DotA or Me

Just recently, a particular office gossip had caught my attention- a colleague as well as a friend had a split – up event with her boyfriend, who is also an office-mate. Of course, that’s no big deal to anybody. Everybody has a time in our lives when we experience heartaches, broken hearts and bad break – ups.

However, this case is one of the office romances that is quite sad to hear: guy prefers to be with Dota rather than with the girlfriend.

You must be intrigued who Dota is. Dota – perhaps she is the most coveted girl – next – door who is pretty, witty and sweet ...

Yet, DotA or what they call the Defense of the Ancients according to Wikipedia is a perhaps the most popular "free, non-supported game mod in the world”. It is traditional scenario for the real-time strategy video game Warcraft III wherein teams of players competes against each other.

Simply a video game, not a girl. However, this set up is not alone in the contemporary setting: it is only one of the millions that had sprouted along with the advancement of the computer age and online role playing games.

So why the addiction to what we would call real – time role playing games or RPGs? I, myself is not a gamer but had at one time of my life have had experienced such addiction to computer games. I also felt the need to justify on the part of the guy’s feelings why he had preferred such set – up even though it would not be good to both of them.

One reason is fun. Nobody could deny that every game is a good diversion in its own right – especially when you could interact with other people from other parts of the globe. It is simply amazing that you could unwind oneself after a heavy discussion at work or just passing time. Boredom could be forgotten easily if we are preoccupied with anything that we are enjoying with. The girl, just for the sake of the boyfriend, has also learned to play.

Then, the enjoyment melted  into hours of gaming. The sense to achieve comes into place. It is a turning point when the feeling to complete or crush the opponent is simply overpowering. An hour is simply not enough, thus time is a precious element in the endeavor: time is just not enough to be satisfied or get what you want or be better than anybody else in the virtual community.

The same situation, I could remember some colleagues and friends when they would always talk about their haciendas at Farmville or their resort businesses at a very popular social networking site.

In  addition, through such games, whether old or young knows something more about what they love to do - they know how to take care of friends, manage businesses, and excel at it.

The least to be expected reason,  is to escape the real world. RPGs has provided a haven for people who don’t want their real lives and wants to be in a place where they could control anything them do – well, the sort of a hero mentality. Of course, we in our own little ways, sometimes would fancy . Real life is quite difficult to cope with. And online games that simulate the real world is a great outlet to express our inner yearnings.

Anyway, that is how life goes on. RPG's are a reality of their own.

I just wish there is a married life RPG.