There were a handful of responses that were unique and did not clearly fit into the components mentioned.
The Nurturance Motivation
There is a specific genre of Asian video games that focus on nurturance - raising a pet / plant / son / daughter. We seldom see that theme in Western games, but it's clear that it's a powerful motivator for players.
Pets. I won't play a game if I can't tame fun creatures and I can level THEM up, not just me. that's why I play both Ultima Online as well as World of Warcraft. I tried City of Heroes and didn't like it. Tried Final Fantasy but it took too long to get a fun creature (that I couldn't even KEEP!!) [UO, F, 23]
Making a Difference
Some of the narratives were incredibly intriguing because they express how MMORPGs are fulfilling an important function in the lives of people who play them. For example, the following narrative illustrates how the online environment provides a space where people who want to make a difference can do so.
I enjoy the opportunity to make a difference in the world. Having been a teacher for almost 4 decades, I'm used to the helping role and also the leading role. I was president of my 'union' 3 different times and negotiated at least 10 contracts. I've chaired uncounted committees, written curriculum, and I still do staff development, training teachers to work with novices and novices to improve their teaching skills. Now that I'm retired I find that being a guild officer and now a guild leader of a major raiding guild gives me purpose in the game, and to an extent even in the real world. I'm not a game-strategist or an uberraid leader; I delegate those jobs to officers more skilled than I. But I'm a strong organizer, I have ' leadership' skills, I know how to implement, cajole, discipline, etc etc etc. And because I believe strongly in a collaborative model rather than a coercive or dictatorial style, I am running the guild in the same way. [EQ, F, 61]
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