Online Gaming Can Improve Your Social Life
However, as someone who has played games online for more than a decade, I would like to present a view of gaming as an alternative to the image of a darkened room and a solitary person hunched over a keyboad in the green glow of a computer screen. The view I would like to present is that of an online community, in which various members congregate in person for events, or simply gather at each other’s houses for an afternoon of relaxation. There are many games online which offer the opportunity to be such a community, but the one in which I have seen the most sense of community is FiranMux.
It is an online text-based game, which means that there are no graphics to speak of, and everything, from actions, to desctriptions, to all aspects of life, are conveyed through words, like a perpetual story. More importantly, it is a role-playing game, which means that people who log in are able to pick or create a character, and contribute to the story by bringing their character to life and interacting with others. Characters in the game have spouses and children, friends and enemies, all played by other people from all over the world. In time, these in-character relationships begin to form bonds between the players, many of whom end up becoming close online friends, sharing pictures and stories of family life, and helping to comfort each other in times of strife.
But, so far, little of this dispells that mental image of the solitary gamer. But what if I told you that, for one weekend a year, FiranMux throws away the computers and trades in two floors of a hotel in Maryland, and that players of the game from all over the world get together there for three or four days of interacting face to face? FiranCon, its annual convention, gives players a chance to meet and get to know the faces behind the characters. It fosters the sense of community, and helps build the connections between the players that already exist so strongly on the game. It also gives players an opportunity to get to know others who, in reality, may live close to them.
In my own life, I am a relative newcomer to the part of the country in which I live. My entire family is far away, and I had no long-time friends here, instead moving for the sake of a job. Most of my neighbors are busy and have different enough interests that we have little more than a vague acquaintance. One would expect that this could lead to a very lonely and anti-social existence. Yet my house is often busy, and I’m rarely lacking for visitors when I want them. The reason for this is that same online community I mentioned, FiranMux. By participating on that game, I was able to meet other players who live in the near area, and we get together in person semi-regularly. Others come from further away for longer weekends, or to attend events, and so, contrary to all the articles warning of a loss of social skills from too much time online, I have far more of a social-life than I would otherwise. And, of course, there are gaming weekends, in which everyone brings a computer and we play online together. Shared with good food and drinks, it becomes just a different kind of social gathering, with multiple levels of communication. Even when we can’t get together in person, FiranMux gives us a built-in mode of daily communication, so we can keep in touch.
The internet is touted as having just about anything you could want, if you only take the time to look. It’s a well of information and opportunity, and if you’re of a mind, it can be a chance to make new friends and improve your social life. I know it worked for me.
