<p>It just made me wonder if games and especially Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games(MMORPGs) are considered a valid EC. I think they should.</p>
<p>For one, I am the leader of a guild numbering over 40 people, all set out on the same goal to conquer the biggest challanges(known as "boss encounters") in said online computer game.
It's no different than being a football team captain or a club president.You face the same problems and situations.My job is to be there every night, over 6 hours a day, organising those people, what they are going to do, and how they're going to do it , and then make sure they do it right and they keep it together throughout the whole encounter.
The problems range from anything like preserving your dignity since everyone is looking up to you like a real commander, dealing with all sorts of drama like who should get the loot from the defeated boss or a person disliking something or someone in the guild, and in light to recent changes to the game by the dimwitted devlopers, which of your guild mates should you permanetly remove from the guild in the name of it's greater good.</p>
<p>So, would this be actually considered as a valid EC?</p>
<p>With all due respect, developers are rarely "dimwitted." They're probably just making changes asked for by the moneymakers. If you're referring to WoW, the changes are actually a very good decision, as they'll bring back a lot of the less-hardcore players. Many of us stopped playing because we couldn't devote 8 hours a go to run BWL. It wasn't fun for adults anymore, and we're the core demographic for making money.</p>
<p>But that aside, no, it's not a good EC. For one, while I agree with a lot of your arguments in terms of teamwork, MMOs are still not understood. And in part, that has to do with the fact that a lot of the negatives outweigh the positives (the time sink, the oftentimes brainless grinding...)</p>
<p>What's not real about that? I like facing tough challanges that you can only defeat with a lot of thought, a nicely though-out strategy , excellent organisation and perfect execution.
I find it very exciting and rewarding, organising a huge mass of people, a lot of which are actually my real life friends, into a functional and successful group.</p>
<p>To me it seems a lot more "real" and worth the time, than discussing literature with 5 other people, selling bananas on a stand or even doing manual labor.</p>
<p>Again, keep in mind that I used to raid MC, BWL, ZG, and AQ20 in my day, so I'm not some anti-gamer...</p>
<p>It's just not a good EC. It doesn't "produce" anything, it's 90% brainless drudgery, and the quality of socializing is generally poor. Never mind the fact that once you get good at a raid, it becomes almost rote.</p>
<p>Sorry, but as much as I respect good raiding groups, it's not something I'd put on a resume.</p>
<p>I guess you're right. But as it seems right now, it's going to change in the future.
It's getting to the point where people , and even us, are actually getting offers for sponsorships from real companies ; real big companies ; to actually, you know, have their logo and their name associated with us. Given a few more years and some ingenuity on the side of the developers, with the game's population currently numbering over 10 million and increasing rapidly, who knows if it won't become a very popular past time.
I'm strongly looking forward to that.</p>
<p>It's a good EC, but a bad one to put on a college application. You are obviously getting a lot out of it, but it won't be understood. It's sort of like hanging out with your girlfriend/boyfriend. Nobody expects you to not do that, but they don't want to hear about it.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you said it's your job to hang out and organize... is it a paid job? If it is, definitely put it under employment.</p>
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On the other hand, you said it's your job to hang out and organize... is it a paid job? If it is, definitely put it under employment.
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<p>Well sort of. I am making some money out of it, mainly by writing articles on how to beat the challanges we already have, for which I'm being paid ~100$ an article(which is about the average wage here in Buglaria), in addition to having done articles about the game itself for numereous sites.</p>
<p>yeah if you are getting paid it's worth adding.. i agree with np99sky also. if you feel you could write an awsome essay on it it could show your passion for it and have the adcoms understand it.</p>
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I played WoW all of my freshman year. Then I realized that I was wasting 12+ hours a day for pixels.</p>
<p>Now compare pixels with volunteering and leading in the real world and you'll see that WoW is only a waste of time.
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<p>Please don't even scratch the topic about what in life is a waste of time and what is not. Everyone has his own interests and the fact that you don't enjoy something doesn't mean it's stupid and pointless.</p>
<p>Judging from your responses, we can tell that you are indeed very passionate about this game. Now, if I am an adcom, I would wonder just how much time would you spend a day on WoW and how much time would be left for you to devote to school?</p>
<p>I think it depends on what kind of your college you're applying to. Yahoo hired a CEO (or some high level employee) because he mentioned he was level 64 on World of Warcraft.</p>
<p>If you are applying to a computer science college or a place like M.I.T. that might understand what video games are, then it might be a good idea.</p>
<p>But for the most part, I don't think it would help you very much. The people looking over your application will probably just think you beat a video game and treat it as that.</p>
<p>If you do choose to put it on your college application, you'll need a lot of other things to go along with it. You will need some traditional ECs.</p>
<p>"It's no different than being a football team captain"</p>
<p>when's the last time you played football? when i hear someone is a football team captain, it tells me that they are tough both mentally and physically, talented, dedicated, and hard working. when i hear that someone is a hardcore gamer, it tells me they are merely willing to put countless hours into something fairly irrelevant. it's a hobby, not a legit ec. you'll find most peolple think the same thing. not because there is some anti-game conspiracy, but because that is reality.</p>
<p>Colleges look for EC's that indicate a skill that will bring the student, and thus, the school, prestige and status when they finish their education.</p>
<p>WoW is not a valid EC for college. Period. Everyone I know who games also does real things. Its possible to do both. If you want to get EC's for college, join a club, play a sport, write a book or something. WoW is probably fun and enjoyable, but it doesnt really reflect any of the qualities college desire.</p>