The Proof
I feel like poop today... I usually shoot for 8 hours of sleep, no matter how late I go to bed. I've been going to bed pretty late, admittedly, but, like I said... Always 8 hours of sleep. But last night, I could hardly get to sleep at all, and I don't know what time it was when I finally got there. Ever have one of those nights where you just can't stop thinking? You try to stop, but then you think of something else and that starts a whole new train of thought... And it was just silly stuff, mostly, but I couldn't stop thinking, so I didn't get to sleep. Needless to say, I didn't get 8 hours of sleep, and I woke up with a headache that I still have as I write this. I'm supposed to be working for that new computer, but I feel really blah and I probably couldn't stand for 6 hours.
Anyway, that kind of stuff is boring... This is the cool stuff:
Ya'know what that is? You better believe it... I have maintained my 4.000 GPA through another semester. And here the all-knowing Internet likes to proclaim the dangers of online gaming as a cause for a failure in life in general? It's not the games. They're just afraid to blame parents and individuals for their problems, because then they can't classify it as a "disease" or "addiction" and can't milk you for your life savings in recovery programs... What a joke. And hey, guess what? I played World of Warcraft for nearly the entire semester! That is, up until just these last few weeks... Started getting bored. But oh, people who play WoW are addicted raid-mongers who pour their livelihoods into pointlessly gathering armor and weapons. That is so much more terrible than being addicted to pseudo-participating in a storyline about magical creatures retaking a cavern that was taken from them by book-bearing humanoids from another world, isn't that right, ToriaURU?
Oops... Did I mention names? Oh-no... I think I did!
So, in short, I present to you the proof that games have no power over you but what you allow it. The major argument for this stuff is that games work against your academic career. I tell you that if you want good grades, you'll work for them no matter what you do in your spare time. And Uru was absolutely no better than World of Warcraft, pfft... Honestly, I would have expected a far more rational thought from someone of the Myst community. Just goes to show how watered down everyone has become... Not at all the smart group of people I remember from the days of Riven.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shoot people in Grand Theft Auto IV.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Congratulations on your 4.0 and everything, but do you really think this qualifies of "proof" that WOW doesn't affect grades? It's proof that it didn't affect YOUR grades THIS semester is all. Take a statistics course! You have an 'n' of 1!
And 12 credit hours is the bare minimum for being full-time at most universities. Is this true of yours? Do I see three 100-level and one 200-level courses? Try it as a senior taking 20+ credit hours of 300 and 400 level courses and see how you fare.
Just a thought. : )
May 15th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Well, well, well... Look who we have here! I honestly never expected you to return to this part of the Internet... Feeling that lonely, eh? Had to find someone to put down after all these months? But why yes, you DO see three 100-level and one 200-level courses! These are required classes designed to make me pay for the other professors that they've hired. I shall have you know that I purposely took only 4 courses because my last semester was incredibly hectic due to multiple incompetent faculty involved in planning my certification examinations... I decided to take only 4 this year because I have more certifications involved and I didn't want it to be so nasty, and, lo! Behold! If you made a habit of reading my blog more often, you'd know that my fears were well-founded!
But, seeing as how this is only one of three semesters that I have taken, and you obviously haven't read any other college-related posts that I've made, you would have absolutely no idea what I've taken or what my goals are, so I feel that your insight and guesses are completely unjustified and, in the words of the great Seven of Nine, irrelevant.
Just a thought!
May 15th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
And now that I read your comment again... Unless I am mistaken, you believe I only have a 4.0 GPA in a single semester? On the contrary! This is an average 4.0 for three semesters, not just this one. In simpler terms, in case you missed it, my first semester was perfect, my second semester was perfect, and now my third semester was perfect. That's three-for-three being perfect. Yes... I do believe this qualifies as proof that World of Warcraft doesn't affect grades, seeing as how I've been playing it since before I started college.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I essentially agree with what (I think) you mean. It's not the games, it's where you place them on priorities. It's how you use your time. Now, I believe you can also use games and game-like engagement techniques to enhance regular lecture-based learning, however that turns more from USING the games to MAKING them. PLAYING with blocks vs. BUILDING something truly new and inspiring.
