The Good Gamer.

In a comment I posted on Jaded Alt's blog, I feel like I am singing the same tune too often these days. The chorus is: "Players can be mean. Players can be cool. Players can be jackasses too and still make you drool." Wait. That's bad. Anyway.

As I mentioned a few posts back, was working on Zeptepi the "Hooker with a Heart of Gold" Holy Priest. Or, at least that is how she was dressing for awhile:

After a few shots of Lord Something-Or-Other booze...

Now she is in more modest attire:

And yes, back to being a Draenei...

During this transitional phase, when I was trying to learn how to use Healbot (and I swear to GOD if any one of you !*)$%*(*)#(* says ONE WORD about me not knowing how to instinctively use an interface like Healbot I swear I will rip that smug look right off your stupid face and leave nothing but eyebrows and boogers!*). So, my first run through with Healbot was Well of Eternity. And, after listening to Illidan's dialogue for the umpteenth time, it truly is a frigging ETERNITY OF CHEESY SCRIPTS...oh, the hubris of the hero...but, we all know where that got him). The dps was great, tank just dandy, but no one said hello or anything, but okay. Get to the eyeballs, and I'm distracted by a butterfly or something on Healbot and am trying to dodge them but alas, get eaten. Die. The immediate felstorm of nerd rage that befell me was worse than anything that demon could have done:

'HEALER R U BLIND?' (I answer with a simple 'yup')

WTF

I apologize and say that I am trying to get used to a new add-on and am then met with:

'HEALER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING' (I am giving them credit for grammar.)

I answer: 'nope.'

Rez at graveyard, leave party, and hearthstone OUT. (PEACE!)

Now, the thing is, I didn't know what I was doing 100% -- getting used to a new add-on takes some practice. What I am not sure about it is their reaction: Again, I ask, ask, ask: in real life, do you (you nerd rage pendejos) always get perfection? And if you saw it, would you know it, my Philistine friends?

My cross-dressing rogue tells me every time I enter a dungeon it's like driving a car down the highway and trying to be friends with all the drivers around me. It is impossible. And there is usually a collision.

The very next dungeon, got a "good job" from the tank at the end. Night and day.

Now, yesterday, don't know what got into me, but was tanking, and the little druid said she didn't know what to do. Some sweeping maternal instinct or some such nonsense fell over me, and decided this would be a training/teachable moment. I would help them, and offered as such: no matter how many wipes or retries. Of course we got Lady Sylvanas, and that is tough for mediocre players, including me, as I have stepped in her purple goo once or twice. We wipe, and we struggle, but "we" finally got it. Or I should say they did (I already knew what to do, but there is no "i" in team, but there is in wipe?). The rest of the dungeon did not go smoothly, but we did finish. At one point, though, the players who were really struggling thanked me profusely for being patient, declaring that it was like being in "nirvana" to quote their words, to meet a nice, good, and patient player. Later I told Guarf it was almost embarrassing, and a little tiny bit pitiful--are people so desperate in this world to encounter any generosity of spirit that they drop to their knees in gratitude?

Luperci the Swag Paladin

Now, I have run a few things here and there with my new guild, and they are great. But even they sometimes have that 'tone' of a hint of smugness that you cannot dispel from really good players. They know what they're doing, they know what is going on, and they know how to play, and play well. They have crafted a vocation in WoW that must be enjoyable and gratifying. But, the smug smirch is there.

Now, speaking of Healbot, the push to actually try to figure it out came from some good-ol' boy in a PUG who was super sweet and offered to answer any questions I had about it. And here is my point about that: if you want to play in a world where there are more wins than losses, make it so. It is going to mean you have to be patient and friendly with other people. 

And therein lies the rub. 

I must also mention that I am the loneliest Jedi princess in the galaxy because I didn't realize the SWTOR was for PC. I am....a Mac person. I have had a Dell, but it's headed for the heap. Don't start in with me. I am not mentioning this to start a Mac/PC debate. That is as boring as crust. But, what I will say is even the industry experts think that not developing SWTOR for Macs was a bit rushed.  Yesterday morning I brought in my Mac laptop to work -- it was way before I was on the clock, and had a few minutes to do some writing on my personal laptop. The "IT guy who loves me" helped me set it up, and we started talking about his experiences in SW. He nerd-raged for a bit, but then ultimately, blushing, says he loves it. He loves that he doesn't have to talk to anyone but NPCs and can solo play to his heart's content. But even he thought it was lame it wasn't available on Macs. (Wish you could have seen the look on his face when I told him what the number one search words on my blog and in general are about Draenei...adorable dork! Any single dork girls out there want a geeky IT guy with a job? Let Matty know.)

The point is, playing with others is not all it's cracked up to be. Game developers get this. But how this is helping and promoting our cultural sensitivity and social graces, I have some fears. I am praying for some societal backlash, where we take back our worlds, virtual and real, and start having some manners. Even Emily Post, the superlative authority on manners and etiquette, was of the mindset that manners are truly about making others feel comfortable. Simple.

So, don't you forget about me, those who have left to a galaxy far, far away. I'm still here helping the good folks in Azeroth. Actually used my Leap of Faith for an actual game purpose today: DK Tank not standing in Illidan's "male enhancement puddle," and pulled him over so he'd get the buff. See? I'm not so dumb.

*How's that for maturity and grace under pressure?

*Leap of Faith is really for giving down-and-out friends big hugs fast.

Theme song: Tell Me Something Good/Chaka Khan & Rufus