Losing Friends to World of WarCraft aka WOW

[HappyAsALark]

It all sounds VERY complicated. LOL I'm showing my age I guess! But then again, PacMan was a stretch for me.

 

Not only is it complicated, but I got so bored learning about it when a friend of mine was showing me that I thought I was going to strangle myself to make it stop. But to each it's own. And be glad your husband is too cheap to play it. My boyfriend refuses to play it as well, we get more enjoyment out of making fun of our friends that do play it and constantly talk about it all the time. The sad part is, those friends make fun of themselves and they all know how bad they are about the game.

[shes2smart]

"end game" - content that you can only access after you have attained the highest level available (currently 70). End game content generally takes a group (anywhere from 10 to 25 to 40 or more players) and several hours to get through.

 

My husband started doing end game content 2-3 months ago. This has resulted in us having to get another computer. That solves the problem of sharing one computer, but the jury's still out on whether the 4-night-a-week raiding schedule he wants to keep up is a problem in and of itself. We just got the second computer yesterday, so it's too soon to tell.

 

I don't care to do end game stuff as I'm about as anti-social in WoW as I am in real life.

 

I saw that Toyota commercial earlier this week. Upon first seeing it, I knew pretty much where (in game) it was set (Azshara).

[JadedStar]

Not only is it complicated, but I got so bored learning about it when a friend of mine was showing me that I thought I was going to strangle myself to make it stop. But to each it's own. And be glad your husband is too cheap to play it. My boyfriend refuses to play it as well, we get more enjoyment out of making fun of our friends that do play it and constantly talk about it all the time. The sad part is, those friends make fun of themselves and they all know how bad they are about the game.

 

Well I do make fun of him playing scarface on PS2. But he rations himself, he won't stay on it more than an hour a day. LOL

[JadedStar]

"end game" - content that you can only access after you have attained the highest level available (currently 70). End game content generally takes a group (anywhere from 10 to 25 to 40 or more players) and several hours to get through.

 

My husband started doing end game content 2-3 months ago. This has resulted in us having to get another computer. That solves the problem of sharing one computer, but the jury's still out on whether the 4-night-a-week raiding schedule he wants to keep up is a problem in and of itself. We just got the second computer yesterday, so it's too soon to tell.

 

I don't care to do end game stuff as I'm about as anti-social in WoW as I am in real life.

 

I saw that Toyota commercial earlier this week. Upon first seeing it, I knew pretty much where (in game) it was set (Azshara).

 

 

So is it only the end game stuff that you play with others? Or the entire game? Do you chat with players thru out?

 

I am so in the dark about that kind of stuff.

[Mavh25]

I've been playing for 4 years now, I get bored some days and you do get days where ya just don't wanna go on...

 

Sometimes it just boredom that you do go on

[Mavh25]

So is it only the end game stuff that you play with others? Or the entire game? Do you chat with players thru out?

 

I am so in the dark about that kind of stuff.

 

Nooo you can group with others all the way through, literally End-Game is just where you start doing harder stuff... when you get to the level cap, the highest level and can't go further. Then the raids come, and "pimpin'" you'r character up with good loot/armor...

 

I don't play WoW really, I play Dark Age Of Camelot on the USA Servers.. but its pretty much exactly the same apart from more realistic graphics wise...

 

Yeah you chat with players throughout too, you group with others to level and stuff =) do quests

[JadedStar]

LOL i always wondered how everyone can keep on task with the game and still chat!

[Mavh25]

hehe I go on a TS server =) much easier

[ycmanvs]

Ok, my boyfriend has more than one character that is at 70, so he spends tons of time doing this stuff. He has a job and he goes out. However, he never cleans or does anything else that might be considered normal for an adult. We do not live together. I do not see how we ever could if I would have to always pick up after him. I have tried to talk to him about it, but there is no use.

[Mavh25]

Not being clean.. I doubt has anything to do with his love of gaming, some people are just generally messy people....

