Runescape v. World of Warcraft

I was just perusing Lisa's(one of my classmates) World of Warcraft blog. I found her reference to a Stanford University Medical School study, where "researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play." I can understand the science behind this study, but I have to wonder why I am not compelled to play video games. Is there a hard wiring issue? Interesting to consider.

Also in Lisa's blog I was drawn to an HBS article about the Gamer Disposition as it relates to their contribution to the workforce. Consider what business gurus see as the positive attributes of playing games.

"Today’s multiplayer online games are large, complex, constantly evolving social systems. Their perpetual newness is what makes them enticing to players. Each generation of games begets a new generation of participants who develop what we call the gamer disposition. It’s exactly the disposition you should want in your workforce. "



Five Attributes of Gamers:

• They are bottom-line oriented.
• They understand the power of diversity.
• They thrive on change.
• They see learning as fun.
• They marinate on the “edge.”

• Stanford Article
• Harvard Business School Article
  

A comparsion of WW and Runescape:

• Runescape is a game most played by teenagers from ages 13-15, but is also played by 9-12 year olds. World of Warcraft's complexity makes it harder for immature players to play.

• World of Warcraft is complex and hard to understand at first, and only allows certain classes per character. In Runescape, it's easier to follow along and see what's happening and what to do, and all "classes" can be accessed by a single character.

• Runescape only allows 1 character per account. World of Warcraft allows enough too fill most of the classes in a single realm.

• World of Warcraft is $15 a month. Runescape is only $5 a month.

World of Warcraft is full screen and requires more resources from the computer to play. Runescape is a browser game, made in java.

• Runescape's graphics may be the best Java can do, but they're still lacking. World of Warcraft has better graphics.
  

• World of Warcraft REQUIRES teams and levels for certain things. require a team for at.

On the Road to Rune

I was recently talking to my crew about my personal odyssey a.k.a playing video games. Interestingly, playing video games somehow allowed me to cross a generational divide. Suddenly, I knew about their world: multiplayer games, on-line chatting, user generated contact, a wired existence. I shared a similar experience with my son. We could look for Runescape images on-line, discuss how he performed a quest, or just laugh at how bad I am at the game. In short, we collaborated while playing Runescape, a pro-social aspect of gaming. I found it interesting that in the Peng article that those who were infrequent users as well as those who were heavy user also were incredibly social. My perception of gamers as reclusive nerds to a certain extent has been blown out of the water. Heck, I live with a gamer and I think he is pretty cool.

Tangentially, Ryan also failed to excel at his game, Halo. Consider a quote from his blog:

"I never became comfortable playing my game and it felt like my resistance was old and habitual. I remember not being allowed to sit down on the couch for long before my mother or father would demand I go outside and play. I enjoy physical activity and competition too much I guess. I feel like I am making a moral or ethical choice to eschew gaming because it is clear to me that I am gaining nothing when I play virtual games like Halo."

He and I both come from a athletic background. We both are competitive; we both found it hard to get motivated to play. I feel that same moral tug to condemn gaming out of kind, but I defer in that I really have gained something by playing. I have acquired a new language, a new media literacy that is essential in today's world. I said one of my goals for the class was to become more relevant. I feel like I have achieved that goal.