Thursday, September 4, 2014

WoW?

So i haven't played again since last i logged off, having slaughtered (clickity) the mangled scorpion which had wounded a nearby troll.
This gap has left me with a day to think about WoW a little and what i had expected going in. I expected a robust, lore driven, detailed, lovely world which has been crafted for my unique character to tromp about in having adventures and juggling loot.

I logged in to a bland space for my cardboard character to run through animations while i click on things.

I've very deeply concerned that my goal, to create an orc with an axe, was met within two minutes.. since character creation was the orc and i started with an axe.

I have since downloaded enough to get to the 'optimal' play point, and i am level 5 now, so perhaps something will explode and catch my attention.

One can only hope.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

WoW?

One hour in!

hugely unimpressed.

sadly so.

Early game content is usually pretty fluffy, to try to get you used to systems and introduce you to the feel of the setting and whatnot.

So far i feel like this is a world filled with lore... somewhere else - while i run around and click on something from time to time. I can't really understand why people slag off on games like proteus and shelter as walking simulators, and i've not really seen anyone level the same hammer at this.

for the record i didn't particularly enjoy either of those two titles either, finding them tedious at best, but it was apparent that this was part of the core. Shelter is supposed to be drawn out run from a all the way to b, proteus offers its' scenery as exploratory fodder. Thus far, WoW has area to cover between click points, which them selves only seem to offer breaks for all the area to cover.

I also hate the inventory system. It seems oddly fiddly, coming from the guys who basically set the template for inventory management styles.

Hm. That's enough for now.

WoW?

So first things before i get started;

Im happy to get free things. This is known. When i got the free play time, i didnt have to do anything. no activation, not kes, no transferring data, no CC details, it was already loaded up in my battle.net launcher. this is great. To get me on board make me do as little as possible between wanting the experience and having the experience.

Secondly, i notice as the download progresses that there is the option to play ahead of the full down load. almost streaming you might call it. there is a minimal mark and an optimal mark and you can play as soon as you've hit the minimum without waiting for the entire thing to get down the pipes. similar to what i've just said to get me on board, make me wait as little as possible between wanting the experience and having the experience.

so far so good.

I've had a friend express concern about going down the rabbit hole, but im happily in control of my addictions and since i've got no costs associated with this little adventure i'm happy to jump in.

and a final peice of the puzzle is because of this process i've worked out a technical issue with my network adaptor so im coming into this with spirits high.

onwards!

wow?

So in 2001 having freshly 'graduated' from high school and living in my uncles' basement living area, word was out of blizzard making some kind of online world where i could be an orc. not any old orc but a blizzard orc, like the ones i had shuffled around and sent to their victo.. doom, usually, for years.

i cant be bothered going back and framing this as a researched thing with release dates and boring factual crap, but i was excited. I thought it was a great idea from a great company doing great things. I was all the way down on Diablo 2 at the time, making characters up to level 20 and burning them away to make a new one. Why? .. i dont know. Because clickity clickity, i guess.
But i never played WoW. It's 2014 and i never got around to playing. not even once.
When i moved out from said uncle, i left behind cable internet and went back to dial up. I had no steady income to pay for this preposterous subscription nonsense and that was about it really.

I have since been quite aware of its existence and the shadow it casts across gaming as a whole, from influences obvious in dev's trying to clone the lightning and sell it as their own, to those who would rather hold wow up as what they are not. To genres even dipping their toes into the brine of RPG to any depth the effects this hulk of an entity shoes its' presence.

I've been playing hearthstone for a couple of months now (super casually) and in doing so received an email telling me i get a 30 day free time gift for wow.

I rather think it's about time for me to make this orc.

Zug zug.