Now, I’ve always loved the sweet taste of a fresh cold beer *insert Homer-drool*, and yes it would probably benefit my health (/Ffaffners wife says, “AND that gut of yours, sweetie!”) if I drank just a tad less beer, but in my frail estimate I would say that I DON’T have a drinking problem (/Ffaffners family and friends, “Ffaffy…we gotta talk”) other than enjoying a few imports whenever i feel like im in good company with family and friends, and this is exactly what got me thinking about my friends comment. I actually DO drink alone…, or let me rephrase that: I actually DO drink “alone”.
Whenever I log into the artificial worlds of Everquest 2 or any other MMO, I sit alone in front of my PC. What I do though is interact with a bunch of people via text, chat and interactive patterns first and foremost controlled by mechanics set in place by the developers of my current MMO. But no matter how “dead” the 1’s and 2’s inside my PC are, my interaction with these other peoples avatars is of a very social nature which in most cases borders beyond the limits of the current system used for this interaction. During a lengthy playsession I can come across many feelings and state of minds in my interaction with all these other avaters, both happiness, sadness, anger, frustration and relief. You could argue that these feeling also can be experienced while watching a movie or playing a singleplayer game, and that is true…but the difference is in the strength and impact of these feelings when interacting with “real” people sitting behind another terminal anywhere in the world. I’m gonna stop now before yappering on about the sociology of interpersonal communication mediated through a virtual world…mainly because it is not what this post is about, but most importantly because I know d*ck about this field apart from what I’ve experienced myself.
Bottomline is that the interaction feels very real, and I believe it to BE very much real.
As I mentioned, I like to open up a bottle of St. Feullien-beer when in good company, and good company is exactly what I usually find myself in when logging into my favourite MMO and say my hellos in guild-chat. I reckon it is the same feeling as walking into your favourite pub, or going to a friends house and he greets you with a glass of red wine. In my experience, I am not the only one who likes this kind of add-on to my MMO’ing, and as the enjoying of a moderate amount of alchohol is part of the culture in many countries, I would expect it to also show up when adults meet and interact in a virtual world.
In conclusion; enjoying a brew while playing around with your online-buddies is hardly the same as sitting alone drinking…it is actually very enjoyable (Unless the tank just came home from a wet afternoon during a televised soccer-match on the local pub! *eyes Sres*). To me this act comes very close to sitting around a table and having a cozy time talking to your friends.
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*sheepish smile*
First of all I’m not sure drinking alone nor “alone” equals a drinking problem, but that’s really beside the point (if it does I don’t have a drinking problem, I have two).
Are you considering making a poll in your guild to see how many actually do drink “alone”? I think you will find it a bigger part than not
Well I don’t tend to drink when gaming, as I only really drink when I’m out.
I think you’ll find as HP said that more do than don’t though. As you said Ffaffner your not alone when your MMO’ing with your guild/squad.
No money for beer = drinking problem
Super Fact.
Beer is for life, not just for Christmas.
I remember more than a few times returning home late from an evening out on the town, and being…well…less than sober. In this state it is generally not a good idea to log into your favourite MMO. Some of the dangers are the accidental sales of very prized and rare items or simply the considerable repair-bill the next morning. But the worst thing about logging on in such a state is ofcourse the risk of fellow guildies being online too….oh the horror.
I recently started playing Battleground Europe, and I’ve been lucky to become member of great squad (S! Hussars!). Each sunday evening my squad is having a “squad-night”, doing different things in game. This event is very social with everyone chatting in Ventrilo, having fun and enjoying a beer or two. How anyone is able to play BE and fly around in planes or rolling out a tank WHILE drinking a few beers is beyond me, though
Oh, and Vannin, those are some very wise words! I just wanna add: Christmasbeer is also for life….not just fo Christmas
Yeah I’ve done one squad night, I usually make the squad early evening session though as the night starts early if people are on. I then log off later and jump into EQ2 for the neXus night.
Now that neXus nights are changing to a week night so more of us can make it, I can make some Hussars squad nights when RL allows.
I look forward to sitting in the bomber seat while you fly the plane, projectile vomiting all over you as the plane spins around.
Yetian, next time you get bulletfed in the gun-bubble, could you please refrain from dieing towards the left side of the plane?…a human body filled with that much lead really can shift the balance of even the largest bomber-planes
Hotpocket, I pretty much agree that drinkin’ by yourself doesnt equal having a drinking-problem, but my friends comment kind of implied it and I wouldnt be surprised if other people thought so too…in fact I’ve met some who did.
Ofcourse I stand as the scientific proof, that there is absolutely nothing to the theory!
*burp*
*falls over*
Hard for me to comment really as I rarely have an evening without a beer.
I most definately dont consider it odd to drink ‘alone’, and I have been known to get rather drunk ‘alone’ in the past whilst playing computer games. When I think about it, I certainly wouldnt have more than a couple if I was just watching TV or something, but if I’m on an mmo with people to chat to, i’ll drink as if i’m in the pub. I guess that proves the point that the interaction gained from gaming with others is real, and that you arent ‘alone’ in any case.
Who’s round is it then?
That’s a very good point Magnu!
Come to think of it, on some occasions I’ve too gotten more than a few down while doing an all-night playsession, and I don’t think I’ve ever done the same in front of the telly