Free Realms …. I’m SO done with you. Especially now.
This post has been deleted as it simply caused too much dumb controversy. The gist of it was this: I linked to an article on Massively where they discussed Free Realms being played by adult players. I thought that this was strange since Free Realms is clearly targeted at kids and I posted such.
However, since I tried (and clearly failed) to do it in a tongue-in-cheek, somewhat funny way – and linking to a Penny Arcade comic in the process – I came under fire as seen below in the approved comments. And in other comments I didn’t approve. It was inferred that I was somehow trying to attack Sony, that I was a right-wing narrow-minded crazy. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Simply, I was trying to point out that much hubbub was made over regular MMOers playing FR, and it clearly isn’t made for those of us that also play WoW and whatnot (hint: it’s really made for kids). Not that you can’t play FR and have some casual light-hearted fun, knock yourself out. I just find that the intense levels of hype surrounding it, aimed at adult gamers is well… ODD.
Long and short… go about your business – nothing to see here. If you want to play Free Realms, adult gamer, I won’t make fun of you anymore.
5 Responses
You know, a lot of people will probably never see this little article here of yours, and that’s probably a good thing, because many adults get rather annoyed when other people tell them how they should spend their recreational time and/or hard earned money.
First of all, I’m a 46 year old mother of three. They’re all grown (ages 19-21). A lot of mothers, once they FINALLY get some time to themselves in their lives, just want to relax and play something lighthearted and FUN. (If gaming is their hobby, and that’s becoming a pretty common thing.)
I love gaming. I’ve been gaming since the days of PONG and Atari. It has been my hobby as long as I can remember. I’ve played all of the heavy “adult” MMOs, like EVE, EQ, EQ2, DAoC, and yes, WoW (in an all adult guild) etc., etc., ad infinitum. Sometimes I just want to play something that doesn’t require my entire focus and HOURS of my time, you know, like BigFish games, or Pogo, or Faunasphere, or…yes…FreeRealms. And I think it’s rude and incredibly unethical (and presumptuous) on your part, to assume that anyone who enjoys lighthearted childlike games MUST be a “pedophile.”
Most of the adults that DO play these games are middle-aged mothers that just want a light, cheery, semi-mindless BREAK from housekeeping, jobs, and dealing with bills and the rest of life’s stresses, without having to be accountable to showing up on time for raids, guild meetings, etc., when they really just want to spend an hour doing something that is just totally FUN with no performance pressure once they get off work. No one in FreeRealms is critiquing my enchants or trying to analyze how I can get higher dps. I can just log in….play a few mini games…smack around some silly looking cartoons, laugh, and log off when I want to log off.
Just my ten cents on the subject.
Lori,
I have no problems in the least with women – of any age – playing Free Realms. And I agree about wanting a light-hearted game. I completely get that. Cartoony-styled games are very appealing – to me as well. So I take no issue there; heck I play and enjoy Runes of Magic, WoW (in the past now) and various others that are quite focused on a light-hearted gaming experience. (in spite of all the violence)
The “pedophile” comment is with respect to this: if I am an adult male (and not playing with my kids) and want to do some gaming, why would I choose Free Realms, which is targeted and marketed towards kids between 7 and 14 years of age? Doesn’t that seem just a bit odd and disturbing to you? There’s plenty of other quality MMOs out there – and free ones, like Runes of Magic – that offer a very similar, light-hearted approach to their world that AREN’T designed for small children. Hey, I tried FR myself and although I admit it’s well-designed, reasonably polished, and easy to play, I couldn’t get past the fact that I was likely playing with a bunch of kids. Which is okay, I suppose, but I don’t really have that much in common with them, let alone actually having stuff I could chat with them about.
So I quickly exited and went back to other games that I felt more comfortable playing.
Thanks for you feedback.
I found your post “Adults + Free Realms = Creeeepy” while searching for information about Free Realms. I must say that I am appalled at the fact that you would blatantly misinterpret an article posted on such a well respected blog like Massively. The only reason I can think of for such an act is to gain attention for yourself.
In the article that you have linked in your posting, there isn’t a single thing said that would indicate that the author thought the game was “creepy” or that any adult playing it was one of the “really strange, likely pedophilic adults” you wrote about. As a matter of fact the author says “But with its forward thinking design and near instantaneous variety of quests and missions to participate in, SOE’s newest MMO should make everyone consider giving it a shot.” He also continues to describe many things in the game that he likes. So if what you say holds true then he would be either a kid or likely a pedophile.
This is one of the things about internet media that makes my skin crawl. Anyone with a computer, or a way to post to a blog can post misinterpreted information where ever they like. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and the freedom to post them on the internet. Just make sure when you do, you actually read the sources you refer to in your postings. Just like your interpretation of the Penny Arcade comic strip you also linked. The strips only mention of pedophiles were the ones the girl in the comic refers to when she says “My uncle says the Deeprun Tram is a warran of pedophiles”. Which is a reference to WoW not Free Realms.
In closing I would like to say that I am an avid gamer. I have played many MMOs including WoW, Eve Online, SWG, FFXI, LoTRO. I also play Free Realms with my wife when we don’t want to deal with the ignorance and childishness many people who play WoW display every single time they log in. Free Realms is fun for all ages and peaceful when compared to games “more befitting” my age.
I’m really quite amazed at how much conversation this one post has generated. Look, I didn’t mean to infer in the least that it had anything to do with Massively – my opinion, I mean. It’s really just that – MY opinion. I wasn’t trying to generate more traffic, but it seems I have nonetheless.
I read Massively all the time and linked to that post because I had just read it. My opinion was based solely on my impressions, not Massively’s (which I thought was very clear) after playing FR for a weekend in the beta. As I mentioned above, I don’t think it’s that cut and dried, but I do find the whole idea of a grown man playing FR with children (not their own, mind you – those in the game) very creepy. Hence my article. It could be argued that kids – though possibly not children (though it’s not completely unheard of I’m sure) – play other MMOs as well, so I may have played with them too. I’m not that social in MMOs, so I couldn’t really say.
The whole post was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but apparently it didn’t come off that way. Hm. I’ll have to work on that.
As for the WoW reference in Penny Arcade, that’s what started it all, though as I don’t play WoW, I clearly didn’t get the reference. Sorry for riling everyone up.
But I still have to say – why, as an adult gamer is Free Realms so attractive when there’s other games (tons of ‘em in fact) targeted more at your demographic? I played it, I thought it was.. well, decent for a kid’s game, and I moved on. It clearly wasn’t designed for me, with the pixies and the minigames and the ultra-happy-happy. I felt like I’d just stepped into a world that was the bastard child of Nickolodeon and Disney.
Free Realms may appear to be designed for kids but like most other games no matter how much sparkles and shiny paint you slap on it, it is still brutally mindless violence just because there is no blood does not mean its not there, it does not leave much to the imagination, knockouts are illusions to mask all the murdering taking place, you dont shoot someone 10 times with an arrow or bash there head in 20 times with a hammer and then they simply get knocked out, that is called KILLING, and references to alcohol(chugawugs drink it all the time if not it sure looks that way) and sexual themes(helping married people out that have kids implies there is sex that went on somewhere) also the avatars and characters are all sexy looking, the robgoblins appear to crossdress, also all the shrooms in briarwood forest are drug references.
What i am saying is that this game and many countless others have been falsely rated as E for everyone when they should be 21+.