A Change of P(l)ace

Life changes. It baffles, amazes, and challenges us with its constant gyrations and demands. While I’m still playing my beloved MMO’s, I’ve have yet again hung up the towel with WoW. I didn’t notice it at first, with my own absences, and those cannot be helped absences from others, but after a month of no raiding, I realized another month had passed without me logging on… and then a second. While WoW has a lot to offer to the enthusiast, I discovered that I no longer fit the profile. Coupled with some drastic changes in my personal life, I realized I wanted a different scene, a different pace, and a different game.

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find exactly what it is I do want. I’m too old and set in my ways… a bit jaded you might say. I’ve been playing both TERA and LoTRO to pass the time, but I’ve yet to find myself immersed in the culture of either game. The thing which is driving me from WoW–a lack of a permanent place–keeps me from really finding myself drawn to something new. I’m lazy. I have yet to expand myself beyond the bounds of just finangling with my own character to find myself a new home anywhere else. And that is ultimately, for me, is the allure and defining characteristic of an MMO. The ability to not only interact, but to connect with team-mates to challenge the group to meeting a goal. Without that essential component, MMOs rapidly lose their allure, and one is left wanting.

Will I find my place, my pace, the vital something that connects me with a new world and a new set of goals within it? I want the excitement and challenges of group content, but find myself reluctant to commit myself to a new dynamic when so many things in my own life seem uncertain. How can a business model predict the effect of personal upheaval? Of the loss of a vital link to the game at the very moment when it is most needed to keep interest alive?

While I hate to close up shop here, at my personal place of reflection and notes for the last few years, I must admit that it will be unlikely to be revived unless I find myself enthralled within a new gameworld, and further still, with a solid, dependable group that depends on my expertise and skill. To all those who have supported me, I thank you. For those who have found some niggling question answered, I’m glad I could help. I wish you all the best of luck in your gaming adventures. I hope to speak with you soon.