Introducing the Bartender

Oh. Hi. I'm looking for a gnome. She's short. Ok, gnomes are short. Give me a break. And she's female. Stop, why are you looking at me like that. She has a pink pigtail. I bet that was obvious too. This is the Pink Pigtail Inn, right. Well, that's what the sign says. And that what it was called last time I was here. But the gnome isn't here, at least not right now.

Whatcha mean who am I. I'm the bartender, see. Name's Elnia. Ambassador Elnia, to you scruff. Don't look at me like that, you got a problem with Night Elves. Times are tough for us Ambassador types. What with Argent Tournament and all, any old fool can be an Ambassador now. And the Horde setting up shop with the Alliance in Dalaran...well, laws of supply and demand see. Anyway, Larisa felt sorry for me, heard I was needing a job. Can't say bartending was what I had in mind.

So what's this all about then, huh. Always asking questions, huh. A real barstool habitant aren't we. What do you think bartending is all about, scruff. I pour you a drink. I listen while you tell me all about it; then I give you my take. I pour it out, then I dish it out. Right, that's how it works. Never been in a pub where it works any differently, inn or no.

Whatcha mean you want Larisa. I want Larisa. But Larisa doesn't appear to be here right now. Have you seen a gnome. Oh shut up. A gnome with a pink pigtail, you know what I meant. That's right, Larisa is out: out of touch, out to lunch, out of her mind. Take your pick. She might be all three. But she is out; we have an absent gnome.

Stop looking at me like that scruff. Here's the deal. Here's how it's going down. No negotiations, I'm not doing that job anymore. When Larisa is not here, you listen to me. Oh sure, I'm no Larisa; not gonna try and be Larisa. But when the gnome is out, it's me: Elnia. You can of course comment all you want. Commentin' is free, though a copper or two is always welcome. Put it in the jar over there, the one that says, "tips". I AM GONNA HIT YOU, SCRUFF. It does not say tits, it says tips: t-i-t-s. Tips. Just a copper or two.

The Bartender's Take is a new feature of the Pink Pigtail Inn that will appear occasionally. The author is (former) Ambassador Elnia from USA-Silver Hand. When not pouring ale all over the customers, she can be found stalking the wilds of Northrend yelling at ninjas to keep their hands off her damn ore. Her alter ego resides in the mountains of New Mexico, USA.

Running against the Nerf Enrage Timer

Normally I like enrage timers in raiding encounters. They put some pressure on the dps squad, forcing us to be on our toes. We can’t just play for safe, we have to take calculated risks as well, pushing towards (but not over) the threat cap. The enrage timers make my heart beat a bit faster. Sometimes it’s frustrating, when you fail with the margin of a few seconds. But most of all it’s fun.

The Nerf Enrage Timer
However, there’s another kind of enrage timer that I don’t feel as happy about. I’m talking about the Nerf Enrage Timer. Ulduar has been out for two weeks, and they’ve already started to nerf some of the bosses. This makes me nervous. And don’t get me wrong now. I don’t care if they do minor changes to the bosses we’ve already downed (in the moment I’m writing there’s seven of them.) It doesn’t in any way diminish my satisfaction of having killed them if other guilds, that started working on them at a later point, will have an easier ride than we did. I know what we’ve done and that knowledge is enough for me. What worries me is the nerf of bosses we haven’t yet come around to kill.

Ensidia cleared the whole instance right away and that others have followed. I know that our guild isn’t capable of clearing it as fast as they have. But seven bosses in two weeks isn’t too shabby, considering we’re only raiding three times a week. I’m convinced we would be able to clear all of the bosses at the same level of difficulty as they were when Ensidia did them – if we were only given the chance. Now it’s taken away from us. If they keep nerfing the bosses we will clear another instance than they did. And that makes me frustrated.

The 3.0 nerf
As far as I can tell the nerfs that have been made so far aren’t huge. It’s not like the final 3.0 patch in TBC, which became a mile stone, where everything downed before the nerf was considered a “real kill” and everything after was a “sightseeing tour”, offered to all players so that they could “see the content”. The real challenge was taken away from us. We knew the timer was counting down and worked against it. I’m happy to say that we did Mother Shahraz before it hit. We did get use of the insane amounts of shadow resist gear that we had crafted. A week later it was unnecessary. Was this wasted effort from our side, thinking about all this gear that we only used a couple of times and then left rottening in the bank? Not in my opinion. The feeling of accomplishment was completely different before and after the nerf. I could proudly say that we did this boss properly.

