Shwa

A man jumps out of the way to dodge a dragon’s fire. He eats a lobster to regain a little bit of health. He must win, he must slay the dragon, and save the girl. This man could be called a hero, no? But isn’t the fisherman that pulled that lobster out of the water the hero’s hero? What about the cook who took the time to prepare that lobster for his consumption? There are no cheers for these people. He is if not more important than the “hero” himself.

What defines a hero? Is it by how many quests they have done? Is it by how many people they have helped? Maybe it is a mix of all these things. A hero is not cookie-cut, they do not come in just one form or another. They are a very diverse group. Some do deeds that are more prominent, but are not necessarily more important than other deeds.

I am reminded of the NBC show “heroes”, where many different people have many different abilities. They use these abilities to save the world, and themselves. It is not in the rare fact that they have a power, but how they uniquely they use it. It can be seen around Runescape as well.

After asking a player, Addiv, about inspirations and heroes; He had the most interesting story about when he was achieving 99 Mining. He told me of the people that inspire him. He said, “ My heroes have always been who those that inspire me. I reached my mining goal because of FuzzyPig5.” He went on to say how he inspired him, “ He had the skillcape already. He’d pop into my cc (Clan Chat) every so often to see how I was doing. He knew I wanted that cape so he kept encouraging me.” I went on to ask if he was like a mentor. He said, “Exactly that. I was still like Level 85. Long way to go. It made a difference.” But Addiv did not stop there. When he achieved Level 99 Mining, he inspired many lower-level miners. He told me of such a time, “A low level miner asked to see my emote. After showing it he was so happy. He said I inspired him to continue. Maybe someday this kid will reach his goal and inspire someone else.” Did really just his presence out with you really help with your goal, I asked. He replied, “Yes. I know it helped me stay out in the desert mining granite :D” It does not take some heroic deed to be a hero. Just the presence of this player helped another find the drive to achieve their goal. He was just doing what he wanted; playing, and that player became an everyday hero.

Sometimes not knowing that one is a hero is the soul of humility. Some players sometimes do not even think about whom they are helping. I talked with many players about if they thought about whom they were helping. Most replied with, “Nope”, or “No.” One even replied when asked about if he thought about all the bows he made as a Fletcher being used. All he said was, “ Lmao, No, I was like yes! 700k!” Is it just not thinking about the future, or pure selfishness? That is just a matter of opinion. Most people don’t get credit, or even feel like they deserve it for what they do. It is just the normal every-day routine for them. Almost all will never see any thanks for what they do. That is the way it has always been, that is the way it will always be.

Much like the travel commercials seen on TV, about all the people enjoying those vacations. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people putting in time and effort to make the people’s time well spent. Very few are seen or thanked. The ones who get the glory are the ones who live it. Yet they still work hard, for the sake of others. They get their fair share of spotlight too, everyone does. Everyone has to do time where they are not appreciated, to earn the right to be appreciated at some point. Those people who slay monsters, un-noticed for months, only to be recognized when they wear the cape showing that they did it are a perfect example. It is a cry for attention, to break away from all the rest of the people, to show they are different. If asked if someone would do it just for the sake of doing nice things for other people, would there be many who would actually do it for no glory?

Jagex recognizes some heroes. Those who have done good deeds and try to keep the world clean, and play fair sometimes work for them. They have to sit through lower-levels asking them questions. But they do it by choice. Think of how many lower-levels were inspired by the crown beside the player’s name, and set out in their footsteps to keep the world just and fair. Not only that, but the Runescape Highscores recognize the achievements of people who do not sit around and answer questions, but go out and play the game. Everyone can be a hero in his or her own way, no matter what way it is.

Everyone wants to be that face on TV, smiling back, being recognized. But most actions go un-noticed. What kind of world would it be if everything anyone did was front-page news? The world would be chaos, no one person would ever strive to be better than another. Next time in Runescape that you see a person cooking on a fire, stop and think. Think about who might be running from a revenant, with only one piece of food left to heal them. The piece of food someone without even thinking of the future cooked, the only thing keeping the runner from death at that very moment. Breathing a great sigh of relief that the food was available, so they did not have to die. Imagine if that person running was you, would you not be thankful to those everyday heroes?