No Way!
Having played a wide array of MMORPG's, I have met many people in my time. People from all walks of life, from all over the world.. and virtually every age you can possibly think of. I found out one thing for sure. You run into all types of personalities out there. All so different that sometimes you need to learn and adapt to each individual separately.
In one game in particular, I remember one grouping clearly.. It was early in the morning.. you know when there are like 150 people online, and out of that number, 124 are afk. Well, I was bored and getting ready to log when out of no where, I get an invite to join a group.. YES! After a long, treacherous run to the meet them in the Catacombs, I get the usual "hey", "howdy", "grrr".. "Lets kill something!" intros. One wizard in particular was very chatty and would not be quiet, he was talking non stop, yet he was dropping aggro left and right in the process. After a little while, I get a personal message from him.
The conversation kind of went like this..
HIM: Hey, I bet you can't guess how old I am..
ME: hmmm ok.. 50 hehe
HIM: No really, try and guess how old I am.. you will never get it right
ME: ummm 35
HIM: Nope
ME: 37
HIM: Nope lower
ME: ok... 32
HIM: lower
(at this point I am like alllrighty then...)
ME: 25?
HIM: No
ME: 20?
HIM: NOPE!
ME: (chuckling) 15!
HIM: Nope.. Nope.. Nope.. Not 15
ME: 8? (I'm grasping at straws here)
HIM: Nope that's my sisters age...
ME: I give up.. How old?
HIM: I'm 10! Bet you never had a clue :)))))
He was right, I didn't have a clue and I was surprised to say the least. He was the youngest player I had run across on the game. Like usual, 20 minutes later, the tank has to log and the group broke up and the little dude said "Sorry gotta go to school now, but I put you on my list!" and he dissapeared.
Over time, he did contact me and we grouped together on occasion. Now mind you, it is a bit different grouping with a kid.. I had to watch my mouth first and foremost, and there is a lot of "brb, have to empty the dishwasher" kind of delays.. and "Sorry I haven't been on, my mom grounded me for a week" kinds of things. He really did keep me on toes and also kept me watching my p's and q's when he was around.
I eventually met all of his characters, and even met his father, who played the game as well. The biggest kick I got was when he introduced me to two other young players, and a little argument developed over whose adopted mom I was going to be. After awhile, more and more of his little friends came around and I became a pied piper of sorts. I would bring him along for groups; hey he needs xp like everyone else does. Many times people I knew would get angry when he would start the "guess how old I am" sequence, they would gripe and moan and be difficult. It was hard to decipher who was the child in the group in those instances, but once he started playing, he would gain the respect of every member there. Yes it was a trip, but I can honestly say that little boy turned out to be one of the best darn players I knew.
Now most people would have ditched that kid a long time ago. Me, being a lot older than him, found it refreshing in a world of power leveling and grinding to have that "spark of youth and excitement" from time to time throw me back into the reality and remind me that a game is supposed to be FUN.
I suppose the moral of this little story is to say.. Don't judge a book by its cover.. or by its age.. you may be totally surprised at what is inside.
Plus, you might just gain a bud who can open a can of whoop butt like nobody's business..
Until later..
Malichai
