In my last post I talked a little bit about MMO cynics and how they do tend to feel about the latest and greatest to come through the online RPG-verse. This wasn’t entirely an accident, you see – during my time not writing, I still managed to read quite a few blogs and feeds from my handy-dandy Google Reader. Aside from figuring out that if I have over 1000 posts unread I should probably delete the feed, I learned one thing:
Is there a lot of grouchiness on the internet regarding MMOs or what?
Maybe it’s just me, but perhaps it’s just easier to be grumpy or frumpy or otherwise grouchy about the state of MMOs today. If you think about it, cynicism is easier to argue from if your goal is to actually be correct or viable. Hedge your bets or even fall into the negative on a response to the best MMO trailers, gameplay demos, or reveals, and you’re vindicated when things inevitably aren’t exactly as explained. Refuse to let yourself get excited over the goals that developers want to accomplish, and not get disappointed later. Maybe it’s easier to type “this sucks” rather than “this is awesome”. Regardless of the reasons, it doesn’t seem to be that difficult to be underwhelmed.
Speaking of which, I think I have a new nemesis and opposite, since I suspect Hardcore Casual’s Syncaine has had the rough edges softened slightly by marriage (don’t worry, it happened to me too). Not to be picking on him, but Keen from Keen and Graev’s blog appears to be my new mirror opposite, and a writer I like to keep reading, partially just to see what not being optimistic looks like. Keen has a few posts where he is genuinely excited about something, but many of the posts fall back on a bit of a negative slant on MMO development in general, how the latest companies to try their hand at something are doing it wrong, and how they might fail or fall short of expectations. Even though he’s very well-written and I respect him, it seems that the posts with which he writes come from an ease of a position wrought with broken hearts, expectations, and promises, making every post in response to MMO news almost automatic in their negativity.
Optimism and idealism, which it seems gets me less readership, is a bit more difficult to deal with and have. If I’m excited about something, see the good in it, want to prod it into a decent light, in today’s MMO community I have to work hard to put it on a pedestal. The empirical evidence for an optimist in the MMO industry is certainly in the “against” column, as the titles since WoW have struggled to maintain some kind of viable market and subscriber base despite lofty missions and ideas (though there are exceptions). And a positive person puts themselves out more for being the target of ridicule and being wrong – because things rarely turn out exactly how they think.
But I’d rather take positive over negative any day. Why? Well, I think that even though it’s more difficult and disappointment can abound, I’d rather be happy about something some of the time than not be happy about anything any of the time. As adults, I think we tend more towards the jaded portion of the scale mostly because our experiences, good and bad, teach us to properly manage our expectations, or even shield ourselves from them to avoid being hurt. This is especially true in the geek world, where the new shiny sometimes has issues that tend to crush hopes and dreams. But the stuff of geekery, especially when it comes to the MMO world, has the potential to be a really fun and exciting experience. Being pleased at having your negative expectations exceeded is nice and all, but the reward for having faith, love, and happiness regarding an MMO title be validated is just that much sweeter.
Maybe it’s easier to walk around with lemons all the time, but I’d rather be doing that with a glass of lemonade and a healthy dose of sugar. Wouldn’t you?
I was just talking about this (mostly to myself) on Buzz. Actually I responded to Petter's Don't Fear the Mutant post on 'WoW-Clones' on Buzz but I don't think he saw it. Anyway…
I got so sick of the negativity and bitterness vomiting forth from MMO blogs that I just stopped reading them. I also pretty much stopped writing mine since somehow I always end up doing the same negative/cynicism thing when I write mine.
I turned 50 a few weeks ago and the fact that life is finite is really starting to sink in. I'm enjoying myself a lot more now that I'm spending my time playing the games that I enjoy, ignoring the ones I don't, and not spending half of my limited free time reading blogs full of bitterness.
I also get sick of the hubris coming out of a lot of blogs. Some guy or gal plays a few MMOs and then decides he or she knows more about game design than people who create these things for a living. We (yup, definitely including myself here) sit at our keyboards and explain to anyone who can listen exactly what the designers are doing wrong and how we'd do it right (of course) if only some development studio could find enough enlightenment to recognize our natural game design talents and just hire us!
Hah! I appreciate you still read mine then. Rest assured, you really get nothing but brightness here – because I think the internet needs such a place.
I, too, am frequently perplexed by the MMO community's more vocal members' strident screeches of "Fail" directed at different titles. This outcry could have its roots in a fundamental aspect of games and gamers: competition and competitiveness.
Perhaps the outcry of "Fail" is simply the leeching out of competition and competitiveness into judgement and critical thinking. But when you write " But the stuff of geekery, especially when it comes to the MMO world, has the potential to be a really fun and exciting experience." I see another way of thinking about MMO's based on judgement and critical thinking.
This is a good point. There's a certain amount of territorialism when it comes to MMOs, even to the point that people tend to dump on the MMO they don't consider to be their "home" game.
It's kind of sad because when you do the opposite, and cheerlead your own MMO, it's seen as not optimism but more than likely fanboyism. That's actually a good topic for a post, so thanks for commenting!
I feel the exact same way you do. I've had depression problems on and off through my life, sometimes I've needed medication. I have found that it's much easier to approach life with a determination to find the silver lining than it is as a jaded cynic. I've had some very intense and heartbreaking experiences in my life and through learning to look on the bright side of THOSE, I find it very easy to look on the positive side of upcoming games. I cope with the naysayers by putting everything into opinions. So long as I have fun and enjoy something it was a success, it's not my problem if the rest of the world wants to walk around under a raincloud.
I've noticed the grouchy state of geek culture too, the readiness to deride anything that isn't your own personal golden cow. I really enjoy reading your perspective on things, and it helps keep ME positive too
Tiger, that's great. I think I don't comment enough on what people take the time to write to me, so I plan on changing that starting today.
Mm…I think that when it comes to the natural default setting of some of geekery to be "cynical", it's probably a holdover from geek culture of yore. I mean, if you really think about it, the geek sub-culture has only gotten to be "chez chic" in the last 4 or 5 years, as online communities and sites have really come into their own. Before this, geekery and nerdisms were typically fringe culture or even outcast as far as tendencies go. Such a mentality leads people who grew up during that time to be a bit more negative than others.
But that being said, it's a new generation.
I agree, Frank. I have never understood the need to blast games. If you are writing a review article, subjective criticism is understood. But I've never understood why people feel the need to go out of their way to tear down another's experience. Not only do they do it in blogs, but they log into trial accounts and blast the game in general chat.
For me, I have more of an apathy for the MMO world right now. The games aren't bad per se, just nothing that has really jumped out and caught my attention for longer than a month or so. It doesn't make me rage. It just makes me not play. I do think part of the problem is that these games are getting hyped years before they release. Sometimes, the only direction to go is down after riding so high on the hype wave.
I'm definitely more of an optimist than a cynic in life. If you don't laugh at yourself and count your blessings, it's going to be an awfully long, miserable existence. Oh, and I just love how the true cynics that we all know always get all defensive when you call them a pessimist and always say "I'm a realist". =D