The nerfs we’re facing now aren’t game changing 3.0-sort of nerfs. They’re subtle. But they still make me worried. Will we see a constant flow of nerfs in the weeks to come? Will Ulduar gradually get easier and easier until it’s more or less Naxx 2? When will this stop?

I want to get the chance to bang my head against some walls in there. We’ve longed for this wall for long now and we don’t want you to start smashing and moving it away in front of our eyes before we’ve even had the opportunity to touch it.

Summer incoming
We’re running against two timers right now. One is the threat of Blizzard nerfing things too quickly since they think that the raiding population isn’t progressing quickly enough in Ulduar. The other timer is the upcoming summer vacation. From mid June and two months onwards I don’t expect anything but struggles to fill the 25 man raids. Last year we managed to raid through the summer thanks to cooperation with another guild in a similar situation. It remains to see how we’ll solve it this summer. If we decide to make a halt to raiding for a few weeks we’d better clear the place before the break. Because when we come back we may face crimpled raid bosses, nerfed to the ground too early.

Yeah, I know we’ll always have the hard modes to test our skills against later on. But I’d like the normal mode to be left as it is at least a little while longer.

Once a leader not always a leader

Last week Stabs at Death Knight Spree published a series of articles where he launched a model of how to regard the WoW players from a sociological perspective. He suggested that we all could be sorted into one of two categories. Either you’re a producer or you’re a consumer. To get the full picture of his ideas you should read the original articles:

• Questionnaire: Are you a C or P
• What is CPP
• How CPP will make your guild better
• Changing from one to the other

The short version:

“Producers make player-enhanced content happen. They start groups, form guilds, lead raids, invite other to battleground pre-mades. Consumers join these activities once they have been initiated by someone else.”

Typical producers according to Stabs are guild officers, raid leaders, tanks and healers. Typical consumers are dps. Producers like to craft things. Consumers like to shop at AH and love vanity items. Consumers expect to be summoned to instance runs and won’t tell people when they go AFK. All according to Stabs.

Spinksville did a post that connected to this topic, but preferred to call the categories “Active” and “passive” players. She also gave some suggestions about how to encourage the active players – or at least refrain from discouraging them.

Not following the pattern
After pondering upon this for a few days (it really gave me some food for thought, so thanks for sharing your ideas Stabs!) I’ve come to the conclusion that I disagree to some extent. Or at least I don’t quite recognize myself.

For instance I took Stabs questionnaire, and ended up with a more or less even result, with a slight overweight to producer – in spite of Stabs suggestion that most players are leaning heavily towards either side or that dps are consumers per definition.

I’m not a raid leader, that’s true. I don’t think I have the deep knowledge about the encounters and the mechanisms of each class to do a good job doing it (unless it’s a very easy encounter that everyone in the raid knows by heart). That makes me a consumer. On the other hand I always make my way to the instance without expecting to be summoned and I’ve never ever failed to tell the raid when I go AFK. That’s not about being a producer. That’s about showing common sense and it’s something that is expected from everyone in a raiding guild, officer or plain member, tank or dps, “producer” or “consumer”.

The lack of flexibility
However, even if I disregard of those details, I see a problem when you categorize people this way, pointing out some ones to be leaders and others to be followers. The problem I see is the lack of flexibility. It’s so easy to let those ideas become “truth”. It’s so easy that people get trapped into roles that suited at one point in their lives, but that they currently don’t enjoy.

Have you ever heard of officers and guild leaders being burned out? No wonder. This is the effect when you – and others – look upon yourself as a “producer” by default. Once a leader – always a leader. This assumption isn’t only wrong; it also creates a lot of unhappiness – in Azeroth as well as in real life.

This is the reason why so many people who have proved not to be suitable for leading others still are found in managing positions. They don’t dare to switch and take the role of a “follower” or a “consumer” for a while, even though they’d be better off in it. Because one way or the other they make a judgement, where the “producer” role is supposed to be more prestigious, so they fear to let go of it, no matter of what it will cost them.

