Everything in moderation

So as you may know, I play a little game called World of Warcraft. I have to say, it is probably one of the most entertaining and immersive games I've ever played. But at the same time, it's also probably one of the worst games I've ever played.

When I hit 70 (the maximum level you can attain) in December, I figured, "Well, I'm finally there, maybe I can play a lot less now." I told this to a friend of mine, and he said, "I thought the same thing, but man, this game is just getting started at 70." And when I started playing the level 70 content, I found that my friend was correct. The raid instances, the arena, the battlegrounds, everything is much better at level 70. And as such, I've played a LOT more frequently...

I did the math: I've been level 70 since December 21st, or 65 days ago. Of those 65 days, a full 13 of them (314 hours) have been spent in-game. If you factor in time for me to sleep, then this means that I've spent 32%, or nearly one-third of my waking hours for the past two months playing this game. When you consider the fact that I'm also a full-time engineering student, you can see how this might be an issue.

The thing is, once you hit 70, the object of the game shifts. While you're leveling to 70, the object of the game is to do quests and dungeons to rack up experience. During this time, your gear is important, but not critical. But when you hit 70, you start becoming totally focused on the gear. Because that's the only way you can improve your character.

So as a 70, I've been running raid instances every week, hoping that gear I'm after will drop. You think to yourself "Oh, I'll be so much better once I get those shoulders." or "Man, if that headpiece would drop, I'd be set." And when it finally does drop, you put even more time into it, in the form of enchants and gems. But before long, it becomes irrelevant, because you then start drooling over what you have to replace it with! It is a vicious, vicious cycle.

If you're a loyal WoW player and you're reading this, you're probably gonna say "Oh, but it's a game! It's supposed to be fun, man!" I would say about 10% of it is truly fun. The rest of it you're running around trying to catch Rays in Ogril'a while some loser Horde player kills you repeatedly, or you're skinning Clefthoof Bulls in Nagrand for hours on end to earn some gold, or farming Primals for that enchant, all just to make that 10% of the game that IS fun, slightly more enjoyable.

And the sad thing is, you will never reach a point where you can be totally satisfied with your character. There seems to always be an upgrade path. And driven by the human desire to have what's bigger and better, you end up pouring your time and money into a quest that you can never really complete. You can never really be at "the top", because then Blizzard starts a new Arena season, or opens up a new Raid instance, or raises the level cap; and you're back where you started. It's all part of their plan to keep you hooked.

Raising the level cap is what Blizzard Entertainment plans to do in their upcoming expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. Here they plan to raise the maximum level to 80, and as a result, the 314 hours I've spent so far at level 70, come this Fall 2008, will mean nothing. That's right, nothing. All those instances you worked with your guild to clear? Who cares? You have to get to Icecrown Citadel now! All that gear you got? Go to 'Northerend', or whatever the hell this new place is called, spend an hour getting some green quest reward items, and they'll be better than those epic pieces you spent all that time trying to get. That, dear reader, is a load of bollocks. (And the sad thing is, 314 hours is a relatively short time for a player to spend at 70. I know people who have racked up thousands of hours at the current level cap.)

Spend all that time playing, only to be stabbed in the back by Blizzard Entertainment Inc. They want everyone to fork over $50 for the ability to start climbing the ladder again? No thanks.

When Lich King comes out this fall, I think I'm finally going to call it quits. I'm tired of being controlled by this game and manipulated by this company.

I'll have fun raiding this summer, but after that, I think I'm gonna take a long, long break from this thing.