Barack Obama has triumphed over both ignorance and the Republican primary field, in an unofficial and moderately alarming poll of players of the cartoony multiplayer online video game MapleStory.

We will not pass judgment about 47.79% of respondents saying that Obama is the candidate who has left the most favorable impression of them.

We will pass judgment on the 20.85% who made Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul less popular answers than "I don't know who these people are."

Pay attention, people!

The poll of 1,655 U.S.-based MapleStory players was conducted over the weekend, according to the game's publisher, Nexon. The free game's creators say they've got nine million registered users in the U.S., more than half of which are are between 18 and 29. They say 40% are women.

Nexon didn't track poll-takers' ages due to a privacy restriction, but their survey did get their political affiliation: 34% Democrat, 17% Republican, 49% Independent.

On the issues, MapleStory players say it's mostly about jobs. Screw the healthcare debate.

Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim said the poll helps show "what younger voters are thinking about and what is important to them."

In the same press release that mentions this real-world stuff, we get more illumination about Maple Story player priorities:

"Nexon America gave its players a chance to voice their feelings about the world inside of MapleStory. The town in Maple World that most appealed to MapleStory players was Lefre, which brings players closer to nature. Meanwhile, 58 percent of players were most concerned about the evil that the Black Mage was spreading throughout their virtual world."

Is the Black Mage the one who caused 20% of poll takers to have no clue who any of the people running for President this year are? Or is the 20% just having some fun with our pollsters?