Role-playing & Virtual Worlds

[Bini]

What is your opinion on role-playing and virtual worlds? How does the Mormon Church view it? Are there official guidelines for those that participate in such activities? Or is it one of those things where it's left for members to use their own good judgment, like, what husband and wife do in the privacy of their own bedroom? I've heard different things from different people on this.

Anyway, what brought this line of thought up was Second Life. It's a virtual world where you vicariously live through a pixelated character, being and doing, whatever you want. There are no limits, only those that you set. After hearing about this virtual world from people, I decided to register and see what all the hype was about. In short, I was very disappointed. I actually removed the program from my computer the same day that I installed it. But during my short visit there, I was surprised to find several LDS communities. One location, even having a replica of the Salt Lake Temple. I had chatted to a couple people there and apparently they even hold church activities! Yes, it was very interesting.. Would it be safe to say that a virtual life is only as dangerous as you allow yourself to stray from good morals and the Gospel?

How about role-playing? Video-games that allow you to command the destiny of a protagonist, where depending on your choices and actions, determines the path of good or evil? I'm actually a big fan of RPGs and I've played many hours through this very kind of scenario. I've even played the bad-guy a few times.. =/

[mnn727]

Its left to the individual, but having been a D&D player and currently a World of Warcraft player, I would warn against wasting too much time on games. I limit myself on World of Warcraft to times that wouldn't normally be family time - I gotta say, it is adicting and I can understand how people could spend hours a day playing.

I also say the first time I don't get 100% Home Teaching in a month, the game has to go.

[mnn727]

Just an update, I was true to my word and canceled WoW in Nov, didn't make 100% H.T. and was spending too much time at it. Things are back to normal this month

[Gwen]

i happened across this while looking for something else and thought of this thread... due to the fact that i was searching something else i have not read every word but it seems to fit the question at hand....

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Just a Game?

[RanMan]

Over the years, I have certainly heard Church leaders speak out against such. However, being an avid fan of both I have not been as valiant in heeding their advice. On the other hand, I have had groups where I played with the bishopric. I think the concern here is for the amount of time that is spent on such activity. In my case, ever other Saturday night seemed no worse a waste of time than my Stake President's weekly golf game.

Still, I think if you don't have enough time to do your callings (not pointing fingers at anyone - just a general statement) then you don't have enough time to be playing games. But that is just common sense.

:)

[deseretgov]

I wouldn't be surprised if they had temple ceremonies in Second life. Crazy stuff goes on in there. I registered but my wireless made it too slow. I'm glad I haven't spent much time there.

[ozzy]

To my knowledge, the prophet has not said anything about how we should not do those things. As such (assuming I didn't just miss something), there is no official church doctrine on it. The closest you might come is in various conference talks that do discuss the dangers of getting caught up in a nonexistent life, and also council given by saying that we shouldn't be idle. Not to be judgmental (as I am very guilty of gaming and the like :) ), but there is nothing productive to be achieved by such things. Literally they are a waste of time. A fun one at that.

[Watchful]

Hey, if you're looking for some principles to keep in mind, there was a talk by Elder Bednar recently that addresses the virtual/game-playing world. It's called "Things as They Really Are" It should give you some insight.

[phatbac]

As an avaid role player on and off for the last 22 years i can say it can be as harmful as many other things can be. Video games as well, if we let things like this consume our lives then we run the risk of doing things just for our hobby not just having a hobby that is a casual distraction from everyday life. many things can be all consuming and addictive , such as golf or NFL football as well as video games and role playing. I think its best we keep games for fun and keep life and how we live it in prospective. Sure we need to prioritize family time and time for home teaching and callings before game time, but there is a place if we can balance it all. I think games are for fun and like any fun activity it has its place in life.

[Guest mirancs8]

I had a friend at work turn me onto second life and I found myself spending WAY to much time on it. It's as if you are trying to be someone else living this other life. After about 2 weeks I completely stopped going there because I found myself being a person other then myself. I can see it being very addictive for people.

[Bini]

Forgot about this thread. But read through it.

OK I figured as much. Like I said, Second Life, was not for me and I removed its program from my computer the same day that I installed it. But I'll admit that I spend about 10 hours a week gaming before hubby gets home—then it's off.

[Blackmarch]

To the OP; gaming can be very addicting, so be careful... Is it right or wrong? not in and of itself, anymore than money or taking walks, or many other things. But, it is very easy to let things slide and let them consume your time over better things.

