It Came From the Basement, Part 2: Golden Oldies

1) Character Name and Server

Alazzaji: Babalawo – lvl80 Orc Shaman, Uvatha – lvl80 Undead Warlock, Kezial – lvl80 Orc Death Knight, Insharah – lvl80 Blood Elf Paladin, Monan – lvl78 Tauren Hunter, Alazzaji – lvl76 Troll Priest -Plus a few others between 30 and 60.

Exhibition: Exhibition of Nagrand.

Redmoot: Redmoot, Resto Druid, Nagrand (Horde)

2) Real life age

Alazzaji: 39

Exhibition: 32

Redmoot: 40

3) Marital status (children?)

Alazzaji: Divorced, 3 kids aged 12, 13 and 19

Exhibition: Married, to an orc.

Redmoot: Married, 2 girls aged 7 and 9

4) How long have you been playing WoW for? What attracted you to the game?

Alazzaji: Approximately 3 years. Used to play Warcraft III at home with my two youngest via local LAN, after the separation we started playing WoW as a means to keep in touch. I was working a fly-in/fly-out mining job at the time and the internet was all I had out in the middle of nowhere.

Exhibition: Since Classic. I was a fan of Diablo II and I could find a pirated version of WoW.

Redmoot: Started playing WOW when BC was released. Played RPGs for years, the ultima series, the elder scroll series and heaps of others. Decided to give WOW a try knowing very little about it.

5) Do you consider WoW a negative or a positive influence on teenagers and young adults? How does it differ from ‘your generation’?

Alazzaji: Positive in that it teaches some social skills to kids who may otherwise not have a chance to interact with too many people. Negative at times because it can eliminate repercussions of ones actions through the anonymity the internet provides. When I was a teenager all interactions were face to face, if you were a jerk you would pay the price. On WoW you can be an absolute tool and know that no one will ever know who you are.

Exhibition: Positive. It encourages cooperative play, leadership, and imagination. It provides a colourful, safe environment that challenges the intellect and the imagination.

Redmoot: I think WOW could negatively influence teenagers if it displaced study time or caused distractions at school because of tiredness after staying up that little bit longer to down a boss. This game is incredibly addictive. But it has a positive influence in learning to work with others, get over losses when you've wiped on the same boss for an hour, researching encounters etc. I believe its an overall positive experience compared to spending your time watching TV (gets your mind more active). It could be a dangerous game if you were younger and unemployed. I was unemployed for a while at 20ish and if I had found this game then I would have found it difficult to get motivated to get out there and find work. I have found examples of young idiots in game but found some fuckwit older guys too. The game doesn't cause you to become this way, I believe these types of people can be found anywhere and just like in real life I can choose to ignore.
My generation didn't have this sort of thing easily available but I used to play DnD book/paper based. We didn't have the opportunity to be as anonymous to a large audience, to create a whole different persona to use as you like.

6) Do you consider the view society has on WoW fair? Why/Why not?

Alazzaji: Yes. I played the tabletop versions of Dungeon and Dragons all through the 80’s. The views back then were pretty poor; especially from religious groups. The idea of being able to resurrect someone turned church goers into fits! I think society now sees most forms of RPG’s as relatively harmless when stacked up against violent games, or even against what’s available on the net (thinking porn) these days.

Exhibition: I think it is fair. There is a lot of negativity manifested in WoW. That negativity is a by-product of the anonymity granted by the internet, and the lackadaisical action in schools with regards to simple etiquette. And pop culture influence.

Redmoot: A lot of my friends think its weird that I play this but don't give me a hard time. Most of them know I've been a gamer for years. I don't think society is being fair to the general population of WOW when they perceive us as being spotty kids playing in the parents basement. Sure there are people out there that fit this description and others that take it way to seriously. Unfortunately high profile "incidents" give us all a bad rep. But considering the subscribed player base compared to such cases its an unfair view. Any society this big, and wow is a society I feel, is gonna have it's freakshows.

7) Would you let your children play WoW, or do you (if applicable).

Alazzaji: I do, the 12 year old isn’t too fussed on the game but the 13yo has been playing for as long as I have and has a few 80’s of his own. The only restriction I placed on him was filtering out the trade chat. The 19yo is too busy at uni and too busy chasing boys to be ‘uncool’ enough to play WoW.

Exhibition: Yes, when they are old enough to meet the ratings in place for the game (emotionally and physically) – and under supervision initially. There is a lot of abuse rife in this game. Abuse is never shaken off – it builds up subtly and wears down the confidence, especially of a teen.

