In real life

To start off this post, I state that I love being myself, and I love living in the real world, just so that we're clear on that.

I do however enjoy being able to imagine myself being someone else, or living in another world. I cherish my own ability to lose myself in what I do, especially when it involves fighting supernatural beings, exploring awe-inspiring worlds and socializing with a bunch of others doing what I'm doing; having fun in whole other universe.

I don't really get those who like living in their own imaginary world, as I myself find it kind of lonely and boring, but once others take part in the same world as I do, the fun begins.

Nerd on.

This picture is from a South Park episode, where they discovered Imagination land, where everything we have ever imagined lives. There are of course two separate parts of the land, one where the good ones live and one where the horrible and evil imaginations live. Since this is a South Park episode, naturally everything goes to hell and it's a total chaos, but I still like their idea of all our ideas and everything we imagine ending up in a place. Lucky me some genius guys manage to put their own ideas into a world of their own, open for everyone to enter. I am of course referring to fantasy games, and boy are there loads of them.

My favorite kinds are the roleplaying games (RPG), either it's a mass-multiplayer-online roleplaying game (MMORPG), or a single-player one doesn't matter, as long as I get to make my own character and have a say as to how this character develops and how the story plays out.

The first RPG I ever played was Final Fantasy VII, which was a groundbreaking game with revolutionizing new gameplay and truly awe-inspiring graphics (as of the current standard at the given time), which I of course was utterly and completely oblivious about as I was merely 10 years old and had no games to compare it to whatsoever. I enjoyed the game nonetheless and was forever made a Final Fantasy fan/freak. I say freak because I've been addicted to the following games in the franchise, the VIII through XII, even acquiring and completing the older original ones. When I say addicted, I mean it in a good way, but I was slaving in front of the TV, Playstation remote in hand, for several hundred hours (it's true) per game, completely maxing them out. A feat I'm proud of still, as of this day.

My all time favorite game will for ever be Final Fantasy IX, which is portrayed bellow, a game I have maxed out over and over again, literally wearing out and ruining the CDs. Ashamed of not having the single most loved game in my collection anymore I was eventually forced to yet again acquire this game. It was two gaming-console generations after, so I had to buy it from a foreign internet-dealer, specializing in selling really old games for a harsh price. But it was totally worth it.

If you manage to guess which is my hero, I'll give you a special gift. (The name of the character and correct reason why he's my hero is required)

My second big time-consuming RPG was World of Warcraft, which I started playing at the age of 15, with several friends. This was the first MMORPG I tried and thus fell in love with, as it was, quite simply, so freakin' huge and overwhelming. It lets you create your own character, both looking and fighting the way you want, and once you're in the game you're free to be any kind of person you'd like, as nobody really knows who you are. I guess this is what some find so fascinating, that they're seen in a whole new light, maybe even worshipped for their feats in-game.

World of Warcraft a kind of game one can't complete nor max, and as this was what I was used to doing, I ended up spending a whole lot of time and effort, never to reach any specific goal. I wouldn't say it's a time-waster though, as it was one of the most social games I ever played, teaming up with a lot of friends online, with headsets and everything, laughing and joking our way thought the night, in our separate universe.

I know most people think of these games as a problem as so many kids sit alone in their house, playing all day, but the fact is that most of those kids have fun doing what they're doing, and they are being social, only in a different way, and in another world one might say. Just because you might not understand it doesn't mean it's wrong. Most kids sit inside doing nothing all day anyways, so why not do nothing with some friends online?

To continue, it was never a perfect game in any way, but it opened the door to more roleplaying, in different ways than I'd experienced before.

Some of Azeroth's heroes, ready to kick some ass in Scarlet Monastery.

As WoW is an MMORPG, it's continuously updated and expanded, offering new challenges and goals, so it's not unlikely that I take another peek at it once every now and then to see what's new, but I have at least, the last couple of years been able to let go of it and discovered new games, focusing on how the creators have shaped their world and how the different aspects of the games play out. It's to me an art-form which I find myself spending hours and hours to truly understand and experience, and once I'm either fed up or sufficiently pleased, I move on to the next game.

The most beautiful and well-designed game I've tried recently is the MMORPG Aion, which is portrayed bellow, with one of it's marvelous characters, wings spread and pure awesomeness overflowing. Man I love being a geek.

The average guy on the street wouldn't share my passion for these things, but I know most people like to play around and use their imagination in one way or another.

A new way to do just that was presented to me some while ago, and it's a card game named Munchkin. I would frown you to death if you honestly didn't liking this game. It's hilarious and probably the most social game I've ever played. The humor of the game was above my expectations, and I still laugh out loud every now and then when I discover new cards.

My conclusion on the matter of roleplaying and other worlds and all that is that it's good for all of us to step out of our own shoes once in a while, and just play. Play with your friends, with your family or even on your own. Just have some fun.

Bad stuff: You are dead.