When I played WoW, I played on a few RP servers for a time. I never really RPed but I have always had an RP mindset. When I played WoW, or any other video game for that matter, I sort of see myself as that character. I'd keep outfits that I liked the look of, have a mount that matched my character... I think that's why I've always had such a hard time turning off the WoW. My characters were like part of me, or maybe I was part of my characters. The first time I ever remember feeling like that was on Zelda for the Super Nintendo. Link was male, but I felt connected to the character. I was out to save the world and the princess, I was the hero! It's hard to be a hero in the real world. It's hard to do something so noteworthy, to do something that no one else has done. It's a lot harder to save people in the real world. And some of them don't even really want to be saved.
I'm kind of a control freak. I'm not bitchy about it, or at least I try not to be, but I like when things are just right. What makes them just right? I have no idea, I just know when it feels right. Like snapping a puzzle piece into the right place. You ever watch a movie or read a book where someone does something so just wrong? And you want to scream at the TV or book and tell them they're doing it wrong. But you have no control over those people, or people in everyday life for that matter. I think that's one of the things I like most about video games. Sure, you have to follow a story line, but you get to decide how you do that. I like games where you can be evil or good, and it effects the world around you. If only you could see that happening in the real world more often, it would make our decisions feel more important. But the best thing about video games outside of WoW is that I can turn them off. Only WoW seems to make me want to play all day, every day. That's not even the worst thing about WoW though; when you play it, it makes the real world seem dull. Like putting on a dark pair of sunglasses, or blinders. It makes me sad to think about all of the people still lost in that maze. There's nothing even waiting for them in the middle or on the other side besides a whole lot of wasted time and energy. I talk about WoW a lot in my blogs. I guess it helps me to think about where I'm going when I ponder where I'm coming from.
Nice post, Heather! :) I remember my connection to Zelda too! And I feel the same way you do about control. However, playing WoW at the end game, when you play endgame raiding content, is no longer a situation you can control and that would make Steve and I CRAZY...as a pair, there was nothing we couldn't do...but as part of a 10- or 25-man team, our contributions usually couldn't be make-or-break pivots for downing a boss because we needed our other team matest too. That was frustrating!!!!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, looking back and thinking about the present, we also feel sad for those poor lost sheep that are stuck in the WoW machine. But...people have to WANT to stop and it's not our job to tell people how they should live their lives...but it's sad, isn't it? I'm sure glad you're here instead of there!! :)
I'm glad I'm here too :) I know you can't change other peoples lives, but I still wish I could give them some sort of wake up call :-P
ReplyDeleteHey there, girls:)
ReplyDeleteI too have been lost in Azeroth for almost 4 years. And I was an ageless Nelf druid killing dragons and healing warriors, not a middle aged lady, old enough to be my mates's mother or even grandmother lol.
I dont regret the time I spent in wow. It was a journey,I had fun, I learned a new "culture", but because I have a "talent" in getting immersed in fantasy ,I got lost.
Now, for almost a year, I m wow free. A cycle has closed,another has began, I have learned to let things go and not get stuck in old habits.
I think fondly of my past wow life, I feel sad cause some nice ppl remain prisoners there, but I m never ever ever ever going back.
Even thinking about returning to Azeroth makes my stomach hurt...and thats a serious warning :P Stomachs always know better than brains :)
Keep going strong Heather!
Congrats on being clean for almost a year! I hope to be able to say that one day :-P I don't regret playing WoW because I met my husband through it. I do regret staying lost in it for so long though. Four years ago when my husband moved here we said we were going to quit WoW. I wish we had stuck to that, but better late than never I suppose! That's funny, and awesome, that thinking about playing makes your stomach hurt! The last time I played I couldn't even have any fun doing so because I knew it was bad for me. It's funny how the body knows what you need more than you do sometimes.
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