It’s that time of year, dear readers. As it says in the holy book of that one deity (probably Lawful Good), “Peace on earth and good will towards your fellow gamers.” Or, well, something like that.
But seriously, even as a non-religious person, I know this is the time of year to reach out to my fellow humans. As a gamer, I know we get worked up over the unfair ganks, the auction house snipers, the whales drowning in skins… but at least today, try to reflect on a few times you were put in a situation that humanized your opponent. I’ve talked about past instances before, but I’m still working on it. In fact, just this month, I finally met my long-time Pokemon Gym rival in person. And she was so nice. We’d both noticed that we’d been trying to ease up on the other and even talked a bit about custody terms for our turf. Meeting her face to face (and finding out her husband instigated a lot of the battles!) made me glad I kept an open mind about the nature of game-enforced factions, and now my group’s got a new, active raid partner.
What about you, readers? When was the last time you considered your MMORPG opponent’s perspective or met your enemies in a neutral area and bonded?