For a long time I've been playing mmorpgs. I've played City of Heroes and WoW, Flyff, Maplestory, Rose Online, Ragnarok Online and many, many more. My topic title says exactly the question that I've begun to ask myself as I've grown up: What's the point of playing mmorpgs?
To make friends ingame? Make friends in real life, it's 10 times as rewarding and unlike mmorpgs that you quit eventually you will theoretically have those friends you make for life. Of course, some people may make friends in games and actually meet them in real life, but those occurrences are few and far between. Just from being ingame and seeing how many people play what you do shows the amount of people with your same interests that you could befriend in real life.
To escape from a harsh reality? Nothing will ever, ever change for you until you get off the computer and change it for yourself. In trying to escape life through games you only deny yourself a chance at a better life outside said games. No epic loot you get in game will ever change the fact that you have problems talking to a crowd and no level up will ever teach you a new language or how to play an instrument. You have to do these things for yourself.
If you play mmo's to pass the time, as a time of relaxation in a stress free enviroment than it's likely you didn't read this far regardless. Even then, though, unlike console games mmorpgs are never entirely stress free. You meet people there and feel you must keep up with them in levels, in gear, what have you; when you reach the endgame what was the point? Regardless of how much you enjoyed the game you will eventually leave it and have nothing to show for it but wasted time, time that could have been better spent learning, reading, writing.
You may tell yourself that it was time well spent, that playing these games was without a doubt how you wanted to spend your time. When the day comes that your asked to go abroad, will you not regret having spent that time to learn another language? Or when a girl you like owns a guitar, will you not regret having never learned to play so you could impress her?
If you don't want to read this wall of text read this:
Play games, if that's what truly makes you happy. Just play in moderation; on the side learn a skill, be it an instrument or how to draw, write, act or sing. Living life to it's fullest and experiencing as much as you can is hard to do when you spend hours playing games online.
I've just recently been very inspired to accomplish as much as I could in this short life, and I wanted to share how I felt, regardless of the reception it receives. Cheers.


![Send a message via AIM to [o.o]](images/misc/im_aim.gif)
![Send a message via MSN to [o.o]](images/misc/im_msn.gif)
<-"Emo" me.



While that wasn't planned it's been to my benefit, and i posted something there that I want to repost here:
