interaction, afterall it is a mental state of mind, which can communicated thru a medium such as the internet.

I guess a easy way to picture it is say there is a female and she is average/below average looking ( there is a guy and he is average/below average looking *for the female players in the game). If you were to see the opposite sex in real life you would probably have a small chat and not be interested in going any further then just "Friends". Say you meet the opposite sex in the game, your not affected by physical appearences, but rather his/her personality. Isn't that what friendship about? His/her personality?
*Maybe this was a bad analogue ; ; I hope you get what I'm saying though*

As far as Economics, you can't deny there isn't Economics in this game. It's just that it's . . . . . . should I say monopolized? A good comparrioson would be how America allowed monoploization in certain items before they made it illegal. We're just in the period where it's not illegal lol.

Here is one last thing (maybe not lol) to think about. When you "go out" with friends what are you doing the majority of time? I believe you talk/interact. Sure you may goto the movies (I don't think you talk here), you may go out to eat (where you talk), go play a game of sports (DEFEINTLY talking here, can we say smack talking?), or whatever you do your talking. Say were in FFXI, we go exp PT (we talk, at least I do otherwise it's WAY too dull), we go NM hunting (how the hell do you not talking? It's boring standing there for 2 - 3 hrs straight), for those that go fight to sky, GODs...etc(I'm sure at one point or the other you talk).

In both worlds you are provided an environtment and in both worlds you socially interact with others in the given environment. However, the only difference is that physical occurances in the real world are ALOT more deadlier then in the game.

There is a fine line between enjoyment and addiction, you can see this in those who are smokers (no offense guys). You asked a question "How does it effect your real life?". My best answer would be "Just as much as anything your addicted to". If there is something your addicted to, then it's the same way with FFXI. If there is something your not addicted and do casually, then it's the same way with FFXI. I don't believe there are sublimenay (sp?) messages while playing FFXI that says "RUIN YOUR LIFE!!"