Strange Disconnects

[kokopelle]

Here is a topic I discussed with my lovely mate today. I am a pretty peaceful guy in that I try to get along with everyone and feel bad when I don't put other people first. The disconnect is that I enjoy playing RTS (real time strategy) games. These are games that have the sole purpose of defeating an enemy via strategy and military might. Why am I a closet general, and sometimes an evil one at that? I don't know.

Comments

[wander.livejournal.com]

I used to play a pretty bad assed vampire in an online RP game. I was excellent at killing people after I had gained their trust. Pretty much my exact opposite. Who knows why we enjoy these things. Perhaps just to safely get a look at how others operate without having to commit these acts in real time.

W

[odyssey-spirit.livejournal.com]

Because you're irrational and messily human, and when we try to define ourselves as one way or the other (and assign meaning as to why) it usually crumbles under the weight of complicated, random reality. Voila. ^_^

[lupagreenwolf.livejournal.com]

Why does my husband like to play Dynasty Warriors games? Just because we don't actively exercise a potential in our everyday life doesn't mean that we have no capacity to express it. Video games are (for a relatively balanced person) a good outlet for less socialized tendencies.

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

Really? Do you have any games to recommend? :)

When I play games I typically play 'ethically', but when I get bored I'll just see what the program parameters are and destroy everything.

Creator / Nurturer / Destroyer ...

[chimerae.livejournal.com]

I think it's a misunderstood form of compassion. It usually takes me awhile to map that out so people can see it, even for consideration, but you're smarter than the average bear.

It seems to me that by embracing our shadow impulses and letting them out to play we give them the opportunity to evolve. I see this sort of play as a shamanic mask ceremony, all the more powerful by the lack of ceremony. (I'd use different words for someone not intersted in shamanism btw)

At the most extreme level, I think when people like you PLAY at being a mad-dog killer general that you tune up to the group mind and temporarily align at a base energetic level with those folks who live that life. There's all sorts of things possible at that point, but sometimes I feel that it reels those people in a bit and gives them a bit of a grounding in humanity. It's thoughts like this, verbalized, that cause my friend to shake their heads and remind me that I'm "just not like the other boys and girls"

[chimerae.livejournal.com]

And another thing . . .

. . . love your neighbor as yourself . . . doesn't happen if you put other people FIRST.

[greensh.livejournal.com]

Even as an undead leader I never was a "mad-dog killer general". Was I ruthless with a desire to overwhelm my opponent with my superior forces? Sure!

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

Well, what is funny is that I can't RP or PLAY at being a serial-killer ... I literally am unable to do this, I feel bad, I refuse to tune into that mind-set. Even when I accidentally do it, I will reload the game.

I can 'play the game mechanics' and there is no 'personality' involved, its just hacking the code at that point. Then I am not playing 'the game', I am playing against the 'intelligent individuals who designed the game' to see what they forgot or how far the game can be pushed beyond ridiculousness.

'Aint nobody normal I know'

[chimerae.livejournal.com]

I quit playing evil characters back in the days when I played D&D because about 15 minutes in everybody else would be dead, horribly, and I wouldn't have anyone to play with . . .

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

Yea, chaotic evil characters don't mix too well. lol

speaking of chaotic mixing . . .

[chimerae.livejournal.com]

I took a look at your profile and noticed your web work. Just recently, this was posted on another LJ: "Anyone interested or know of someone who'd like to take on a re-design of the SCN site? http://www.seattleconstellations.net/ I'm so done with web-mastering I'm beginning to mildew. And we need a more "professional" website presence"

If it interests you, the lj user is aquamoceanflow

Re: speaking of chaotic mixing . . .

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

Randomly ...

Thanks!

Re: speaking of chaotic mixing . . .

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

There is no LJ user by that name ...

Something completely different

[chimerae.livejournal.com]

There's something completely different that might be at work.

Back in the early days of computing, IBM did a big study and was astonished to discover that among non-computer professionals, of all the various job types, it was professional musicians who could be job-converted to successful programmers and systems analysts.

There's a thing about games and game theory. This stuff taps into mathematical and differently structured set relationships. Like the way music is mathematical excellence experienced and expressed in a non-standard way for our culture, I'm betting there's a full class of unrecognized pattern success and problem solving that its possible to engage and express through those games.

[greensh.livejournal.com]

I am playing 'Universe at War' right now. I think my favorite RTS game of all time was Warlords Battlecry 3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlords_Battlecry_III) in which I played an undead leader. For me it is about the strategy of the game. In Universe at War I am playing one of the "good" guys because they have some really good air support units.

The odd thing is that Universe at War has less features than Warlords. One would think that programmers would learn what worked in the past, but I believe that the higher level of graphics in the new game consoles are making the programmers lazy... but that is just my opinion.

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

Hey, Warlords 3 looks fun. I never checked it out b/c I didn't like the earlier versions.

[greensh.livejournal.com]

The earlier versions were OK, but they had issues. In Warlords 3 they automated enough so that the player did not have to micromanage production, unit behavior, and so on. Again, I wish Universe at War had some of these settings/features.

[primalfire.livejournal.com]

Hey, it is pretty fun .. right now my demonic priest is laying waste to the land.