Labyrrinth
12-13-2005, 03:02 PM
763 This week, in How Gaming Changed My Life (http://www.silkyvenom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1559), I’d like to introduce you to Requiel. Requiel submitted a story, not about himself, but about a friend of his Jack. Jack was physically unable to keep up with that of his friends when it came to certain activities, and on top of it he was shy to the point of it being painful. Requiel and his friends soon found a common interest they could all engage in together and one that gave Jack the ability to shine.
Requiel
These features on how gaming changes the lives of people got me thinking about my high school friend, who we will call Jack.
In our high school, there were two primary groups of gamers: the know-it-alls and the climbers. The know-it-alls were insufferably arrogant and demeaning toward anyone with dissimilar tastes, or who played sports. The climbers were much more laid back, and enjoyed videogames very much, but didn't feel the need to judge people for liking different forms of recreation. I, along with 4 other friends, was part of this particular group, and we all were on the climbing team as well: I was also into theater and swimming, one of the guys was into mountain-biking and band, another dance and track. However, the 4th member of our group, Jack, lacked the ability to keep up with the rest physically, and because of his lack of finances, couldn't purchase consoles, games and a better computer. While the rest of us, gifted with generous allowances, could purchase many games and go on adventures together. I believe Jack always felt a little excluded, even though he was great guy, he was very shy, and only really related to us, and even then with difficulty because of our diverse interests. While the rest of us had an easy time talking to and having fun with most of the people in the school, Jack had difficulty with people outside of our small group of friends.
This all changed when Jack and the rest of purchased City of Heroes. City of Heroes was the one game all four of us owned, and we played for several months every night. Jack was new to MMOs, so at the beginning was awkward and slow... resulting in situations where he (as the tank) would run in the opposite direction of monsters because he was confused about his role. However, with our help, Jack soon became a very important and very valuable member of the group. He learned very quickly, and soon was tanking with the skill of a seasoned veteran, grabbing aggro and maintaining it easily.
At school, we'd always rehash our last night’s adventures (or misadventures) with relish, and we began to notice a change in Jack. He became more vocal, confident and easy-going. Previously, he rarely voiced his opinion on issues, intent on correcting the rest of us when we made grammatical or academic mistakes. After CoH, he let the little things slide and was more prone to laugh at our foibles then correct them. Our group of friends was drawn much closer by our online experiences: we had become such a good team online, it helped us relate offline. Jack began being more vocal and sociable in class, hanging out at other gatherings: confident that he was worth something socially, which he was. He developed a dry, witty sense of humor that translated very well online (something I've never been able to do), and was soon a part of our friends extended social group.
We have since stopped playing CoH after going to college, we are all too busy with work. The other day I called Jack up to see if he wanted to play some CoH.... and got turned down. When I asked him why, he said proudly "I'm going on a date!" which is something he never had done before we began playing online.
~Requiel
If you have an inspiring story on how gaming changed your life, and you'd like to see us feature it, feel free to email me at Laby@silkyvenom.com !
Requiel
These features on how gaming changes the lives of people got me thinking about my high school friend, who we will call Jack.
In our high school, there were two primary groups of gamers: the know-it-alls and the climbers. The know-it-alls were insufferably arrogant and demeaning toward anyone with dissimilar tastes, or who played sports. The climbers were much more laid back, and enjoyed videogames very much, but didn't feel the need to judge people for liking different forms of recreation. I, along with 4 other friends, was part of this particular group, and we all were on the climbing team as well: I was also into theater and swimming, one of the guys was into mountain-biking and band, another dance and track. However, the 4th member of our group, Jack, lacked the ability to keep up with the rest physically, and because of his lack of finances, couldn't purchase consoles, games and a better computer. While the rest of us, gifted with generous allowances, could purchase many games and go on adventures together. I believe Jack always felt a little excluded, even though he was great guy, he was very shy, and only really related to us, and even then with difficulty because of our diverse interests. While the rest of us had an easy time talking to and having fun with most of the people in the school, Jack had difficulty with people outside of our small group of friends.
This all changed when Jack and the rest of purchased City of Heroes. City of Heroes was the one game all four of us owned, and we played for several months every night. Jack was new to MMOs, so at the beginning was awkward and slow... resulting in situations where he (as the tank) would run in the opposite direction of monsters because he was confused about his role. However, with our help, Jack soon became a very important and very valuable member of the group. He learned very quickly, and soon was tanking with the skill of a seasoned veteran, grabbing aggro and maintaining it easily.
At school, we'd always rehash our last night’s adventures (or misadventures) with relish, and we began to notice a change in Jack. He became more vocal, confident and easy-going. Previously, he rarely voiced his opinion on issues, intent on correcting the rest of us when we made grammatical or academic mistakes. After CoH, he let the little things slide and was more prone to laugh at our foibles then correct them. Our group of friends was drawn much closer by our online experiences: we had become such a good team online, it helped us relate offline. Jack began being more vocal and sociable in class, hanging out at other gatherings: confident that he was worth something socially, which he was. He developed a dry, witty sense of humor that translated very well online (something I've never been able to do), and was soon a part of our friends extended social group.
We have since stopped playing CoH after going to college, we are all too busy with work. The other day I called Jack up to see if he wanted to play some CoH.... and got turned down. When I asked him why, he said proudly "I'm going on a date!" which is something he never had done before we began playing online.
~Requiel
If you have an inspiring story on how gaming changed your life, and you'd like to see us feature it, feel free to email me at Laby@silkyvenom.com !