Redmoot: Yes I want to let my children have a go but the wife is going to fight that tooth and nail. She is addicted to Facebook games now and the girls are playin stuff with her. My oldest is starting to play other free online rpgs. My wife hates this game but since she gave up watching TV and started to get into games on facebook I think she is understanding the enjoyment of using the brain while being entertained. She is constantly working out efficient methods to make more coin or gain xp at something. Our TV is really only used for movies now. We have 3 computers setup in our family room, hers, mine and one for the kids to use. We get to supervise the kids in whatever they are doing as one of us is online most of the time. I have a second account that I will let the girls use so I can play with them.

8) What would you have to say on the social dynamics of WoW, such as guilds? Do you think they are a positive or a negative thing?

Alazzaji: With respect to guilds, I’ve seen many guilds that are very well run, and some that are just out to get as many numbers as possible. The latter usually fall over pretty quick. The stronger guilds all have a very strong, charismatic leader – however the guild’s behaviour as a rule follows the examples set by there leaders and officers. Take Endless Fury for example…strong guild, strong leadership, good values imparted onto their members. They are all nice people and easy to deal with in-game. Khazuals from Khaz’Goroth on the other hand, strong guild, possibly ahead of EF content-wise, but led by an arse and so most of their members are arses. Other interactions are pugging and trade chat…there is a huge ‘brat’ element creeping into the game. The brats think they can do and say whatever they want, and because of the lack of policing on Blizz’s part, they can get away with it. I personally would much rather play with someone who is polite and under-geared, than some hard-core player who could probably solo an instance but is a complete jerk.

Exhibition: Guilds are an excellent way around the issues raised above. Establishing a network of friends from different places – communicating, working together, understanding and employing a hierarchy.

Redmoot: Guilds are a positive influence when you've found the right people. I've only been in a few in the 3 and bit years I've been playing, I've also been guildless quite a bit. It's the people behind the toons that are important and when you've found a few like minded people it's great. Guilds with a good structure (assigned roles and tasks, values that are considered important, simple rules to not be broken and action taken when broken) are a hugely positive thing but if you don't like anyone in it Get Out! It takes a while to find these like minded individuals but the reward is great, and it may take a few ginvites to find em.
Guilds that just pop up all the time and invite every Tom, Dick and Harry on the other hand are a waste of time and seem to be a breeding ground for fuckwits. But just like any society there are going to be groups of sheep that follow a perceived "cool dude" blindly.

