Online gaming formed a very big part of my childhood (and adulthood), especially MMORPGs. Although I'm currently not engaged in any online games, I still miss playing them a lot and hopefully one day I'll find one game where I can play with my friends and bring back the great (albeit virtual) memories.
One thing negative about online games is that they are highly addictive and can often hinder activities in real life. That being said, here are five things I learnt from playing online games.
1. That life is filled with scammers
Just like in real life, online games have quite a number of scammers or hackers who can't wait to take advantage of you. Sadly I was scammed before in an online game, and I was only in Primary 3 back then. That would make me around 9 years old. Ever since that happened, I've been much more cautious with people in general and I've never been scammed in a game again.
You have to be cautious on Steem as well. Don't leave your passwords lying around and don't fall for phishing scams. Always check the URL to see if it's legit before clicking any link. There has been lots of phishers lately and it's worrying.
2. You have to work for your goals
In a game, there are many things that you can achieve, including leveling up, getting the best gear available, creating a strong guild filled with trustworthy members or even reaching the highest ranking in the game. It's the same in life. You have to work hard and smart if you want to achieve success. It can be boring like in a MMORPG where you have to grind just to level up.
I remember waking up early in the morning just to grind and gain levels because it was the "optimum" time to do so, when everyone was asleep. The dedication I had to online games is simply attributable to my interest and passion. Similarly, if you love your work, you aren't working.
3. Life isn't fair
Life isn't fair both in-game and in real life. I'm sure most of us know a player who just joins a game and finds the rarest item imaginable, or joins the most prestigious guild and have so much support from his guild mates. It annoys you but it teaches you that real life is the same. In life, you have people who are born with a silver spoon and as a result, they're exposed to more opportunities. It's not that they're smarter or more hardworking, they're just luckier. You don't have to be mad about it. Just understand that everyone leads a different life.
4. Communication is important
In online games, you may have party quests or just regular parties for training. Party here means group. Communication is vital in the success of quests that require you to group up with other players. How many times have you failed a quest because you guys lacked communication? In Maple Story, we have party quests and we sometimes fail because we couldn't communicate with each other and everyone just does their own thing.
Similarly in real life, if you don't communicate well with your group mates, you may screw up your assignment. Bad communication also leads to breakups among couples.
5. It's more fun to have companions
This may be the number one reason why I loved online games. It gets boring when you're playing alone and you often wait for your friends to come online or you pester them to do so. An online game is fun when played with others and not by yourself. How else will you do party quests, or go hunting for loots together or grind together?
In life, as much as we love our alone time, it'll get boring if we have no friends that we can rely on. Just like in online games, there'll be friends you'll meet along the way and disappear sometime after. Yet there'll still be this small group of friends you've met from the start with an unwavering friendship over the years. That's what I cherish the most.
In a nutshell
Online games have taught me a lot of things about life and strengthened my friendships with some. Do comment below if you feel the same. Thanks for reading.
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Thanks for your analysis bro! The biggest thing that I have learned from online gaming (I play a lot of Dota 2) is that no matter how frustrated you are, in the end you have zero control over how others play the game/treat you in real life. So there is no use focusing on it; rather focus on your own faults and slowly try to improve yourself :)
Thanks for your input. It's so relatable to real life..
Nice analysis, playing online games exposes one to various aspects of the internet. It was also fun for me, formed an integral part of my childhood memories.
Thanks. I guess our childhoods were awesome XD
You are right, even though they are video games you can always learn something from them and apply it in real life, when I was a little younger, I was somewhat addicted to online games but things change when you have responsibilities and priorities.
I liked the first photo you used, "MU" was my first mmorpg :) I do not know if you used that photo to quote the scammers haha, but I remember that in the server where I played some people sold the game currency for money real, and the scams were present.
Dude MU was my first MMORPG as well! I miss those days. Twisting slash and evil spirit..
Cool analysis. Life is a lesson and all field possess same. Thanks for sharing @howtostartablog
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