I’m a Night Elf, or: How I Learned to Stop Hating and Love “World of Warcraft”

What started in the backseat of a van has turned into a minor obsession for this gamer - after six years of hate. Why the switch?

[Tex117]

Good reference on the title

[Kran]

...mohawk xD

[candybeans]

I felt like going Dr. Strangelove was appropriate. Thanks! :)

[The Matrix]

I really glad I'm not addicted to this game like millions of people.

[jdktech2010]

Yea, I play it and I'm not addicted to it....It's people's fault if they become addicted

It wouldn't hurt to have a little self control

[candybeans]

I'm really glad that I'm not addicted. I think if that happened, I would burn out a lot faster. Yeah, I'm not going to level up as quickly as everyone else, but I don't care.

[DXM1]

I dont understand how anyone can play a game like WoW and have fun. Lets see... grinding, grinding, and more endless grinding. For what? So that your level goes up? Lol are you kidding me? If you want a higher number just ask anyone you know to write it for you on paper. Then you can take it to your bed, put it under your pillow and sleep.
Will that make you feel better?

What is the point of a game where you compete based on who has a higher number than everyone else? (level, DPS, etc...). Unlike an FPS where anyone can shine based on their general skill level, WoW requires you to sit and play until you level up and etc.. Higher leveled peeps are of course much more powerful than lower ones.

The whole gameplay makes no sense and is designed to make you waste as much time of yours as possible playing this miserable over rated game. Its hilarious how blizzard charges people for it based on a yearly basis, and made a game that consumes as much time as possible - so that people would keep playing.

Can someone explain to me what is so fun about leveling up an imaginary character? No really. Can someone? How can this even compare to racing games, FPS games, or even RTS games?

[thesithfreak]

its obviously more than grinding. if you want to say that, then why do you play any rpg? or do you play rpg's? if you READ, the story is good, just like morrowind you had to read.

actually lich king and cataclysm, most of the story is done with dialogue. the environments are beautiful and varied. the gameplay is fun and coordinating to defeat a raid is fun and rewarding. you talk about repetitive yet you referred to FPS's, which are the most repetitive games there are. on call of duty its "point shoot, level up, point shoot, level up" in the same handful of little maps. there is much more to world of warcraft that grinding and leveling, if you actually played it, you would understand that.

[candybeans]

For me, it ended up being more about story and camaraderie. Timewaster that doesn't really matter, sure. But to me, an FPS is the same, just a lot more generic.

[Arknight]

I played WOW for 4 years until I realized it was destroying my life. It wasn't even fun anymore. Running a guild was like running a company...recruiting people that weren't morons, assigning positions, handling a bank. Organizing raids was like working a second job.