Sunday, January 3, 2010

my new addiction — world of warcraft

sad, isn't it? i am a grown woman, mother of one, wife of one, full time graphic designer, and i am still finding the time to sit down and play world of warcraft? yes, i'm afraid i do. i admit, being a graphic designer i love everything about cool graphics and the like. whether it be movies with special effects or an interesting website showing the talent of that particular web designer. i love it all!

additionally, what falls within this category are video games. they're everywhere and they're hot! it's the most profitable industry out there. i only wish i could have gotten a piece of that pie as the world of video games first appeared on the scene. maybe i was born during the wrong generation, but i always wish i could have had the education and wherewithal to learn everything there is to know in becoming a gaming designer. maybe it's something i would have grown tiresome of—which seems to fall within every job category these days—or maybe i would have actually loved my job and made great money at the same time? at this point in my life, these are answers i will never have. talk about endless nights in front of a storyboard.

all of that "wishing" aside, i recently started playing the mega video game, world of warcraft. now keep in mind, i have only been at it for a good week now and i realize there is much more to learn within this amazing world. for instance, i still cannot seem to figure out the whole goal and purpose of this game. is it to just gain more quests to go farther and farther within the game? is it the goal to try and explore and discover new "worlds" instead? i honestly have no idea. i have tried to read up on world of warcraft from their direct website as well as the creators, blizzard, but so far, i'm still at a loss.

admittedly, with most video games, when you start anew, there is always that frustrating learning curve you encounter on a daily basis until one day, you just get it! ahh the bliss and accomplishment of that moment.

we finally got the wii system for the holidays and being a person that loves everything and anything james bond 007, i bought the wii james bond 007: quantum of solace game only to be frustrated with my lack of shooting abilities. why can't i aim it properly? i seem to be aiming the gun in the air instead of at the villians. ugh! either way, i will conquer this quest to be proficient as a wii game shooter if it's the last thing i do! :)

for now, i will continue to enjoy the world of warcraft environment to which i have so become accustomed, and my character, 'kyraline', will prosper and go forward! i made the step to go from trial user to the full upgrade, so i think i'm ready!

wish me luck!



my world of warcraft character, "kyraline"





6 comments:

Matt Conlon said...

Nothing wrong with that! You (and me) and 11 million plus! :)

One Girl Creative said...

Haha. Yes, this is true, Matt.

P.S. I'm at level 18 now. ;)

Matt Conlon said...

I have a couple of 80s and an working on getting into the end game raids, but the first year I played as mostly just goofing around and questing with friends and family, skilling up professions... It was really a lot of fun. No pressure to perform as there is in the raiding scene. I even played around a bit with Role Playing (I'm also a Dungeons and Dragons player! Shhh!)

One Girl Creative said...

Now that is funny. LOL

To be honest, I'm still trying to figure things out—like how to get/use more talents, how to qualify for specific armor and weapons, stupid stuff like that.

I had a 65 player in my guild help me the other day to level up, but it was boring. He basically did all of the fighting while I looted, gained XP and leveled up. Not what I wanted, really. I want to do it on my own.

There is just so much to learn it's overwhelming sometimes.

What is involved with raiding, btw?

Matt Conlon said...

A lot actually... In a typical 25 (wo)man raid, you generally have two or three tanks, six or seven healers, and the rest are just damage classes (or DPS... Damage Per Second).

The job of the tanks is to keep the baddies' attentions. The tanks have the highest hit points and armor, so they can take the most beating. While they have the attention of the bad guys, the healers will keep the tanks alive, while the DPSers will do the damage taht ultimately kills the bad guys..

Most fights have variables that make it more complicated, like short periods of time where the boss is immune to some effects, or does damage across the whole raid, etc.

Most fights require that all members have a certain level of gear, as well as coordination. Some groups should be doing certain things at certain times, or standing in certain places.

It gets tricky, sometimes if one person in the raid misunderstands something, everyone dies. This is known as a wipe.

At the end of the day, a failed raid can cost lots of gold, have no real pay off, and cause a substantial amount of drama within the guild or raid group, where a successful one can be very rewarding.

Relationships can be forged or destroyed when it's taken too seriously. People tend to forget that it's a game... The other side of that coin though, is there are 24 other people sacrificing their time, and putting for a great deal of effort.

It's certainly not for everyone.

One Girl Creative said...

See, that just sounds so complex! Maybe by the time I get to level 80, it will all make sense. For now, I'm just navigating and learning as I go.

Still learning a lot from my guild members, which helps, but still need to do it on my own I imagine.

Thanks!