Now, to tie this into Uru, there are multitudes of people in Uru of a whole variety of ages, job statuses, and opinions. Most of the hardcore fans (that I've interacted with) are not over-obsessed people who do nothing but play Uru all day. Most of them are people who simply use the friendships and relaxing atmosphere of Uru to wind down after a hard day. When MOUL was still running, I'd fire it up near the end of the day and relax in Gira or get a small group of people and go exploring.
Anyhow, to wrap this all up, I think both you and Novah are right in some ways. This works for you. If other people put their gaming as a higher priority, then WoW WILL affect their grades. And rightly so. No one should put their future on their level(or other sign of progress) in a game. You get the balance right.
May 18th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Tell me how any of what you said suggested that Novah was "right in some ways"? She went off and based all her information on the assumption that this was only a single semester example, when, in fact, I have three 4.0 semesters completed. WoW didn't affect my grades this semester, the one before this, or the one before that. You did, however, understand what I was saying in the fact that it's the PERSON who ruins their life, not the game. It's their CHOICE what to put higher on their list of priorities. All the horrible "addiction" stories you hear make it sound like the game is the one that's adapting its programming to assimilate helpless players when it's simply a flimsy excuse to dodge the blame. That was my intention...
But, you know, I really didn't plan for this to become a discussion. What on Earth brings you people out from under the rocks? I'll be cruising along and, suddenly, people make posts about obscure things. Is it because I mentioned Uru in a less than savory manner? You see that one chance to get in the last word because you think I'm wrong? Novah's post reeks of "oh hey, it looks like he's basing his conclusion off too little evidence, I'm going to tell him he's wrong!" And yours was formed for the specific purpose of tying it into Uru... Does that mean for all my other posts that are truly important (example: politics), my conclusions ARE sound and nobody has anything to add about them? Or, heck, either of you could be trying to discuss those controversial posts, but are signing it anonymously.
Interesting how this is a post that woke people up... People I'm trying to put behind me, even. A post that... Really isn't all that important. As a rule, I don't filter comments for anything other than spam purposes, but that doesn't mean I welcome all comments. People who have made it clear they dislike me are obviously going to be on my "not-welcome" list and will receive some equally snappy remarks... People who have shunned me for speaking my low opinions about their holy grail of computer games and then turn around and make a list of problems they claim they saw in it the entire time in an effort to STILL look like they know what they're talking about. And it all leaves me wondering:
Why in the HECK do you Myst community people (most of whom I dislike (and vice versa) and/or don't know) comment?
May 20th, 2008 at 10:22 am
And this is a perfect example of the "people don't respond when asked to" phenomenon.
When I was trashing Uru a few months ago, you were quick to post, reply, and even email me within MINUTES...
You guys enjoy popping in, disagreeing with me, and then running away without looking back at what I've written.
Geez, and you wonder why I don't like you folks anymore.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Sorry that I didn't respond immediately. I do have a life outside of talking to you. I said that Novah was right in some ways because it seemed to me that she was talking about the fact that this worked for you. She was obviously wrong that you were only including data from one semester.
Now, that said, while I agree with you that people are the only ones really in control, I also feel that some games DO have addictive qualities. To overcome those, you have to have a certain strength and clarity of purpose and the will to do something more. That doesn't mean that it's the mean old game's fault anymore than the game breeds serial killers. It has aspects that encourage violence and if you lack a solid moral compass it may lead you towards being more violent, but that's a choice the person makes.
As for why I have/have not commented. For the most part, your posts are about yourself/school (which I have no insight in, so I stay out) or politics (which I stay away from whether I agree or not). I commented because the role of video games in people's lives today and their impact, perceived or otherwise, is an interesting subject. The reason for my posting had nothing to do with Uru. I included Uru because you did and because I had experiences different than your's.
As for my rapid contact before, that was because you commented on my blog and I did not want you to feel that I was attacking you. I also was less busy then. I have a life and so do you. Don't demand I spend it here waiting for your next comment. If you want a quicker response, use my email. Otherwise, I will respond when I have the time and not at your call.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Well, I don't really want your comments at all... Nor anyone else's from the Myst community in general.
By the way, I waited three days before my last comment. By no means do I demand you spend all your time here. Not even I do that. I at least keep tabs on active discussions I've got going on forums and blogs, though. I'm sure you don't let that much time go by on all your important Age Writing discussions... But consider this discussion terminated. Nothing good has come from it so far (as is usually the case when you Myst-types show up to harass me), and it wasn't even a post designed to initiate a discussion of any sort to begin with.