Warcraft Addiction
I admit, I’m addicted to Warcraft. I have never really played computer games, or even the so called ‘console games.’ Computer style games have never been my thing. I’m in love with chess and strategy more than quick reflexes. However, just prior to Warcraft being released to the public, the girl I was dating at the time gained access to two beta test passes for Warcraft which is one of the few newer computer games which runs on the Macintosh. She encouraged me to give the game a try with her, so I consented.
What I experienced was unexpected. I fell in love with the game in a big way. At the beta level I created a hunter. Hunters in Warcraft have tamed pets which they must feed. I immediately fell in love with my pet and felt like I had a buddy to play the game with. It was so fun I’d play the game for hours at a time. I’ve slowed down a lot since those days, but now five years later, I’m still playing Warcraft almost daily if only for 2o or 30 minutes. As of this writing I have four level 80 characters (for those of you not playing, that’s a whole lot of playing time).
Perhaps the most addicting aspect of warcraft is it can be played solo, or even better, with real live people over the internet. When you log into the game, you are logging into a virtual world where your character can walk around cities and interact with your friends. One common activity in the game is to do quests or ‘dungeons’ together. Get four friends into a group, and you can enter a special zone called a dungeon where you team up to fight monsters and special elite ‘bosses’ together. Each group of five usually has a healer to keep the group alive and at full health, they usually have several damage dealing types, and one special character called a ‘tank.’ This tank is a bit hard to explain to those who don’t play the game. The tank is pretty much a heavily armored individual with lots and lots of health. His one and only job is to hold the attention of monsters and bosses on him and only him. For example, if the group is fighting a dragon, the tank would turn the dragon away from the group so the fire breath wouldn’t fry everyone. The tank, because of his special armor, his skills in defense, and ability to dodge blows, is the only one to withstand attacks of these monsters. He basically taunts the monsters to focus on him while the remainder of the group pokes, stabs, and shoots the monster in the sides, legs and belly until it dies. Once dead, the group is able to loot treasure for gold and unique rewards like upgrades in armor and weapons. It’s a whole lot of fun and very very addictive!
So, the next time your friends try to get you to play Warcraft, beware! You could potentially be sucked into a vortex which will involve you spending hours of your life playing a computer game.
