Time and Place

It's the diversity and complexity of the Warcraft design that never seizes to amaze me. I begrudgingly run characters since all are still picking up new flight paths every week and whilst running I am reminded of a quote or possible misquote I came across whilst reading about the new expansion pack. It was something along the lines of not allowing Outland flying mounts on Northend so that players go slow and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into the design. I try to remember that when I am forced to run, such I did again from Menethil Harbour to Southshore today. The arathi highlands are one of my all time favourite areas, so I did not mind the time for contemplation and reflection whilst jogging across it.

It's eerily similar to real life in game. I can never get passed the similarities I cannot help but notice. I remember a regular 8-hour round trip home whilst at uni, a 45 minute one way commute to work for a few months and many hours spent driving from venue to venue as a course instructor. I disliked it as much as I dislike running a character. It's tedious, relentless, tiring and a perfect example of lost time. There's nothing to be done whilst driving. You drive. Listen to the radio. Think happy thought. Ponder improbabilities. Take stock of life. As much as I would like to view myself as a contemplative person, I find contemplation rather predictable. Certain things are fixed in life, others are changeable. We change what we can, accept what we can't and try to play the best game with the hand we were dealt. Life is as simple as that. And at the end, we die. And if death is the most serious outcome, as well as the only guaranteed outcome, how serious can we possibly take life? If there is no real end result, but simply the journey, why worry so much about the getting there?

I ran my paladin from menethil harbour to southshore, detouring to mine iron deposits. I mined more iron in that trip than I usually mine in a whole day. That is the most enjoyable part of Warcraft. There is always the opportunity to juggling quite a few balls simultaneously. And there is always the opportunity to take a road less traveled. Something for everybody, comes to mind. There always seem to be time and a place to engage in whichever activity strikes your fancy.

There's may various on the same theme. There's PvE, PvP, battlegrounds, dungeons, instance and arenas. There's a good selection of professions, classes, races, armor, weapons, trinkets, mounts and pets. There's leveling up, there's fishing, there's farming, grinding and questing. And then there's factions and reputation and discounts to be had. I love the complexity of it. And I don't mind running when it's through the Arathi highlands and I am reminded about how many people work so very hard to bring to life this alternate universe.

I am mellowing as time goes by. Familiarity has made the roads shorter and metal ores more abundant. What a difference a day makes.