[HappyAsALark]

Ok, my boyfriend has more than one character that is at 70, so he spends tons of time doing this stuff. He has a job and he goes out. However, he never cleans or does anything else that might be considered normal for an adult. We do not live together. I do not see how we ever could if I would have to always pick up after him. I have tried to talk to him about it, but there is no use.

 

Yeah that is a tad bit ridiculous. Some people really have no self control.

[ycmanvs]

Not being clean.. I doubt has anything to do with his love of gaming, some people are just generally messy people....

 

I agree, but when all your free time is spent gaming or partying, there is no actual time to do household chores. I have no idea how I am going to deal with it. It is a real problem.

[HyruleGuardian]

I know how it is to lose friends to that game. Many of my guy friends started playing it a couple years ago and we just lost contact because I gave up trying to get them to hang out with me. I'd call and they'd seem uninterested or unwilling to talk to me. Or they'd say they'd call back and wouldn't. It pissed me off and I tried talking to them about it, but they wouldn't listen. It really is pathetic.

 

I play online videogames, but I still find time to fit in school, work, and hang out with friends. People that devote their life to a videogame have some serious problems. They need to realize that it's just a game and that the friendships they are losing over it are more important in the long run.

[Mavh25]

=/

 

I Game every night... I have'nt lost anyone. Granted I make sure I work, spend time with friends.. etc... But there is too much of a crap label put on gamers... you say to someone "oh yeah, I MMORPG" or whatever... and they get this image of a loser sat on the comp with crisp packets around them, and dishes.. with a bucket to pee in next to them.. be fair

[shes2smart]

So is it only the end game stuff that you play with others? Or the entire game? Do you chat with players thru out?

 

I am so in the dark about that kind of stuff.

 

You can interact with other players through all levels of the game.

 

Some quests can only be accomplished by groups of players. I generally don't do those quests. I will talk to people in game and have usually belonged to a "guild." (For lack of a better description, a group of players who form a club or team with the idea of helping each other out) But I never cared for quests I couldn't carry out on my own....so after trying them out a few times (just to make sure I didn't like them), I didn't bother with them anymore.

 

I had other people tell me leveling to 70 without doing group quests/instances (5 person group quests that can take 1-3 hours) wasn't possible. I laughed at them when my first character hit 70 (alone, in Netherstorm, at 2 am on a Saturday).

 

There is text chat (it scrolls in the lower left corner of the screen). Blizzard (the company that created WoW) is also adding voice chat in game. There are a couple of voice chat programs separate from WoW that players can use. Someone else mentioned TS which is TeamSpeak and there's also another one called Ventrilo. If you're doing stuff in a group of 5 or more, using one of the voice chat programs makes it easier.

 

The fact that you can interact with all these other people is one of the things that makes the game so damn addictive. Because there will be different people playing at different times, every time you log in your game experience will be different. There is definitely a social aspect to the game, which is more important to some people than others. I don't play for the social aspect, so I don't chat much and I don't hang out on Vent just to talk like some of my guildies do.

 

One of my co-workers has been playing WoW since it came online. The core group of his guild (a couple dozen people) meet up in Las Vegas for weekends of real life debauchery about once a year. They are, for the most part, over 30.

 

The guild my husband and I are in now is run by a husband & wife who both play. There is also at least one other married couple who both play in our guild and one family (mom, dad, teenage son & daughter) who all play.

 

When it comes to couples/families, I think what it comes down to is this: Everyone has their own computer and WoW account and plays...or you're going to end up arguing. You will either argue about sharing the computer and who's turn it is to play OR you will argue because you don't play and the other person does.

[shes2smart]

Both my husband and I are employed full time.

Our house is clean enough for company to drop by unannounced.

Our yard is no worse or better than the rest of the neighbors' yards.

I take 2 yoga classes a week and workout at the gym 2-3 times a week.

Over the summer I had a vegetable garden that took some work.

I cook actual meals most nights of the week.

 

I still find plenty of time to play WoW.

 

Edited to add: Oh, yeah, and I find time to moderate here, too.

