3/11/2006
So, it's been a year and half since I played World of Warcraft. This game has been extra fun for me when I'm in high spirits and an outlet to channel the bad mood when I'm depressed. Friends in WoW have added colors to the monotonous life of mine as well. Same as many other industries, there are lots of things to learn in the gaming world (yes, learn, not just know).
As a player, you learn how to play your characters with different races and professions; you also learn how to play against your counterparts in Horde or Alliance when the two sides engage in combat face to face. To play a character well, you have to play what you know. (Applied to writing, it would be "To write well, you have to write what you know," an intriguing line by Drew Barrymore's role of an undercover reporter in Never been Kissed.) (Oops.. diversion definitely doesn't come as an essential element in good writing..) As a guild leader, you learn how to manage a group of mixed players; namely, a bunch of elites, a few somehow-experienced ones, some lovely newbies, and last but not least, a huge number of obnoxious, mentally challenged Mr./Ms. Yes-Just-Hate-Me. As a guild officer, you learn how to put actions together and how to calculate/record raid points accurately so that people won't give you an attitude or even a middle finger for the loss of DKP. The more knowledge of the in-game items, gears, locations, mobs, and instances you have, the better you can make your character top-notch among those at the same level. Although playing a game can't be credited as an academic or scientific input to life, it could inspire players in a positive way.
However, obsession of any type is not desired. Going overboard only means "overly done", and there's no exception. Gaming is the Pandora's Box; once you open it, you run the risk of being tantalized. It consumes your soul. No matter how rational you claim to be, you'll be swirled into the abyss once you sit in the chair, log on, and start your advanture for the day. The exp gains make you smile; the loss of a roll drags you down; the completion of a set leads you to heaven; the act of ninjia drives you nuts; the success of a raid brings you laughter; a serious argument over something meaningless slaps you right on the face. Time after time. The silent evil game bug nibbles you up before you realize the gravity of the situation and the need to send out SOS. (me <-- once victim)
I watched my Notting Hill DVD the other day and cried over and over as the theme song, She by Elvis Costello, was played. I did relate to the ecstasy or predicament described in the lyrics. Yes, a girl can turn a man around just like that--and vice versa--but it doesn't matter as long as the object of your affection loves you back. Why am I writing this? 'Cause just now it came across my mind that gaming could actually be in place of "she," well, in a satirical way. This might be a bad comparison because the word replacement more or less insults the songwriter. (I truly love this song.) But yea, doesn't it best represent the power of gaming?
She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
The smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem inside her shell
On a lighter note, something fun about WoW in my early playing history was learning the language. As a "n00b", I needed to learn two things: game-related abbreviations and gamer's jargons. They were all Greek to me. Whenever I saw weird words in general or guild chat channel, I had to harass An to tell me what they meant. Sometimes I picked up new words by myself, but that probably would also have some silly stories involved. Anyway, afk=away from keyboard, dps=damage per second, rl=real life, pm=private message, OT=off-tank, aoe=area effect damage, stam=stamina, int=intellect, dot=damage over time, npc=non-player-controled character, woot=(yay I'm happy), ftw=for the win, oom=out of mana, etc. Speaking of which.. one time a priest told the group he was oom, but I thought he was saying "hum" as the sound we normally made. Wicked.
Another time when I saw someone say "idk" in general chat, I started to crack my brain for every possible combination. IDK sounded so professional to me. Would that be "increase distant kill" or "intellect damage kill?" Unfortunately, I was in a crappy mood that day and didn't bother to think at all. So I pm'd An.
me : urh what is idk?
An : i don't know.
me : wth is "you don't know?" you know i don't like ppl to say "i don't know."
An : ... told you i dont' know.
me : fine just ignore me. i won't bother you anymore.
An : ... you asked about idk.. it means I DON'T KNOW.
me : ...
Sometimes pampering myself can be as simple as looking at something without taking any actions, such as browsing websites and keeping my wallet "intact" at the same time.
我是一個小孬種~ 我是一個小孬種~~ 
>，
