Seems like I’m growing out of games and the illusion is starting to reveal itself. I realize that it’s not the players that figure out strategies and balance, it’s the people who design classes. You are just consuming and playing the way developers intend you to play the game. This virtual world is ran by the people you pay money for and if you get out of line you will be punished/removed. Not just WoW but games in general.
Ex Dark Souls. Even though you’re experience of discovering new mechanics or secrets feels organic it’s actually intended by the developers by putting in cookie crumb items or subtle hints to steer you in the right direction. The feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction are intended. They want you to feel like you are in control and that it is you who is playing well. Besides finding ways to break the game, all the feelings evoked from playing is actually scripted by developers.
I would like to hear why you still play games or MMOs if possible. Did you take a long break and come back? Or was it your friends that kept you playing? I know that IRL I am not handsome like Cloud Strife and childhood cutie friends that fall in love with me dont exist and actually date hot guys
Well I started WoW when i was 14 and I turn 29 in 3 months. Its a difficult question, I wish I knew. It does sort of feel out of my age range sometimes.
I play WoW because WoW is home… Like any IRL home, it changes with time, some of it sad, some of it for the better. It’s memories, relaxation, familiar, and my personal place to escape. I started playing as a jr. in high school back in 2004, I’m now a assistant principal and as i’ve changed, as the times have changed, so has WoW along side me. It’s a companion.
It’s a pretty harmless hobby, all things considered.
Even a day of gardening makes me kind of a monster to tiny beings if I’m not mega careful.
In other words, spending a day just sitting around in Orgrimmar is probably… really not the worst thing in the world.
I mean, also…
a moment enjoyed is not wasted
EDIT: Biggest regret I’ve had that’s WoW related is losing myself in some kind of negative mindset and saying or doing something well beyond the bounds of my “character.”
To be fully honest, yes. 100% regret time spent playing WoW especially when I was younger. I feel like i missed out on a lot in life because of it. I try not to let it bother me, though.
Oh My!! my daughters turn 26 this year(sips a little wine) guess I am a vintage player. I play games to have a bit of fun and relax a bit. Though out the years you change it up a bit…play different games and different roles. You do hardcore and casual play and pvp. But once a gamer always a gamer
It’s just entertainment for me. More interactive than watching TV and sometimes I don’t want to read a book.
I like MMO’s because I like playing with random strangers on the internet. I like that there are other people to compare not just my gear but how well I play to.
I like RPG’s because no matter much or how little time I have to play that week, I can still feel like I made progress.
Thanks for being honest, I feel like I have done the same in the past with games in general. WoW did help me have social interaction but my time with DOTA 5K hours was completely wasted.
Well, I recently noticed that my enjoyment in games is starting to decrease with time starting last year. I notice that I’m seeking the feeling of enjoyment/nostalgia rather than enjoying games as a whole. The feeling of downing a boss after wiping for hours; my pessimistic side would just say well thats because we had a week to gear up, rather than improve on mechanics. With many ways to improve our output with AP and item level, there’s less of an accomplishment with downing a boss.
Not here to promote FFXIV (my sub ends tomorrow) but one thing that they do right is have less emphasis on gear, the downside is the need to play for progression. Bosses are based on skill rather than gear. That being said, the bosses in WoW are more complex than dodge, stack, and kill adds. I will give the lack of complex mechanics a pass since players are not allowed to use any mods to assist them with the encounter.
Your entire life is ultimately a waste. You’ll be dead in half a century and will have almost certainly never made a lasting impact on humanity, and only one generation further will see you forgotten entirely.
There’s no meaning to any of this except what you create for yourself. Might as well do what satisfies you.
Also this. You’re barely old enough to be done with college.
Free life tip: Pessimism and cynicism are not wisdom. Mostly it’s just peeing in your own breakfast cereal so someone else can’t do it first.
Sure but the regret and suffering of your past decisions are forever. You cannot buy time back, gamers are trying to find nostalgia and companies are capitalizing on it. Why do we seek nostalgia? Because we are not satisfied with the current medium and wish to go back in time to experience the same feeling we had before which is mostly due to being naive.
Seeing 20-somethings talk about how old they are makes me feel out of my age range. I’m 42, and I know enough to know we have people in their 60 80s 90s and even some centinarians who perceive the rest of us to be toddlers in comparison.
For my part…
1>The soundtracks make me feel like I’m sitting in a nice concert hall, don’t underestimate the force of the music if you enjoy the genre of music being played.
1a> even looping random 80s music from youtube in the background, my brain often synchs the fight sequences to the melody and things feel badass.
2> purposefully addictive game design/fomo stuff like pvp season rating systems, weekly and daily stuff, mission tables, the jingling sound of coins going into your pocket every time you loot something even when it’s 1 copper. Endless array of ‘achievements’ making people feel accomplished at something.
3> vast population of people to randomly talk to in game or discord. (researchers say that cruising forums and comments online has much the same psychology as pulling the handle on a slot machine. Because people invest large amounts of time scrolling and reading, get a chuckle or grin out of something that keeps them scrolling and reading until they get another chuckle or grin out of something.)
4> nostalgia and memories for old players, though I know my father mostly quit due to all his favorite things vanishing from the game. He’s pretty excited about classic for nostalgia reasons.
probably other reasons. The main characters look like grownups at least, so seems harder to feel ‘out of my age range’. When I rolled a toon on FFIV it looks like a bunch of teenagers. And some other games with a bunch of teenage angst in their storylines… closest to ‘teenage angst’ in wow to my knowledge was that garrison architect with the crush on the mission table lady. (Tyrande and Malfurion and various other couples openly loved each other and fought for each other. I think a satisfying part of FF8 was when Squall quit being a silent anti-hero dousche and jumps out into space to pull Rinoa off the thing. And FF7 did a nice job pulling Cloud out of his childishness by the end.)
Why are their two threads about 25 being old? Should I be glad I look way younger then I am even though I am 25+? How vain you must be.
Also no. Just sounds like you’re growing out of the hobby. That’s fine. People change as they get older. Me? It’s a great escape and keeps my mind focused on that and not my worries. After two years I’m finally going to raid again tomorrow night and I am SO excited. Wasted? Maybe. I had fun at least.
(Tyrande and Malfurion and various other couples openly loved each other and fought for each other. I think a satisfying part of FF8 was when Squall quit being a silent anti-hero dousche and jumps out into space to pull Rinoa off the thing. And FF7 did a nice job pulling Cloud out of his childishness by the end.)