That's not to say that all I ever want to do is sit around at a virtual bar and get hit on by other players*, but rather that I want my RPG and MMO experience to be more than merely about getting more stuff.
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| Given how Wall Street acts these days, Gordon Gecko's pronouncement back in 1987 is positively quaint. From Wall Street. |
To what is probably the largest number of players**, the whole point of playing an MMO is to get the gear that shows off what you've accomplished. Most third party material is focused on all aspects of accomplishing just that: get the right gear for the class with the right specs and the right talents using the right rotation to kill the boss for the loot. If it's not explicitly that, the other aspect the majority of players are interested in is killing those bosses at ever increasing difficulty to show off your physical skills.
Of course, the power fantasy is far more than the mere acquisition of loot and using said loot to defeat the bosses. It's also about having the game tell you how important or powerful you are.
Okay, it could also be "mortals", but...
***
Having been a participant in --and a watcher of-- sports and sporting events, there's a lot of overlap between the stardom inherent in competitive sports and the power fantasy in RPGs/MMOs.*** In both environments, the better you get the more you're lauded by people, and you accumulate more hangers-on who want to bask in your reflected glory. After a while, you pretty much expect this adulation as par for the course.
But what is frequently missed in the RPG/MMO power fantasy is what happens when your skills diminish over time. Or when you screw up and those adoring fans turn on you.
Just ask Bill Buckner about that one.****
In an RPG/MMO, you know you're the hero, so even if there's a setback you know that in the end there's a redemption path for you. Just look at the old quest chain in WoW's Burning Crusade expansion where you inadvertently assist Teron Gorefiend's return to power. Of course, you end up meeting him as a raid boss in Black Temple (I think) so you "correct" your mistake there. No harm, no foul.
But in life, such redemption stories rarely happen. You screw up badly at work, you find yourself reassigned if you're lucky, and out of a job if not. If you drop that game winning pass, you're the idiot who couldn't catch a damn ball; no matter if you've done it since time immemorial.
And the boos come; both physical and virtual.
***
I guess I want more complexity to what RPGs and MMOs mean than just the power fantasy. "The line goes up" doesn't necessarily thrill me, when I'm at that point in my life when I counter with "yeah, but you can't take it with you". That's something I can't emphasize enough; when you're closer to the end of things than the beginning, you start looking around and thinking "just what am I going to do with all of this shit, anyway?" It's easy to want more things, but what the hell are you supposed to do with them when you've got them? Want even more things?
The problem is, the desire for more and more is baked into these games because that's what keeps people buying. The power fantasy is a psychological tool to purchase more.
But why can't there be, well, more to offer than just the power fantasy?
Well, Champion? What say you?
*In the right frame of mind, I'd be down for that. The thing is, I'm typically not in that frame of mind.
**If it's not the largest number, it tends to be the loudest voice in the community.
***Also in politics. There's a reason why narcissists flock to the political life.
****And for the record, that Bill Buckner forgave the fans who eviscerated him is far better than those fans deserved.
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