This is from one of my favorite gaming websites... if you are a gunner, or a FPS gamer, or both, you really need to read this. Even if you are not, it is an excellent piece on the discussion behing the theory of video games affecting how people act in the real world.
The article is HERE
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Facebook Familiarity.
Two things happened to me recently that I think are of note enough to put on the blog. They both related to friends I have on Facebook. When I say "friends" I have to admit that these are people I have never met before, but are in my friends list due to various connections with other IRL friends. (I should also state that these people are the sort I would probably be friends with without Facebook) I would guess that I have "known" these people via their's and my FB status updates for about 2 yesrs now.
So anyway... One day at work, I get a phone call on my cell (and I have never given my cell number to this person specifically) from one of my FB friends whom I have never met, never spoken to other than on FB, and probably will not likely meet anytime soon. The reason for the phone call is completely irrelevant for this blog, but what was so interesting about it was that our conversation, (with real voices) was as if it was between two people who had known and spoken to each other for years. The was none of the uncomfortable chit chat to get the conversation up to speed, and no awkwardness that comes with the unfamiliarity of speaking to a stranger. It was as if I was talking to someone I work with on a regular basis. And it was totally normal! It was not until the conversation was over that it struck me, just how "un-normal" it was. Almost a little scary. I was really floored by how familiar we were with each other, us being total strangers and all.
The second case was with a young man who attends the same school as my son, but yet they have never truly gotten to know each other, and again, I have never met him personally myself. I have had small conversations with him on Facebook, usually discussion games and gaming in general, but nothing too deep. As time and events would have it, he eventually was set to come to my house for a gaming session, and we would meet for the first time. When he arrived at the door, I greeted him, (and so did Gunnar in his own particularly LOUD way) and said. "Hi D*****, I feel I know you, but in a Facebook sort of way." He agreed, and our period of "meeting and greeting" was over and we set to gaming and had a very enjoyable time. I didn't need to ask him questions about his gaming experience or school experience or where he lived or what he like or stuff like that, cause for the most part, I already knew it.
Facebook is pretty old hat anymore and I am becoming slightly bored with it, but I must say that in many many ways, this application has really changed the social scene in my circle of "friends." I feel far more connected with my close friends and closer with my distant friends and maybe they feel the same way too. Who knows what this form social interaction will eventually lead to in the bigger picture, but it really has made a big difference in my socializing in the outside world. I kind of like it. I will however, try to keep the big surprises I might have off of Facebook because nothing spoils telling a big story to someone and they already know about it from your status updates!
later!
So anyway... One day at work, I get a phone call on my cell (and I have never given my cell number to this person specifically) from one of my FB friends whom I have never met, never spoken to other than on FB, and probably will not likely meet anytime soon. The reason for the phone call is completely irrelevant for this blog, but what was so interesting about it was that our conversation, (with real voices) was as if it was between two people who had known and spoken to each other for years. The was none of the uncomfortable chit chat to get the conversation up to speed, and no awkwardness that comes with the unfamiliarity of speaking to a stranger. It was as if I was talking to someone I work with on a regular basis. And it was totally normal! It was not until the conversation was over that it struck me, just how "un-normal" it was. Almost a little scary. I was really floored by how familiar we were with each other, us being total strangers and all.
The second case was with a young man who attends the same school as my son, but yet they have never truly gotten to know each other, and again, I have never met him personally myself. I have had small conversations with him on Facebook, usually discussion games and gaming in general, but nothing too deep. As time and events would have it, he eventually was set to come to my house for a gaming session, and we would meet for the first time. When he arrived at the door, I greeted him, (and so did Gunnar in his own particularly LOUD way) and said. "Hi D*****, I feel I know you, but in a Facebook sort of way." He agreed, and our period of "meeting and greeting" was over and we set to gaming and had a very enjoyable time. I didn't need to ask him questions about his gaming experience or school experience or where he lived or what he like or stuff like that, cause for the most part, I already knew it.
Facebook is pretty old hat anymore and I am becoming slightly bored with it, but I must say that in many many ways, this application has really changed the social scene in my circle of "friends." I feel far more connected with my close friends and closer with my distant friends and maybe they feel the same way too. Who knows what this form social interaction will eventually lead to in the bigger picture, but it really has made a big difference in my socializing in the outside world. I kind of like it. I will however, try to keep the big surprises I might have off of Facebook because nothing spoils telling a big story to someone and they already know about it from your status updates!
later!