Apathetic Dreams

Somebody is trying to kill me.
I’m not sure why. It started off simply enough – with the feeling that I was being watched. Often I would pause in whatever I was doing to the curious sensation that there was someone staring at the back of my head. Try as I might, though, I could never catch whoever it was. Sometimes I would feel the mysterious eyes in impossible places – in the shower, for example, or when I woke up in bed. It was a very unsettling feeling. Call me crazy, but somehow I knew that the eyes wished me harm, and for every day I couldn’t catch them, I got more and more uneasy.
I started to spend more time at home. I would hide away in my room, watching movies or television, browsing the internet. The feeling intensified. On the rare occasions where I had to get out and do things, the presence was right behind me. When walking, I imagined icy fingers grasping for my throat. When with friends, I imagined them all as conspirators – were they in alliance with the unseen enemy? I withdrew further and further into my sanctuary – but even as I did, the presence followed me in, slipping between the crack under the door as I bolted it securely, perching behind me on the couch as I attempted to lose myself in the mindless pixels. I was being tracked.
I began to doubt my sanity when I started to see him. Only glimpses at first – a flash of him in the mirror one morning as I stood shaving, a blink of his eyes in the reflections of glass. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks pale – in short, his face was horrifying to look upon, but the true horror was that he looked chillingly familiar. I began to see him more and more, shying away from any source of reflection that would allow him to look upon me. I knew, somehow, that his gaze was damaging – that to allow him to look upon me for too long would be a fatal mistake.
One day, I could take no more. I bolted my door. I covered my computer. I unplugged my television and hid it away. I closed the windows and blocked the sunlight. I even, to my shame, removed all my blankets and cocooned myself, a ball of quivering fear, on my couch. Now, I thought to myself, he cannot reach me. Now, I thought to myself, I can be free.
I remained there for three days. I took little food - only what I could dare myself to dash out and snatch from the fridge or table, eyes squeezed closed to avoid reflections. I took little water. I watched no television, I avoided the internet. I knew that the only way to drive him out was to hide until he moved on. To destroy him, I knew, I had to lie low. Eventually he would go and I would be free to live.
After the three days, I staggered to my feet, light-headed. I was filled with a wild excitement. Now, I thought to myself, now I would be free of him. I crossed over to the television, confident that I had at last destroyed the presence for good. I swept the cover off the television and looked upon the darkened screen.
There, upon the screen, was his face. It stared at me, eyes burning horribly, the flesh sunken, but most horrifyingly of all, it did not fade away. It remained, and it slowly dawned upon me that this was my reflection – that I had become this presence, this creature. And then, the final horror – it opened its mouth and spoke with my voice.
YOU HAVE DESTROYED NOTHING.
So I ran. I burst through the door, and tore through the streets, running and running, pushing my exhausted, horrified body to this new extreme. Panicked, I ran into the countryside, through the tall, dried grasses, past the withered trees, and I came across a small pool of water and here I could run no further.
I stumbled and fell, and in desperation I raised my head and looked into the still pool of water, and he was there. He was smiling now, triumphant – and I was transfixed like a mouse beholding a snake.
He spoke to me then, in a voice ringing with conviction. He sounded like a prophet.
YOU WERE ONCE FILLED WITH POTENTIAL. YOU ONCE CREATED EVERY DAY, AND DREAMED EVERY NIGHT. YOU ONCE HAD THE SPARK OF IMMORTALITY WITHIN YOU.
He began to grow, filling the pool, filling my vision. His sunken eyes burned into mine.
YOU COULD HAVE LIVED FOREVER IN YOUR CREATION. THE IMMORTALITY OF THE ARTISTS COULD HAVE BEEN YOURS. MICHELANGELO, DA VINCI, TOLKIEN. INSTEAD YOU HAVE FALLEN PREY TO DISTRACTION. YOU HAVE SQAUNDERED YOUR TIME IN HOLLOW MACHINES. YOU HAVE HIDDEN AWAY FROM THE WORLD.
His voice swelled to a shout, making my ears ring.
I AM HERE TO ENSUE THAT YOU NEVER CREATE YOUR MASTERPIECE. I AM THE SECONDS THAT PASS UNNOTICED BY YOU. I AM THE FORCE THAT DRAGS YOU INEXORABLY TO YOUR GRAVE, TO BE FORGOTTEN, AN INSIGNIFICANT LIFE IN AN INSIGNIFICANT WORLD. I AM HERE TO SEE THAT YOU ARE CONSUMED BY OBLIVION, AND LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND. I AM APATHY, AND I TIGHTEN MY FINGERS AROUND YOUR THROAT EVERY DAY OF YOUR MISERABLE LIFE.
Now he was all that there was, and I felt in my bones that his words were law.
AND I WILL NEVER FADE AWAY.
I remained on my knees, unable to drop his gaze. Instinctively I knew that he had nothing left to say. He was all there was for me now. I had squandered my potential in television and computers. I had stifled my creativity, and I would never leave anything behind for people to remember me by. He was my curse, my death, and my oblivion, and there was no denying him. What could I do in the face of that overwhelming aspect of human nature, that inexorable desire that drives us to spend our lives in absolutely nothing? What could I do?
I returned his gaze steadily, and said the first thing that came into my head. In its way, it was reply, denial, and exaltation.
“This would make a fantastic story.”
And just like that –
He was gone.

It Came From the Basement, Part 1: Teenagers

So, a friend of mine suggested to me that seeing as I use this blog for all manner of things, a good idea would be to interview WoW personalities for giggles. I thought about it and realised that I could actually make quite an interesting study of this. So I gathered up a few willing WoW players from different corners of Australia and I asked them a series of questions in order to get a peek inside their heads. As I'm writing this blurb at 1:34 in the morning, it isn't spectacular, but you get what I'm trying to accomplish. Here is the raw interview results:

In this interview we have Aero, Everblight, Lyko, and GT, who have kindly offered their assistance. Aero is an old friend who transferred servers a while back after being in my guild for some time. Everblight has been in my guild(s) for quite a while and is a firm friend of mine and Lyko and GT are 'real life' lovers who are in a seperate guild on the same server.

And your names are?

Aero: Considering the re-roll, Metaphor of Barthilas. Formerly Aerodynamic of Nagrand who was formerly Lashkraken on Nagrand.

Blighty: Everblight of Nagrand.

Lyko: Lykoris of Nagrand

GT: Greentalon AKA GT

How old are you in real life?

Aero: 16

Blighty: 16

Lyko: I turn 17 in 10 days. My guildies will be happy to know I'm almost legal. ._.

GT: 16

What class do you play on World of Warcraft?

