World of Warcraft

[LeslieG]

My son came home from school asking for World of Warcraft, which I guess is some online game that you pay $15/month to access. I never heard of anything like this, but apparently it's very popular with his friends. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

 

[rockundergirl]

My son came home from school asking for World of Warcraft, which I guess is some online game that you pay $15/month to access. I never heard of anything like this, but apparently it's very popular with his friends. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Yes, I have played for years. Its a very fun game. You join people from around the country online to all play a video game together. May I as how old your son is? I wouldn't let my child under age 14/15 play...

 

[Sarah&Ryan]

My hubby and I both play World of Warcraft so I can answer any question you have! Basically its a role playing game based on Dungeon & Dragons. Its geared for 10 and up but some of the chat that goes on in trade channel is def not for kiddos! World of Warcraft is a multi player game that you play with other players....its like Halo and Call of Duty.If he is interested you can get a free 10 day trial.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

A big reason why I'm no longer married to my kids father is because of an online game ~ EverCrack oops I mean EverQuest, he was truly addicted to it - it was/is the #1 thing in his life, he spent more time playing than he did working, going to school/homework *at this time he was "attending" university, spending time with us. It's a similar type game ~ you're playing with real people, there is no pause button. I really dislike online games.

 

[LeslieG]

He's 9, and he's not allowed to have Call of Duty or Halo, so I guess this one will be a no also. Of course all his other 9 yr old friends have it.

I never heard of something like that where you pay monthly to have it. I thought he must have that wrong, but sounds like he's right.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I really dislike online games.

I'm with ya! My DH cancelled his WoW account a few months ago because he realized that he was seriously addicted. He would come home from work and immediately go up to his computer to play... I wouldn't see him for the rest of the evening. He would miss his train to work because he was playing the game in the morning before work and would lose track of time... and then work from home and have his work laptop sitting on the desk next to his home computer and be playing WoW as he worked. These games are very addictive.

I know there are many hobbies that people get very engrossed in but I haven't met anyone who plays online RPG's in moderation. I'm sure these people are out there, but everyone I have met (my DH works in the computer industry and a lot of his friends/coworkers are gamers) gets totally consumed by it. Several of DH's friends have had marriages/relationships killed by WoW.

 

[Sarah&Ryan]

It is $15 a month and every couple of years there is an expansion pack so yes it can be a very expensive game! Honestly I think 9 is too young to be playing the game. Like the previous poster said it can become very addicting.

 

[Astro Orbiter]

I'm sure your son will tell you all the great things about WoW. WoW's been in our house for years, and before that it's been all of the earlier online multiplayer role-playing games. So I'm going to tell you what I don't like about it. (And I'm a non-player.)

My husband has played off and on since it came out (6 years ago, I think). With high supervision, kids can play. I agree that 15 should be the min age. That being said, my DH and DD8 made a character together and she just wanders around picking flowers, mining, flying from here to there. That's only because WoW and the like are DH's hobby and she's been exposed to them since she was a baby, so she's allowed to get her feet wet with high supervision.

Upside - You join a server (you need to be on the same server as your friends), meet up with your friends, form a guild, then gain experience points/levels by killing things and/or doing quests. It's a fun interactive environment where you need to work with your friends to get things done.

Downside - you need to play as much as your friends do. Otherwise they'll level up past you and you'll be no fun to play with. (so...if they play 3 hours per night and you only allow 1 hour your DS's friends will be 3x better than him pretty quick.) Then he won't be able to keep up and they'll probably dump him or be doing lots of things he's not capable of doing.

Downside - you need to play when your friends do. After school, Saturday afternoon, whenever. If they play before homework, or during dinner, you'll be expected to also.

Downside - there are people on there that you don't want to know. My DH (40+) will quite often lose his temper at some idiot. These can be kids just like your son, 22 year old weirdos, or 40-60 year old semi-adults . DH says the mean age is 16-28 or so. You can put filters in place to keep some of the profanity and inappropriate language out, but only some. They are public channels. Everything's there. Adults do not clean up their speech. And that's just speech. There's nothing saying that they can't act like mean jerks as well.

Downside - my DH introduced his younger cousin to it. She had a super hard time controlling her time commitment and it caused problems with her college studies.

Deb

 

[Jennia]

My DH and I both play WoW, but not so much now. I used to play for a few hours a day (and extensively when I was on bedrest with my dd). I disagree that it can't be played in moderation, it definitely can be. For us, it's become a cheap date night for us-we'll log on and play together for a couple hours each week after dd's gone to bed. You also do not need to play the same amount as your friends. For instance, my DH has multiple characters, and none of them are as high level as the two I play, and I play much less often than he does.

Not sure how suitable the game is for a 9 year old, because, like others have said, chat can be pretty outrageous. However, you can put set the filters and that will help somewhat.

 

[jessica52877]

DH plays it and I am surprised we are still married because of it. He played Everquest before and because of that divorced his first wife. He used to be alot better about it in the beginning of our marriage, but 10 years later it is all he does. My son is 8 and begs to play. NO WAY! I honestly don't think I'll agree to it at 14 or 15 either. DS is NOT allowed to watch DH play.

 

[bdcp]

My DS(24) plays but he wasn't allowed to play online rpg's until he was about 18. 9 is too young. My DS has friends he plays with but he also "meets" strangers so not something a 9 year old needs to be doing plus it's really age appropriate for an adult. I think a 9 year old needs to be off the computer more than they're on unless it's for school. There's too many other things a 9 year old needs to be doing.

 

[LilyWDW]

I know there are many hobbies that people get very engrossed in but I haven't met anyone who plays online RPG's in moderation. I'm sure these people are out there, but everyone I have met (my DH works in the computer industry and a lot of his friends/coworkers are gamers) gets totally consumed by it. Several of DH's friends have had marriages/relationships killed by WoW.

*raises hand*

I have played multiple online games very much in moderation. I know many, MANY people who have also played these games in moderation. People who have wonderful relationships, have graduated college (even with master degrees), and hold top end jobs. Including many members of our military, both state side and those who have been deployed.

What I am saying is that it is 100% possible that you can play online games without it messing with your real life. It never came before special events, jobs, or family time for any of the people we played with. I don't see it as any different then any other hobby.

I have played Everquest, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Uncharted Waters Online. I will be playing Guild Wars 2 when it comes out.

As for the OP... we had some teens in our guild in Everquest (never joined a WoW guild since I preferred to solo). However, every single one had a parent who was also in the guild and thus knew what things were like. We also did not change the way we talked or joked around. The parent (and child) were told this was the guild culture and by joining you are accepting that. If you don't like swears, you can turn on the filter because that is what it was made for.

That being said, 9 is too young. The guilds I was a part of over the years would never allow a child that young into the guild. Part of it would be because they would be too young to deal with the guild culture... part of it would be because 9 would simply be too immature. The game is rated T for Teen for a reason... and then they even warn that online play may change that rating and they can not control it.

 

[Colleen27]

DH & I both play, but I wouldn't recommend it for a 9yo in a non-gaming family. We let our older kids (13 & 9) play with supervision, but neither really has the maturity or desire to get far enough into the game for it to be really enjoyable and I certainly wouldn't pay the subscription fee just for the goofing around they do.

BTW, it is possible to play in moderation and the game has never been an issue between DH & I. As far as mutual hobbies for parents go it is pretty ideal - we log in after the kids go to bed and run around in game together, and we're both part of our guild's raid progression group. Most everything else we both enjoy would require a babysitter, and it is nice to have something we like and can do at home together while the kids sleep.

 

[mtblujeans]

I thought I had heard, on a news program, that the game has been updated so that the characters can have 'virtual sex'....is that true?

 

[quasar4legs]

My son is 20 and he and most of his friends play WOW in between completing their uni studies

In reality my son has made some wonderful friends from playing online but I would not have allowed him to play at 9.

Good luck

Quasar

 

[Colleen27]

I thought I had heard, on a news program, that the game has been updated so that the characters can have 'virtual sex'....is that true?

Seriously? The focus of the game is sword and sorcery style fantasy that involves team play for certain tasks, not virtual interpersonal interactions. There is nothing even remotely sexual about it, and there's no sexual element to the game play.

 

[disneymarie]

My son came home from school asking for World of Warcraft, which I guess is some online game that you pay $15/month to access. I never heard of anything like this, but apparently it's very popular with his friends. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

My now 28 yr old started this several years ago. He gets off work, goes on for hours grabs some sleep and same cycle all over. He does not date, spends the weekend with long time friends. Comes home and spends hrs in his guild.

Yea I know...there is a plug, but it is his life. his dollar and the way he is dealing with grief.
I told him there is even a web site, wowdetox.

Monitor the time he is on the game

 

[mtblujeans]

Hey, I'm here to amuse.

It's what I had heard and my sons used to play. I don't think they do, any more, now that they are in college. I didn't want to ask them so I put the question to strangers.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

*raises hand*

I have played multiple online games very much in moderation. I know many, MANY people who have also played these games in moderation. People who have wonderful relationships, have graduated college (even with master degrees), and hold top end jobs. Including many members of our military, both state side and those who have been deployed.

Yeah, I know these people must be out there, but I haven't personally met them. It might be that all the gamers I know come from a strong computer science background and so computers are kind of their life. My husband fits into this category (and he has a masters degree and is a productive member of society with a six-figure salary job... but all in the computer fields), but he can generally pull the plug and do other things. But he did have to actually get rid of his WoW account to stop playing. It was all or nothing - moderation did not come into the equation.

Again, YMMV, but this is just my own personal experience. My son is still young enough to think that a mouse is just something to chew on, but once the time comes, he will not be allowed to have an online RPG account while he lives in my house. My husband agrees.

 

[disneywatcher]

I've played WoW since it's release and I can tell you that I will NOT let my soon to be 10 year old play it. There is a lot of adult conversation and raunchy jokes made in what we call "general" or "trade" chat.

I have lately found myself taking breaks from the game because I do need Real Life interaction. There were teens in some of my former guilds who's parent's would "hide" power cables, authenticators (form of hacking protection to save your account) and sometimes even monitors to keep their kids off as punishment. I've seen students start to fail from playing WoW because as a PP said you have to play a lot to keep up with your friends/guildees. Your always having to run instances to update gear or make gold.

That said I will say that my daughter does play EQ but that is only because her father occasionally plays and she is in my own mother and father's guild. All the adults know that she is a MINOR and she is only allowed to group with members from our family (I should mention my neices, nephew's and brother play this as well).