This is not an anti-gaming post.
It feels odd to start a post that way (especially on a pro-gaming website; see First Principles), but I want to make that point clear at the outset. Now that I have you good and defensive (sorry about that), I can present today’s premise: when you are gaming you are probably not contributing anything to anyone else.
By “contributing,” I mean providing some good or service that someone else requests (even if indirectly). When interacting with other people, it’s not uncommon for them to ask something of you. Your friend or roommate might ask you to make them a sandwich or give them a ride to the airport. Your employer will definitely ask something of you, whether it be “stand here and take people’s movie tickets” or “analyze this spreadsheet and determine whether we should acquire this new company.” No one, however, has ever asked me to “save the princess” or “vanquish this race of alien creatures” in real life yet, nor has anyone ever asked me to “beat/play this video game.”
I am not implying that games are worthless. Gaming allows me to relax, to challenge myself mentally, and to bond with friends and family. I am suggesting, however, that my game playing might be worthless to other people. When I slay the Queen of Blades and save the universe from a Zerg infestation, I’m doing so because I enjoy the challenge, not because the universe actually faces a threat from the Zerg (at least to our knowledge). When I build you a house in The Sims, it’s because I enjoy the process of designing a fake house, not because you actually need a place to live.
I doubt few people would disagree with my sentiments so far. Our trouble comes, however, when we as gamers lose sight of the fact that our in-game actions do not directly contribute to our “real” lives and allocate a disproportionate amount of time and energy to gaming. Video game companies have gotten very good at making games feel like work/productivity. When I was leveling my Mage in World of Warcraft, I had days where my primary goal was to gain X levels, X achievement points, or X badges. And no, I don’t mean my primary goal for World of Warcraft that day, I mean my primary goal for the whole day!
Dedicating one whole day to playing WoW is fine, but anyone who has played WoW knows it takes a lot more than one day to reach Level 85 (and even more time to get gear). If you don’t think about it, you can easily invest weeks or months in just one game or character. Again, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, as long as you remember that other people probably don’t care about you playing video games. Think about that for a minute. Can you tell me how many achievement points all of your friends have in their respective games? Can you tell me the names of all their characters/teams and their respective levels? Do you even care about that? Do you care about anyone’s video game playing except your own? Likely not, and similarly no cares as much about your video game playing as you do.
When interacting with other people, you need to contribute something to them (at least if you expect anything in return), and that something most likely can not come from a game you played. You can’t pay your rent with achievement points, you don’t get free groceries for being in Masters League, and your grandmother (probably) doesn’t want to hear about your latest Magic tech when you visit her this weekend. In each of those circumstances, you have to contribute something from outside of gaming.
What About Pros and Casters?
What about LiquidTLO, Destiny, Day9, TotalBiscuit, and djWheat? Don’t we care about them playing video games? Don’t they make a living from gaming?
True, they make a living from gaming, but we don’t necessarily care about their actual game playing. We care more about they way they make us feel. Each of those celebrities (and plenty of others) has the ability to influence us through their game playing or commentary. TLO, for example, makes us feel excited and keeps us on the edge of our seats, as we never know what sort of crazy build he might pull out of his bag of tricks. Day9 breaks Starcraft down and makes us feel like we actually can improve. He gives us a sense of possibility. TotalBiscuit entertains us with his shoutcasting and gives us early access to content (his Cataclysm beta videos, for example). These people have all figured out a way to contribute non-gaming things (emotions, information, etc.) to us through a gaming platform.
In essence, progamers and casters provide us with entertainment, much like LeBron James does in basketball or Kayne West does in music. They know they are creating something or putting on a show for their audience. They know they are contributing in their own way.
What About You?
If you are a progamer or caster, well… then thanks for reading my site! If you are not, then take a close look at your own gaming. Does it contribute anything to anyone else? Does anyone care that you do it? If the answers to those two questions are “no,” you don’t have to stop gaming. You just have to make sure you have classified gaming under the category “things I do for myself.” There are plenty of activities I engage in simply for my own benefit, such as reading, running, gaming, and watching television.
Take some time to measure the time you spend doing things for yourself and the time you spend doing things for other people. If you want people to contribute to your life (whether it be through money, friendship, attention, etc.), you have to contribute to their life. If, in any given week, you spend 70 hours gaming (for yourself) and 10 hours relaxing from gaming (also for yourself), don’t be surprised when other people aren’t contributing to your life. You’re not contributing to theirs either. If you want more money or more friends, try to contribute more to other people’s lives in any way that you can.
The more you want out of life, the more you have to contribute. Are you getting what you want out of life, and if not, are you contributing enough? Does your gaming get in the way of your contribution? Only you can answer those questions, but they are important enough to spend time answering.
Until next time, happy leveling!