A different approach
What I am suggesting is a different approach to being a consumer/producer, follower/leader, passive/active or whatever you prefer to call it. I think that we have the capability of both roles within ourselves and that we should see WoW as a great opportunity to try it out. In real life I’ve lead people, in WoW I don’t, and I’m quite happy to be one of the foot soldiers. It gives me plenty of opportunities to study the leadership of others from the side and to see and learn from what they’re doing.

I understand quite well though that leading other people, being the organizer and the initiator, is stressful in a way that many players who’ve never tried it probably don’t realize. The little I’ve done of this, as when I more or less accidentally ended up leading a pug in Karazhan, gave me a completely new view of what raid leading is like. And because of this I think that we should be much more open to take turns in both roles.

Just because you’re leading the 25 man raids you don’t necessarily have to take upon yourself to lead the 5 man instances. Let someone else be the initiator, let someone else “make the content happen”, as Stabs puts it. Just relax and let go for once!

And just because you’re not a raid leader or officer in your guild, it doesn’t disqualify you from initiating an instance run. Of course you’ll feel a bit insecure and uncomfortable in the role to begin with, but if you’re honest about it I bet people will understand and give you any support you need, at least if you’re playing with guldies. (Puggers may be more unforgiving).

Look at flock of birds on the move. See how they take turns in being the one leading. They share the loads. Sometimes they’re in the front. Sometimes they’re not. And there’s no big deal about it.

Am I a producer? Am I a consumer? Yes and yes. It’s all depending on my mood of the day, what shape I’m in. Sometimes I’m a producer, not hesitating to swim against the current if that is what is needed. I’m full of energy and I’ll happily try to form a group for an instance, an achievement or whatever my current goal is. Other days I want to relax after a long and intense day at work and I can’t assemble enough motivation to initiate anything. I’ll come along if something comes up, or else I’ll just consume and enjoy whatever solo content the game has to offer.

Azeroth may be digital in one sense, but humans aren’t. We’re not one way or the other. We’re all full of shades and possibilities – if we're only openminded and humble enough to be willing to explore it.

I should be mad but I’m not

I should be mad. I really should.

When I think about it I must agree with Green Armadillo at Player versus Developer. The concept of the “Shake your Bunny-Maker” achievement IS an example of objectification of women. You can’t come around the association to Playboy ears – even though the tail is missing – and this is emphasised by the “age limit” put at level 18.

But no matter how I try I can’t work up any real rage. Probably I’m too used to it. This is how society looks like; it’s just how things are. So I’ll let Green Armadillo stand for the serious side of this and throw myself into the play, ignoring what it represents. Because to be honest: I think those ears are just adorable! At least on a pink pigtailed gnome – they look absolutely natural and adds some more cuteness to her. (I didn’t think it was possible, but it is.)

Clicking until nausea
I can’t say that I adored the egg-hunt as an achievement. I switched between the methods. Sometimes I camped a strategic spot with several spawn points within reach. Sometimes I grew too bored and ran around in circles, constantly spamming my rush buff to speed it up. That was a little bit more fun, even though it didn't give as many eggs. But no matter of method this event was most of all about clicking and clicking and clicking until nausea. Winner was the one who didn’t get cramp in the mouse arm. You didn’t just have to collect the eggs. You also had to loot them and to some extent eat what was inside.

Some players tried to make it a bit more convenient, making up a script to do it automatically. That could be treacherous though. I spoke to one of the readers of PPI who plays at the same server as me. Suddenly there was a bitter exclaim from him. He had just realized that he had kept eating every chocolate egg he looted for the last half hour, even though he already had completed the eat-100-chocolates-achivement. He had forgotten about the script he had made….

Bunny ear hunt
In that perspective, the bunny-ear-thing felt like a blessing, something else but eggs to worry about. And it requested you to leave your chosen egg camp for a while. Since people didn’t bother about clicking away the buff, it was quite impossible to tell which race and gender all of those pink bunnies were. It was better to head to one of the capital cities for that part.

But one player actually did something about it. He sent out a question in general, asking if there was any female gnome around that he could put bunny ears on. And I was happy to answer him: “Yes, catch me if you can!” Then I took off my rabbit costume, used my egg rush ability and started to run around all over the place, sometimes crouching in a bush (they’re perfect hiding places for a gnome and you can giggle at all the people who try to loot you, thinking that your pigtails are eggs) .

A minute later there came a happy exclamation: “Got’ya!” and I found myself wearing another couple of extra ears. I smiled happily at him before I took up the hunt for my last few treasures.

