RUN FOR YOU LIFE!!!!!
Yes, it’s out. The new WOW expansion info: Wrath of the Lich King. Level 80! I was there for the announcement, it was really cool! There were some Warlocks in the best costumes I’ve ever seen crafted, even on Hollywood sets. I hope warlocks own that competition!!! There’s a new hero class, the presentation movie looked fantastic, I’ve always wanted to try out a Blood Elf…what’s that sound? My self-discipline being vacuumed from my brain?!
It almost happened. I had a very close call where, while in line to test out the expansion on one of about 1000 PCs they had set up for 20 minute play each, I rationalized the possibility of returning to Azeroth. I was with a few former guildies of mine, wearing a “The Guild” tank top but completely giving up on handing out “watchtheguild.com” cards because the Blizz Blitz made me feel so small in comparison because I only brought about 50 cards for like, 20,000 people (duh). At that moment in line, I truly decided, “Hey, why not? I’m sure I can just play a few days a week…hero class? Oooh, I want to be one of those, what are the rigorous and life-melting requirements for that epic achievement?!? COUNT ME IN!” I saw my weekends slip away, my acting classes dropped, all in the quest to belong. Honestly, it looked so damned fun. I wanted to play so bad, fool around on vent so bad, give my life up so bad.
I have an addiction problem. And the only thing that prevented me from running home to start up the game and install the expansion was listing in my head the things I really want to achieve in my life right now and (more decidedly)…well, trying out the expansion. Don’t get me wrong, WOW is wonderful. But I logged in (they gave me a Horde character, strike 1, I hate ugly characters 🙂 ) and we were in the new areas and…well, where do we go? I wasn’t used to the OLD expansion abilities, that took some time to set up, and then we started wandering, getting nowhere, going in circles, traveling back and forth on boats because we were lost and being transported back and forth by huge merlocs and then got a few shadowbolts off and…TIME’S UP.
Oops. Reminder #1: Time sinking isn’t fun. That’s what I loved about Diablo 1 and 2: Get in and kill immediately. That’s what I love about the Wii: Get in, play 1 hour, acceptable to get out without feeling like a loser/incomplete/didn’t get anything done. I mean, I had a HUGE 5 month addiction to Puzzle Pirates (Excellent wonderful game still) which is a fraction of the size of WOW. WOW is just too immersive. It requires too much time for a perfectionist with an obsessive personality to do casually. And that little sampling was enough for me to leave Blizzcon early and resist all the lights and graphics and people hanging out with their guildies. I will always follow what happens in WOW and read about it’s evolution, but I will have to do my gaming elsewhere and live vicariously through my friends that play.
However, my pass IS still good tomorrow, so maybe…. 🙂