Nesting Instinct
My mother always said that I have a very strong nesting instinct. Wherever I live, even if it’s just for a few days, I have a compulsive drive to make my space my own, to set it up just so, and to make it as comfortable as possible. When you nest, you change and rearrange your environment to conform to you instead of vice versa.
When I look at it this way, a lot of my time spent in MMOs is simply nesting. There’s never a time that I feel as naked or out of sorts than when I create a new character for the game, because that character has no place in the world yet. He or she has no skills, no accomplishments, no tools, no home, no nothing.
So I go about creating a virtual nest. I pick goals for that character that eventually give me elements that make me feel more powerful and more at home. I work towards rewards that let me express my creativity and to have fun. If the game allows it, I buy a house and furnish it. I get every travel point, grow through experience, and increase in power.
Really, it’s all about making a comfortable nest for myself. A high-level character with a fast mount, tons of abilities, cool tricks, a wealth of knowledge and a fashionable wardrobe makes me feel at home in the game, in control, and oddly satisfied. I may not have been able to change the world at large, but I can change enough about my character to feel as though I have some say in matters.
Of course, when I get to an end point, I do hit a wall if the game either doesn’t let me rearrange my nest or continually add to it, which is certainly a problem.
Like this:
- Posted in: General
I think that’s why a lot of people stick with WoW. I have a friend who picked up Rift and has been playing with me and all, but whenever I pop online and see that he’s already on, he’s playing WoW, and not Rift. He has spent so many years in WoW that I suspect he’s unable to give it up and move to something else, even part-time.
@Scopique – Or could it be that he just enjoys WoW more? Just because he has a preference that you don’t understand it doesn’t mean that your reason is the reason for it. See Syp’s recent post on the subject.
@Syp – On subject, I think of all the games I have played lately, nothing exemplifies the nesting instinct quite like Minecraft. Other than survival, nesting is a huge part of what Minecraft IS. I’d attribute at least a portion of it’s success to the fact that it caters to that instinct.
Genda – I know Minecraft would pwn my soul if I went in there… I think the fact it’s not widely persistent is the only reason I don’t.
Syp – I have a server if you are ever tempted. Holla.