Five months ago RuneScape was the only thing Cool Breeze could talk or think about. The mmorpg (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) consumed the then 10-year-old. I listened in during a car ride as he and a friend talked for 40 minutes straight about the game, its adventures and strategy.
I wrote before about my worry at delving into this new world. I decided then to inform myself through What They Play, discussions with my gamer brother, and by playing a little myself. Life lessons were learned — someone hacked into Cool Breeze’s account and took all his gold. There were helpful people in the Rune Scape world and there were thugs.
As soon as I was really getting up to speed, it all just stopped. Two weeks into June, RuneScape was abandoned. “Just got tired of it,” Cool Breeze says.
I’m glad it doesn’t consume him anymore — scoring real-life touchdowns and getting to the YAFL Super Bowl are today’s topics of note — but I’m also glad we went through the process. Although I’m still wary of online games, I understand them more and will be ready to assess the next one that come along. And I’m sure another one will come along.
2 responses so far ↓
Obi-Mom Kenobi // September 29, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
Padawan Learner and his friends have all gone through the same thing. Obsess, obsess, obsess, all done. PL will pick it back up for an hour or two every 4 months or so now, but that’s the extent of it now-a-days.
Melissa Sais // September 30, 2009 at 5:54 pm |
I guess that’s the beauty of being a kid. You can delve into so many different things that your mom can do all the worrying about.