Teasing the raid leader
Now I’m so done and over with this event. I don’t want to see another egg. Ever. I’ve got my title and I gathered the extra 100 eggs to get the new polymorph. It’s not necessary to have in any way, it is all about vanity, but I as a gnome mage I just feel the urge to learn whatever spell I may come across. It’s in our nature.

In a few days the eggs will despawn and a new mad rush will start for The Children's Week. We’ll see as many orphans around as we saw bunnies before.

But I don’t think Noblegarden is quite over yet. We’ll live with those ears for a little bit longer. The Spring flowers won’t despawn, as far as I know. While we were setting the best strategy for the rather difficult Auriaya pull in Ulduar, people started to amuse themselves by putting bunny ears on the bald head of our gnomish raid leader. That wasn’t a pretty sight, to put it mildly. But it surely annoyed the hell out of him, which of course made it a lot more fun. The question is: how many ears can you put on a rl before he kicks you from the raid? Who will be the one to cross the limit? That remains to be seen.

All I know is that I don’t mind wearing those bunny ears. I see the problem, but I love them too much to care. Feel free to use your spring flowers whenever you see me. I look great in them.

Gold can’t buy you golden memories

Finally the day came when Gevlon hit the ceiling. No more gold to be earned! The silence at his blog yesterday was dramatic and caused some worries among his followers. Has he put an end to his blogging? Or was this just one day off, a well deserved temporary break? That remains to be seen.

Now, the question arrives: what is he going to do with his 214 748 gold?

Selling or charity
There are some options around. Sell it for real life money, like an illegal farmer? I don’t think so. Even if Gevlon embraces ideas such as that “tax is theft”, I’ve never seen him as an outlaw who advocates that you should do illegal things. He may be greedy, he may not encourage “being nice”, but as far as I know he’s always played according to the written rules. It’s just the unwritten ones that he loves to break. And apart from that I’m not so sure that selling gold actually is very profitable anymore. Since there’s such an abundance of gold in game and there’s a general feeling spreading out that WoW has peaked and slowly, slowly will drop players, the cost for gold probably is going to fall quite a bit.

What else could he do? Throw himself into charity, giving it away? That’s out of the question. He’d rather let it despawn with his character the day he finishes his account than encourage “Moron & Slacking” behaviour supporting them with gold. If he could find someone who really deserves it he’d be happy to give it away, but the problem is that if he’d find such a person, this person would have all the gold they needed anyway, by their own means, since they know how to support themselves.

Buy a raid spot
Could he get some entertainment from it, using the gold as a sort of entrance fee to buy whatever experience he’s looking for. Maybe. Maybe not.

Gevlon has seen content that way before, when he successfully bought himself a spot in a guild that Naxx on farm. So it obviously suits him, and maybe that’s all he’s asking for.

I just can say that it’s not for me. I never ever quit my raiding spot in Adrenaline to buy myself in a further progressed guild. Period. I wouldn’t even do it if I got paid. I’d see the bosses go down quicker and with more ease, but for what enjoyment? If I only want to see them I can watch a YouTube video. Raiding for me isn’t about seeing or looting. It’s about the experience of overcoming challenging together with people you get to know a bit over time. Epic memories will come where you least expect it. And generally I think it isn’t anything you pay for.

Epic concert memory
I’ll tell you a real life story as an example of what I mean. Last Saturday I went to see a rock concert in company with my 15 year old daughter. We were going to see the Swedish group Mando Diao, which had their final gig at home in Stockholm after touring around in Europe for a month. They seemed to be as excited as the audience. There was love in the air.

It had been over 20 years since I last went to a concert without any available seats, but it was as if no time at all had passed. I spent the night in one of the front rows with my daughter and we were dancing, jumping and singing our hearts out. As it ended I was completely squeezed, exhausted and wet with sweat, but I felt happier than I’ve done in a long time. The amazing thing was that even though I stood out in the crowd, to say the least, she wasn’t embarrassed at all in having me around.

