couples
Latest
Gamers on the Street: The buddy system
Gamers on the Street logs onto U.S. servers to get the word from the front on what's going on in and around the World of Warcraft. WoW Insider's Zach Yonzon posted an intriguing Breakfast Topic yesterday: Who's your favorite playing partner? Readers seemed to enjoy chiming in with a tip of a hat to their own partners in crime. Suspecting that perhaps WoW Insider readers are a particularly chatty and friendly bunch, we wondered what we'd find if we logged in over the lunch hour to chat with random players going about their city business. So we logged into Khaz Modan, a PvE realm, where we were lucky enough to run into three friendly players who each have their own ways of sharing World of Warcraft (and no, it's not just about progression with a guild of folks you've met in game!). We dodged the gold-sellers in Stormwind's main square to bring you their stories.
New York Times can't let WoW duo get away with it
Reader Roland (thanks!) pointed us to this weird WoW reference in the New York Times. In the wedding section of all places, there's a story about a couple that used World of Warcraft to play and have fun as a duo, and it's too damn bad that the NYT falls back into the old media idea that playing videogames as a couple isn't healthy.Can we get one mainstream media article that breaks the mold? Can we get one portrayal of a WoW player (or players, in this case) that doesn't fall back into the old line of MMOs being the territory of cave-dwelling social outcasts? That's most certainly not the case in reality -- how long is it going to take for mainstream reporters to forget this moronic angle and report on what's really happening here: two people in love sharing a hobby in between the rest of their full and fulfilling lives.There are now ten million people playing this game around the world, and the large, overwhelming majority of them are healthy, fulfilled individuals who lead great lives both in and out of game. In fact, the two people this article is about are two of those individuals. It's perfectly healthy to sit down and play a videogame with your significant other, on a beautiful spring day or at any other time (yes, it's never healthy to do one thing all the time, be it videogames or TV watching or anything else, but that's not what's happening here). And it's crazy that the NYT bent over backwards to make it seem like that's not the case.
MTV muses on gaming with girlfriends/boyfriends
Sharing is difficult. For those of us blessed with significant others who game, we know this all too well. When games become "ours" instead of "mine" or "yours" how do you go about sharing the gameplay? MTV copy editor Katie Byrne has been thinking about this exact same problem, specifically with reference to her and her boyfriend's shared save file on Super Mario Galaxy.Although things start well with sharing the game -- switching off every other planet, and dividing play-time equally -- the plan goes a bit haywire when she visits home for Thanksgiving, and her beau just keeps on playing... and beats the game without her.Of course, we think the answer is obvious: separate save files for separate people. Single-player games are hard to turn into shared experiences, especially when both parties desire equal play-time. Read about Katie's upsetting experience on gaming with a significant other, and share your own success/horror stories below.
Azeroth Interrupted: WoW couple success stories
Each week, Robin Torres contributes Azeroth Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with WoW. Last week, we talked about some basic guidelines for having a successful WoW playdate with your significant other. This week I want to talk about some examples of couples playing WoW together.From last week's comments, we have a few success stories and one not so happy ending. Diana received a tiny red dragon for Valentine's Day (I want one!). Scott and wife, fellow SWG refugees, have characters they level together. Erica and husband watch fireworks in Stormwind together and and play a bunch of duos (an excellent idea). And Jasperwind romances his betrothed in Azeroth and bought her a pretty dress there.Rudathin coaxed his bride into playing and highly recommends dedicating characters for duoing. You can read about their exploits in their blog. (RP Alert) He also directs us to The Daedalus Project where there is actual hard data supporting WoW as a "place where existing RL ties are being strengthened." Dan, I'm sorry to see that you did not have a positive experience playing with your girlfriend. You are better off without someone who has a wandering eye. Playing WoW together can enhance a relationship, but it won't change people from their true nature -- however much you may want it to.This brings us to my very first piece of reader mail. (Yay!) After writing my first Azeroth Interrupted, I got a great story from Baroes and Reighlei.
Azeroth Interrupted: The couple that plays together, stays together
Each week, Robin Torres contributes Azeroth Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with WoW.First of all, I would like to apologize for my lack of column last week. I may be good at balancing real life with WoW, but I have yet to master balancing anything with illness. I'm feeling a lot better now and looking forward to a WoW date with my husband, after not having played for a week. Are you snickering now? Do you think that virtual romantic outings are unforgivably geeky? Well, if you don't think playing a video game makes you a bit of a nerd, go argue it out with Gabe. Those of us who are comfortable in our geekiness will be here when you get back. Regardless of the dork factor, sharing any hobby is a great way to keep a relationship going, particularly when the hobby is as time consuming as WoW can be. Today, we're talking about established couples, not couples that are just starting a relationship -- WoW dating is a different topic which I will discuss in a future column. I've already talked about getting a girlfriend/wife to play WoW, so this is for couples who already both play WoW. I'm also not saying that WoW dates should replace romantic dinners and other traditional togetherness activities. But having romantic "outings" in WoW are a fun, low-cost way to supplement the other things couples do to keep things interesting. Spend your quality time together any way you like, but it's best to take care of the fundamentals to get the most out of it:Make an Appointment: Set aside a day and time beforehand and don't be late. You both will appreciate having something to look forward to and the convenience of being able to plan around the session. Do not "play it by ear". This will make the person who is ready first feel neglected waiting for the other person to become "available".
Nintendo's Wii: a marriage saver?
It's fairly obvious that using the Wii to keep yourself slim and trim is bound to put a smile on your SO's face, but a curious banner at a presumed church used Nintendo's console (and its token font, too) to hint at answers to a successful marriage. Of course, a couple interested in spending countless hours of quality time gaming away with each other are indeed more likely to find common ground, but for the uber-competitive type, gaming together could lead to more quibbles than friendly laughs. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be surprising that a religious institution would tap into mainstream culture in order to garner attention to its offerings, and hey, if you've got to go to counseling for only taking "Mii" into consideration, you may as well get your game on while you're at it.[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
Women's Health Mag: Grab your man's joystick
Los Angeles-based social psychologist Susan K. Perry, Ph.D. explains for Women's Health magazine that the couple who plays together, stays together. The games they recommend in the piece are Guitar Hero II -- excellent choice. Lego Star Wars and Spinter Cell -- still with you. Then they go for Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition -- yeah, that's a bit of stretch. Mario Party, WoW or even co-op Halo/Gears of War would have been less of a reach -- women like to chainsaw enemies in half too, you know?Despite the Cpt. Obvious factor of this article, having a partner who is interested in your gaming lifestyle can help sustain the relationship after you get bored of lovingly staring into each others eyes. So, do you game with your significant other and what games do you play?
