So, here I am, a mother, a grandmother, a professional with a Master's degree, and I'm as addicted to games as any teenager. What exactly is the attraction of playing online?
Several things, from my point of view:
It has been said that the greater the intelligence, the greater the need for play. While I do not claim genius I do believe I am "smarter than the average bear", and I do have a need for play. I'd much rather engage in saving the Fantasy world of Vanadiel than try to re-organize my neighbors, play bridge, bingo, or any of the other traditional amusements of the middle-aged.
Moreover, a fantasy world is a way of deliberately sublimating all of the things I know I will never be: Rich, Famous,Young (I was once, and I remember how it was..), beautiful...
On a very practical level, this Fantasy world with fellow players has helped me through some difficult times. Whatever the issue, they've been there with advice (good and bad), offers of sympathy and willing ears to listen to my troubles. Evenings that would be lonely are spent in conversation.
Final Fantasy keeps me off the streets--and possibly more importantly--and out of the online stores. If I want to go on a spending spree, I take a few hours to farm up some playmoney, and buy my character something nice. I have fun, get to talk with my friends online, can enjoy looking at the new armor or whatever on my character. I don't get a bill in the mail or through email; I don't have to look in the mirror at the completely unsuitable whatever I purchased for myself; and I don't have to try to find someplace to put the things from my spending spree.
But what if there are real things I should be doing, you ask? Well, true, I've let the dishes set, and sometimes my virtual garden gets more attention than the real one. Well-a-day, nothing is perfect, right?
One of the good things about the game is that most of the players have a real life of some sort. The most interesting people online are those who are taking time out of a busy schedule to relax. With a little bit of communication, it isn't hard to let people know that certain days of the week are bad for gaming or that a special event is going to keep one offline. Keeping a calendar of intermixed real world and gaming commitments is not a bad plan if you wish to be a good virtual neighbor.
One of the complaints in several articles, commentaries and online gripe sessions is the intensely cooperative aspect of Final Fantasy. In order to succeed, most of the jobs on Vanadiel must eventually find friends and associates in order to succeed. Many of the key quests are too difficult to achieve without help, and some classes (such as white mage) simply reach a level where any monster they can conquer alone will not give any points at all. While there are those among us who long for a quiet basement, or a well-equipped island, the reality is that those of us who can cooperate with neighbors, family and co-workers have a greater success rate than those who cannot. Even those who create books, pictures, etc., must have a market for their wares in spite of the isolation perhaps needed to produce the product.
The public education system in the United States has begun to recognize this need and to encourage students to cooperate in the classroom rather than compete. Even though that rugged individualist, Robert Heinlein, wrote his first successful novel about building a space-going rocket ship in a backyard, the real truth is that space travel is so expensive we must cooperate to achieve it. Many people are speaking of peace and deploring the use of terror tactics. Peace was never won through the use of arms, peace is achieved through people talking together and coming to honored agreements. Arms is/should be a last resort when the diplomats have failed. Diplomats fail less often when ordinary people know and care about each other.
"Global Village" is a term that has been bandied about for some years now...online gaming, where people share, laugh, play, and talk together may be one small way of bringing diverse nationalities and backgrounds together in a shared experience.