This was our night. And it wasn’t over yet. Suddenly, as we were waiting for the audience to start to head for the exits, one of the security guards approached us. She handed over one of the drumsticks to me (the other one had been tossed out in the audience after the last song). She said that she thought I should have it, since it was so rare and nice to see a parent present among all those kids. I stared at it, not quite understanding. “Hurry up”, she added. “Hide it!”. And finally I grabbed it and put it under my shirt, trying not to show it as I made my way towards the wardrobe. My daughter struggled not to shout out what just had happened. She squealed silently to herself and her face was brighter than the spotlights had ever been on the scene.

It was a magical night and we started out our long journey home, our epic loot now safe in the backpack. I knew that neither I, nor her, would ever forget it.

Golden moments not for sale
Now, I have no idea if this band is big enough to carry a market for “things that have once belonged to them”. But let’s say they were. And let’s say that I wouldn’t have joined my daughter at the concert. In stead I would have used my fortune to buy a similar drumstick, wrapping it up and giving it to her. Would it have been the same thing? Definitely not. Of course she would have been grateful, thanking me for this cool and quite unusual gift. But as time passed, her preferences switched. There would be new rock bands to admire and the drum stick would end up in a garage sell since she didn’t have any memories attached to it.

I think it’s the same thing in the game. The most golden moments just aren’t for sale. They come for free, mostly when you least expect it.

And I bet that the biggest pleasure that Gevlon has gotten from his project isn’t the gold itself. Watching the number on the screen can only hold your attention for a few seconds, no matter how insanely big it is. I think running interesting discussions, trying arguments on worthy opponents and getting an opportunity to spread his political views is what has kept him hooked so far.

Back to the initial question – what to do with all that gold? I asked myself what I would do if that wallet was in my little dirty gnome paws, and I really had a hard time to think of things to spend it on. The only thing I could think of right away was to buy my alt an epic flying mount. Yeah, I know some of you think it’s a waste of money, but since she’s a herbalist and will spend some time farming when she’s sitting out raids or looking for a group, it would come quite handy. The slow flying feels a bit uncomfortable, not to say tedious.

But what to do with the other 209 748 g? I have no idea. It will be interesting to see if Gevlon has.

Some thoughts about WoW blog improvement

There has been a lot of talk about self improvement in the Blogosphere this spring. Quite a few of the blogs on my roll have been participating in an improve-your-blog-in-31-days event. Or at least they did to begin with, most of them seem to have dropped off by now.

The task that for some reason filled them with enthusiasm was the first assignment: to create an elevator pitch – some catchy way of expressing what their blog was meant to be about. Suddenly bloggers who usually write about whatever crosses their minds, thus offering an interesting mixture and flow of ideas started to violate themselves, desperately fumbling for a unique selling point. I guess they hoped it would make them attract more readers.

Now, there’s nothing bad about formulating marketing ideas and I’m into the area myself in RL, but to be honest, the idea to apply this on amateur blogs left me dead cold. I couldn’t help asking: for what reason? What are you aiming at? Are you hoping to one day go professional and make a living out of your blogging? I bet most of you don’t. And if not, why not enjoy the freedom of the casual blogging?

Of course, by all means, it’s your blog and if making a pitch somehow helps you to find your own blogging voice or gives you inspiration, go ahead and do it! As a long time reader of your blogs I must point out though that I haven’t noticed any difference before and after you formulated your offer to the market.

And even if there was a difference I’m not sure it would be to the better. I actually love blogs that offer variation, blogs that are like wild growing gardens, where you’re sometimes caught by surprise. Don’t you too find gardens with perfectly raked paths and bushes cut by the means of a pair of nail scissors pretty boring?

Two great tutorial posts
But OK, even a wild style garden needs some care and maybe some of you DO feel that you need some fuel. Especially new, inexperienced bloggers may feel a bit lost, wondering where to focus. If you’re one of them I suggest that you turn your back to the 31-day-thing, which I think is too general and commercial in its style to be really interesting to a WoW blogger. Instead I suggest that you look at two great tutorial posts written by two of the biggest icons ever in the WoW blogosphere.

The first one is So you want to be a WoW blogger? written by Pike. She gives an unforgettable example of what she means by good blogging, referring to the movie Mrs Doubtfire. And her short version advice is probably the best formulated piece of advice about blogging I’ve ever read:

Write what you love.
Love what you write.
Comment often.

I /sign on that!

The other post I’m thinking about is of course the one written by Daniel Howell, ex BRK. His post The Do’s and Don’ts of Being a WoW blogger is like a testament to the Blogosphere and a wonderful companion to Pike. Read them both and you’re pretty much covered.