Aero: Death Knight.

Blighty: A Death Knight, of eightieth level, naturally.

Lyko: Warlock - Fear isn't OP

GT: Hunter.

When did you start playing World of Warcraft, and what attracted you to the game in the first place?

Aero: I started playing WoW under my cousin's influence, back in early 2007.

Blighty: I started playing World of Warcraft around the time of the Ahn'qiraji War Effort (four years ago), as I was given a trial disk around that time by a relative that thought I'd enjoy it. Being naturally attracted to all kinds of RPG games, I loved it, and continued playing.

Lyko: I started playing WoW mid 2007. I'd been looking for an MMORPG to play for a while. Having exhausted all the fail-free ones I bought Guild Wars. The lack of jumping in guild wars forced me to bite the bullet and buy WoW.

I played for a couple of months, going from alt to alt before a hiatus. I came back mid 2.3 I think it was, bought Burning Crusade. And I've been with Lykoris ever since.

(:

Also at that time I was seeking to impress a certain Huntard with mah l33t skillz

GT: I started playing WoW when I was 11. I was attracted to it because I was addicted badly to Warcraft 3 at the time and liked playing warcraft so... world of warcraft seemed natural.

How long do you spend online a day? Would you deem yourself casual or hardcore?

Aero: Greater than six hours, fewer than 9. That would probably seem hardcore to non-WoWers, but it is deemed rather casual by those who play.

Blighty: I spend most of my time online, as I don't really do much else except read or play other games (Borderlands etc). Probably 6 hours a day on average, maybe? Perhaps more.

Lyko: Probably on and off from when I wake up to when I go to bed - excluding school.

And I dunno. More than a casual?

At first I was determined to not get sucked in. But that failed miserably.

In saying that, I'm not "Hardcore". I don't have multiple level 80s, I don't have millions of gold.

I'm on the Hardcore side of mid-range.

GT: It depends a lot, in the holidays I'm generally at home so I play a lot of the day unless there's something else to do. When school is in I play on and off between 4 and 7 hen solidly from 7 - 11. Also this depends heavily on assignments/homework blah.

Also depends on raid days.

Oh and I deem myself hardcore bro

Do you think that WoW is a negative influence on people or a positive one?

Aero: It's been a rather positive influence on myself, as I rarely eat whilest I play, causing me to lose a lot of unwanted weight. Towards others though, it's varied, and I'm not sure I can deliver a justifiable response.

Blighty: I think it depends. Some people, it definately has a negative influence on. It depends on when it becomes an addiction or reliance, and causes withdrawal symptoms, etc.

Well, I spend an awful lot of my time on it, but I can verify I'm not addicted. A psychiatrist I visit (for unrelated reasons) can back me up on this, and I suffer no withdrawal symptoms when separated from the game for extended periods of time.

So, I would say...

It's a positive influence on me.

Lyko: Both.

I find WoW to be wonderful. I've met many people through it. Some really good friends. Like, if I ever need a place to stay in another city, I probably have a place to crash there. Preferably not Sydney, I think Coolade would rape me.

At the same time, I find WoW to be a drain. Raiding is stressful. I'm cooped up in my room, away from my parents. I find I'd prefer to stay

inside playing WoW with in game friends than going out with irl friends. My school marks have declined rapidly (but that's more time management, I can't really blame WoW for it)

So it's positive and negative. I've met wonderful people I trust. But I've become a recluse for it.

Me: You don't think that WoW's influence is causing you to manage your time poorly, or is that just you?

Lyko: It's kind of genetic for me to have poor time management skills. Dad and I are constantly getting in the shits for leaving things to the last minute.

I think my love for WoW made the issue more apparent.

People try to blame WoW for issues. Hell everyone does. Columbine? They listened to Marilyn Manson. Virginia Tech? Probs played a violent video game.

The thing is, all of these people had

underlying issues.

So it would be unfair to blame WoW for my own foolishness.

And more fair to blame my GM Coolade for being a slave driver.

GT: I think it has both effects but negative outweighs the good. It's good when you're playing and having fun, but you feel the negative effects when you're offline and realise that you fucked up a lot of stuff to play wow. Like some friendships and some things you may be missing out on. Like maybe friends or just normal teenager crap.

I said friends twice.

Cause I;m smart.

SEE WHAT WOW HAS DONE TO ME

Overall, how do you consider the view society has on WoW? Is it fair?

Aero People that hate on WoW are one of two types of people. People who quit, or people that have never played it. The former have fair opinions, where as the latter has no fucking say in the matter.

