I am not a Densha Otoko ( train man)

I AM NOT A DENSHA OTOKO (TRAIN MAN)

Last lesson

" I know there is a gamer in this class. I dunno if he is here today" says Christoph, our professor 

" Yes, I am",  I raised my hand and answered the question.

 Then, Christoph asked me a few questions in order to explain to class wat online affinity spaces is.

 We talked about wat games do I play. How much time I spend on videos games per day. How does the game run. How is my progress in the game. Is my character top- leveled? bla bla bla. 

 At that time, the class laughed because gamers are deemed as DENSHA OTOKO (TRAIN MAN) in Hong Kong. 

Train Man is a person who likes to read comics and plays video games. Train men like to stay at home. They  seldom go out. 

HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO DECLARE THAT

 I AM NOT A TRAIN MAN, ALTHOUGH I LIKE TO READ COMICS, PLAY VIDEO GAMES AND STAY AT HOME.

I am still a independent, sociable, talkative person. 

PLEASE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ME. 

I am happy to talk with different people especially my classmates.

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I would like to explain more wat online affinity space is in this post by my experience in MMORPG game. 

Guild Wars 2 is a MMORPG game which I played the most in this month. 

MMORPG game is a good example of online affinity space.

Online affinity space refers to a place wherein people interact with each other, often at a distance, primarily through shared practices or a common endeavour and only secondarily through shared culture, gender, ethnicity or face-to-face relationships.

Thus, I always engage in this kind of online affinity space. 

I play this game with some online friends who I never meet in reality. But, in the game, we interact with each other. We play tgt every night after we get off from work or school. We talked in the game channel. People ask for places that are good for leveling up or treasure hunting. THIS IS INTERACTION.

We joined the same guild, a group for players. There are many guilds in the game. Since we are from Hong Kong, we joined a guild that only available for Hong Kong people. This generates some kind of IDENTITY. 

Also, there are different classes in the game. You can be warrior, ranger, guardian etc. Many classes are available. Another identity is created. Each player represents different classes.

For example, 

in classes, I am a student of Christoph. He is my professor. He teaches me. I learn from him.

but, if he also plays GW2, somethings change.

Since i am a student only, I have more time to play this game. I have more knowledge about GW2.

in game, Christoph may ask me places that are good for leveling up. I probably take the lead in game. I tell him where he should go when we are in guild battles in order to increase his survivability. I suggest him ways to finish some missions in the game. 

This online affinity space changes the identity.

Moreover, MMORPG game generates other kinds of online language. People do not know if they do not play games. For example

Feeder : player who always die. Killed by enemies provides money and items which loses the game.

Rax : towers and barracks that defend the main building.

Tank : a role of player in the game. Tank usually absorb damages from enemies and protect other players

Carry: a rold of player in the game. Carry is the key of the game. Well-played carry wins the game

Ofc, I am not going to list all online languages here. I just give some examples to show wat online affinity space is and how does it affect people/

Below are some pictures of GW2 

and a video that shows 10 reasons to make GW2 a must-play game.