Friday, October 13th, 2006
World of Warcraft…banished!
by Warren
World of Warcraft is an addictive game. There’s so much to do, so much to see, and such a clever reward system built into the game that it can become all-consuming. Myself and the better half aren’t there yet, but I could see it happening if we didn’t take some sort of action. We were starting to play the game for extended periods of time, to the detriment of the books I want to read, as well as a short video I’m working on. But it was when I skipped the gym to kill virtual bears that I realized this fella needed to get reined in. So yesterday I deleted my account and wiped the game off my drive, incidentally freeing up six gigs of space.
I’m already kind of missing the game, mostly because i like exploring the vast virtual land that is Azeroth. But I wasn’t willing to put in the time necessary to get really good at the game (or for that matter the 8 hour raids that characterize “elite” play past level 60), when there are a multitude of other things I could be doing with my time. My Powerbook is also starting to show some gray around the temples, and if I don’t play games, I can cheaply upgrade to a new rig. I posted some further thoughts in WoWDetox, a site devoted to complaining about WoW addiction.
In fact, other than the Nintendo DS, which is great for vacations and killing time, I think I’m going to give gaming a bit of a heave-ho. I’m pushing 40(!) and probably should be doing things that make money rather than cost me my time.