neils clark

Maybe I’m kidding myself, but I feel like getting back into World of Warcraft (WoW) might not be such a bad thing. For the last few days I downloaded the clients, figured out where I’d get a game account, and generally anticipated being able to go back in-world; and what I’m planning on doing is journaling out some of my thoughts, feelings, in and out-of-game experiences, and how much time I wind up playing.

Today I played for about an hour. I finally explored the Blood Elf starting area, appreciated the architecture, read all of the quests, listened to the music, died once, and really only made it to level 4. Even most “noobs” (new/inexperienced players), in contrast, would likely be able to “ding 4” (get to level four) in 15 or 20 minutes. Mostly, I really just enjoyed having my senses transported into this kind of secondary world. It was a really nice thing to do after three months of just writing about it. Towards the last ten minutes I realized that my friend Cam might be online on this server. He was, I said hi, and almost instantly he had transported his level 70 paladin to my location. We danced, he invited me into a raid guild (just starting Karazhan), and we both giggled in our high-pitched female Blood Elf voices. Portent of destruction? Time will tell.

Too lazy to produce my own screenshots, I stole this picture from the Internets. I’ll be better next time.

What I’m really interested in is whether I can keep my play at a level where it only really benefits aspects of my life. Can I use it as a kind of place to go and unwind, or will I just flip out and lose control? Either way, writing about it might just make for an interesting read down the line.

Research-wise I’m also primarily interested in seeing firsthand whether ‘heroic rep grinds’ and 25-man raids, two elements of the Burning Crusade, are structurally just as bad, or even worse than 40-man raiding. From what I’ve heard, at least some people are putting in more effort than is healthy.

More later.

Neils Clark :: Jun.17.2007 :: Neils' Gaming Journal ::

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