10.11.2007

Leroy Jenkins


Todd you ready to join the fray and enter world of warcraft? We could all go on adventures together.

-JM


Where do I begin?



There are few things more perplexing to me than people's fascination with MMORPG. I'm referring to computer games like World of Warcraft that create virtual worlds where people sit down and pretend to be wizards or trolls or nymphs or whatever for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS at time.

Don't believe me? Check out this TV news piece about an Australian kid with a WoW addiction. My brother-in-law Dan had a guy in his office quit his $300k/year job so that he and his wife could play the game full time. Ridiculous!

Now don't get me wrong, I love computer games. I've been know to play Call of Duty, Halo, or Command and Conquer for hours at a time. But that's all in the name of family emergency preparedness. I mean, won't Katie be glad that I know how to defend our house against Nazis or aliens when one of those two groups decides to invade suburban Austin?

What bothers me the most about these fantasy games is just that: they're fantasy. I never really got in to the whole magic/fantasy thing as a kid. I never played Zelda on Nintendo, I never watched Dungeons and Dragons cartoons, I never wore a cape around school or pretended I could fly. In fact, I spent most of my time making fun of the kids that did that stuff. Even now I can't stand the Harry Potter craze, and really only got into Lord of the Rings because it's epic and an unparalleled piece of fimmaking.

It also really concerns me that so many people spend so much time in the virtual world, that they're contribution to the real world disappears. I don't mean that in an ethical way, although that's true as well. I'm talking about economics. It's already scary enough that the Information Age relies so heavily on ones and zeros (think about it: YouTube sold for $1.65 Billion dollars. That much money just so we could watch funny video clips). Now you've got millions of people paying monthly subscription fees to effectively live in a world that outputs no goods or services (unless you consider sweatshops and child labor a good thing).


Now, if I were to play World of Warcraft, I'd infiltrate a group of players working together, and just as they finalize their plans to lauch a major mission, I'd pull a Leroy Jenkins (a few colorful words, but trust me, it's worth it):




This clip has been viewed millions of times and has spawned a few hillarious parodies:





Even Toyota recently released a WoW-related ad:

4 comments:

D Wheezy said...

First of all, and I may not be speaking for everybody here, but you can stop telling me that videos "are worth it". If I'm reading your blog, I'm looking to kill a little time. I'll watch the videos.

Secondly, I'm surprised you didn't mention the South Park episode on the subject (22 minutes - but worth it).

And lastly, stop bashing on the world of 1's and 0's. You work for it, I wanna work for it, in an even LESS productive capacity than you. Leave the poor defenseless internets alone.

jmulls said...

d wheezy said it all... the 1s and 0s rule.

Kristi said...

There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those who know binary and those who don't. I, unfortunately am the latter.

Thanks for adding a new phrase into my vocab "Leroyyyyy Jeeeeenkins".

Unknown said...

Todd and I formed a support group many years ago in our quest to use technology but not become nerds—geeks, maybe, but never nerds. It’s a constant battle, especially when you hear the guy in the next cubicle cast a “Breath of the Yak” spell on you. Thank goodness for Orbitz sweet mint gum. I’ve been in many a team meeting when my manager has asked for ideas for outside-of-work team-building activities (usually because his manager made him) and the first responses are “LAN party” or “Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1 and 2.” As if we didn’t spend enough time in front of computers already. I think about suggesting sports, but then I look around at the beautiful examples of Nicole-Kidman-like pale skin and realize it’s a losing battle. We usually end up compromising on the latest Marvel comic book movie.

So when I tell other IT guys that I hate video games and that I’m not very good, they think I’m hustling them. Then when I cave to their constant (and sometimes virtual) pressure and play a round with them they are like, “Wow. You really do suck.” I still haven’t totally figured out if they lose or gain respect for me after that happens. At any rate, I agree with Todd about this fantasy thing. You shouldn’t have to break out your velvet dice bag and roll for initiative to get information from the warlock. Just ask the warlock directly, and if he doesn’t give you what you need, use your 10-point power sword to make an example out of him.