Runescape and your real life

[Sobend]

Runescape has long been stereotyped as some game for 13 year old nerds. So somewhat understandably, for a long time I thought that if it ever got out that I played Runescape I would become a social outcast or at least be the butt of jokes. Looking back it is pretty offensive to the game and the people who play it. But that's how I felt.

 

However I've been thinking about it some more and now I don't think I would care if people found out that I play the game. I don't find it any nerdier from Call of Duty or anything else people play these days and if my friends think its funny that I have let a computer game help me grow up that's their problem, not mine.

 

So I was wondering 1) if most of your friends know you do/did play Runescape and 2) if not, how would you feel if everyone found out you play/played Runescape.

[Hunter]

Most of my friends don't know. Because it doesn't come up. I'm reluctant to tell people but if they ask I'd say, yeah, occasionally.

 

If they found out, I'd be fairly cool. I think they'd view me as a bit more of a geek, but hey ho. So what?

[Shooter585]

Yeah I always wondered why games like Call of Duty and Halo are more acceptable than medieval-based games like Runescape. They're both video games.

 

None of my friends know, and I don't think any of them ever will. I tell people I played in 2005 sometimes, because I wasn't trying to hide it then. Now I just say I've quit video games completely. I don't think it would be social suicide if people found out though.

[Guitarguy]

I wouldn't mind telling them that I play but if they ask for my range level I'ma shift the conversation. -.-

[reepicheep]

I've never really been in much of an environment where my friends play games much, or at least talk about it, but if everybody found out it'd be cool. Now if they found me on Sal's I'd be less pleased, I think :P

[Nitua]

Most of my friends know that I play and when I tell people I play Runescape they're cool with it. Also most of my friends play games like LoL so they don't really have a leg to stand on for poking fun at me. :P

 

Honestly I think its a stigma created by RS players that playing Runescape is something that isn't socially acceptable, at least thats been my experience.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Nitua

[Micael Fatia]

Honestly I think its a stigma created by RS players that playing Runescape is something that isn't socially acceptable, at least thats been my experience.

I agree with this.

 

Almost all my friends know I play and don't care. I would say like half have no idea what RuneScape is, and of the half that knows only two play/played actively in the past.

Pretty much all the people I know play videogames, it's a normal thing where I live and it's not something only 'nerds' and socially akward people do. FPS games like CoD and sports games like Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer are the most popular but I have have plenty of friends who play/used to play WoW, Guild Wars or Lineage II.

I can't think of any game(s) not considered socially acceptable.

[Leo]

1. The majority of them do, but only cause I've used to say 'Oh, I played a lot of RS this weekend'.

2. The people who never played would be like 'You're an idiot' but in a jokingly way and then we'd just talk more about other stuff, and the ones who used to said 'Whoa, you still play?' and then we'd spend the next couple minutes reminiscing about when we were kids, etc. It was only really in the latter days of elementary school that stigma was around for me, otherwise we'd talk about it at lunch or w/e.

[reepicheep]

Honestly I think its a stigma created by RS players that playing Runescape is something that isn't socially acceptable, at least thats been my experience.

I agree with this.

 

Almost all my friends know I play and don't care. I would say like half have no idea what RuneScape is, and of the half that knows only two play/played actively in the past.

Pretty much all the people I know play videogames, it's a normal thing where I live and it's not something only 'nerds' and socially akward people do. FPS games like CoD and sports games like Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer are the most popular but I have have plenty of friends who play/used to play WoW, Guild Wars or Lineage II.

I can't think of any game(s) not considered socially acceptable.

I think it's just a stereotype that everybody uses but few people actually believes in, if you know what I mean. I think that there are few people below the age of 30 with half a brain who actually see gaming as something only super socially awkward kids do.

[O hai im KAMIL]

My friends don't know I play. They know I'm a gamer and everyone's cool with that since everyone here games but I dunno, I've always let the negative stigma get the better of me.

 

However if someone asked me if I played Runescape today, then I think I'd be fine with saying yes.

[Kemosabe]

I used to be embarrassed about it. I've stopped playing now but I no longer have an issue saying I used to play. I joke about it with friends, even make references to it because actually quite a few of them used to play as well (although never to the extent that I did).

[Sobend]

What would you guys do if your friends just started making jokes about your Runescape play? Would you just take it or say something?

[Lonelywolf]

nah no one knows i played so recently, if someone brought it up i'd be like "oh that game i played that when i was like 10"

 

i was even talking to a girl who asked if i play ps3 or something and i said yeah i play ps3 she went

"oh well at least you don't play computer games because thats sad"

 

like wot

[reepicheep]

nah no one knows i played so recently, if someone brought it up i'd be like "oh that game i played that when i was like 10"

 

i was even talking to a girl who asked if i play ps3 or something and i said yeah i play ps3 she went

"oh well at least you don't play computer games because thats sad"

 

like wot

We of the PC gaming master race do not approve >:(

 

 

What would you guys do if your friends just started making jokes about your Runescape play? Would you just take it or say something?

Eh, depends. If the jokes are supposed to be really mean I'm not sure how much of a friend said person would be anyway, so I'd probably ignore them :P If not, I make fun of my friends all the time so I'd take it.

[W1Z]

Cleaning out my old email and noticed some emails from Sal's and I figured I'd log on and check out the site. Shout out to Sobend for kicking it on here... wow. I remember right as I got out of this scene you were just awarded your Distinguished Member title.

 

I use to be a serious Runescaper from 6th grade - 10th grade (2006-2011) and now that I'm a freshman in college and haven't played since early high school I don't mind telling people I use to spend hours on end sitting in front of my computer playing. I would say most of my friends knew that I was seriously into the game.

