I’m a social person. I love big cities, thick crowds and chatter so various and intertwined one conversation is indiscernible from another. It makes me feel like an adventurer, to be surrounded by the unknown and unfamiliar within a relatively safe boundary as I gallivant about. Keep that in mind, it’ll come into play.

When Kotaku published its video game census at the end of March, there was a lot to take in. One of the most interesting to me was the number of people who played massivelyl multiplayer online games.

Fifty-eight percent of visitors to the site played them either exclusively or on part-time basis while the remaining 42 percent answered, “No way in hell.” Seeing as how MMO giant (and recurring addiction) World of Warcraft reached 11.5 million players at its peak, I would call 42 percent surprising. I honestly figured that number would be much smaller. I suppose I kind of hoped it would be too. After all, it’s the social aspect that draws me to MMOs, and I need fellow players. Let me show you why.

When I first picked up Star Wars Galaxies (still my favorite MMO to this day), I very rarely went out hunting or dungeon-crawling. Instead, I was chatting up the patrons to the Mos Eisley cantina as a dancer or healing patients at the hospital. I didn’t need to go out grinding my combat skills, because the social system was an integral and valid part of the SWG experience. It wasn’t a supplemental device where faceless voices floated into my eardrums, asking me “LFG Gnomer?” which is what the “social” part of the MMO experience seems to have become.

Speaking of World of Warcraft, did I mention I’m taking a break? Yes, again. I brought my main character Kaiph to level 80, ran every dungeon on normal and heroic difficulty, and then … nothing. Just a feeling of emptiness. I don’t raid. I don’t PvP. I don’t farm or play the auction house. What is there for me once I’ve reached the top? What can I take joy in at that point? Hint: Not a whole lot.

With my MMOs, I need something more. I need that sense of community. I need to find the proper level of interaction with my fellow players. I don’t want to plug-and-play with them, I want to befriend them, strike up conversation, get to know them.

The world of an MMO is persistent; it continues and exists in a fashion that most single-player titles don’t. I want my social experience to match that philosophy.

Sophie Prell is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Alta.

This column appears courtesy of Prell’s blog “G3 – A Girl’s Guide to Gaming.” www.g3girlsgaming.blogspot.com