Talking online vs. offline

As technology evolves, communication is going to be easier than ever. It is becoming easier for my real life to find its way into my gaming experiences.

I’ve said many times when I have something I need to think over/sort out/plan I usually play a game. Sometimes it’s World of Warcraft (or the MMORPG I’m playing at the time), sometimes it’s a jigsaw puzzle. I need something that requires me to think, but not “too much”. The more I play the more I’m thinking. The more I think the more I accomplish.

Today I bumped into a friend of mine in World of Warcraft. He logs in/out of the game a lot because he buys/sells Auction House stuff (he finds stuff people put on AH too low and sells it for a profit). Funny how people inject real life into a game. Anyway, because he is in/out of the game often he knows how often I am in. Today he looked at my level and sent me the message, “Uh oh, you’re thinking…”

I couldn’t help but laugh because he was right and there was no way I could deny it. I should be a much higher level if I was focused. His theory was the lack of level I accomplished meant my brain was frying. My friend suggested I focus on the game so we teamed up to do a quest. Usually we do this at night. It truly sucks when you are in the middle of a big fight and the phone rings – a call that has to be addressed. We broke the rule and did it smack in the middle of the day. We took a quick break to get something to drink and some munchies, picked up the phone and decided how we were going to kick some butt. It wasn’t as smooth as it could be because the phones rang, doorbells rang, emails had to be answered – which is why I prefer voice gaming at night but we had a great time and we kicked some butt.

My friend lives in another state. We met online, clicked and took it offline by talking, then eventually meeting. There are times when we chit-chat via IMs but when we want to “talk” we talk by voice. He’s not a “phone person” but we talk often.

In personal situations like gaming, for me voice=special. I can talk to strangers during the day but I only talk to family and friends at night. If I’m online or in a game at night I’ll type up a storm but unless you are my friend, I won’t talk to you.

I think people who are online as much as I am have to set some sort of limit, dependent on the individual’s level of comfort. I don’t use the word “friend” lightly but my friends know they can call me anytime and I’ve got their back. Ironically, I met some of my “bestest” friends online.

Do you have barriers that you place on online communications? I admit I do…chalk it up to another one of my old-fashion traits.

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