As I make it once again to level 5, get my 1,900 credits, a fireworks magic pin and an ice cube chair, I wonder to myself, "Why am I doing this?" The truth is, I'm not really sure, but because I've always been overanalytical, I'll take a stab. It's the community!
Never in my life have I been sucked into a game like I have with this one. Kt and I started in August when I signed her up to play VMK, which stands for Virtual Magic Kingdom. The email introduction sounded something like this, "Wouldn't you love to be a cool parent??" At least that's how I remember it! I think they meant my child would love me for signing her up for this game. Little did they know they would end up with a bunch of addicted parents!!
After a couple months of just goofing around, I mentioned to T that I thought there might be some adults playing this game. He kind of laughed at me, but I'm sure he thought I was the only one. The truth is, Kt couldn't play any of the games well enough to get any credits. She loved just walking around, chatting with her "friends" and visiting their rooms. She also loved buying the clothes, furniture, and costumes. I have to admit, I thought it was fun, too, so we kept playing occasionally for fun.
This continued until the first big "event" for Halloween. It was then that I discovered a "fan site" that had lots of codes for lots of credits, hints on how to play the games and also had an avid trade board. I checked in with this fan site pretty regularly, but never really participated. I wasn't sure who I could trust, the posts happened so fast I couldn't keep up (I'm really old... well my fingers are, anyway!) and I just really felt kind of lost. Kt and I continued to enjoy our short and sweet visits to the game.
Then came December... not only did VMK do some fun Christmas things, but I found another "fan site" and one of the first polls on there was "How old are you?" Just for fun, I entered myself and found that the results were exactly as I'd expected. More adults than children actually playing this game! I was floored, but finally felt like I might not be alone. It was this site that actually sucked me into the game more than the game itself. Why?
First, I've found some friends on this site. One, in particular, who is a mother of 4, homeschools, lives in Texas and plays vmk with her kids. It has been a lot of fun chatting with her, sharing some goodies that were sent to me by my friend's in Orlando, and just being moms who love a kid's game. Another friend is an extremely generous player, and it's been fun to watch him and his girlfriend encourage goodness among some of the younger and "older" players. And yet another, a homeschooled player who I know is a Christian and really emulates his good values and honesty in the game.
Second, the community that has been built on this message board is tight knit, yet open. It is protective of it's members yet practices restraint. It is supportive and kind to other players yet watches out for it's own like hawks. I don't believe anyone has visited and felt unwelcome, although we have those occasional strays. When a new member "scammed" others in trades, everyone banded around and decided not to ban this other player, but to always warn those who might enter a trade agreement with her. When another player was "scammed" (those kids are always getting scammed!) from our site, there was an outpouring of generosity from other members who stepped up instantly to replace all items lost. It was this banding that got the attention of the VMK staff, who stepped in and fixed the problem.
Finally, I feel like a productive and active member of something novel. I'm sure there are other games that have created this kind of community, in fact, I know of some. None of them have been my kind of game. This one is! Both my girls enjoy it, I enjoy it and we are working on T, but he's so busy!! We have found ways to contribute to the group, we have been able to maintain our behavior standards and communicate them with other players. As an example, there is a free game you can download, play and win a room for VMK. Many kids are not allowed to do this and others cannot get the game to work for them. As older players, we collect codes, pass them along and have discouraged the practice of trading for something that is free. We have repeatedly praised the younger kids for abiding by their parents wishes and tried to encourage their generosity. It's a safe, supportive atmosphere.
In thinking through some of these things, it occurred to me that we ought to be acting in much the same way as the church. Not gaming - that's probably a waste of time, but fun! I want to be a part of something that makes a good impression on someone, a community that is active, supportive, protective and brazen. I want others to be drawn in by a sense that something is different here, that it's a novelty, the way we treat eachother. I want the church to reek of generosity, goodness and love, peace and friendship. It's kind of easy online, when we don't have to live together, when we can turn everyone off with the click of the mouse, or snicker without anyone hearing us or seeing us do it. As a church, we are called to live together, get along, draw others in to experience the goodness, love and peace of Christ.
Another interesting thought I had was that unless I put myself out there, in many creative and innovative ways, there is a whole culture of people I will never know. I'm guessing quite a few members of this message board would never step foot in a church, many of them live on the west coast and a lot of them are kids who play computer games all day. When would I ever have the chance to get to know them, to make any kind of impression on them, to LEARN from them (I've done a lot of that!) and to listen to them? I bet most of these kids, if they were to meet me in real life, would take one look, laugh and walk away. On this board, we engage in regular conversations about the game, about random things, about life... It's a great way for me to become involved in a world that I would not know any other way.
Never in my life have I been sucked into a game like I have with this one. Kt and I started in August when I signed her up to play VMK, which stands for Virtual Magic Kingdom. The email introduction sounded something like this, "Wouldn't you love to be a cool parent??" At least that's how I remember it! I think they meant my child would love me for signing her up for this game. Little did they know they would end up with a bunch of addicted parents!!
