Is POTCO good for you? (mentally)

[SEAKING23]

I think this is the.... weirdest thread i have ever mad.

Well i was thinking a bit (yes, i do think. weird, aye?) and realized that POTCO has improved my social skills a ton and made me a much better person. All becuase of the people i have meet, and liked/like a lot/hated. Never have i played a game so.. diverse in its social aspect.

And i was thinking that it's good for your imagination. In other games, everything is handed to you on a silver platter, like WoW. In POTCO (I'm not saying that POTCO isn't doing a good job) you can easily improve and make use of every update that comes out. For example, take all the raids/parties/Etc we planned out. If infamy never came out, no one would have probably came up with the PVP tournament.


On the bad part, its a game and takes up time. But all games do, and i think it's best to make use of your free time by doing something FUN.

[WeirdBeard]

It helped me learn how to type fast, and i have learned a-lot.

[Isaiah Ropeswine]

I think it actually might be... It can help your problem solving skills, management skills, and probably many more.

I know everyone says video games are bad for you, but studies have shown that it is better than staring at a TV. When playing video games, there is an output from your brain saying what you need to do to complete this level... or whatever. When watching TV, there is no output coming from your brain.

I'm not saying it's great to play POTCO for 10 hours every day, but it is a better alternative than watching TV.

[The Skirata Clan]

I don't understand the question. Good/Bad depends on what aspect are you talking about.

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Looks like I am one of the few that voted no...

Don't get me wrong, I love this game. It is amazing! I love my guild, my friends, I love the whole game. But it is not good for me.

I spend too much time in game and on the forums, and I don't get out enough. Sometimes I feel a bit of stress in the game, and sometimes I even stay up at night thinking about certain things. It honestly is a big portion of my life, and sometimes it is too big of a portion. I spend too much time on this game, and it is not good for my mind, my social skills, and my skills to do things outside the game.

That doesn't mean I don't like the game, as I said. And in no way am I saying I should leave the game. I'm just saying that in no way is this game good for me, or for anyone. You can read all those articles in the news. Most will say that spending too much time in game is bad for you. Unfortunately, POTCO is no exception.

[SEAKING23]

Skirta, i meant is it good for you mentally.

Maybe if you play it to much, it gets bad. but it's given me tons of new friends, and, hey, who doesn't want more friends?

[Tiberius Fireskull]

But Seaking, let me put it this way. First let me just say that I love all my friends and my guild in POTCO, BUT you will never meet them. In my opinion, they are a whole different category of friends. Socialization in real life is far more important than socialization in game. It doesn't give you any more friends. It gives you online friends, which are different entirely. It can't be good for you if you sit in your room all day and play pirates (which I think I did today...) and make all these great online friends, but you never go meet some real humans with flesh and blood.

This game is, and I hate to say it, not good for you in any way. I enjoy it, but I know the consequences.

[Mr. Awesome]

I agree with Mr. Clan that its better than TV, but i dont know if its GOOD for you. However I will say that they are two games that really are good for you, those two games are Civilization and Age of Empires. If it was not for those two games and and there sequels I probably would not be the extreme history buff that I am today . As for POTCO I think its better than other games becuase you interact with other people but...Yeah as I said I dont know if the game itself is GOOD for you.

[The Skirata Clan]

A game is just that. A game. It's meant to distract you and entertain you. The good or bad is what each and everyone of us decide. Because what is Good/Bad for you might not be for me.

[AdmiralSavvy]

In all honesty, I can't vote yes or no. There are many ways that this game can both benefit us and drag us on mentally. I know and have experienced both the good and bad of the game, and despite all that, I can't draw myself to a conclusion.

For most of my gameplay, this game has caused me a lot of stress that's led on to RL. Just like Davy, I found myself being preoccupied with many game-related situations when I shouldn't have been thinking about them. This habit of sitting in front of a computer screen to kill animated skeletons and socialize with people online took away time that I think, at some points, could have been spent doing more productive things.

But, at the same time, this game has granted me a wide array of experiences that I wouldn't have been able to undergo anywhere else. Through this game, I've learned more about people than I feel many people - especially my age - will probably never know. Not going into detail, the diverse social aspect as, more than anything, shown me how much some people look at a game for personal comfort - to be the great equilizer of their lives, the one aspect that makes or breaks it. Because of the diverse people that I've met, I've learned to be more tolerant and considerate of other peoples' stories and lives - a lesson that, at this level, I don't think I could have acquired through RL alone.