Another thing to watch is checking your mental state after you play- do you feel angry, what do you talk about, and etc... if it's things that mainly revolve around games and specifically one or two games then you may want to reevaluate it.

FOr instance I do like to do a lan party every once in a while (generally with first person shooters), but I don't like that talk that occurs afterwards (all the talking about who killed who and stuff like that is reather disturbing when you sit back and think about it), so i'm trying to always shift focus do a different type of game when we do lan parties.

Edited January 22, 2010 by Blackmarch

[dazed-and-confused]

imho.......many people (not necessarily all) that play those types of games would be better off living more in the real world......but it's probably too hard for them.

[Bini]

Blackmarch, I've never done a LAN party. What game is it you participate in? Or should I guess? :]

Dazed-and-confused, I agree with you to a vast extent. However, it's interesting to see the diversity of people that are gamers. After all, it's not just for lone nerds anymore :Þ But absolutely, there's many people that hide behind virtual lifestyles to escape reality because (1) they don't feel they "fit" in real life or (2) they've become addicted to a fantasy that evades responsibility.

Btw, I am on the last chapter (the final battle) of Dragon Age: Origins and it's been a blast! I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys those types of RPGs :]

[Blackmarch]

Blackmarch, I've never done a LAN party. What game is it you participate in? Or should I guess? :]

Dazed-and-confused, I agree with you to a vast extent. However, it's interesting to see the diversity of people that are gamers. After all, it's not just for lone nerds anymore :Þ But absolutely, there's many people that hide behind virtual lifestyles to escape reality because (1) they don't feel they "fit" in real life or (2) they've become addicted to a fantasy that evades responsibility.

Btw, I am on the last chapter (the final battle) of Dragon Age: Origins and it's been a blast! I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys those types of RPGs :]

For the Lan parties it's usually one of these:

Marathon

Quake KQP Mod

Battlefield 2142, battlefield 2

Enemy territory

Alien Vs Predator 1

Halo 1

Command and Conquer: Renegade

Crimson SKies

LAN games not used as often:

Freelancer

Freespace 2

Starcraft

Martians Vs Robots

Penguins

Starfleet Battles

Ares

Tron 2.0

Elite Force

Mechwarrior 3

Trans

Bolo

Tron 2.0

Armegatron

Open Liero

For MMO type its usually World of Warcrack

for Offline games I'll do one of these every once in a while;

Marathon Series

Descent I,II

Warcraft 2-3

Dungeon Master II

Super Smash Bros

Myth

Abuse

Ares

Escape Velocity: Nova

Exile III

Bejeweled

Solitaire

Tetris

Battle for Wesnoth

Diablo 2

Tron 2.0

Armegatron

GLTron

Open Liero

Worms

Dome Wars

Master of Orion 2

n! (also known as way of the Ninja)

I'm probably not gonna try Dragon age any time soon, WoW is satisfactory for me... altho the upcoming Star Trek online is tempting.

[FunkyTown]

Btw, I am on the last chapter (the final battle) of Dragon Age: Origins and it's been a blast! I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys those types of RPGs :]

Dragon Age: Origins is brilliant. I'm finishing my second go-through this time and plan on backing the Werewolves. In the final battle, I want Werewolves backing me!

[LDS321]

I'm a CIT (Computer Information Systems) student at BYU-Idaho and in one of my class we talked about games like second life. One thing that seam to come up a lot about playing video games like these is the amount of time that is spent playing. A good example of this is i have a friend that when he was married would come home from school and play WOW (World of Warecraft). He would ignore his wife and kids and spend all his time playing that game. This would later lead to them getting separated. I fell that playing theses kinds of games are ok as long as it does not consume your life.

[arieljhatch]

I agree with "Watchful." I was just looking up that talk. :) Elder Bednar talks about Second Life directly in it, so it could give you some insight.

Here's a link CES Fireside 2009 - Bednar

[ZSEdwardson]

Well gaming in moderation is not bad, first you need to be able to do all your other duties to Family, Work, and do whatever callings you may have. I play any number of games, about half are with some friends that do not live in the area, and they call and we play a online game and talk while we play, and the other half are for me to wind down when I am too crosseyed to read.

The other thing other then time is make sure you know that there is reality and fantasy, and there is no more danger playing a D&D type game then say, reading Lord of the Rings.

just my .02 cents

[marts1]

Even if you do all the things you are obligated to do, you should still sit back and think what gives you more satisfaction. If your time spent with family, church, callings etc. seem like chores its time to re-evaluate.

