Wednesday, August 8, 2012

in the age of comfort and convenience...

...you have learnt how to grind.

Congratulations, it's not a skill many choose or have to master in these days of cable television, fast food and the nanny state.

These days, with a small amount of effort people can sidle their way through a state-funded education to a beige but secure government job. With almost no input they can let their waistline expand and join the growing obesity epidemic and potentially even develop a little type 2 diabetes as they go. Voyeuristic virtual existences await us at every turn as television and cable foist shows upon us in which we watch others proactively moving through the world, so that we might not. If you're of a mind to evidence only the lightest and slightest influence upon your surroundings then this current stay-at-home high-tech world really is your oyster.

But in-game for some reason many are cut from a different cloth. We grind together, we achieve together, we learn, we seek excellence in pursuit of our goals. Sure Blizzard shifts the goalposts but we grind and achieve nonetheless.

I feel I've done relatively well in various areas of my life but have I shown the same level of grinding application, levied the everyday focused effort it takes to be truly great at something in RL? Here and there sure - but consistently. I must honestly answer that I have not.

As I take a step back from an MMO that I've been playing for about 5 years, I wonder at the nature of gamers who develop leet skillz in games that in 6 or 12 months will likely cease to exist, whilst showing sizably less application to their own real lives. What drives us to pursue such excellence in our leisure time in such an active manner? Is there a line between the person who plays virtual games to relax and the person who is simply time and time again working to actively procrastinate away their RL opportunities.

Stay liquid folks,


Mogul.

No comments:

Post a Comment