Some suggestions from Larisa
Do you really need to improve your blog? I asked it initially and I ask it again. As Daniel puts it so well in his post: blogging shouldn’t become a work. Most of all it should be fun.

Because of this I hesitated a bit if I should offer any blog improving suggestions myself. Finally I decided to do it, out of selfish reasons. I’ve seen quite a few of my favourite blogs disappear lately and others have decreased their activity drastically. If I want the new upcoming bloggers to take their place I’d better give them a few hints. Maybe I can influence them a little to go in a direction I like?

1. Keep writing
First of all, I want you to keep writing! You don’t have to publish posts every day, but if there are weeks and months between the posts you’ll lose me. When I start to follow a blog I’m entering a relationship. There have been examples of bloggers who become stars overnight, but to most of us, establishing ourselves in the Blogosphere, finding our own voice and our regular readers is a process that will take months. It makes me sad when I see new bloggers, like Quiet Kjun at I quest alone, who writes a handful of posts, goes silent for two months, and then wonders where all the readers are and if he should give up blogging. Have some faith, Kjun! As long as you enjoy your writing you shouldn’t bother that much about the audience. They will come!

2. Focus on content
Secondly: I want you to focus on your writing! Yeah I repeat what I just said. Content is far more important than the looks of your site. Look at Gevlon. Look at Tobold's. They have thousands of subscribers, they’re cited everywhere, they have more comments than they can take care of and they don’t give a damned about fancy screenshot, movies and such things, which by the way are a waste of time and effort on many readers who will read your blog through a feed reader anyway. They focus on regular posting, providing me entertainment or food for thought. That’s why I love them. If you want some further ideas about how to write, I suggest that you check out my old ethos-pathos-logos-post. It’s still valid.

3. Interact with the Blogosphere.
Comment on other blogs, link to others, and throw yourself into the ongoing discussions that you find interesting. Don’t market yourself openly in the “please come and visit my blog”-style, it’s just as annoying as any gold beggar in Stormwind. But be present. Let your voice be heard so we get to know you. I gave some advice to Gevlon when he started out and it seems as if he succeeded pretty well, even though I won’t take the whole credit for it. :)

4. Keep your blogroll alive.
This is a detail and maybe a smallish piece of advice, but it really annoys me to see apparently outdated blogrolls on blogs. It gives me the impression that the blogger doesn’t read other blogs, doesn’t care and is generally a bit sloppy. Believe it or not, but your blogroll tells me a bit about yourself, where in the blogosphere you have your home. And it’s like a living creature. You don’t have to look it over daily, but give it a glance at least every month. Do those blogs you’re linking to still exist or did they die six months ago? Personally I’ll take away blogs that haven’t been updated for more than two months from my roll. It’s with regret, but nobody gets happy by being reminded of their absence. So when Zupa disappeared he also eventually vanished from my blogroll. Now he’s back again, and I'm very happy about it. But if he’ll take a two month break – he’s out.

And of course you shouldn’t just take away outdated blogs. Keep looking out for new, promising bloggers who yet have to find their audience and make sure to add them. Share your knowledge about hidden gems. You can link to the “big names” (I do it too), but don’t let it stay there.

5. Don’t let Gold ads invade your blog.
Finally: a humble request: try to keep the gold ads away from your blog. I know some readers don’t mind, but it really puts me off. I can’t stop thinking about everything bad that is connected to them, for instance hacked accounts. Don’t support those people. I generally dislike ads on blogs, but I can accept and understand that self-hosted bloggers need some coverage for their expenses. But if you need to have ads, make sure that they’re marketing things that don’t go against your inner moral compass. I don’t buy arguments as “they come automatically”. Follow the example of Matticus and work with selected partners.

6. Have fun!
This blogpost has now reached a length where it’s probably breaking any kind of thumb rule for blog post writing. And I don’t care. I had fun writing it. That’s really the most important thing of all. Enjoy what you do and the readers will love you. Just as Pike said.

But don’t forget: You don’t necessarily have to improve your blog. It may be absolutely fine as it is. Consider this option and let go of any stress you may feel. And for God’s sake, stay away from that 31-day program!