[EternalSquire2020]

I am a huge fan of video games, I play them a ton, my dad says I need to cut back a lot on how much time I spend playing video games, and I've been trying. Funny thing is my dad plays video games more than I do. There was a mmorpg called City of Heroes I used to play, I showed it to my dad and he really liked the game. Eventually he bought his own copy, and me and him both played it a ton. My dad got two characters at higher levels than the one guy I played as, and he ended up really getting sucked into the game. He could seperate reality from fantasy and everything just fine, but he didn't do anything but wake up, eat, and play that game for a month. Really, didn't have a job or anything. I was suprised that he managed to be more addicted to a video game than I was (considering I was usually labeled the game fanatic of the family) and everyone was mad at me for showing him the game. Eventually my dad snapped out of it, and he began playing the game less. I eventually stopped playing because my computer broke, and after a long while he finally stopped playing the game all together. I still go to the website though from time to time to check up on the updates for it, it was a VERY fun game and though it didn't consume EVERY moment of my life, a great deal of my free time involved that game.

I would like to think me and my dad learned a great lesson from this experience, but not really. I haven't played an mmorpg since because my new computer (my dad's VERY old laptop) can't play them, but I'm still looking for a good online game to play with all my friends for a few hours every weekend (which I'm sure will quickly turn into several hours a day if I'm not careful). My dad hasn't gone back to City of Heroes or any other mmorpg, but he still gets swamped into a video game. Now he plays Starcraft non-stop during any free time he gets, and before that it was Dragons Age origins, and before that Demon's Souls...We both like to play RPGs, and I have to admit that if my dad wasn't playing those games all the time, I would probably end up doing that myself.

Games are fun, but it is VERY easy to be addicted to them. I really also need to make shorter messages, but at 3:30 in the morning, I'm not going to try to edit this...

[ZSEdwardson]

Even if you do all the things you are obligated to do, you should still sit back and think what gives you more satisfaction. If your time spent with family, church, callings etc. seem like chores its time to re-evaluate.

Well I live by myself, and I am a hour away from the nearest branch (One hour EACH WAY mind you). ~10 hours of video games a week. (I play about a hour a day, and on the weekend I try to do a 2-3 hour flight on flight sims) is far from a major crisis, exp. since I don't watch much TV at all. I still go to Sacrament, FHE, and Institute on a weekly basis, and I am 4 hours away from nearest family,and I put my 45-50 hours a week in work, so if you think that a issue, then well, I disagree. :)

[marts1]

Well I live by myself, and I am a hour away from the nearest branch (One hour EACH WAY mind you). ~10 hours of video games a week. (I play about a hour a day, and on the weekend I try to do a 2-3 hour flight on flight sims) is far from a major crisis, exp. since I don't watch much TV at all. I still go to Sacrament, FHE, and Institute on a weekly basis, and I am 4 hours away from nearest family,and I put my 45-50 hours a week in work, so if you think that a issue, then well, I disagree. :)

Dosen't look like it. Would you allow me to play a game inside your head to find out for sure lol.

[Guest Kamperfoelie]

i read the findings of a satisfaction-study the other day.

It showed that people get more satisfaction (more intense and longer lasting) from succesfully completing a difficult task, than they do from things that are (merely)phsyically pleasurable like having a nice meal or an icecream.

Questbased games (where objectives are set, met by players, only to be replaced by more difficuly objectives in an endless cycle) offers players regular bouts of this succes-sensation.

There was a lot of scientifics about endorphins and feelgood-sensations and stuff but it boils down to getting a little 'high' every time a quest is fulfilled, and a 'withdrawal' when it takes too long or is too difficult to complete the next one and reach the next high.

(spouses watch for irritability, throwing mouse/controller etc: this is the withdrawal talking).

Among this type of mmorg, warcraft (with 11 million paying subscribers) is the marketleader and has been described by caregivers as the crack cocaine of computergames. Here in Holland, we have actual rehab for compulsive gamers. Funny? not really: people have literally played till they dropped.

There is however a much more professional / reliable group of critics and reviewers of computer games now than there was say 10 years ago. By simply checking (online)reviews you can quite easily learn how many hours of playtime you can get from a game before buying it. If you are an 'addictive' gamer, this could help you control your dosage.

As to these never-ending mmorpgs, personally i think they should be labeled like cigarettes: may cause serious harm to your social life.