Do You Want to Play a Game? (Intro)

I have a confession to make. I've been wasting spending a lot of time on a new online game.

First, let me say I'm not crushing anything (other that an occasional opponent in Words with Friends), nor am I angry at any avians.

I don't want to say exactly which one, but it's one of the MMO-family of games (that's Massive Multiplayer Online for those of you who don't know - like I didn't before I started). There are a lot of them out there, so exactly which one doesn't really matter, but I don't want to reveal it because then you'll all start a run on memberships and eventually we'll have to face off . .

Here's what I find really interesting though. Signing up and jumping into the game is suspiciously like joining a religion. Seriously.

Bear with me here.

Some people find one [substitute game or church here - and throughout] on their own and join the one that suits them in their exploration, but many join one that a friend invites them to.

Once you've joined, there are rules you have to learn (if you're lucky you find a mentor - MAYBE a rule book), and though the learning curve is steep, advancement - if you follow the rules - is swift and quite satisfying early on.

The further you get in, the more challenging the tasks become, but you develop friends and a support network to see you through. You start learning the unwritten rules that provide faster advancement than that available to the uninitiated.

There are occasional setbacks and disappointments, but usually you can work your way through. If reconciliation is impossible, you can quit (but you usually lose whatever you've built up or invested) and join a new one, but you have to start over from the beginner level.

If you make it to the upper levels, advancement crawls to a snail's pace and the purpose becomes much more socially focused. In fact, sometimes the socialization part overtakes the original purpose of the group.

And sadly, one of the strongest parallels is that in the end, money really rules the day.

I must admit that I find the whole thing so interesting that I'm going to expand this into a multi-part blog entry, delving into the similarities - and some dissimilarities as well - that drive people, for good or bad, to become so involved in both.

Join me in the quest ...