Saturday, I had a leisurely lunch with Eric, got to talking about things, including the only game that he plays seriously these days, World of Warcraft. Then suddenly, the afternoon sun was slanting down and Eric said, "I gotta get ready, I have a raid at 5 PM." "Can I watch?"
I'd been avoiding the game as if it were heroin because I knew, I knew what would happen if I let myself install and play. I knew that I didn't leave the house for a week during Dark Age of Camelot. I can't go back to that.
So, I watched Eric log in, meet up with teammates. They were doing a really tough raid that day, the same instance they hadn't been able to finish the week before. There were some new people, too, players who hadn't ever done the raid before, who needed to be walked through the details of the rather complicated strategy. There was tension. There was a lot of planning. Team leaders were in place, and positions assigned. No one was allowed to countermand orders in the instance. Once the battle began, it was over with everyone dead in about ten minutes.
"Hm," I said, and drew my chair up closer. Then it happened again, and again - the third time, the team lasted longer. They were learning from their mistakes, that was sure. It was incredibly compelling. After two hours I was desperately rooting for the team, watching all the life bars on screen ge chipped away little by little. "Come on, come on," I muttered to myself while Eric tried to outrun the dragon-things.
That night I installed my copy of the game and spent a few hours getting to level 8. I told Derek about it today and he said, "It seems like a random time to start." It does, and it is - but that's the way so many things happen to start, don't you think?
I gave the 14-day free trial a go and uninstalled it immediately after a couple days.
The game is dangerous....
-Jay Fresh
Posted by: Jay Fresh | 10/09/2006 at 08:03 PM
The game is dangerous... Many fall in it's trap! Run!! Run while you still can!
Posted by: Francois Messier | 10/09/2006 at 10:30 PM
I just started playing a few weeks ago. So far I have been pretty good about not becoming obsessed with it.
Horde or Alliance, and what server?
Posted by: Brinstar | 10/10/2006 at 11:19 AM
I'm on Eitrigg right now just cuz some friends are. And since I like to explore I already have two alts, Horde and Alliance. :)
Posted by: jane | 10/10/2006 at 04:16 PM
GUILD WARS!
I never got into WoW because of the aforementioned game - which i have been playing since it came out - which i love. I dont want to start a GW vs WoW - if WoW were free i would be all over it.
Posted by: Girl_from_Mars | 10/11/2006 at 07:36 AM
It is rather good time to join in on WoW. Given that, in 1-2 month, there will be a whole new expansion, The Burning Crusade. So you can have 1-2 month to learn the basic and join up with the flock of players that will be starting over with their new alts in the new races.
But ya, it is all just one giant timesink for life.
Posted by: Melchoir | 10/12/2006 at 01:44 PM
I don't know what to say. I think everyone should go through the experience of enjoying World of Warcraft and then quitting it. Most people have trouble with the latter.
Posted by: T. Holbrook Walker | 10/13/2006 at 04:51 PM
And I just bumped into you on my druid alt. Small world!
Posted by: Adriaan | 11/22/2006 at 12:18 AM