Dispatches from Azeroth

We also made our grand entrance to the WoW theme. Everything else was pretty classy though

I was going to write more generally about online games, and then I realized that last week was my four-year WoWniversary. If you have a problem with that term, you’re probably not going to like the rest of this post.

I have a Pavlovian reaction to rainy autumn days in Los Angeles: I have to start a night elf alt in World of Warcraft. (An “alt,” short for “alternate,” is a character other than the one you play most often.) Four years ago, after I had already become something of an addict to City of Heroes, I finally gave into my then-boyfriend’s persistent encouragement and did what I said I’d never do: play “that game with the gnomes and dwarves.” I’m not much for Tolkien and the hand-me-down Blizzard — or Games Workshop, if you want to get into that debate — lore didn’t appeal, but the fact that I could play it on my Mac instead of Paul’s PC did.

Once united in deliciousness, now divided by faction

I hate the stereotype of the female noob rolling a night elf druid since that’s exactly what I did before I found out about the stereotype. Yes, I wanted to turn into a kitty and a bear and maul stuff to death. (In my weak defense I am Horde at heart; it happened that my real-life friends were playing Allianceside.) I got sucked in, the way I have with no other MMO since — and I’ve played at least a trial for every major one out there, and in closed or open betas for others. Word to the wise: Hello Kitty Online is going to be awesome. But anyway.

I was never addicted to the game in the scaremongering way that the media often portrays. I didn’t forsake relationships or slack off work. While I was playing seriously, Paul and I got engaged and then married, and I went through grad school with a 4.0 GPA. WoW never took over my life in a destructive way, except for how you would not believe the stupid arguments a couple can get into when playing together sometimes. I just became enchanted with the world, and eventually with the challenge of raiding, which in “vanilla” (pre-expansion) meant contributing exceptionally bad heals in Molten Core.

Alliance sign by Teena, starring my hunter Regala

My first computer games were Infocom’s text adventures, like Zork and A Mind Forever Voyaging, and the next best thing I’d found was the Myst series. I played the first game as an undergraduate, frequently staying up all night until I finished, entranced by what felt almost like a graphical version of interactive fiction. I played the sequel, Riven, with my friend Teena when we both lived in the San Francisco area, and we made such a good team that even after I moved to L.A., we played each ensuing sequel over the phone together. Later, I successfully hooked her on WoW by first describing how we could actually play together — in game! My mother in New York and I also played City of Heroes together. It is a remarkably fun way to spend time with people you rarely get to see, especially when you’re chronically ill and your social exploits are limited to begin with.

My main, Lyrala, has had enormous fun in the past four years. If you can’t tell from that link, she isn’t a particularly impressive toon. Through no fault of my awesome guild, I tend to solo a lot, which along with my lack of interest in player vs. player combat (PvP) precludes me from getting the best stuff.

Paul's label design with our Horde alts

Also, I have a lot of alts, a “bad” habit I picked up in CoX (which means both City of Heroes and City of Villains, now one game) where the character generator is the best in any game I’ve ever played. I put “bad” in quotes because though objectively my accomplishments aren’t much, I can’t manage to care since I mainly enjoy putzing around and doing what I want. This is also an excellent way to avoid burning out, because the game never feels like a job. Raiding was always mildly stressful for me and at this point it tires me out too much physically for me to want to do it regularly, so Lyrala’s just slowly levelling along.

Meanwhile, the onset of autumn as I’ve said, plus the announcement of the Cataclysm expansion, which will completely change the entire game landscape, has made me nostalgic for those beginning areas, almost exactly the way I can be nostalgic for real places. The combination of sight, sound, music — the music is a very important part of why I keep going back there — as well as story and character keeps me replaying old haunts the way I still play old Infocom games sometimes. The way I reread favorite old books, like The Phantom Tollbooth a few weeks ago. I’m looking forward to Cataclysm very much, don’t get me wrong. Exploration is my number one favorite thing about playing MMOs and similar games, and the prospect of having an entire new Azeroth to explore is so exciting I’m actually trying to curtail my alting (I wish I knew how to quit them) and finally get Lyrala’s blue-green ass to 80 already, so she’ll be ready for it.

But the October after that happens? I know I’ll be a little sad, never getting to go back to my first home in Azeroth again.

Lyrala rocking her Cenarion gear