Myria is playing Guild Wars - has been for a couple of weeks. This game is played on-line and, as you might imagine, there are lots and lots of people running around in this fictional realm slaying monsters, executing missions and going on quests. Folks play as any of several various types - warrior, necromancer, elementalist, ranger, etc. Often they group into teams but it is quite possible to play a solo game as well.
Guild Wars
Perhaps inescapably, different players have their own ways of doing things but basically they fall into two groups: the PVPs (Player vs Player) and the PVEs (Player vs Environment).
The PVPs tend to play to win - at any cost. They are linear, intellectual and mostly male. They are inclined to join guilds and form teams. They tend to view their character or avatar as a tool, a means to an end. Their approach is that creating the best, most effective tool for the job is the only way to go. They have little or no interest in exploring the game’s world. They live to fight and their attitude is If you didn’t want to battle, what are you here for?
The PVEs prefer to experience the world and the environment. Their approach is more emotional and their avatars tend to be extensions of themselves. They take the world as it comes and are interested in experiencing all the game has to offer besides battle, which is considerable. They aren’t overly concerned with racking up points or wiping out more monsters than somebody else (though, of course monster control is necessarily, from time to time, required by the game).
Unfortunately and also, perhaps, inescapably, each group despises the other and feels that the presence of the opposite type of player ruins the games.
As Myria was explaining all this to me last night, my mind was drawing parallels to the knitting world - my game, if you will, as a similar type of unceasing conflict seems to reign here as well: knitters of the classic style vs newer knitters. We’ve all heard the arguments and complaints from both sides. The classicists feel that the newcomers are ruining things because shops drop old favorites and pick up newer, brighter and less generally useful things. The newcomers see the classicists as fascists, unwilling to accept anything that isn’t done on their terms. Although cogent and compelling arguments have been presented on both sides, neither side seems to hear the other. In fact they don’t even seem to be speaking the same language and, maybe even more telling, they aren’t interested in setting their own interests aside long enough to make the effort at true communication.
Classic style knitting isn’t going to die. There are too many people invested in the traditional methods and materials. It may be true that it will be overshadowed for a while but that is the natural, pendulum nature of these things. LYSs may carry an overabundance of froufy novelties at the moment with scant attention paid to classic worsted. How can they be blamed? They’re businesses and any business that doesn’t pay attention to the wants and needs of its customer base isn’t in business for long. To a large extent, the customer base of the LYS is the younger, hipper knitter. At the moment, there are droves of them and they are primarily interested in what’s fun and colorful.
And let’s face it, fun and colorful is by no means a bad thing - in fact sometimes it’s just the thing! A bad day or a nasty mood can sometimes be helped considerably by the taking up of bright yarn and large needles. And it can be extraordinarily gratifying to be able to turn out a finished item in just a few hours. Sometimes, it just does a soul good :) Those fuzzy scarves have been very popular - even with non-knitters. No wonder there’s such a high demand!
However, garter stitch and novelty yarn aren’t going to overtake and destroy classical knitting - much though it may seem so at the moment because there isn’t enough there to really hold much interest after the first few dozen scarves. Those who aren’t interested in going further will either continue to produce bright, colorful, fluffy bits, or will drop out of the knitting arena entirely. Those who decide there’s more to life than eyelash will go on to acquire new techniques and more skill. Possibly they will decide that something smaller than a size 15 needle might be acceptable, that a smooth yarn in less than super-bulky-chunky size might make a more generally useful garment and that maybe the fascists weren’t so far off the mark after all. Not that there should be anything regulating what people knit or how they should go about it, but that there are many other techniques, yarns and tools that it’s useful to know about.
The crux of the Apollonian vs Dionysian conflict is not who is right and deserves to “win” or who is wrong and deserves to “lose”. It is the tension generated between the two. Out of this tension comes progress - new methods, new tools, and new ideas. Without that tension, everything stagnates. The biggest problem in dealing with that is that it can be very uncomfortable. And so we withdraw our perceptions to our own little pieces of the game and refuse to look at the whole board. In time, a balance will be established between the two and things will quiet down for a while. Yarn shops will carry a more integrated range of stock and most people will be able to find something that suits them.
And won’t that be boring :)
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Very perceptive Robbyn. The analogy of the “games”...makes me smile. Why do human beings (beans!) have the neeeeeeeed to be “right”...“my way or nothing”...drives me nuts. But do I do it? *blush*...I am sure I do. Sigh.
You already know my position on this one. Nice post!
Lisa - No need to blush, I think we all do this. It’s part of human nature to draw lines between yourself and anything/anybody else. The trick is to remember that you’re doing it (as is everybody else) and bring that into your analysis :)
Bron - Thanks :) Wanna go out and stir somethin’ up? Hehehe…
Very good post, Robbyn! I was shocked to read some of the postings on the list about this subject. At this point, I’m greatful for anything that will keep my LYS in business. Not only are new knitters fun (even funny at times!), but they always have an interesting way of looking at things - making something old and boring fresh again!
Theresa - I agree, especially about the perspective part. Does everyone good to have their cage rattled once in a while :)
holy knitting needles, robbyn!! i think i can see the topics for not one, but maybe two, dissertations in today’s post-
as a total lemming, i salute you for being the ultimate thinking knitter!
stay happy-
Barb - Well, I’m not really Nietzschean and most of the time I’m not really a thinker either.
Maybe it was something I ate?
umm, have you been looking at that ‘philosopher’s wool’ again??? yes, i am ducking waaay low after that-
excellent essay regardless-
ROFL - good one Barb :)
