Second Skin

[D_Davis]

A documentary on MMORPGS, and how they have impacted the lives of a few players.

Looks fascinating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPOxuOCGi9I

[Kurosawa Fan]

Definitely looks interesting. They seem like extreme cases, as most people I know who play those games do so as a hobby and don't let it consume their lives. Either way, I'm interested.

[Grouchy]

Well, World of Warcraft IS fucking addictive. The game is designed so it never stops. You get better and better and better and better, then you go to war and you get even better and you go to a bigger war. When you die, you spend time travelling to retrieve your corpse - in fact, the world being so huge, half the time you're travelling somewhere. And it's fucking cool how every character can be individual, since there are so many variables no two players look alike. You can even design your own clothing based on your guild.

But, being a fantasy world, it's an understandable addiction up to a point. The ones that are seriously addictive and, to a point, have a sick concept, are the real-life simulators like Second Life.

I'd be interested in a documentary from a nerd perspective, though. I get the feeling that the makers of that doc weren't ever hooked on a MMORPG before getting interested on the subject. Oh, and that guy who says he wants to kill himself is an asshat.

[D_Davis]

I flipped through a book once about MMORPG players and their avatars. It was fascinating. It showed a picture of the player on one page, with a profile, and on the facing page it showed a picture of their character, with a profile.

One of the players was a dude who was probably the most deformed human being I've ever seen. The dude was hooked up to all kinds of machines, and had almost no use of any of his limbs. Mentally, he was totally cool, but physically, he couldn't have been more handicapped. It was really touching. His character was a great hero, strong, noble, and totally capable. through this virtual world (WoW, in this case) this guy was able to live a somewhat normal physical life.

I can't remember the name of the book, but it was really neat.

[Grouchy]

I flipped through a book once about MMORPG players and their avatars. It was fascinating. It showed a picture of the player on one page, with a profile, and on the facing page it showed a picture of their character, with a profile.

One of the players was a dude who was probably the most deformed human being I've ever seen. The dude was hooked up to all kinds of machines, and had almost no use of any of his limbs. Mentally, he was totally cool, but physically, he couldn't have been more handicapped. It was really touching. His character was a great hero, strong, noble, and totally capable. through this virtual world (WoW, in this case) this guy was able to live a somewhat normal physical life.

I can't remember the name of the book, but it was really neat.

Heh, that's true. On the other hand, me, a thin, regular looking guy without muscle, I have a Tauren warrior with two tribal beards and a gigantic sledgehammer.