06.07.06
Gaming and Dating
Square Enix has announced it will be releasing 4CDs related to the Valkyrie Profile series in quick succession. First up is VP2 Silmeria Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 (12th July) for approx. £17.32, then VP2 Silmeria Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 (26th July) for approx. £16.80. VP2 Silmeria Arrange Album (9th August) £14.70 and VP2 Silmeria Voice Mix Album (23rd August) £14.70. The first two will be a 2CD set, and Vol. 1 will come with a collector’s box in which all of the collection can be stored (availability will be limited).
Been gaming a fair bit the last week (and hence my laxity in writing here can be explained away), and as ever, with all online games (and not just WoW), not all my experiences have been exactly what one would call pleasant. Obviously I’m not a moron to suggest all the in-game experiences be pleasant, but it does irk me somewhat that no care is given to how characters are treated – I assume that most players forget people exist behind those characters. If players want to call me ‘ghey’ for not wishing to duel with them, that’s fair, though I do wish that they manage to do so without the gay spelling. Those little things don’t concern me much.
WoW has risen so much in popularity, and so many different people do play it. I’ve heard of so many families playing together, probably healthier than all the family sitting down in front of a TV all night with not even a word to say to each other. And with it, comes the rising number of female players, whether willingly or coerced by their partners (I joined willingly, even going so far as to suggest my other half make me a computer fit for it). Games like Nintendogs and Animal Crossing also has substantially increased the number of female gamers.
I hasten to add that I’m no feminist (I just don’t believe women have more rights than men). C’mon let’s admit though, it’s actually quite easy spotting a female gamer in your party, because of the way they ’speak’. I understand that the majority of gamers will be male – it’s the gaming culture of this Western culture, I assume (if you get my meaning) – so here’s a thing. You males, don’t start acting stupid and go into ‘chatting up’ mode, just because you’ve suddenly realised there’s a real female behind that character you were talking to normally a minute ago. Please? Oh, and relentlessly pursuing your prey… you might have done that back when men dwelt in caves, but leave off when we tell you to, ok? Less embarassment for all concerned. That is, if you don’t want our boyfriends/fiancees/husbands to come pelting after you with a few corpse camping strategies…