12 y-o daughter wants World Of Warcraft

[Jess Ragan]

I wouldn't advise it. However, kids that age have a tendency to do whatever they want, parents be damned. If she insists on playing World of Warcraft, limit her time with it to an hour per day and look over her shoulder every fifteen minutes. Also, make sure she's playing as a male character... that should keep other players from seeing her as anything other than just another gamer.

 

As with most things in life, it's important to be cautious, but not hysterical. Keep one eye open, but let the other relax.

[Mendon]

I never played WoW, but I was an avid and "addicted" Everquest player for well over a year.

 

To be honest, I noticed nothing sinister about life on EQ. I was in a Guild, helped newbies get aquainted with the game, attended raids, did farming.... all the usual stuff. Other than the occasional yelling and bragging (nothing you wouldn't hear at school or at a sporting event), I witnessed nothing that could be considered a threat to anyones safety. In fact, life on EQ when I played was much, much tamer than playing Halo or Gears of War. I never ran into racism or sexism on EQ and other than some "foul" language, it was a fun and safe game.

 

But my EQ playing days were before the release of EQ2, and maybe time and life has changed since then. I think the suggestion made by someone else about downloading the trial of WoW and playing it for awhile WITH your daughter is excellent. You'll get first hand experience of what life will be like and can make a knowledgable decision thats suitable for you.

 

I hate to see life become filled with "dreading what lies around the next corner" but yet in todays world, with teachers here in Florida having sex with their students on a regular basis, one must always be careful.

 

 

 

Mendon

[Starscream]

Our son has been playing since he was 12. We limit his time to an hour. He seldom plays everyday but that could be because no games during the school week and he also has an XBL account.

 

Try out the free trial, set a time limit, and let her play.

[Atariboy]

I haven't seen anyone mention this beyond a few people alluding to it like the above poster when he mentions the free trial, so you might be unaware of it.

 

But I believe this is a subscription based service with periodic fee's that you have to pay to continue to play, it's not a one time purchase. Not what you asked, but I thought it was worth pointing out in case you weren't aware of it.

[SpendTooMuchOnAtari]

I haven't seen anyone mention this beyond a few people alluding to it like the above poster when he mentions the free trial, so you might be unaware of it.

 

But I believe this is a subscription based service with periodic fee's that you have to pay to continue to play, it's not a one time purchase. Not what you asked, but I thought it was worth pointing out in case you weren't aware of it.

 

Hey, thanks! Yeah, I was aware of a monthly fee but she said she is going to pay for it.....on my credit card.

 

Thanks to all that have posted, I may do the trial thing with her and see how that goes. I'm not sure I want her playing at all by herself so maybe it can be part of our "quality time" together.

 

Can you have more than one character? I mean, can we each have our own "person" with our own stats and such? Thanks again for all the info and thoughts. Keep them coming, I have her reading this thread.

[Starscream]

I haven't seen anyone mention this beyond a few people alluding to it like the above poster when he mentions the free trial, so you might be unaware of it.

 

But I believe this is a subscription based service with periodic fee's that you have to pay to continue to play, it's not a one time purchase. Not what you asked, but I thought it was worth pointing out in case you weren't aware of it.

 

Hey, thanks! Yeah, I was aware of a monthly fee but she said she is going to pay for it.....on my credit card.

 

Thanks to all that have posted, I may do the trial thing with her and see how that goes. I'm not sure I want her playing at all by herself so maybe it can be part of our "quality time" together.

 

Can you have more than one character? I mean, can we each have our own "person" with our own stats and such? Thanks again for all the info and thoughts. Keep them coming, I have her reading this thread.

 

I think you can have more than 1 on an account but I know you need a few accounts to have all kinds of characters.

 

I am really overprotective and was against a WoW account but as usual, I was over-ruled, and it has really been ok. I doubt your daughter is weak and I figure that you have done a fine job raising her, she will do the right thing. Keep involved though just so you can monitor what is going on. I have yet to see anything that I feel is over the line happen. But please, do not let her tell her gender.

 

And if she reads this

"Hi SpendTooMuchOnAtari's daughter"

Edited April 5, 2008 by Starscream

[Hyper_Eye]

I am not going to read through this whole thread because I saw enough opinion from people who have no knowledge of the game. I have been playing this game for 2.5 years and as such I am very familiar with it.