A tourist in Azeroth

A month ago there was a lot of talking in the blogs about WoW tourism. Eventually it dawned upon me that the label was referring to dedicated WoW players who temporarily tried out other MMOs, found them inferior to WoW and then expressed their view publicly. People who fancy those other games were somewhat upset, I don’t quite understand why, but I they seemed to be afraid that other games didn’t get a fair chance whenever they were evaluated and always compared to WoW.

Whatever. This post isn’t about this kind of tourism. Since I still have plenty of unseen content in WoW, I don’t feel any urge to go for game sightseeing. Instead I’m going to talk about another interpretation of the word “WoW tourist”. You see, when I first heard it I gave it a completely different meaning. A WoW tourist to me is someone who’s on a temporary visit to Azeroth. A WoW tourist will watch and discover, participate in activities to some extent, but still isn’t a “real inhabitant”. He (or she) has his natural home somewhere else; there’s something holding him back, alienating him from the game (or keeping him at a sound distance if you want to put it that way).

And then I started to think about myself. I’m passionate about WoW. (I don’t think anyone has missed that!) This passion has even driven me so far that I feel an urge to rant about it publicly in a blog. How weird isn’t that? WoW is by far the most time consuming activity I do outside of work. I’ve never ever before been close to have a hobby which I’ve offered so many hours, so much love and so much energy.

Against all odds I feel that I’ve found a home in game as well as in the Blogosphere. People have grown used to that WoW players come in all sorts of shapes and most of the ones I’ve met don’t judge you from prejudices but from your actions. I think that I’ve been fully accepted as a citizen of Azeroth.

Still an alien bird
All this said, my gut feeling says I’m still a bit of a tourist, an alien bird who ended up here more or less by accident. If you would put up a gnomish measuring device it would be revealed that I really don’t belong here; I’m an abnormality, like a temporary visitor from the future or an alien spaceship.

For a while I’ve been trying to pinpoint why I feel this way and I think I’m starting to understand it. It’s it’s not about WoW in itself; it’s about gaming in general. My gaming experience is limited to WoW. I haven’t got a clue about anything else – and actually I don’t feel any urgent need to try it out either. In my blogroll you’ll find quite a few general gaming blogs which I follow with great interest – such as Ixobelle, Player versus Developer, Spinksville, Stylish Corpse, not to mention Tobold's. On an intellectual level I enjoy reading their sometimes rather heavy articles about game mechanics in general, not necessarily only in WoW. But that is how far my general interest in computer games goes.

Since I started to play Wow at least three candidates have been launched and (by some) claimed to be the Big Challenge to WoW: LotR, AoC and Warhammer. (We all know the outcome by now). Not once have I considered even downloading a free trials version of it. On the rare occasions when I’ve visited a gaming store, picking up a WoW expansion, I’ve felt as lost as I would have been if I entered sex video store or a heavy metal record shop. I just don’t belong.
When I think about it, I’m pretty sure that there will come one day when I’ll return to the world I came from. I’m a WoWer, but I’m not a gamer if you get the difference. And that is what alienates me.

Still enjoying the magic
Ysharros at Stylish Corpse wrote a beautiful post about her MMO-melancholy, the sadness she feels at the fact that no MMO can keep her hooked for more than 2-4 months any longer.

“Last but not least, there’s the creeping ennui that grows from having done something many many times before. MMOs aren’t substantively different from each other, and part of that magical first MMO experience was, literally, experiencing everything for the first time. That’s just a fact of life and the way we’re built to apprehend the world, but it’s important in terms of the longevity of any given playing experience.”

Reading this I realized that I’m privileged to be in the position where I am. I’m still enjoying the thrill and the magic of my first MMO. I’m not on a week-long-charter; it’s more like a long backpacker trip, going on for years.

However: when the time comes when I’ll be done with it, or Blizzard will start shutting down the servers, it’s not likely that I’ll start to look for new MMOs, switching subscription every second month. Probably I’ll just turn my back to this world altogether, throwing my heart into some other activity, such as mountain trekking or aikido. My hobbies tend to work like that – they’ll last for some years and then suddenly some other aspect of life will call for my attention. I'm one of those that Spinksville talked about the other day, the many players who won't necessarily jump onto the successor of WoW.

But right here, right now, I’m happy to continue the exploration of Azeroth, the MMO concept and the community belonging to it. I’m having a blast. And to all of you real gamers, I just want to say: “thank you” for letting me in and showing me your world, even though I’m just a tourist.