It's quite telling that for 9 months after I write about getting to Outlands in TBC Classic I don't post a single thing on my blog. WoW used to be an enormous source of inspiration for my writing for the longest time, back in the day. Now... it just drains my brain.
I still play it now, and I've started to do some modest raiding with the guilds I am in. I still think it is so much fun, but I also feel that it takes up more time than I want to give it. Just like when I used to play it, I really wish I could play WoW and play other games. Back then I had the time for that, what with putting 8 hour sessions of gaming in on a day where I had nothing else planned, but for some reason I didn't. Now, with two little kids (and no one around us who can baby sit), there is just no way that is going to happen. I get my 2-3 hours in the evening and I need to maximize them. Something just has to go and for some reason writing has been one of those things even though I love writing. And often other things too.
I recently played a few hours of Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, because me and the SO had really planned to do something together and finally got some hours on our own (we managed to get our kids on a play-date for an afternoon). I had a blast, that game was really fun! I made a big mistake early on though and missed out on the shotgun, and apparently there is no going back for it once you've missed it. So I decided to restart the game the next time I play it, and I'll get back to where I was easy enough. Only I know the next time I play it is going to be months from now, probably. Because at the end of the day when the kids are finally asleep my brain just shuts off and it can't make the decisions I want it to make. Play that other game, do that other thing.
It's not that I play WoW even though I don't feel like it or that I am not having fun in the game. The problem with WoW has probably always been that it's just too much fun and too easy to get in to. There is always something to do, some character to advance or fix something on. The level of satisfying feeling of accomplishment is sky-high in that game. Addictive? Yeah I can see why people think that.
Alone in the Dark for PS1 took a lot of ideas from RE. |
I've been thinking about cancelling my on-going subscription and just take a month here and there instead. A month where I play mostly WoW, and a few months in-between where I play something from my backlog of a quadrillion games that will probably never see the light of day. But I don't want to be part of the reason Blizzard eventually pulls the plug on TBC Classic, or maybe part of the statistic that doesn't make Wrath of the Lich King Classic come to life. I am hype about a possible Wotlk Classic!
I am scared I will lose this all again. Why can't WoW just be there for me forever when I need it, so that I don't feel compelled to play it while I can because I am constantly worried it won't be some day. Again.
Luxurious problems to have in the world we live in, I know. And that thought gives me the clarity I need to not worry so much about it after all.