The Gamer vs "the game"

There's a friend of mine, never played any other MMO than WoW. To him - no other game ever need exist. He gets agitated when its ever even suggested he read anything about a new game, let alone try to play it. He does things like farm stacks of herbs for enjoyment. He's been in 4 different guilds of varying levels that have all met their doom and he's switched characters twice. He's had his account stolen and his items partially restored. Yet, he persists - he only has eyes for WoW. He may play a game 40 hours a week - but he's not a gamer. For him - there is only The Game.

It seems to be a persistent truth that there is always just that one game that every person who plays MMO's has found themselves completely enamored by. Its usually - but not always, the first game of the kind a person plays. For one person I know, it's Star Wars Galaxies. Another - Ultima Online. There is usually some tragic event - either done to the game by its developers or suffered by the player that gives them a brief window of reality and they find themselves released to move on.

For a brief while though, there is no other game. Consoles are ignored ,every other title is shelved. During this period you need no other lover. It's Christmas-time and you are 7 years old again, giddy with anticipation for the next time you can play. You've just been kissed for the first time and you are glowing.

Oh, but it is a drug. The crush can't last forever. It starts to betray you - with its timesinks, its people, or its new content - or the lack thereof. You start coming down. You realize you've been ignoring the rest of your life. You try to cut away briefly and realize you're latched in by a web spun by your own desire to get the most of The Game you loved. You have responsibility, people depending on you (or your class) to be there. Maybe you've even taken initiave and you're in a guild leadership position. Should you disappear, what would they do? Worse yet - the improvements you want for your character so desperately drop randomly. You could have been around on every other opportunity for months - yet your precious shiny piece of loot waits for the one time you miss. You don't dare stop playing.

Your brain registers this as unhealthy behavior. You start to get angry, but its misplaced. You don't hate The Game, you project it towards your guild, the developers, your real life friends pressuring you, or an abandoned significant other. Even yourself.

Eventually you get pushed so taut that it snaps. You wake up and suddenly you are no longer latched in. Maybe some of the commitment is gone. Maybe your account was stolen, hacked, banned and the decision was made easy for you. Possibly, it so negatively affected your time you could give to other important parts of being a contributing responsible adult that you were slapped awake. Maybe your guild disbanded, or you graduated college. Either way - if this is in conjunction with the release of The Next Big Thing, even easier - you are now allowed to move on.

Oh, but there is a period of every new game when you two find no fault with each other. This time, it is fleeting. You get comfortable sooner. As you move from world to world - you start to predict it. You aren't so mesmerized by the star on top of the Christmas tree anymore, and you stop leaving out the milk and cookies. You find yourself trying new titles more frequently, an ever loosening rabid death grip on the world you spend the most time in. You remember the consoles, you can still pick up a new book. There is again balance to your world, though it still may be a world predominantly populated by video games. You've transitioned from the all consuming Game and become a connoisseur - the gamer.