[JadedStar]

=/

 

I Game every night... I have'nt lost anyone. Granted I make sure I work, spend time with friends.. etc... But there is too much of a crap label put on gamers... you say to someone "oh yeah, I MMORPG" or whatever... and they get this image of a loser sat on the comp with crisp packets around them, and dishes.. with a bucket to pee in next to them.. be fair

 

Well, i think that southpark episode that portrayed the kids like this - glued to chairs, overweight, peeing in buckets, etc contributed to this stereotype! SOme people are silly enough to BELIEVE southpark. LOL It's funny but I am well aware that they get by on gross generalizations and exaggerations!

[HappyAsALark]

Again I am not saying all gamers are the same. I have a lot of friends that play different games and so forth that still make time for their socials lives and work and so on. I have a couple computer games that I play from time to time. But I don't let them consume my life. There are a lot of people out there that allow these games to consume their life and become to engrossed in them that they forget there is a real world out there.

[HappyAsALark]

Well, i think that southpark episode that portrayed the kids like this - glued to chairs, overweight, peeing in buckets, etc contributed to this stereotype! SOme people are silly enough to BELIEVE southpark. LOL It's funny but I am well aware that they get by on gross generalizations and exaggerations!

 

But that episode was hilarious!

[HappyAsALark]

Both my husband and I are employed full time.

Our house is clean enough for company to drop by unannounced.

Our yard is no worse or better than the rest of the neighbors' yards.

I take 2 yoga classes a week and workout at the gym 2-3 times a week.

Over the summer I had a vegetable garden that took some work.

I cook actual meals most nights of the week.

 

I still find plenty of time to play WoW.

 

Edited to add: Oh, yeah, and I find time to moderate here, too.

 

See then you wouldnt be that person that becomes to addicted you can't interact in the real world. This is good of you!

[shes2smart]

Well, i think that southpark episode that portrayed the kids like this - glued to chairs, overweight, peeing in buckets, etc contributed to this stereotype! SOme people are silly enough to BELIEVE southpark. LOL It's funny but I am well aware that they get by on gross generalizations and exaggerations!

 

We saw that episode before we started playing. We thought it was funny.

 

That episode was what prompted my husband to pick up a 2 week free trial disk of WoW. He started playing. I started 6 weeks later.

 

We saw the South Park episode in re-runs after we'd been playing for about 6 months. It was a lot funnier on the second viewing.

[JadedStar]

We saw that episode before we started playing. We thought it was funny.

 

That episode was what prompted my husband to pick up a 2 week free trial disk of WoW. He started playing. I started 6 weeks later.

 

We saw the South Park episode in re-runs after we'd been playing for about 6 months. It was a lot funnier on the second viewing.

 

I have to admit i am a southpark fan. LOL Cartman is too much. My oldest dog reminds me of cartman. Bossy and eats too much. We call our little sweet quiet dog Butters, which the older dog likes to dominate just like cartman does with butters. LOL

[Mavh25]

I absolutely LOVE Timmy and Jimmy!!

 

*Down like a clown Charlie...br..br...brown*

[Kelebek]

My cousin is severly addicted to the game. He is an attractive, intelligent and used to be a very sociable guy, but because of his WoW addiction, he hasn't had a girlfriend since he was in high school (he's 25). His reality is WoW. A year or so ago we went out for a couple of drinks together and he said, "I really forgot how people go out and socialize and live normal lives...it's very interesting." It made me sad. I think he knows he's addicted and has tried to quit a few times, but hasn't been able to do it. I hope he does soon...there is so much more to life than a simulated virtual reality.

[JadedStar]

My cousin is severly addicted to the game. He is an attractive, intelligent and used to be a very sociable guy, but because of his WoW addiction, he hasn't had a girlfriend since he was in high school (he's 25). His reality is WoW. A year or so ago we went out for a couple of drinks together and he said, "I really forgot how people go out and socialize and live normal lives...it's very interesting." It made me sad. I think he knows he's addicted and has tried to quit a few times, but hasn't been able to do it. I hope he does soon...there is so much more to life than a simulated virtual reality.

 

i have often wondered how many of the game addicts begin to "live" in the reality of the game, like perhaps view online characters as a friend or get crushes on characters...gee i wonder if that really happens?