A few months ago, blogger Tipa on West Karana wrote a post wondering whether the roles we play in MMOs reflected on our roles in real life — and vice versa. Specifically, she talks about how her deliberate decision to play tanks in video games dovetailed with control over her own life and translated into leadership skills in the present day.
I played primarily healers and bards my first few years and deliberately chose to start playing a “puller” character to force myself out of my comfort zone too, but gosh if I don’t gravitate back to the same few archetypes in every game unless I consciously play against type (it’s shamans, crowd control bards, archers, and shield tanks for me). When I look around at my guildies, they tend to follow patterns too: The leaders pick tanks, the go-getters play berserkers, the tricksters like rogues, the contrarians play underdogs, the nurturers love healers, and so on. Some of them overlap, of course!
What do you think? Does your favorite MMO playstyle or archetype mirror your personality type in the real world?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