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Old Friends, meet the new friends.
It has been a while without much to say in this blog but I think the drought is over.
Recently I have been reading some memoirs of gamers, most notably "Gamer Geeks and Fantasy Freaks" and "The Elfish Gene: Dungeons and Dragons and growing up strange." In these books, the authors recall their experiences with D&D and gaming and how it affected their lives. Both authors seem to, if not regret their gaming experiences in their younger years, they certainly don't look back on them with great fondness. They seemed to have a love/hate relationship with gaming and what it did for them, or maybe too them as an adolesent or teenager.
That is not the case for me. My gaming days have served me well. They fed my need and hunger for a fantasy world that I could partake in, not just read about. It fired my interest in western mediaeval history which in turn led me to long love affair with re-enacting. And I think it made me a better and more voracious reader, and in many ways, a bit more outgoing when I finally got into college. All together, I am fond of, and proud of my gaming days as a kid. Hell, I am still a gamer, and have brought my whole family and many friends into the gaming world because of my love of gaming.
Recently I was upstairs in the attic of the house looking for something and just for kicks I decided to look in the big blue tub that has been sitting there for years and years. I knew it contained all my old D&D stuff from years gone by, but I never really bothered to open it up because I was now involved in a whole new version of the game and the "first edition" is now obsolete in the gaming world. But I opened it upanyway and there, neatly stacked away were my old friends, the D&D books, modules,(now called pre-made adventures)characters, miniatures and gaming suppliments. It was a wave of nostalgia that washed over me. All the time spent as a kid with my buds playing the game and all the hours spent designing adventures and characters and simply living inside my head within the fantasy world. It was a great time and nice to remember all those things.
What I was most excited to find were the old modules that have recently been updated to the current version that I am playing. I can now play those old modules that gave me such joy with my new set of D&D players, of which one is my own son. I think this is great. The good old killer mod - White Plume Mountian - will soon be on the table and doing its damnedest to kill off every character in the group. It will be good to share these old favorites of mine with everyone. I hope they will enjoy them as much as I did all those years ago. (which really don't seem that long ago)
later!
Recently I have been reading some memoirs of gamers, most notably "Gamer Geeks and Fantasy Freaks" and "The Elfish Gene: Dungeons and Dragons and growing up strange." In these books, the authors recall their experiences with D&D and gaming and how it affected their lives. Both authors seem to, if not regret their gaming experiences in their younger years, they certainly don't look back on them with great fondness. They seemed to have a love/hate relationship with gaming and what it did for them, or maybe too them as an adolesent or teenager.
That is not the case for me. My gaming days have served me well. They fed my need and hunger for a fantasy world that I could partake in, not just read about. It fired my interest in western mediaeval history which in turn led me to long love affair with re-enacting. And I think it made me a better and more voracious reader, and in many ways, a bit more outgoing when I finally got into college. All together, I am fond of, and proud of my gaming days as a kid. Hell, I am still a gamer, and have brought my whole family and many friends into the gaming world because of my love of gaming.
Recently I was upstairs in the attic of the house looking for something and just for kicks I decided to look in the big blue tub that has been sitting there for years and years. I knew it contained all my old D&D stuff from years gone by, but I never really bothered to open it up because I was now involved in a whole new version of the game and the "first edition" is now obsolete in the gaming world. But I opened it upanyway and there, neatly stacked away were my old friends, the D&D books, modules,(now called pre-made adventures)characters, miniatures and gaming suppliments. It was a wave of nostalgia that washed over me. All the time spent as a kid with my buds playing the game and all the hours spent designing adventures and characters and simply living inside my head within the fantasy world. It was a great time and nice to remember all those things.
What I was most excited to find were the old modules that have recently been updated to the current version that I am playing. I can now play those old modules that gave me such joy with my new set of D&D players, of which one is my own son. I think this is great. The good old killer mod - White Plume Mountian - will soon be on the table and doing its damnedest to kill off every character in the group. It will be good to share these old favorites of mine with everyone. I hope they will enjoy them as much as I did all those years ago. (which really don't seem that long ago)
later!
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