Procrastinate Like Me: The Kingdom of Loathing
In the previous post in this series, I described one of the most evidently productive methods of procrastination. In this post, I will do quite the opposite; I intend to show how playing a particular online game can prove to be effective procrastination. The game that I am referring to is The Kingdom of Loathing.
What is The Kingdom of Loathing? The Kingdom of Loathing (hereby referred to as KoL) is an online role-playing game. It is distinct from more popular RPGs such as World of Warcraft since it is turn-based and largely text-based (with accompanying hand-drawn images).
At this point, you’re probably thinking, why would I want to play a game that could have easily been released in the nineties? The answer: because it’s fun. KoL allows you to play as obsessively as you want. If you just want to play for 15 minutes a day, it’s easy to do so. Conversely, if you want to devote your entire life to the game (however, I don’t recommend this), it is also possible. Whether you want to spend all your time achieving goals or you want to spend your time conversing with the rest of the fantastic community in the forums or chat, it caters to any sort of game player.
Ok, so maybe I’ve convinced you to play this game (though probably not). Either way, you’re probably thinking about how this could possibly be viewed as effective procrastination. You mind as well go and play Starcraft or something, right? Well, mostly wrong. KoL educates you in ways no other game (that I know of) does. If you spend the time to actually read all the adventure text, not only will you maintain and/or strengthen your reading ability, you will also encounter a plethora of pop culture references, which can be useful in a number of odd situations. You will develop strategy, which isn’t necessarily present in every other game. You will laugh and raise your spirits at the multitude of jokes. There are a number of other reasons that this game provides a channel for effective procrastination, but I don’t know of them but I am sure they likely exist.
If I haven’t convinced you, then perhaps you should take it upon yourself to convince yourself as to why playing this game is beneficial to your life. I mean, the worst it could do is take over your life, right? Nothing at all to worry about…