May 07
A late night rambling about WoW, its continuing allure, and its sometimes pondering questions. And a little ‘Insomnia’ to boot.
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I just got done listening, and for the most part, I agree with you about WoW taking over people’s lives.
From my perspective, WoW is probably the worst thing I could do. I’m almost 30 and still single. But, I do work graveyard shift. So I inherently have no life to begin with. Couple that with the fact that I don’t have cable/sat TV, and hate watching movies for the most part. I tried Netflix and I just got tired of sitting there trying to keep myself awake watching a boring movie.
I tried to stay away from WoW. I had a friend NAGGGGGG me for a YEAR to get playing on WoW. I vowed never to, because I know why they called it EverCrack, and why they call it World of Warcrack! I spend way too much time on it. But I wasn’t doing anything of significant interest when I couldn’t play for a couple of months because BC wasn’t compatible with my graphics card.
$15/month is nothing compared to $60/month at the least for cable. I get more entertainment out of it, and I get to “meet” people. Not to mention, video games DO keep the mind active, I’m just not so sure WoW really does that at all. LOL.
However, that said, I never let WoW get in the way of things I need to do. Family life, real life friends, whatever. What little life I do have, I need to protect! LOL. Sometimes, yeah you do need time away from things. WoW is no different, especially since you DO have to invest so much time into the game.
insomnia is a GREAT book!!!!!
I love anything done by SK that deals with the dark tower world, insomnia being the top of the list, wait for the end, it blows you away.
Scott, you are just suffering from PMD (Post Mount Depression), it happened to all of us, you will pull through it.
I really do play much WoW.
WoW! (pun intended) I thought I was the only one suffering from PMD. I hit level 40 two weeks ago and have played twice for about an hour since then.
I feel like it took me all this effort to get the mount, and I only really started trying to save at level 35, and now that I got it what’s next? I don’t know, I think WoW should have a specific goal every 10 levels for all classes. Maybe that would get rid of the dreaded PMD?!
After seeing a friend’s Xfire sig and doing some quick math, I saw he had logged 2900 hours or 120 DAYS!
120 frickin’ non-stop days of playing WoW. 1/3rd of a year wasted on a game… Now I see the REAL use for Xfire, as a constant reminder of time wasted on the PC to help me stay away from such addictions. Which is probably why I’ll never try an MMO for fear of getting sucked in.
I have to agree with what Slayerboy and Wolfgang said.
PMD is a big part of WoW. You get it and you feel you accomplished something you’ve been striving for and now you have 20 more levels to look forward to.
But with what Slayerboy said… it is something that you want to do as entertainment. You don’t want it to take over any part of your life. Friends, family, job, your podcast… all of those things are much more important. I don’t pay for any sort of television and was thinking about how much money I saved playing WoW for entertainment instead of spending $50 or $60 a month on television.
There is no problem with taking a break. Whether it is a big break for weeks or even months, or just cutting back on how much you play.
I am just glad that my first thoughts (and fears) weren’t confirmed. When I read the title, I thought maybe you were going to quit playing at all.
So take a break, WoW will be here whenever you’re ready
I don’t play as much as I should try to, but with RL events and things sometimes your just don’t have all the time ya want.
i friggen hate the level 40 requirement for mounts, not only that but lots of gold to buy one. im trying to get to 40 right now(lv17 human mage) but least im not playing on a pay to play server.
I’ve never suffered from the whole “PMD” thing, but that’s because I only have one main & one alt. That’s it. For me, WoW is simply a hobby that I dabble in. I go through phases in which I play a lot, then my play time drops off for about 2 weeks…then I’ll play a lot, hence the cycle. I think as long as you don’t let your real world suffer & you still get enjoyment from the fun, then it’s worth the time & money. I mean, my husband plays & it actually saves us money because he’s no longer constantly buying new PC & xBox 360 games. I think that once it stops being fun & becomes like a job, that’s when it’s time to walk away. Because for $15/month, you should be having fun.
Wait until PSS. Post Seventy Depression.
No more levels or powers to look forward to…
Though it almost feels like there’s more to do for gear and content than there ever was before 70.
Used to be 60. But now 60 (58 actually) is exciting.
The “Insomnia” reader sounds like Winnie the Pooh. Made me laugh to think of Pooh doing Stephen King.
I have to point out that I am a Dad of two talented kids. Both have play WoW. I tend to travel alot and at night I can still spend time with them playing WoW while I am on the road. I also play with SEVERAL college friends of mine, as well as their families. Our kids also play when they can even though they are 500 miles apart. I do balance time outside and sports activities. But all the time I can spend with my kids is priceless.
Your suffering post 40 syndrome…level 40-50 is THE worst…cause you have nothing to look forward to. Lvl 60 you get your epic ground mount, PLUS you get to go to outlands at 58
50-60 you get goals to look forward to.
Insomnia was the same way with me. I knew about it but it just never interested me and seeing how thick it was at the bookstore i wasn’t convinced i wanted to put the time into it. Then about 2 years ago I heard it was connected to the Dark Tower universe and read it. Great book. I’ve always thought King creates such great characters.
Have you read The Talisman and Black House? Co-written by Stephen King & Peter Straub? They both tie into the Dark Tower universe as well, Black House much more than Talisman. Black House is a sequel to Talisman so you may want to start with Talisman although you don’t have to have read it to be able to follow Black House. Hope i made that as clear as mud.
I’ve played WoW since launch. Scott, I know how you’re feeling. There was a time when I played 7 night’s a week and no less than 5 hours a night. . . I got burnt out on it and took a break. I’ll likely never be that hardcore a player again. Real life should always take precedent over the game. And even if it doesn’t there’s nothing wrong with saying “you know, I don’t feel like playing WoW tonight” and going to do something else. I do. Currently I’m finishing Halo 2 again and playing Crackdown and a few other games. Nothing is monopolizing my time like WoW used to do and my wife is happier for it as well.
YOu know…I was just thinking…..
People used to spend time actually doing stuff that is in WoW. Tailoring…blacksmithing….people did stuff similar to this as hobbies. Heck, even fishing! I think this is kinda no different than if I were a hunter in real life and spent countless hours during hunting season and catching on ly one deer. Or I could be spending $40 a week in a bar just sitting and drinking my Friday and Saturday nights away like I used to do.
Nope, $15/month for WoW is pretty darn good for me. As long as I don’t let it get in the way of my daily life, it’s all good
I’ve been a wow addict for some time. I played, and gave up, and came back, and gave up again.
I think the problem with wow is that you have to *painfully* grind/farm for the next “step reward” whether it be a nice spell or talent, your new mount or the lvl 70.
In pre-mmorpg,the gaming experience was about enjoying the whole game from the beginning to the end. You would most of the time be happy about starting the adventure anew, while in wow it’s more like “mmh, i want to make another char but i’ll have to go through 2 months of heavy grinding to get to 70 again”.
And by the way, so that you know what’s waiting for you, the 30-40 grind is very bad, the 50-58 grind is far worse. The game gets more fun after that imo.
And what would you be doing otherwise?
Reading a book?
Watching a movie?
Drinking with friends?
Knitting a quilt?
Recording a song (which everyone will laugh at and ruin your reputation?)
Date a girl who will marry you for love, then divorce you for money?
Work on hotrods (with gas going up everyday in the U.S.?)
I personally have quit the long grind (already have a few 60s and a 70th lvl character) and just play on my 49 twink wsg and AB. I play for 20 minutes (I never loose) and then I’m done for the night. I haven’t lost any teeth playing wow, and I haven’t lost any friends….they all play too….