One of my friends is quitting EQLive

[Windcatcher]

I ran into a friend tonight and he told me that he's quitting. Selling off his items, getting rid of his toon, the whole smash. This served as quite a shock to me, since for months he has been trying to convince me to get another account and begin playing again. Fending off his pleas to start anew had become a chore.

When I asked him the reason for the sudden change, he didn't seem too happy about it. Apparently his wife put the proverbial foot down. :P He was spending too much time on the game. As soon as he got home from work, on he was, and he'd stay on long past when he should be in bed for work the next day. When he wasn't playing it he was thinking about it. We all know the story, and I'm sure many of us have lived it. Thousands (maybe tens of thousands) don't call it EverCrack for nothing.

My first response: "GOOD: you'll be a better man for it". We all know the story about how this game can suck people in. I quit playing because I got sucked in. I was playing till after sunrise on the weekends, playing as soon as I got home from work, eating dinner at my desk, and so on. I'm not married, so I could get away with such things, but I missed a whole lot of life on the way. I'm out of EQLive now, and I'm writing a lot more, spending weekends at the gym, and am all around happier. I look forward to springtime with great anticipation.

One thought I took away from my conversation with him tonight was what this behavior says about life. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but it seems that our eagerness to embrace an alternate life, even a virtual one, represents a severe indictment of reality. When I played EQLive, stories abounded about how certain people, who were the sweetest, nicest, seemingly most well-adjusted people ingame had serious problems and voids in real life.

I can't help but shudder and wonder, have we lost something, as a people, as a culture, that drives us to escape our existence? I think there is something that we lack, and that we desire, but I don't know what it is. I'm presently writing a book, a fictional story, and I'm acutely aware that it takes place in a fantasy world. Part of that is simply because I like fantasy in general, but I can't help but look at the popularity of fantasy and wonder how much of it stems from our need to escape, and what is driving us to want to.

[Aragain]

My theory, is that this "drive" to escape, or live an alternate reality, is just an evolved form of that mechanism that has kept humans alive and kicking since the days of being covered in hair, and beating things with sticks.

Wanting to live a fantasy life, is being Human. Some of us expand on this condition, this trait, moreso then others.

If you think about it, in this day and age, what else would we have to live for, while we wait for a new frontier to be open to us all, in a world where every frontier has been explored, and exploited. Those of course, being that of the physical realm of Earth.

There are very few frontiers left to explore... In general, you have the Sea, you have Space, you could count under the Earth as one, and one frontier that has been slowly evolving just as us humans do, as time goes on, is that frontier of Fantasy.

Which of these is the easiest to explore? Of course, Fantasy.

And as time goes on... Fantasy becomes more of reality, with technology, but in more ways then one.

We will one day be in the space age, and space fantasies, will be just like "modern day novels", in that time, that is. And then, if you think about it, the line between reality and fantasy is also blurred, by mans ability and ambition to recreate fantasy, make it physical, make it reality.

So, when a game like EverQuest pops up, for the first time, you literally loose yourself.

All for different reasons too. Some people actually striving to escape so much, that they live in a fantasy world, something I wish I could do, but realize is not possible, yet

Of course it has it's side effects like, addiction. But you can't blame that on anything, but the fact of being Human.

Think about this, if it makes sense, and hell, it may not even have a point... but on your question of "have we lost something, as a people, as a culture, that drives us to escape our existence?"

If you gave a caveman a computer, with EverQuest installed, he would not play it(perhaps play around with it), for he has no reason, when he has in reality, a whole world to explore.

Just the same as, if you gave a modern day Human EverQuestian, thirsting for adventure, a spear, and an animal to hunt, in this world that you live in today, he would not hunt it for long, but why? Well why bother when there is no reason, and no way to really explore anything in doing so. Not in this age, when everything has been explored.

So, in short, we have not lost anything, but our "drive to escape", has just evolved into what it is today.

Hope that made some sense, I'm kind of tired, and the last time I brought this debate up in my head, I didn't have a computer or pen/paper to write it all down.

Other things also factor into wanting to escape, I'm 16, almost 17, and have already had a good share of RL issues, and EverQuest at the time, just seemed like a better choice then giving up on life, and ultimately ending it. /shrug.
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By the way Wind, I just started watching Farscape, and it is far better then about 90% of the movies and shows I have ever seen. Actually, I can't think of any other TV series that was better looking, and dialogued. (Being a once hardcore SG-1 fan, Farscape seems much more consistant in it's ability to deliver an all around good story)

Why the HELL is scifi cancelling it? To put more unrealistic crap like Lexx on? SciFi seems to be degenerating... Children of Dune will be nice, so it seems, but when Farscape leaves, I figure I will too, History channel is MUCH more entertaining these days then a lot of the crap on SciFi.

ok, time for sleep.

[BLOOD_kane]

exactly...there is nothing left to explore except fantasy now. The current world is what we are used to and it is so...boring. But online rpg's with real (well somewhat real) breathing worlds draws people in. That is why when SWG, EQ2, etc. come out more people will be sucked in.