 

WoW is an MMORPG and as such is played strictly on-line. There is no offline play whatsoever (not even so much as a practice or a tutorial.) The world in which you play is a persistent world that runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week (with the exception being Tuesday mornings during which Blizzard takes all realms offline for scheduled maintenance.) You can login and play your character from any computer that has the game installed. The characters in WoW do not change in any way while you are offline. When you log in to the game your character will be in the exact same spot you left it. If you left your character dead your character will still be in spirit form when you log back in. The game does do things to reward time spent away from the game. As long as your character is at an inn or capital city when you log out your character will be gaining rested bonus. The longer you character is in an inn or capital city the more rested bonus your character will gain. Rested bonus awards double experience points for mob (computer controlled enemy) kills. This allows you to level much faster after a long rest. There is no penalization for any amount of time spent logged out of the game. You can have 9 characters per realm and up to 99 characters per account. This number will never be reached... ever. Each character currently has a level cap of 70 with the expansion and 60 without. There are many many servers and you need to make sure you start your character on the same server as the people you are wanting to play with (being your friends and/or relatives.)

 

The social part of the game is not an absolute necessity but it does increase the enjoyability of the game as well as the difficulty and ease of leveling in the game. There are things in the game that cannot be done alone such as dungeons and PvP battlegrounds. But, a character can level from 1 to 70 without ever forming a group, fighting with other players, or even talking to anyone. Solo play is enjoyable in it's own way and sometimes this is the way I enjoy playing but this game really shines with team play. The game has a built in chat filter that can be disabled for those that are not easily offended. It is quite difficult to circumvent the chat filter and purposely circumventing the filter is a punishable offense that can be reported. This game is not like XBox Live. In the more then two years I have been playing WoW I have never seen a racist remark or sexual advance. I have seen some offensive things from time to time though they would probably be less offensive with the chat filter on. If you don't like Chuck Norris then you may not like the chat in this game. The chat is generally tame and usually pleasant and friendly. Every guild I have been in has always had a policy against explicit language and has maintained a child friendly policy.

 

This game is very detailed and massive. It is very overwhelming to start if you don't have much experience with the general MMORPG mechanics. The game has a helpful hint system and the first zone is made to help you get the hang of the game. You will manage a growing and eventually large inventory, money, character talents, character gear, skills and spells, work trades, stats, etc. I would say that this game does a good job of teaching disciplined management of possessions and currency. The game has a PvP (player versus player) element that is optional on PvE (player versus environment) servers and all over the world in PvP servers. No matter what type of serer you join there are PvP battlegrounds to play in that offer different gameplay types such as capture the flag and domination (a game where your team needs to control critical areas of a play field.)

 

So the ultimate question is whether or not this game would be appropriate for a 12 year old girl. I would say that it is really dependent on the child. I don't think that the social aspect of the game is so much an issue as is the management of ones time and restraint. This game does have an addicting element to it. I can attest to the fact that it has completely ruined adult lives (not mine but I do know some people who let the game envelop their lives and ultimately destroy them.) This should not be a problem with a disciplined person (of any age.) Knowing when to quit for the day is the key. It is best to start a game session with a goal in mind. I have two children (a son and a daughter) though they are much younger. I can still answer this question though. I would let my daughter play this game WITH ME. She would be in the same guild as me and I would know the people she would generally be interacting with. Some people seem to feel that playing a game like this with your child is not as good as sitting with them to play a board game or some other family game. I say that is nonsense. Members of a family can play this game together and achieve goals together. I don't see how it could be a bad thing for family members to learn how to work together and depend on each other. This game is a great way to do that.

[dasovich]

Hi, i played wow starting when i was 12. you can have as many charectors as you want but i think there is a limit to the amount you can have on a server. there is ups and downs for some one that young playing it. evan though she hears cuss words alot she could pick them up. i started using cuss words because every one in wow did. not to act cool but just to show how im fealing. definitly set a time limit of play. and make sure she keeps that chat filter on!

 

Im going to have to say no. evan though im 14 i stoped playing it when i relised i was to young to play it.

