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Mafia Wars – to those not part of the close to thirty million users of the online multi-player game the term may be nothing more than a passing reference to a time in history or one of the multitude of movies made about these clandestine organizations.  Yet to those involved in the game itself it can be one of several things.  Firstly it can be just a harmless way to spend a few hours.  Those a little more involved may find themselves taking the role play seriously.  Others could be seen as being in danger of complete addiction and revolving their life completely around the game.  Which category do you fall in to?

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Categories.  That’s what it seems to be all about and I wish I had looked in to the three player categories before I started playing the game.  There were three choices – Maniac, Mogul or Fearless.  Each has a different recharge time, so for example the Manic recharges every three minutes (in terms of energy you are given in the game which is important as you can’t really do any mafia jobs without it) whereas the Mogul receives money from property bought six minutes earlier than the hour allotted to other categories.  The Fearless mafia on the other hand have a health recharge time of three minutes instead of the usual five.

The Neo

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This should really have given me a clue as to the players involved.  Yeah, categories. They seem to fall in to three.  There are people who join up to MW, last about three days and then give up because they find it too boring (what?), get picked on way too much by stronger mafias (often their friends in real life which could be seen as funny) or they have commitments which get in the way.  In other words, they have a life.  They are akin, in my mind, to people who might take the occasional drug for social reasons at a party but then are able, somehow, to keep away from them in other aspects of their life.

The Multi-User

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Then there are those who play every now and again, perhaps every few days or so.  Sometimes this is because they cannot play it at work (blocked by the network, as it were) or because the game is not sufficiently engaging enough.  Quite probable too is that they are also involved in other online gaming experiences such as Farmville and spread their time over various games.  These gamers seem to me pretty much like addicts who like to spread their addictions out – a little cocaine here and a sniff of marijuana there as it were.

The Addict

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Then there are the addicts, those who spend most of their lives within distance of a PC or a laptop, who somehow manage to circumvent the system either at work or at school (poor firewalls if you ask me) and seem to be always available to help in a war or take advantage of any offers that you have to give them.  These are the equivalent of complete and hopeless crack addicts, whose every moment is given over to looking for and finding that next fix.

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What are you?

Please keep in mind that this is a humorous piece – and if you play Mafia Wars you may not fit in to any of these categories – wholly.  But be honest with yourself.  Which one do you fit in to?  There is a comment section at the end of this article – please feel free to add your own!

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Now, with or without fitting in to the above categories, there is another category of player which will either be a definite fit or not.  In Mafia Wars, you get Godfather Points at various times when you get to a higher level.  These points can then be exchanged for goodies such as new weapons with which to fight (otherwise unavailable) and boxes of surprise gifts.  You can also exchange them, on occasion, with much need items such as untraceable cell phones and computer set-ups – vital if you want to get to a higher level.

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Player or Pay Player?

So, what is the category?  Quite simply – are you a player or a payer player?  Zynga, the company that created the game offers players the ability to exchange real dollars with Godfather Points.  The rates of exchange may seem low but can quickly be spent and then the inclination is to spend a few dollars more to get what you need to rise among the ranks.  This of course is what Zynga wants – the whole Mafia Wars experience is simply an exercise in extracting money albeit in exchange for an exciting, compulsive gaming experience.

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So, do you play or do you pay play?  What sort of player are you?

And – whether you play the game or not, there is a final category I would like to point out.  What is Mafia Wars at the end of the day?  How do you file it yourself?  Is it a harmless way to pass the time or is it an addictive, social life destroying monster that eats in to your life and gobbles you up before you notice?  Your comments greatly appreciated!

Oh – and if you are wondering who created the bulk of the wonderful art used in this article – then visit darkpatator at his Flickr stream.  Zynga – give this guy a job now!