After receiving the prayers and blessings of the local priests and holy men, Tharyn, the elvish warrior, directed his company of soldiers into a long cavernous corridor. In the furthest reaches of that cave lay the fearsome demon-hound, Magmadar. A less-seasoned warrior would easily fall victim to the demon-hound’s mind tricks. He commonly constricted his adversaries with fear and sent them running into a frenzied panic. On this night however, Tharyn would not become Magmadar’s prey but stood defiant as his predator. Really though, this night was not about Magmadar. Tharyn and his guild of fighters were barely prepared to fight when they “accidentally” attacked him (stupid impatient tanks). Some members were still getting home from work, while others were fixing dinner for their families. Really only twenty-some of the recommended forty were present and armed to fight (yours truly the dynamic rogue included), but it didn’t really matter because the fight with Magmadar was trivial content as it had been for the past month. Everyone get your buffs. Everyone to your locations. Tanks in, dps in, backstab backstab backstab, run to your healer, backstab backstab backstab; and so the fight persisted until Magmadar fell and we gotz the uber loot! Very soon everyone else would arrive, and following several hours of mini-boss battles that night’s real conquest would come, Ragnaros.
It’s been 4 years since I braved the caverns of the Molten Core, or anywhere else in the World of Warcraft for that matter, but my first life marches on even while second life is left behind. Occasionally, I find myself pining for the good ol’ days when I fought alongside my Alliance brethren, but for the most part my “serious” gaming days are behind me. No more all night 16–player Halo matches (and we were all in the same house. That’s right kiddos! No wimpy Xbox live in the early days!). No more power-leveling another character to level 20 in WoW. No more super smash bros. gaming tournaments. No more weeks spent just going to school and gaming.
Don’t get me wrong, I still game. I indulged in a night full of zombie killing in Left For Dead a month ago (splattering zombie guts all over the wall really helps getting over the girlfriend who suddenly decides she wants to become an ex-girlfriend….ahh coping mechanisms), but now I look forward to playing simpler games like Bloons Tower Defense 4 on my computer or some of the arcade-ish games on the PSN like Super Stardust HD.
I can’t really say for sure what happened. The transformation changed when I arrived at college, and I became a “yo-yo gamer.” I guess I suffered from “the grass is always greener” mentality. I owned a Gamecube, Xbox, PS2, and a Mac computer when I went to school. The following summer I sold all my gear (including my classic consoles like NES, SNES, N64, and Genesis) and built myself a sweet gaming pc because obviously if you want to play the really good games you need a PC. Enter the yo-yo effect. My euphoric delusional state lasted all of two months before I yo-yo’d again.
Time to face the music. I’m a console kind of gamer. I like to sit on my couch that has worn out springs. I like to play games on a big screen, and no I don’t count a 24 inch monitor as a big screen. I like the feel of cheap plastic making my palms sweaty after six hours of intense button-mashing. Like I said, I’m a console kind of gamer. Yadda yadda yadda, fast-forward fast–forward, and now when you come visit me you’ll find a PS3 in my living room. I love it! It’s been a great machine. I would even classify it as a prized possession, but now I find myself in grad school and I show pride in my PS3 by allowing it to collect dust in the corner. Feel the love buddy.
Now by way of Freudian analysis, I have isolated several key factors that are to blame for this recent gaming abstinence. I have no money. I have no time. I have many new important responsibilities. All truthful and possibly accurate answers, but ultimately, I have no desire. So what will become of my long lost hobby? Is my current state of affairs simply a matter of my circumstances or is there another more subliminal transformation occurring?
What about you? Where does gaming fit into your life now, and how has it changed over the years?
JohnnyBGamer 