Lonely extrovert seeks MMO.
March 29, 2012 12:06 PM Subscribe
I'm a lonely extrovert looking to take the edge off the loneliness by playing an MMO. Which one should I play?
I've seen a few of the "lonely extrovert" questions on here and a lot of people suggest playing an online game. The main requirement for me is that the user-base is heavily young adult/adult. I'm looking for something that has a mixture of gaming and socializing, rather than a purely social game like Second Life. The only game I'm not interested in is EVE. Played it, didn't like it.
I've seen a few of the "lonely extrovert" questions on here and a lot of people suggest playing an online game. The main requirement for me is that the user-base is heavily young adult/adult. I'm looking for something that has a mixture of gaming and socializing, rather than a purely social game like Second Life. The only game I'm not interested in is EVE. Played it, didn't like it.
I assume you are focused on MMO's because of the implied social aspect, but I've found that just about any online game can be social if you get into a gaming group and/or clan and are playing together while on voice chat. Mefightclub is an excellent suggestion.
posted by utsutsu at 12:38 PM on March 29, 2012
posted by utsutsu at 12:38 PM on March 29, 2012
If you are interested in Star Wars: The Old Republic, I am member of a guild in which we keep things fun and casual, with plenty of friendly chat. MeMail me if you're interested.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:41 PM on March 29, 2012
posted by Fleebnork at 12:41 PM on March 29, 2012
I know people like to dump on World of Warcraft and I did too, until I started playing.
My guild is very friendly and loves both socializing and helping out new players. Memail me if you'd like more info.
posted by noxetlux at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
My guild is very friendly and loves both socializing and helping out new players. Memail me if you'd like more info.
posted by noxetlux at 12:47 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
Check out Glitch. There's a lovely group of people in the MetaFilter group...
posted by Specklet at 1:09 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Specklet at 1:09 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
WoW is great for just hanging out in. Starwars:The Old Republic has good storylines, and is a little harder to find a guild in. Rift is fun too, though the people I've met seem to be a little older than what you are looking for and most people are at end content now so less people to make friends with in starting areas.
If you join an MMO finding a guild is a great way to get ready made friends, though you might have to try a few guilds on to find one that is a good fit. You can just simply post you are looking for a guild in general chat, or keep an eye out for people looking for members.
posted by wwax at 1:41 PM on March 29, 2012
If you join an MMO finding a guild is a great way to get ready made friends, though you might have to try a few guilds on to find one that is a good fit. You can just simply post you are looking for a guild in general chat, or keep an eye out for people looking for members.
posted by wwax at 1:41 PM on March 29, 2012
Ditto Glitch. The dev team includes Mefi's own Sylloge & ericost plus Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy/NobyNobyBoy) and just added Robin Hunicke (thatGameCompany/Flower/Journey). metatalk thread about glitch.
posted by juv3nal at 3:13 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by juv3nal at 3:13 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I've given this question some thought. I don't actually think the type of game matters. I've played many online games, and inevitably get caught up into small communities - from RTS games like Dawn of War, to MMOs like WoW and Guild Wars, to MOBA games like Dota and HoN. The friends I've made there, I still occasionally keep in touch with, years after those games have died, and we may even re-start gaming together if a new game pops up.
I suppose the trick is, like in life, is not just getting any job you can - it's about getting one that's actually good. And like friends, it's not about making 50 acquaintances in a new town, it's about making 4 really good friends and spending heaps of time together having fun.
MMO games present a bit of a conundrum - your groups and teams will only solidify when you hit the level cap and start end game content. During the levelling process, it's all too easy for one person or another to gain levels at a different rate, putting you into a different play bracket. People know this, and won't be too keen to socialise at this stage - getting a character to the level cap will take 1-2 months depending on how much time you put into it.
That being said, the social reward for playing MMOs tends to be a lot greater, because the content grows with the community, thus allowing more permanent communities to exist. In other genres, like RTS or FPS, the "game" is relatively fixed - and most players burn out within 6 months of playing the same thing. Then the community either falls apart or has to introduce fresh blood. In MMOs however, new content is constantly being added to the game, keeping players interested. I have been in the same WoW guild for 5 years now - there are periods where we play, and long periods where we don't - I haven't touched the game for over a year now - but I know that if I buy a subscription and log back into the game, I know I'll see a lot of familiar faces.
Summary - if you're thinking long term, get into an MMO like WoW or SWTOR. If you're looking at a shorter time frame, like something to fill a few months, then shorter team games would be better.
I'll just tack this on in case - seems like you're relatively new to this online socializing thing - most socializing occurs over voice-chat, so make sure you have a good mic+headset and all the popular voice comm programs installed (Teamspeak, Ventrilo and Mumble). And more importantly, make sure you're pleasant to listen to online - good mic volume and good mic personality. I generally mean to say that just like in real life, people want to have a good time: and listening to a sexy confident and interesting voice on comms is a real treat =D And we generally avoid people who let any negative emotions into their voice - in real life, you may not have a choice of who you hang out with or work with, but online, people can afford to be more picky, and often are, which is why finding a good community can sometimes be a challenge.
posted by xdvesper at 5:01 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I suppose the trick is, like in life, is not just getting any job you can - it's about getting one that's actually good. And like friends, it's not about making 50 acquaintances in a new town, it's about making 4 really good friends and spending heaps of time together having fun.
MMO games present a bit of a conundrum - your groups and teams will only solidify when you hit the level cap and start end game content. During the levelling process, it's all too easy for one person or another to gain levels at a different rate, putting you into a different play bracket. People know this, and won't be too keen to socialise at this stage - getting a character to the level cap will take 1-2 months depending on how much time you put into it.
That being said, the social reward for playing MMOs tends to be a lot greater, because the content grows with the community, thus allowing more permanent communities to exist. In other genres, like RTS or FPS, the "game" is relatively fixed - and most players burn out within 6 months of playing the same thing. Then the community either falls apart or has to introduce fresh blood. In MMOs however, new content is constantly being added to the game, keeping players interested. I have been in the same WoW guild for 5 years now - there are periods where we play, and long periods where we don't - I haven't touched the game for over a year now - but I know that if I buy a subscription and log back into the game, I know I'll see a lot of familiar faces.
Summary - if you're thinking long term, get into an MMO like WoW or SWTOR. If you're looking at a shorter time frame, like something to fill a few months, then shorter team games would be better.
I'll just tack this on in case - seems like you're relatively new to this online socializing thing - most socializing occurs over voice-chat, so make sure you have a good mic+headset and all the popular voice comm programs installed (Teamspeak, Ventrilo and Mumble). And more importantly, make sure you're pleasant to listen to online - good mic volume and good mic personality. I generally mean to say that just like in real life, people want to have a good time: and listening to a sexy confident and interesting voice on comms is a real treat =D And we generally avoid people who let any negative emotions into their voice - in real life, you may not have a choice of who you hang out with or work with, but online, people can afford to be more picky, and often are, which is why finding a good community can sometimes be a challenge.
posted by xdvesper at 5:01 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I don't play much anymore, but the community in Kingdom of Loathing is really, really great. There is a broad range of people, including quite a few I've met from such places as Poland, Singapore, and Argentina. There are several chat "rooms", though you can be in more than one at a time, discussing things such as newbie game questions, complex game mechanics questions that often involve high levels of math, food, American and international politics, music, gender, and basically any topic in between. As a bonus, it's free to play and is generally really funny and referential and there's an extensive wiki if you have problems starting out.
posted by Night_owl at 1:29 AM on March 30, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Night_owl at 1:29 AM on March 30, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ellF at 12:09 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]