In case you didn’t already know, I work for a video game company. I work with a lot of nerds. Let’s be frank, I am a nerd. At work we spend our day playing the same games over and over looking for “bugs”, or mistakes in the game. Every time there is a new “build” or version of the game we check over all the systems and changes to make sure the game works like it should before the new version is released to the players. The main reason for our existence is that most game programmers and designers make a lot of mistakes.
Everyone I work with plays video games. Most are dedicated role-players (RPG’ers) or console gamers and a very few like myself enjoy the visceral action of a first-person shooter (FPS). Your goal in most online RPG games is to acquire loot, kill monsters (“mobs”), and level up your character. The goal in most games I play involves turning other players into chunks of meat and taking over their bases. It’s pure, ruthless competition and violence. It’s a quick adrenaline fix. It’s a cock fight for dorks. There’s not much more to it than that.
Anyway, this afternoon Kyle sent an email out to the entire group. The subject line read: “WTB Postage Stamp — 50 Cents. (nt)” I could guess that he wanted to see if anyone had a postage stamp he could buy, but I couldn’t remember what “WTB” stood for, so I said out loud, “What does WTB mean?” Chris Classic in the next cube replies, “Wants to buy”. Immediately, because almost everyone else has heard me ask this, I hear what sounds like someone’s impression of a cow, “Nooooooooooooob”. By noob, they mean to imply that I’m a newbie, someone who shows up in a game or chat room and bugs everyone with stupid or obvious questions. The nerve!
Then, I hear another person mooing, “Noooooooob” from across the room and then pretty soon everyone around me is mooing “Nooooob”. There is a chorus of mooing coming from all directions. I felt my face turn red. I couldn’t think of anything to say. The moment seemed to last forever.
See the thing is, buying stuff is a big deal in most online games. You buy healing potions, armor, weapons, you name it. In games, players sit in town and say things like, “WTB Demon Bone armor” and if you have Demon Bone Armor you can try to sell it There is no such dimension to the FPS genre. I wanted to yell out, “But, I don’t play RPG games!”, but that would have been inviting certain humiliation. There is no excuse for not knowing that…. not in my world.
I was embarrassed, but I did also enjoy it. There is a balance to maintain. It’s only fair that I take my portion of the teasing. I’m sure I’ll be making my digs again tomorrow, just like I always do. After all, there is a reason they call me “the Griefer”.
As a fellow FPS player and employee, I understand. =)