1. Mafia Returns

1. A text based multiplayer role playing game that is at least as enjoyable as being waterboarded by a CIA operative in Guantanamo Bay.

2. A PBBG (persistent browser based game) where you pretend to be in the mafia by posting and clicking buttons. It is largely played by cliquish, unemployed egomaniacs with poor real-life interpersonal skills.

Ex. Hey dude, you really need to play Mafia Returns. It's so much better than being tortured.

So, that is the urban dictionary entry on the game. Just happened to come across it when I typed MafiaReturns into my google search bar. I lol'd, this was obviously written by a scorned former player. Do you disagree with his/her assessment?

its urban dictionary

/discussion

O.o good point rags

There is a lot of truth in this and it is something the admins and user base are already aware of. The game itself is actually boring as anything. Very little role playing. It is essentially just clicking every 3 mins, 15 mins, 1 hour, 2 hours, etc. This is boring. Do not believe me. Go sit on a chair on your own next to a light switch and turn it on. Wait exactly for 3 minutes 20s then turn it off. Now repeat this for hours. Days. Months. Years. And tell me when you get bored.

However, what makes the game is the user base. The interaction. The discussions. It is how Facebook took off. MafiaReturns is in-fact a social network disguised as a game. And it is the discussion, the conservation, between users, that makes the game fun. It is the interaction side. Whether via IRC or MM.

This brings me to point number 2 on the Urban Dictionary. "It is largely played by cliquish, unemployed egomaniacs with poor real-life interpersonal skills."

Lets take this insult step by step:

Cliquish - The cliques in this game are massive. But no different to that in the work place, or a football team, or in a social circle. People here have no each other for years. Some a decade+. These are to be expected. Go into a bar tonight on your own. There will be cliques and you will end up chatting to the outcasts in there.

And this then links back in to point 1. It seems boring if you are not interacting, but it is very hard when starting to get that interaction.

A secondary element of the fun to the game is the ranking, the killing, being successful. However, this is not easy, and takes time. A lot of time. I bet DeadlySin's 'Hours is last 24 hours' is almost always in double figures. To be a real success, to rank to the highest, you ideally need to be one of two things (and this is not a dig at anyone, just reality):

Unemployed - If you do not have a job, you have a lot of time on your hands. Now there are many reasons for not having a job. Being a multi-millionaire and retired. Being a housewife. Being a benefit claiming bum. They are 3 reasons. there are many more. But being unemployed gives you that advantage in the game, as it gives you that time to play. I do not know the statistics, but I would hasten to bet that the majority of Godfathers who reach that rank, are, for some reason or another, unemployed. therefore have the time to dedicate to become a success. MafiaReturns is one of the few things in life where it benefits to not have to work.

Poor real-life interpersonal skills - The other people who are massively successful in the game are students. But not students who like to party and get their end away. Students who have poor real-life interpersonal skills. Students who would rather sit in their dorm room playing WOW or other MMRPG's like this then get out and meet people. To be a success at MafiaReturns, you do need to be a bit of a loner. Prefer the company of yourself and your computer friends then getting outside and enjoying yourself. I am not saying this is a bad thing, but it helps to achieve things if, when there is a war, you are not just about to leave for a bar with some mates, but can easily sit up awake for 36 hours with cans of red bull and smokes.

A final important factor of being a success, and therefore making the game more fun is having some sort of ego. No one ever got to the top without one.

In conclusion, whilst the creator of the Urban Dictionary entry is clearly filled with bitterness. He/She has a point. The game itself is boring, until you immerse yourself in the interaction or success side. And too do these it helps if you:

a) join a clique or;
b) are unemployed or;
c) have poor real-life interpersonal skills and;
d) have an ego

Disclaimer: this post is not meant at a dig at anyone. It is just me turning what is a negative Urban Dictionary entry into a positive by describing what someone in MR needs to do to create enjoyment and be a success (talk to people & work hard!) and how some social situations assist in this.

I am not gonna lie, when i was unemployed recovering due to sickness i could spend all day just on the computer as couldn't get out and about so the game becomes a lifestyle.  You stop interaction with the real world coz you speak to people on here like are real friends.  It is one of the biggest reliefs i had coming back to work, as i knew i was immersed in this but was nothing better to do as long as i was sick.  Now and again on a day off will play a little harder(rarely into double figures) but is easy.  When you look at your account and see over 2000 hours like one of my accounts you think wtf was i doing there so much

Says nothing about crack heads...I feel offended.

I would like to see some of the class delivered into another game where I am a Don. It is suppose to be a role playing game yet these drama queens need a lesson on role playing. If anyone is interested please mail me. Need to vent and like war? Hit me up ;)