Edited April 5, 2008 by dasovich

[Inky]

My thoughts...

 

 

Im an avid player of WoW, and for a lark, I created a female character to see how long and bad Id get hit on.. 20 minutes within creation, there were all kinds of guys hitting on my toon. One asked "Do you date online?" Id reccommend not letting your daughter on until she is over 17, and is active socially in RL first.

 

 

However if she insists on a MMORPG, try MapleStory http://www.maplestory.com its more cartoonish, 2D platformer, but its free to play.

[Hyper_Eye]

My thoughts...

 

 

Im an avid player of WoW, and for a lark, I created a female character to see how long and bad Id get hit on.. 20 minutes within creation, there were all kinds of guys hitting on my toon. One asked "Do you date online?" Id reccommend not letting your daughter on until she is over 17, and is active socially in RL first.

 

 

However if she insists on a MMORPG, try MapleStory http://www.maplestory.com its more cartoonish, 2D platformer, but its free to play.

 

I have created female characters and have never experienced what you describe. My wife actively plays female characters and she also has never experienced that sort of behavior. I am not saying that you are lying, but I would be willing to bet you were playing alliance toons (*ducks*).

[Inky]

I have created female characters and have never experienced what you describe. My wife actively plays female characters and she also has never experienced that sort of behavior. I am not saying that you are lying, but I would be willing to bet you were playing alliance toons (*ducks*).

 

Well... Alliance chicks are teh hotness.

 

 

Besides... Would you rather bump a human female or a Tauren female?

[Hyper_Eye]

I have created female characters and have never experienced what you describe. My wife actively plays female characters and she also has never experienced that sort of behavior. I am not saying that you are lying, but I would be willing to bet you were playing alliance toons (*ducks*).

 

Well... Alliance chicks are teh hotness.

 

 

Besides... Would you rather bump a human female or a Tauren female?

 

Where have you been? I swear Blizzard brought in 15 and 16 year old boys to design the female blood elf models.

[aikainnet]

You do realize that WoW is more than the 20$ you pay for the game right? MMORPG's usually have a monthly cost, WoW's is 15$ a month with a free month when you first start up.

 

I suggest Runescape for your 12 yr old. Its a calm MMO and free . Sure its not high on graphics, but the gameplay is beautiful.

 

You also do not have to worry about cussing or people trying to find out personal information. The censor they have is extreme.

[Roloking]

As long as you don't play in a RP type server you should be ok for the most part. While I don't think a 12 year old playing WoW is a good thing, if you're going to let her play a little have her stay far far far far away from the weirdos in the RP servers. Those guys jump on anything with a female model and its really easy to walk in on a very disturbing rp "sex" session if you decide to go into any of the inns. Really all the people who replace real life with WoW are all festering in the cess pool that is RP servers and those are the people you need to watch out for! Also remind her to never give out personal information and especially not her young age which would make her a target of ridicule kind of like when you play halo and everyone is making fun of the idiot 12 year old with the mic. With any luck she'll get bored of it (because all in all it gets pretty damn boring) and just find something else to play.

 

For a fun little story about how shitty wow COULD get I have an awesome story (its not actually awesome) about a girl I know.

 

In high school I knew a girl who became a pretty good friend of mine and for a while she dated one of my best friends. While she was going out with my friend she started playing WoW and quickly became addicted to it. She stopped hanging out with us and soon broke up with my friend after they had gone out for over a year because she had a "boyfriend" on WoW. She gained about 100 extra pounds and is pretty much an anti-social hermit now. She cant hold down a job because she never stops playing. She was going to go to college but thats off too. She recently went to her guild masters home (which is in California and were in Missouri) to try to start a relationship with him (it didnt work). Her life is pretty much ruined at this point all because of this game. So if you let your daughter play you should really be active in what shes doing in the game. Make sure she doesn't get into the darkside of the game.

 

Also in WoW's defense, this kind of stuff happened to people who played EverQuest too so its all in how proactive you are.

[aikainnet]

Also in WoW's defense, this kind of stuff happened to people who played EverQuest too so its all in how proactive you are.

 

I know this all too well I got stuck in everquests hands and well... now look at me... xD