[Edgar1898]

I can't help but shudder and wonder, have we lost something, as a people, as a culture, that drives us to escape our existence? I think there is something that we lack, and that we desire, but I don't know what it is. I'm presently writing a book, a fictional story, and I'm acutely aware that it takes place in a fantasy world. Part of that is simply because I like fantasy in general, but I can't help but look at the popularity of fantasy and wonder how much of it stems from our need to escape, and what is driving us to want to.

hehe become a Guide, you will lose the will to play the game very quickly

[DeletedUser]

uhh...

We try to escape from the real world because

1. Its a piece of shit
2. It could be blown up by nuclear missles the next day
3. A lot of other reasons

I blame the past for everything.

[RevlinXevlin]

hehe become a Guide, you will lose the will to play the game very quickly

/agree

[Lyenu X`Arie]

Originally Posted by Aragain

By the way Wind, I just started watching Farscape, and it is far better then about 90% of the movies and shows I have ever seen. Actually, I can't think of any other TV series that was better looking, and dialogued. (Being a once hardcore SG-1 fan, Farscape seems much more consistant in it's ability to deliver an all around good story)

Why the HELL is scifi cancelling it? To put more unrealistic crap like Lexx on? SciFi seems to be degenerating... Children of Dune will be nice, so it seems, but when Farscape leaves, I figure I will too, History channel is MUCH more entertaining these days then a lot of the crap on SciFi.

Lexx is pretty cool for how damn unrealistic it is. A lot of shows are like that, such as Red Dwarf, Tales from the Crypt, and other shows like that. Although, I will admit Farscape is pretty damn good, and shouldn't be canceled, it'll be their biggest mistake along with canceling MST3k.

[a_Guest03]

There's plenty of places to explore! How many of us have been to Venus? The only problem is that all we have the means to explore for now is imagination and expression. You can't go to space, and the FAA bans flying unregulated. Assorted communication bands are regulated... Many innovative ideas have been tried and documented. The odds of coming up with one that's not in a book is rather hard. Basically, fantasy, science, and art give us the feeling that we're doing something new. We need that feeling to be secure with ourselves as a people.

[ScreamSilently]

I was just looking over the fascinating posts I've missed up until I got a new login last night. Just want to point out one thing in this post.

You missed nothing. The part of your live you lived infront of a computer was meant to be exactly that. Where would you have been? Cleaning up a polluted vacant lot in Harlem? Gonna go with nope.

At best you would have been sucking down beer looking for some...I'll assume girl, to convince with subtle charms that she needs to have sex with you.

I'm constantly amazed by what people consider as wasting time.
Everyone looks at things differently, some might say this is a waste of time. Just the act of posting on message boards. They are probably sitting infront of a television watching two hookers argue over a moron on some piece of crap reality show. Or hoping to see someone get killed in "The War".

It's your time, don't let other people tell you how to spend it.
Work is a waste of time, doing something that you enjoy is not. It can become destructive but is not a waste of time. Of course that is just the way I see it. After all we all die in the end.

[ednecro]

My take on this (and no one likes to admit it) is verant has somthing here..... They get you with the simulated human interaction thing, it gets to all kinds of people. I'm (luckily still) a married guy who started getting into this game way before mmorpg's exploded and I got hopelessly addicted because I was
not very aware of what this game does to you.
Playing to all hours on the weekends and right after work, heck somtimes even AT work. Luckily for me my wife is a very patient woman and just wanted me to be happy. But she saw right away
that I had a problem. She expressed to me that she missed me one day. THAT WAS A BIG WAKE UP CALL!!! Your wife missing you in your own house when you are sitting 30 feet away? So I quit, but then I went on the ultimate "EQ replacement quest" you know the one. The "What can I replace everquest with quest..." So there is was.
I went through all the motions. I tried tribes RPGMOD, morrow wind , neverwinter nights, dungeon siege, darkstone, diablo, diablo 2, warcraft, might and magic.... nothing did the trick of course. AND DO YOU KNOW WHY! because of the feeling you get in a virtual world that is way to large to explore. A world that is not real, and ultimatly designed to never quite satisfy you. Remember EVERquest as in FOREVERquest. That is the only way I can explain it. Then came the EQEMU. (bless those guys) Suddenly I was able to log on and play and I did not have to worry about my time and money ticking away (the i gotta play before my game card expires feeling) In the end I did not quit, but only play 1 or 2 nights a week. I think people get addicted to EQ for the same reasons they get addicted to chat rooms. They are either lonely , or they are not happy with their current life. If this is the case I do not think fantasy is the answer. It may dull the pain for awhile, but it will ultimatly leave you with the inevitable black hole. It was this feeling that made me realize there was a warm lonley human being in the next room who wanted to be with me, and that is what snapped me out of it. I think fantasy is there to make life more fun then it already is, it adds gratuitus adventure, but if your life is not fun to begin with, dont run from it, you will only regret it. Your life will still be there waiting for you when you log off, or close that fantasy book. if somthing is not working. Make a change. So back to my original quest "What did I finally replace everquest with?"
Well, everquest. But in moderation. I spend the rest of my time playing jak and daxter, or crash bandicoot with my wife. I have more fun doing that then all the hours I spent online surrounded by people i did not even know. Everquest is alot like the world in some ways. Its amazing how sometimes you can be surrounded by thousands of people and still feel totally alone.


oh, and by the way. Hey BLOOD_Kayne, pass that over here man all right!