Part One
Hey hey, my name is Starlynn (World of Warcraft name that is). I am writing this series of posts from my perspective as a Disabled Vet that lives in a rural community and does not get out much. Playing World of Warcraft has many benefits. The ones I am going to talk about are:
- intellectual development
- building self-worth
- preventing mental illness
- problem solving skills
- stress relief
- social outlet
In this part of the series I will look at the first two.
Personal History
I am not sure if you have experienced people looking at you strangely when you tell them you play a video game, but I have. I have people say things like “Aren’t you too old to play video games”, and “Oh, look, is someone who lives in Mommy and Daddy’s basement, do they wait on you hand and foot too?” or “video games are a waste of time”.
I was introduced to World of Warcraft by my live-in boyfriend (at the time) in 2006 during Vanilla Days. I agreed to play because it was the only way to get to spend time with him since he spent every waking minute that he was home on the game. Of course, I couldn’t do that because I still had to take care of the household and myself.
I loved the social aspect of the game and enjoyed questing and hanging out with my boyfriend and friends I made in the game. I only quested until Lich King when my friends talked me into raiding on my priest. I didn’t get into dungeons until Battle for Azeroth, mostly on my shaman. I am still a casual player by far even if I spent some time on the game. I wouldn’t be where I am today without friends and guildies.
Intellectual Development and Building Self-worth
So, we all know that you must be able to retain a ton of information to play World of Warcraft. There are the characters abilities, talent builds and rotation, the mechanics of boss fight, where everything is located, just to name a few. “The most recent issue of the American Journal of Play (Fall 2014) includes an article by researchers Adam Eichenbaum, Daphne Bavelier, and C. Shawn Green summarizing recent research finding evidence of lasting positive effects of video games on basic mental processes—such as perception, attention, memory, and decision-making. Most of the research involves effects of action video games—that is, games that require players to move rapidly, keep track of many items at once, hold a good deal of information in their mind at once, and make split-second decisions.” Peter, Gary (2015, February 20) Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games.
One of my primary disabilities is Fibromyalgia, which comes with brain fog. Brain fog is a term that is used to describe trouble concentrating and memory problems. I find that when I am feeling foggy that playing world of warcraft helps me clear some of it up. If you have doubts about a video game helping with things like brain fog or any other cognitive issues, there are supporting articles out there. One of the ones I have read is Could Video Games Improve COVID Brain Fog? Written by Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, published on April 21, 2021, on the verywellhealth website.
Over the last two expacs my self-worth has taken a huge hit, especially in-game, since I isolated myself after some in-game issues happened, like my migraines getting worse due to the new dragonflight and a couple of other things. So, I feel like when you are doing good in the game it does build your self-worth and feeling of accomplishment. I know when I am doing well in the game it does build my self-worth.
Becoming part of the Pugs’ Place Community has definitely helped in building myself worth. They are all so supportive and inclusive and are always looking to help anyone they can. The community does not allow for toxicity and removes anyone that brings it (after being warned and counseled on it). The community holds fun events everyone is invited to participate in. Honestly, I can’t say enough great things about this community and I’m so happy that I was introduced to them.