I Don't Want To Feel Lonely No More

I booted up Borderlands on my Xbox 360 yesterday because I've been craving some Pandora time, but I really did not last long in the game, and I think I know why. It wasn't that your character's inventory space is far too small, or that the game ports me to the beginning of the zone if I log out in the middle of a zone so I have to fight through scads of trash again, or even that I can hit enemies better with my assault rifle when not using my scope which is counter-intuitive. No, none of that really bothered me. What caused me to drop out of the game was that I was missing the social aspect of my MMOGs.

I have a blast with Borderlands when a friend of mine is online and we go kill things together. But when I'm alone in the world, it feels… well, lonely. I think MMOGs have spoiled me in this aspect in that no matter if I'm in a guild or playing with friends, I'm still playing with other people.

I like having other people around in game. I think that's my biggest draw to the MMOG style of game. I like knowing that there are other people right around the corner that I could chat up even if I have no real plans to do so. I like to know that my friends are running around in game and I could join them if I wanted to. I like being able to chat and be silly with other players in between slaughtering hordes of baddies. I don't get that same feeling in single-player games, and no matter how good the game, I have to stay focused to make it through the game.

I have Borderlands and Dragon Age: Origins both collecting dust right now because I can't play them with other people, or if I can I don’t get the opportunity as often as I'd like. I know they are both good games, and the parts that I have played through I've enjoyed thoroughly, but I just can't seem to get much further because I keep wanting to get my friends in game with me.

Not that MMOGs don't have their flaws. I really enjoy how the story is told in Borderlands and Dragon Age, but I don't get those storied tales in MMOGs. And even when I do get to group up in MMOGs, I often don't get anything other than rushing through content like it's some sort of potato sack race. But at least I get to group with other people, and if I get the benefit of grouping with friends then I can get those random story elements and exploration fixes.

The only time I really feel like I can play a single-player game is when I know everyone else is playing it. When I log into Xbox Live (my gamertag is JesseJames27, btw) and see half of my friend's list playing a particular game I feel like I can at least chat up my friends about the game while I'm playing, which helps. But if no one is playing the game, like Borderlands right now, then I just feel like a loner, and I got enough of that in high school, thank you very much.

Am I the only one that goes through this with single-player games? I feel like it's a waste to spend money on them at all because I'm pretty sure I won't get through them or even get very far in them, yet I continue to buy them. Am I alone in this as well?

- Dickie

(Yes, the title is grammatically incorrect. It's a song title reference, albeit from a few years ago, but it is a pop-culture reference, therefore allowed :)