Long and Boring

I play World of Warcaft. My wife plays it a lot more. A lot more. She is a gamer. I knew this when we hooked up nearly 13 years ago. The first time I visited her house her dad sat in a chair in front of the television playing Nintendo. If her dad wasn't playing, her brother was. She didn't play around me but let me know that she was the Tetris queen and she loved playing the Final Fantasy games.

For quite a while I tried to be a gamer. I got a degree in Computer Animation & Design and was a professor of 3D Game Design at Academy College. When it comes right down to it, I'm not a gamer. I like to play video games and can have fun doing it, but I just don't have what it takes to join the ranks of the true gamers. When WoW was first released, it took less than a week for a player to level his character to the maximum of level 60. That was extreme. Most people can do it within two or three months of play. Most gamers now have several characters at level 60. I have one that reached level 58 just last night. That is what I have achieved in two years of game play.

Gaming is an odd one for me to categorize. While it involves staring at a screen for hours, it is not a passive affair like television, film, and theater enthusiasts. While it requires reflexes and strategy, it is not the physical endeavor of sport. Here sits a former professor of 3D Game Design and I can't even describe what a video game actually is. I can tell you about game design strategies, challenge and reward systems, artificial intelligence scripting, polycounts, mapping, and several things that go into a game, but not what a video game is. Choppers, surfing, sex, these things have much to offer on both the amateur and professional levels. I can wax on about any of them with a glazed over dreamy look on my face. Gaming, no matter how hard developers try, is always going to favor the pro. No wax, either.

Since I am not a true gamer, why do I continue to play? My wife put it quite eloquently last week when we were discussing if I should reinstate my own WoW account rather than sharing one with her. "I love playing and I'd like to be able to game with you." That I understand. I love choppers and love it when she goes for a ride with me. I love surfing and appreciate her coming to the beach with me. I love sex and it just wouldn't be the same without her participation. Gaming is something she does and she wants to be able to share that with me. There is one more reason. Working second shift, she is usually trying to sleep while I am winding down from my day. Sometimes I will write or create art. Other times I just want to kick back and relax a little. Rather than do something observational like watch TV or maybe a movie, it can be fun to kick back and kill some monsters.

That is the element lost on most hard core gamers. Video games were developed as a hobby, a recreational activity. Just like drinking alcohol, when it ceases to be a recreational activity and starts to dominate your life, you might want to consider quitting. Luckily my wife isn't anywhere near that category. She is doing great at work, in school, and as a domestic partner. Some of the people she plays with seem to have forgotten this and it can cause problems. I hate coming home from work to hear about some messed up business with the people she plays with. It's a game. Why are her friends taking it all so seriously? By them taking it seriously, she is made to feel like less of a gamer for not taking it as seriously. Rule of thumb; if you don't get paid to do it, it is a hobby. Bowling, surfing, boxing, baseball, motorcycling, rugby, video games, sex, drinking, dancing, whatever. Pros get paid to make it more than recreational. Last time I checked, the only people who get paid to play World of Warcraft were Blizzard employees and Chinese gold farmers. Relax. Don't worry. It is a virtual world. Have fun. If you piss someone off, they can't even hit you. Let's get back to having some fun.

See. Long and boring.

In more exciting news, I now have neoprene booties and gloves for surfing. I am one wetsuit away from being fully equipped.