 

I still have the letter Jagex sent to me asking me to become a Player Moderator that I have showed friends. Oh how I've missed those silver crown days.

[Micael Fatia]

What would you guys do if your friends just started making jokes about your Runescape play? Would you just take it or say something?

Hard to answer your question because I can't imagine my friends doing that in a bully mean way. We make fun of each other all the time but in a playful, friend kinda way. I would just join the fun and joke about the games they play etc.

 

Cleaning out my old email and noticed some emails from Sal's and I figured I'd log on and check out the site. Shout out to Sobend for kicking it on here... wow. I remember right as I got out of this scene you were just awarded your Distinguished Member title.

I think you're confusing Sobend with someone else, because he got promoted less than a month ago lol. :P

[Sobend]

Cleaning out my old email and noticed some emails from Sal's and I figured I'd log on and check out the site. Shout out to Sobend for kicking it on here... wow. I remember right as I got out of this scene you were just awarded your Distinguished Member title.

I think you're confusing Sobend with someone else, because he got promoted less than a month ago lol. :P

Lol I was thinking that too. You left only a month ago and you are surprised I'm still around? That's one hell of a vote of confidence :P. Yeah I haven't been a distinguished member long and it took me awhile to get here. I still am not sure why I am a distinguished member even now, but that's a question for another topic.

 

Back to the subject, would you guys defend Runescape if people joked about it? For example if somebody said "Oh, so and so is silly because he played Runescape" would you defend yourself by saying that you no longer play or would you defend yourself by saying Runescape is not as bad or nerdy it is made out to be? I was trying to indirectly trying to ask that question last post, but I'll ask it more directly this time.

[O hai im KAMIL]

Back to the subject, would you guys defend Runescape if people joked about it? For example if somebody said "Oh, so and so is silly because he played Runescape" would you defend yourself by saying that you no longer play or would you defend yourself by saying Runescape is not as bad or nerdy it is made out to be? I was trying to indirectly trying to ask that question last post, but I'll ask it more directly this time.

 

It's a video game, just like any other. Sure, there's a larger grinding aspect where you have to put in more hours to get better rewards but it's also got a larger social aspect. I think it's pretty silly if someone bashes one game but plays another on the basis of being 'too nerdy'. I'd probably just respond with 'So?'.

[321canto]

My friends and some of the people in my class were actually the ones who introduced me to run escape in elementary. Now pretty much all of them have stopped playing. I did quit for 3 years but I came back due to nostalgic feelings for this game.

 

honestly I'd be ok with people finding out I play this game.

[Da Scotsman]

I've personally always been a bit of a coward when it comes to this. When I first started playing it was many years ago back in school and it was with a group of friends so of course people knew I played. After a few years however it was only me and a remaining "hardcore" group of friends who kept playing and eventually even they stopped playing and I carried on alone without telling anyone mainly, I'm not ashamed to admit it, for fear of ridicule. This was also roughly around the time we started making friends with girls and I'm sure that influenced a number of my friends to stop. It was about then actually that I found Sal's and joined into order to maintain some sort of social aspect however so it wasn't all bad.

 

After quitting RS an old flatmate of mine actually got me into WoW which I've played on and off for a couple of years now. Like my secret RS days it's not something I've ever told my friends. They're not terrible people (despite how I'm making them sounds :P) and wouldn't ostracise me or anything but there would definitely be a lot of jokes made.

 

I agree with your comments about it 'just being another video game' but we can't forget that in real life there's always going to be more of a stigma attached to multiplayer online gaming especially RPGs and those of the fantasy genre than say CoD or Battlefield.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Da Scotsman

[tea pls]

I had a few friends who made me feel that way. But they were far from 'perfect' themselves. I now have a girlfriend who i love and live with and she knows i play, she even plays her f2p account once in a while. I found that at the later teen years it was taboo to let people know you played (few kids would play in my programming classes and they got flamed A LOT by the other students and even the teacher.) but now it seems a bit more acceptable for some reason, i am not sure if it has to do with my getting older or the maturity of others. Definitely seems less like a '13 year olds game' now than it did 5 or 6 years ago.

[Army of One]

Bit of a bump but yeah

My friends mostly know I play. They used to mock me about it, but then they kinda got over it and stopped. If anybody does give me shizzle for playing, or call me a nerd, I couldn't care less. RuneScape is my hobby and I'm not going to let some hater tarnish my feeling toward it. What does kind of suck, though, is my own brother and twin sister saying I should quit. I'm constantly reminded of how it "consumes my life" and "isn't important so why bother".

RuneScape is very important to me, just as I can imagine it is to many of you here. How would you respond if someone (or your own twin sister!) told you that a big part of your life, that you've put years of work into, stuck with since you were little, made friends on, had fun on, and cherished, just isn't important?

Edited February 3, 2014 by Army of One

[Renegaderp]

I honestly don't care what my friends have to say about my hobbies. So it's okay for them to spend hours on Facebook, stalking a girl's profile, but when I play RuneScape, I'm wasting my time? I call bs.

 

 

[Shooter585]

I honestly don't care what my friends have to say about my hobbies. So it's okay for them to spend hours on Facebook, stalking a girl's profile, but when I play RuneScape, I'm wasting my time? I call bs.

Yeah I feel the same way, why is facebook 100% socially acceptable but Runescape (and other video games) aren't? I spend about 2 minutes a day on facebook so I demand answers :P

[Sobend]

It sucks that Runescape is at the bottom of the food chain. Even all of the super gamer nerds who play WOW make fun of us . Or at least that's how it was.