What I learned from online gaming

Online gaming. I've tried all sorts of these and have only stuck with a few for a while. I'm not a gaming pro or addict but I had a time where gaming was my only "me time" or where it was a place a lot nicer than reality. So I'm gonna list down what I learned all throughout my years of playing all sorts of games and why I think it'll apply with real life circumstances. 

1. Approaching or talking to someone will never hurt you. 

In real life, I always thought that I can't possibly talk to someone due to their popularity or status as you may say because I fear that I may get ignored or be ridiculed. After having to play some games for awhile that involved me engaging with other players, it taught me that having the courage to talk to someone not only lets you get to know the other person, but also makes you have connections. You gain a friend and if you talk to them nicely or introduce yourself appropriately then I see no problem that things would go well. First impressions do last at some point.

2. Having to work hard for what you want.

Whether it'll be practicing your player vs player moves or "farming" for the amount of gold or money in game that would allow you to buy the things you desire is the key to survive in the game. I think from every MMO I played, I was always a hardcore farmer that people would always ask me if I top up or load up using real money to get my items in game. I just told them that I find farming to be the core part of the game and I feel more satisfied doing it. Every step I do in farming helps me to learn more about the game and have more control over my character or hero.

3. Learning the history of whatever game your in, helps you to predict what will or may happen in the future.

Games with an awesome storyline always gets me to enjoy the game even more because besides the fact that it's entertaining, they give you clues on what to expect after you've played for awhile and what you think will be the outcome of the current things that you do in the game. 

4. Be a good follower to become a good leader.

On one of the games that I play, I am a guild master and have lead my guild for quite some time now. I had some success and failures with doing so but I guess I managed to do it because I'm more of my member's friend than their leader. Whenever I make decisions involving our guild, I always make sure that 90% of my members will benefit or agree from it. With that, I think that my guild is pretty successful because they follow your example and agree to work together not just as a team but as a family. 

5. Don't bother with the haters.

Whether your intentions are good or bad, there are just some people who would turn your good intentions around and feel as if you are targeting or attacking them. Having to manage my own guild, I dealt with people who overthink the things I do without understanding my part. With that, I had quite a good amount of people hating me and leaving my guild (some of them I've kicked for their bad attitudes or their passive-aggressiveness). I experienced some of the world chat wars attacking me and I think my only mistake in all of that was answering them back. I have a pretty smart-ass mouth when it comes to situations like that and I could honestly tell you that it never helped and only made things worse. You can't please anyone, so I'd rather you just enjoy the people you have by your side than to deal with those people who hates you for your being. 

6. Don't take your anger from real life to another person who did nothing to you in game.

a.k.a. Trashtalking. I've seen this happen way more than I should. I've also did this and became a victim of it. You came in the game to enjoy and play but then you pollute your environment with problems that shouldn't even be there in the 1st place which causes you and the people playing around you to be out of the mood and bother your gameplay. This just isn't right because being in the game you want to distract yourself and actually do something you want willingly, just play and if you don't feel like talking then don't. I'm sure your friends ingame or team mates would understand. I think this also applies to the work field, learn to separate each of these and this will ensure you to do a better job with the task you are doing.

7. Communication is what makes relationships work.

Being really friendly in the games I play, I gained a lot of friends that are possibly the best human beings in the world. They are the people who you could talk about almost anything and they listen and share their similar experiences too. They may not be in the same country as you but it feels like you guys see each other everyday because of the communication you put into your friendship.

8. Get to know someone before you trust them. 

I have become a victim of this. Whether a person is wanting to scam money from you, hack your account, a catfish (a.k.a. those guys pretending to be a girl or vice versa) or a spy. Yeap, I've had some cases where there was a spy on our guild and the catfish, well I guess you could say that some of them would just want to be really close with other real girls or scamming other guys with their money. I went to a point where I became a bit overboard with getting to know people I'm becoming close to, like if they say they're a girl, me and my best friend in the game would make sure if they're telling the truth and I could tell you, I think we found way too much catfish than we could count. And scammers, these are I think the people who have the most patience. They invest their time on you, pretending that you are their friend but in the end, all they want is your money. I know a lot of people who became a victim of these and I just don't know what to say everytime but just be careful next time.

9. There are just some things that you can't un-know.

So you gained a group of friends that you play with everyday, awesome right? But sometimes... you just think you know somebody and yet you figure things out way deeper about what their motives are. You feel betrayed and track back all the things you said to each other and start to question them. I know someone who had a sudden identity crisis from being a victim of the catfish thing (yes, it happens) and became a mad person about it. You think and think and just couldn't come up with some sort of reason why they think hiding it or being someone they're really not would lessen the chance of being friends with you. I get that I may read on some parts way more dramatically, but I guess I'm just concerned because I invested way too much time with them that I feel that I deserved some truth. Or maybe, it's not about you and you know something that you think the other person should know but you don't have any idea how to even say it, I guess that is what messes you up too. I suggest that if you can't handle the truth, then don't go looking for it.

10. The virtual world is real life too.

I guess being able to play these games and having friends that are in the same country or location as you, you gain real life friends too. I found my 1st ever virtual to reality friend 3 years ago in the game. We met up and just instantly became good friends. We're still friends today and I have been so thankful ever since. She helped me with a lot and became who I am today. I just couldn't imagine my life without a friend like her. After awhile, I gained more and more virtual to reality friends that I met up and hanged out almost every month. It's crazy but they became a blessing to me. I love them all so much. Just remember that before you meet up with them, make sure you are also being careful and that you know you could trust them. There is no harm in being safe. 

11. Meeting your boyfriend / girlfriend from a game is also real love.

I know some people who just doesn't believe in this but after seeing my friend's relationship become one of the strongest that I know of, I think that it is possible and there's just isn't no harm about it. I can't explain it but whenever I see my friends who has relationships from the game, I see a deep connection between them that I think other normal couples don't. I'm not saying that people who have relationships that didn't start in the game aren't real, I'm just saying that relationships that are found virtually is also equal to reality ones, especially when they did meet up and end up together. 

Okay, so I honestly think that I could go on and on about what I learned from online gaming because the experiences are just endless. I do have some friends who don't play online games and whenever they ask why do I like playing so much, I just smile and say I don't even know where to begin. Some of these experiences has helped me to be more open minded and also carry these lessons to my everyday life. I never regret spending so much time in gaming because I loved and love every second of it because of the people I play with and who I became. 

Thanks for taking time in reading this and if you got stories that you wanna share from gaming, comment them down below because I do wanna know! Same thing if you have suggestions or questions just don't hesitate to comment. 

Until the next blog!

♥

Joyce