Hypothetical question

[prillalar]

Supposing I had a fanfic story that was sucking out my soul and I would do anything to make it work. Suppose that after months of grief, I finally figured out what I needed to do.

Suppose that what I need to do is have one of the characters involved in a MMORPG and that the last time I was personally involved in a multi-player online game was on text-only MUDs back in the mid-90s.

(Specifically, I'm thinking about WoW, here, if that makes a difference.)

[Poll #598859]

Comments

[pauraque]

If you do decide to try it, let me know, we should get together in-game. :)

[prillalar]

Hee! Will do. :)

[glitterdemon.livejournal.com]

whoops, i picked the most likely answer. ;)

[prillalar]

Yeah, I know! Fortunately, my game addiction cycle is short.

[sophia-helix.livejournal.com]

Don't buy it! I have been avoiding the MMORPGs for years because I know I will never get my soul back. Fandom and BPAL are enough. I just buy the console-based RPGs that only take like 15 hours so I get a taste, but not the addiction. This is also why I have an Xbox but not Xbox Live.

We need your porn! Don't leave us for Everquest!

[prillalar]

You know, I just don't get the BPAL thing. Maybe WoW can be my BPAL. *g*

I do Sim, but I'm over that for the moment.

[akatonbo.livejournal.com]

You should make it Diablo II instead of WoW, buy it on the cheap, and play with me. XD

(MUDs! Actually, I never spent much time on ordinary MUDs, since I discovered Pern MUSHes early on and spent the latter half of the 90s playing on those as my main creative outlet.)

[prillalar]

Can you play Diablo II on the Mac? That's part of the allure of WoW.

I sometimes wonder how my online experience would be different if it hadn't started out with all that intense MUDding. I think it's given me a very spatial perception of the internet.

[akatonbo.livejournal.com]

Well, Diablo and Warcraft are made by the same company... *Googles* Looks like it. Of course, it was shiny and brand new back in something like 1999 (it was late 2000 when I got hooked on it, and the system requirements for the PC demanded something like a 233MHz processor).

I know my MU* days have influenced my perception of the net... nevermind the perspective one has when one remembers visiting fanfiction archives that still exist today back when they were FTP archives and not webpages, and collected everything from Usenet. (Heck, all of my old XF badfic was originally posted on Usenet, as was most of the XF fic I ever read.)

I still love that icon.

[weetanya.livejournal.com]

From what I've heard, WoW is a great experience. Play it! But you'd best also write your fic, or your readership will be sorrowful.

[prillalar]

I do hope, if I try it, that I don't get addicted. I don't have time for that right now. But it might be fun.

I can write my fic while I'm on the bus or something...

[ex-seventee.livejournal.com]

I say stick to research, because honestly? I have faith in you being able to resist playing World of Warcraft 24/7, but I've seen and heard of people addicted to the point where it's not really funny any more.

Of course, I could be biased, since progress on some of the projects our anime club is trying to do has stopped due to Certain People constantly playing WoW. :P

Ahhhh, your Bob/Dave icon still makes me grin every time I see it.

[akatonbo.livejournal.com]

Ahahah, I love your icon. I need people to play that game with.

[ex-seventee.livejournal.com]

Thanks :D

There must be a way to play 1000BWC online, I just need to think of a good way to do it....

[prillalar]

Yeah, I know, I know. But I think it wouldn't hook me unless I met a lot of very cool people really quickly. It's always been the social element that sucks me into these things.

Bob/Dave is love. I didn't use to ship them, but then I read the strip where they are together rolling up characters and Bob is having really bad luck and Dave offers to let Bob use his dice and I thought, My God, Dave has it bad for Bob and Bob is horrified and refuses.

[taerin.livejournal.com]

How about option 6: ask whatever questions you have of your readers who play the game in question? I've been playing WoW for about six months (and played EQ before that for about 5 years.)

Feel free to ask me whatever, either here or in email.

And anyone else who plays - I'm Ellsie the Tauren shaman on the Silvermoon server. Feel free to say hi. :-)

[prillalar]

Yeah, that's basically what I meant by getting game betas. Originally, I had been thinking of using this as an offhand thing, which would be easy to do just with research. But now I'm thinking I might need to have stuff actually taking place within the game, which would be much harder to fake.

Thanks for the offer! I just might harass you with questions. :)

[ursula]

Find a friend who will let you swing by with some beer and play one of her alts for a couple of hours?

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

Dude, that is an excellent suggestion. :D

[prillalar]

That is the super-best idea of this thread. Some of my D&D boys do play. I could just tell them I wanted to try it out; I don't have to mention the gay sex association. *g*

[ursula]

Mmmm, D&D. I almost want a paid account so I can have a D&D icon.

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

...because then at least I won't be the only one. o.O

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

Also, you already know this but do feel free to pick my brain. Also...when I purchased the game it came with a free 'invite a friend' one month account. It's yours if you want to just try it. I can have it in the mail tomorrow.

Let me know. =D

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

Also, also wik....

I'm Leisil (Alliance) and Abji (Horde) on Zul'jin. In case you decide to try it out. :D

And I thought you might find this funny, since we're on the topic: World of Warcraft is a Feeling (http://media.putfile.com/PurePwnage-WoWisafeeling)

[prillalar]

Ooh, how does the one month account work? I thought you had to spring for the actual game software first. Does it let you download it and use it for that month? If so, that would be awesome.

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

You need the disks to install it, but that's no biggie. We have two copies and you don't need the CDs to play the game. :D It'd be super quick for me to plop the activation card + CDs in the mail for you.

[prillalar]

That would be awesome, if you don't mind doing it! The Win and Mac software are both on the CDs, right? (I'm on a Mac.) Do you still have my address? I'll send the CDs back to you once I'm up and running.

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

I never got your address. o.O There was always a stamp or sticker strategically placed over it, if you'll believe it. =D

Email me? gwen at wyldware dot com

(and yes, the mac software is included)

Yippee!

[neeteeus.livejournal.com]

Woops, sorry. It's a 10-day pass, not a month. Which is probably better. I'd hate to be the one to get you hooked. The fandom would stone me. =D

[karendreamer.livejournal.com]

I voted do research. The internet is your friend. Have you checked LJ to see if there is a community for the game?

[prillalar]

The internet is indeed my friend! I'll do research regardless, but I think I might need more info than I can get just from screenshots, etc.