Buzzword Snow

Industry buzzwords such as "massively multiplayer," "persistent universe," "investment in character," "game community," and the like only hint at their meaning. They cover the medium's landscape like soft snow, providing comfort to the ignorant and obfuscation to the keen. To a larger audience, games either make no sense or seem a strangely unnatural activity for people to engage in unless they're suffering severe deficiencies in their lives.

The fact is that most people see games played on a computer or console as pretty much the same thing: video games. Gaming, prior to computers, has always provided a low-risk way of interacting with people and getting to know them. Add an electronic device, and you've cleaved a chasm . There's more to it, of course. Regular folk, after all, don't go home each night with thoughts of slaughtering boss monsters or bombing Berlin.