After a couple months of just goofing around, I mentioned to T that I thought there might be some adults playing this game. He kind of laughed at me, but I'm sure he thought I was the only one. The truth is, Kt couldn't play any of the games well enough to get any credits. She loved just walking around, chatting with her "friends" and visiting their rooms. She also loved buying the clothes, furniture, and costumes. I have to admit, I thought it was fun, too, so we kept playing occasionally for fun.
This continued until the first big "event" for Halloween. It was then that I discovered a "fan site" that had lots of codes for lots of credits, hints on how to play the games and also had an avid trade board. I checked in with this fan site pretty regularly, but never really participated. I wasn't sure who I could trust, the posts happened so fast I couldn't keep up (I'm really old... well my fingers are, anyway!) and I just really felt kind of lost. Kt and I continued to enjoy our short and sweet visits to the game.
Then came December... not only did VMK do some fun Christmas things, but I found another "fan site" and one of the first polls on there was "How old are you?" Just for fun, I entered myself and found that the results were exactly as I'd expected. More adults than children actually playing this game! I was floored, but finally felt like I might not be alone. It was this site that actually sucked me into the game more than the game itself. Why?
First, I've found some friends on this site. One, in particular, who is a mother of 4, homeschools, lives in Texas and plays vmk with her kids. It has been a lot of fun chatting with her, sharing some goodies that were sent to me by my friend's in Orlando, and just being moms who love a kid's game. Another friend is an extremely generous player, and it's been fun to watch him and his girlfriend encourage goodness among some of the younger and "older" players. And yet another, a homeschooled player who I know is a Christian and really emulates his good values and honesty in the game.
Second, the community that has been built on this message board is tight knit, yet open. It is protective of it's members yet practices restraint. It is supportive and kind to other players yet watches out for it's own like hawks. I don't believe anyone has visited and felt unwelcome, although we have those occasional strays. When a new member "scammed" others in trades, everyone banded around and decided not to ban this other player, but to always warn those who might enter a trade agreement with her. When another player was "scammed" (those kids are always getting scammed!) from our site, there was an outpouring of generosity from other members who stepped up instantly to replace all items lost. It was this banding that got the attention of the VMK staff, who stepped in and fixed the problem.
Finally, I feel like a productive and active member of something novel. I'm sure there are other games that have created this kind of community, in fact, I know of some. None of them have been my kind of game. This one is! Both my girls enjoy it, I enjoy it and we are working on T, but he's so busy!! We have found ways to contribute to the group, we have been able to maintain our behavior standards and communicate them with other players. As an example, there is a free game you can download, play and win a room for VMK. Many kids are not allowed to do this and others cannot get the game to work for them. As older players, we collect codes, pass them along and have discouraged the practice of trading for something that is free. We have repeatedly praised the younger kids for abiding by their parents wishes and tried to encourage their generosity. It's a safe, supportive atmosphere.
In thinking through some of these things, it occurred to me that we ought to be acting in much the same way as the church. Not gaming - that's probably a waste of time, but fun! I want to be a part of something that makes a good impression on someone, a community that is active, supportive, protective and brazen. I want others to be drawn in by a sense that something is different here, that it's a novelty, the way we treat eachother. I want the church to reek of generosity, goodness and love, peace and friendship. It's kind of easy online, when we don't have to live together, when we can turn everyone off with the click of the mouse, or snicker without anyone hearing us or seeing us do it. As a church, we are called to live together, get along, draw others in to experience the goodness, love and peace of Christ.
Another interesting thought I had was that unless I put myself out there, in many creative and innovative ways, there is a whole culture of people I will never know. I'm guessing quite a few members of this message board would never step foot in a church, many of them live on the west coast and a lot of them are kids who play computer games all day. When would I ever have the chance to get to know them, to make any kind of impression on them, to LEARN from them (I've done a lot of that!) and to listen to them? I bet most of these kids, if they were to meet me in real life, would take one look, laugh and walk away. On this board, we engage in regular conversations about the game, about random things, about life... It's a great way for me to become involved in a world that I would not know any other way.
As you might have gathered from this post, I've spent quite a bit more time gaming this month than blogging!! That will have to change, and the end of Expedition Everest month tomorrow will certainly help. However, I find myself involved in a Villain Tournament next month. I am a member of "Hades Flames" and I honestly don't want to know what that is! I'm actually a bit scared by the name, but my team leader is very excited. I just don't know if I'm cut out for this villain stuff - I hope he can live with my light!
3 comments:
Hey Deanna - Mark here! I really liked the way you likened the VMK experience to the Kingdom living experience . . . So cool and true! How can we become even more like that as the Church?
Mark
http://balancingkiwis.voxtropolis.com/
Hey Mark - great question!! Maybe create an online gaming community?? haha - just kidding. I think we have to start with lots of prayer, lots of practice and possibly even a great example - could this be your new church plant??? hehe
Hmmm . . .an online community, and a real world one - wait that sounds familiar!!
Cant wait to see T this weekend!!
http://balancingkiwis.voxtropolis.com/
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