I've also learned valuable leadership skills that have added onto my RL ones, not only because of the very different scenarios that I'm more prepared to take on, but also because this leader persona that I have in the game - as a former GM and Officer of many guilds - is continuous for me. Because I've always found myself helping to lead someone's guild, they're just more and more leadership skills that I build upon, situations that I could easily apply to RL, and simple lessons that I'm continuing to learn. It's little things that leading a guild that find some essence of itself assisting me in RL; I wouldn't be surprised if it's like that for other people, too.

And how can I ignore the friends that I've had the pleasure of meeting?
There are countless people that I'm not even going to bother to list off because I'd exceed the character limit that - in some way or another - have helped me. I'm not talking about the complete dependency on game-friends kind of help; I'm talking about the simple gestures of friendship to the more difficult to ignore - the random conversations in chat to the inexorable spirit of always being there for each other. It's things like the former that, for some, have found for us the latter in some people. The people that we've met may only be online who we'll probably never meet, but they're still people and we can still bond. No one's all good or evil. And the neat thing of an online game is that for the people who've stuck by us and have been there to support us, we, for the most part, develop a deeper connection to them. Even if you don't meet, they become a more significant part of you. And even though it's never a good idea to get too crazy about online people, never take for granted the fact that they're people just like you and I and have the potential of influencing your life in some way, no matter how small.

Now, my good reasons drastically exceeded the bad. But, that's just based on myself and doesn't mean that I voted yes. I do not regret playing this game for the reasons stated above, but I've fallen subject to a lot of the different consequences that this game can cause for some.

Overall, the game can be great for you to escape from reality and kill some skeletons; it can also be a good place to try new things such as lead a guild. But, if it's played in excess and is more or less the center stone of your life, then we have a problem. Despite all of the good that can come out of it, it's still a game and should NEVER find itself listed before RL on your priority list.

The game's what you make it. Whatever you get out of it is all your own. As long as the one playing doesn't play in huge excess, rely too much on it, or trust people too readilily, it can be a good thing. Then again, what game is ever 100% good?

[SEAKING23]

i never thought this would turn into a full fledged debate...

I get what everyone is saying and i have come to this:

POTCO can be good for you if it doesn't dominate your life.
Maybe this will cause me to cut down on POTCO a bit...

[Mr. Skiperdoo]

Wow, this began as a simple poll, and now it has become a psychological controversy.

It's hard to determine whether or not it has had a positive influence on my life. I agree with both Davy and Isaiah about the game. I only play the game on the weekends, but I go on the forums every day. I have lost some "friends" on the game, but most that was a long time ago.
I left the game a year ago because I really thought the game was sucking the life outta me. But I then decided to play POTCO as more of a hobby instead of an occupation, It's much better when you don't take the game too seriously.

[AdmiralSavvy]

Lol, I never meant for that post to spark any form of debate/controversy despite its length. If I posted more on here, you'll see that 75% of my posts are unnecessarily long and detailed.

[combatlizzy]

In spite of my hiatus from game, I have to admit that the game has helped me in several ways. It provides an escape from the rigors of rl & the friends that I have made over the past few years aided me in a time when I needed alot of support. And, hopefully, I provide the same for them when the need arises. The game can be all consuming, but one has to have rl priorities. I voluntarily gave up my officer status to help me balance the two. So, now, I play to just have fun!!!

[Captain Del]

Yes, this game has benefited me.

The game has provided for me a whole new experience, where I can immerse myself in a community of not just people from around the country, but around the globe - without leaving my house. It teaches you how to properly treat others, converse with others, befriend others, and so forth. (Not to mention, this game has improved my typing dramatically.)

POTCO hasn't so much influenced my personality, as it has helped me sharpen it. The great thing about being the same person in the game, as outside it, is that it helps you both understand how you can act around others, and what isn't so appropiate when it comes to interaction. It's kinda like, I provide the person, and the game provides the cleaning. Kinda nifty, huh?

I could go on and on about how this game has helped me, but I don't want to go in to a whole speech about it. But, yes, this game is definately something that has helped me.