12-08-2018, 02:11 AM
I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but having thought about it, my answer is no.
RuneScape and this awesome community gave me great experiences. I feel like I learned a lot and ultimately ended up quite successful in real life so far. I'm obviously still sticking around on these forums over a decade later, so it definitely has a special place in my heart
Having said that, I also grew up in an area where nothing was really happening. And while my parents believed in my intelligence and abilities, I never really was encouraged to seek out total excellence in anything... just get good grades and participate in a lot of clubs. I suppose I was an excellent student, but that's not a lasting profession. I wish I had been allowed to skip a couple of grades when the school encouraged my parents to let me do so, and taught more advanced mathematics or programming at an early age (fun story, my parents told me to stop self-studying programming in middle school because I should just focus on being a doctor... phenomenally awful advice that I decided to stop following later in life).
Like Suzuna said, I'm actually fairly doubtful I'll ever have kids. One of the reasons is that I'm a fairly selfish person who doesn't care to make the personal sacrifices necessary. However, if I did have children, I imagine their lifestyle would be substantially different. I live in one of the major cities of the world, working in a fairly intense profession, and I figure this would be reflected in my parenting. I suspect I would be the kind of father who would push them towards being the best in a sport, or in a particular academic discipline, or an art, or something. And hey, if it were back in the early 2000's, maybe I would've even encouraged them to be the best in RuneScape, as an alternate universe Zezima.
But I feel like while the game is satisfying and fun for those who have already spent a lot of time in it, it just doesn't feel like there's the same ability to blaze new trails. I believe achievement should be felt on a personal level, but I doubt there's the same satisfaction in taking the path well-traveled.
I guess I'm also biased because video games have taken a back seat to the rest of my life over the past several years. I wouldn't say I've "gotten a life" per se (I always hated when people said that back when I played RuneScape). I'm actually just a bit of a workaholic lol. But I love what I do. I feel like the reason I played so much RuneScape when I was younger was that I hadn't found what I loved.
I just want to make sure that my hypothetical kids would find their passion at that early age. If it's somehow RuneScape, then I guess so be it. Statistically it's quite improbable, though, and so since it's such a time sink for the typical enthusiast, I would really advocate against it.
-Teddy
RuneScape and this awesome community gave me great experiences. I feel like I learned a lot and ultimately ended up quite successful in real life so far. I'm obviously still sticking around on these forums over a decade later, so it definitely has a special place in my heart
Having said that, I also grew up in an area where nothing was really happening. And while my parents believed in my intelligence and abilities, I never really was encouraged to seek out total excellence in anything... just get good grades and participate in a lot of clubs. I suppose I was an excellent student, but that's not a lasting profession. I wish I had been allowed to skip a couple of grades when the school encouraged my parents to let me do so, and taught more advanced mathematics or programming at an early age (fun story, my parents told me to stop self-studying programming in middle school because I should just focus on being a doctor... phenomenally awful advice that I decided to stop following later in life).
Like Suzuna said, I'm actually fairly doubtful I'll ever have kids. One of the reasons is that I'm a fairly selfish person who doesn't care to make the personal sacrifices necessary. However, if I did have children, I imagine their lifestyle would be substantially different. I live in one of the major cities of the world, working in a fairly intense profession, and I figure this would be reflected in my parenting. I suspect I would be the kind of father who would push them towards being the best in a sport, or in a particular academic discipline, or an art, or something. And hey, if it were back in the early 2000's, maybe I would've even encouraged them to be the best in RuneScape, as an alternate universe Zezima.
But I feel like while the game is satisfying and fun for those who have already spent a lot of time in it, it just doesn't feel like there's the same ability to blaze new trails. I believe achievement should be felt on a personal level, but I doubt there's the same satisfaction in taking the path well-traveled.
I guess I'm also biased because video games have taken a back seat to the rest of my life over the past several years. I wouldn't say I've "gotten a life" per se (I always hated when people said that back when I played RuneScape). I'm actually just a bit of a workaholic lol. But I love what I do. I feel like the reason I played so much RuneScape when I was younger was that I hadn't found what I loved.
I just want to make sure that my hypothetical kids would find their passion at that early age. If it's somehow RuneScape, then I guess so be it. Statistically it's quite improbable, though, and so since it's such a time sink for the typical enthusiast, I would really advocate against it.
-Teddy
![[Image: UBUf2to.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UBUf2to.png)