I've always regarded myself as a social person. I don't suffer from anxiety or shy away from groups. Hell, if you've seen my friends you'd know that I don't shy away from individuals or different people. (Or weird people, because we're all a little twisted in some way or another...) But for the past two years I've been partaking in something that many see as anti-social: The online role-playing game.
Yes, I will admit it. I played World of Warcraft. (Past tense.) I was one of those people that was absorbed into a make-believe world. I spent many, many late nights running through dungeons and bragging about my loot, (items obtained from killing things or completing tasks), and talking to people around the world with my little headset. It was the kind of thing I would typically make fun of another person for doing, yet I spent so much time doing it myself. At the last tally, my total playing time was over 85 hours over the past 2 years. Over 2 weeks straight of my life were spent playing a game.
As I usually do, I've been reflecting on my time spent playing Warcraft. Of course, this means that I'm giving it up. I'm done. Finished. Washing my hands of the experience. As I mentioned, I had a great time playing this game. (Past tense) It got to a point where the time I would have to spend to progress further was just too demanding. I have a wife who I love very much. I like to see her and interact with her from time to time. And I wasn't willing to give that time up for what was essentially pixels of a sword and nerd bragging rights. There is no end to the game, but rather an open story line that keeps getting expanded by software upgrades, which must be purchased. The initial game was about $39.99 plus $15 per month to keep your account active. In addition, each expansion pack is $25, meaning that Warcraft is costly in the economic sense.
I was drawn into the game by the scope of the entire thing. It was a huge new world with very few limitations. The social side of me was pleased with the number of like-minded people that I interacted with. These people turned into allies, and later teammates, then guildmates, and then online friends. We'd talk about all kinds of things on our voice-server, and even knew enough about each other to spread some inside jokes. But all of that ended when things got too demanding.
A big line was drawn when Blizzard, (The company behind Warcraft), released the first expansion pack. This separated the casual gamers from the "die hard, I have no life outside of this game" gamers. This put a huge fissure in the group I had been playing with, and therefore caused everyone to go their own way. The ones that stuck together were further separated by the speed of their achievement, and some unexpected real life twists. Either way, everyone ended up doing their own thing.
Just like in real life, a big group can accomplish more than individuals fending for themselves. Unfortunately, there is only a certain plateau that a single player can reach in the World of Warcraft. After that point, a player needs to group with up to 24 other characters to accomplish goals. Logistically, this can prove to be a worse nightmare than watching Star Jones wrestle Rosanne in a vat of mayo. (Not pretty.) Even worse, it can cause a lot of stress and hostility in something that is supposed to be a game. Last time I checked, games were a leisure activity, and therefore supposed to be fun. Well, it stopped being fun and became a chore. For three hours a night I'd be so anxious to get to the next checkpoint or boss or whatever... only to be disappointed that there weren't others that shared my drive to get further... but why? Why did it matter that we killed a certain fictional character? (Even sillier is the fact that the thing we killed would be resurrected in a mere 24 hours after we killed it, meaning we'd have to kill it all over again...)
I think the draw to this sort of game is pretty clear now. There are days when everything absolutely sucks: You get reamed at work, or don't get enough accomplished, or just have a shitty case of the Mondays. But, I could come home, leave all that stuff behind, and make progress that was psychologically significant. I could kill a big effin' dragon after I couldn't meet a customer's deadline at work. It was a victory amidst small failures. And when everything went well at work, it provided even more victories for an even bigger ego boost. It was fulfillment for minimal work... which was the exact opposite of what I was receiving at work in the real world. (No recognition, no honor, no fanfare. Just headaches.) It took no skill. It was nothing more that moving a mouse, hitting some number keys in a timely fashion, and clicking some more. Yes, a pigeon could do it. But for some reason, it was the most fun thing imaginable.
I have to say that I'm a little conflicted in giving up the game. I'd love to see what else is coming up, but I feel like I already have an idea. When the expansion was released, everyone was really excited to see the changes. Blizzard had made changes, but most of them were uninspired, poorly thought out, and were hasty fixes to release the new content on time. (Which they failed to do... there were many delays.) For example, many enemies were recycled by changing the name of the creature and the color. Creative, no? New dungeons were shorter, with little to no storyline. Successive weapons only improved by baby steps, meaning that reaching the apex of one's development was slowed by many minimal upgrades in weaponry.
In the long run, I'm sure this will be the right decision. There is a lot more that I can do with all my free time. I've been wanting to write more, and I've found that I would often sacrifice my creative energy to play on the computer. It was an effective output, but I have nothing to show for it. Perhaps now I'll be able to get some of my ideas on paper and turn them into something that will last... (At the very least, it'll be something for my kids to read. I guess...)
I wouldn't persuade anyone to avoid a MMORPG. They're really a lot of fun. But first measure what you'll be giving up to play this game, and really think about if it'll be worth it. Think about what all that time playing a game will get you in the end. Friends? Maybe. A bitchin' tan? Not unless you have a laptop. Girls? Not a chance buddy. But if you are really turning to a game to fix these issues, then you need to spend some more time around real people. Its easy to live a significant life in an insignificant world, but the easy way doesn't get you anything. Focus more time into the harder real world, and maybe you'll find some actual real treasure. Or a big effin' dragon.
So long Warcraft.
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