Blighty: I think it gets more flak than it's worth. See, other things, such as religion, have the worst examples (terrorists) taken and presented as the minority, but basement-dwelling WoW addicts are considered by society as the norm, which is unfair.

Me: So you think that WoW gets judged unfairly on the minority?

Blighty: Pretty much. These examples exist, but everyone is judged based on them.

Lyko: It's kind of hard to answer this question without relating back to soceities views on video games in general.

Obviously the negative view will get stronger as the realism is ramped up.

Humans are a very violent species. It's just natural. Soceities laws are repressing this instinct so many turn to video games. (imo)

And also we seek the next big scare. Video Games offer that.

This of course sheds

a negative light on video games.

People want to blame violence on video games.

Often a time it's parents complaining. That lil' Johnny is going to grow up to be a murderer because his parents bought him a game such as GTA or Resident Evil or CoD.

Who's fault is that?

I believe with the right restrictions (not the stupid "IF IT'S R18 IT'S BANNED" retarded crap Australia does), video games can be

fun and enjoyable.

And lil' Johnny won't grow up to be a murderer unless his parents are absolutely retarded.

Back to WoW

WoW bares the brunt of the negative views because, like it or not, it's a mainstream game.

It is the best MMORPG out there. It dominates the market. It WANTS you to know its name.

So people pin the blame on the most obvious target.

And it's not right. Because let's look at it.

WoW has poor realism. There's not much Gore. There's no guns (of the real variety). There's nothing overwealming violent

about it.

So, tldr; Soceity has an unfair view on WoW.

Me: What do you say to the suggestion that it has a debiliating effect on individuals because of addiction, rather than any controversial themes?

Lyko: Not going to beat around the bush. Yes, it does really affect people.

But if you weren't addicted. If you didn't look forward to playing it. If the lore didn't drag you in. If the gameplay wasn't so excellent. If you didn't live and breathe WoW...

Then Blizzard isn't doing their job.

It's their job to provide you with an addicting game.

And they've done it brilliantly.

Kudos to Blizzard.

GT: I think the view is skewed a lot. People just view it negatively because people say it's addictive so they automatically link addicting to bad... like drugs lol. But it's the exact same thing most families do, come home, grab something to eat and sit in front of the tv all night. Same thing just diff console and outlet.

Do you have any plans to leave WoW? Have you ever considered it?

Aero: I have, but then I re-rolled a death knight. Magic happened.

Blighty: At one point I actually did leave WoW, I just got bored of it for no well established reason. This was early BC. I rejoined late BC. To-date, I've had no thoughts of leaving. Unless boobs are involved somehow. But that's unlikely.

Lyko: I did mini-hiatus towards the end of last year. Last term of year 11 and all.

I would log in, do dailies, whatever.

But I didn't raid.

So it made a massive difference. My grades slowly dragged themselves up.

I'm planning to do this again this year due to year 12.

If all goes well Cataclysm will come out when year 12 ends, freeing up time to level and gear.

GT: I have considered leaving for grade 12, but I think I would just find something else to do all night instead of homework so I'm just gonna cut down a fuckton on my gametime.

Start doing exercise. ;\

What do you have to say about the social dynamics of the game? How do they differ from ‘real life’?

Aero: Well, the thing with any kind of internet chatting, is the ignore button. In WoW, if someone starts to ignore you, you can simply ignore them and never converse with them again, but in 'real life', they won't stop unless they receive a swift jab to the bollocks.

Me: So you find the ability to ignore people at will a powerful social tool?

Aero: Yes.

Blighty: The social dymanics are pretty similar to real life, I suppose, following rules of generosity and good behaviour and whatnot. Though the population of asshats is disproportionately large to that of real life, and crime is all but impossible, so law enforcement is obviously not an issue.

Me: Do you have anything to say on the guild system?

Blighty: Yeah, it offers positive social interaction, unless it becomes (as it sometimes does) gangland warfare, with the pewpew and the roflcopters falling from the skies and bursting into lol, with the grammar police and the F.B.I. 4chan divison stalking every corridor of the darkened halls we call the realm forums. My server in particular has been quite prone to drama for some time, but even then, the vast majority of guilds are positive social breeding grounds.

Lyko: On the whole, it's pretty similar to real life. We are, after all, dealing with real people behind the pixels.

You have all your professions, which people dedicate time to like a job. The market place is similar. etc etc

And as much as we like to ignore it, erotic role play or cyber is a common and quite human / real thing.

When the Corrupted Blood incident (google it, it was a Vanilla incident) occured, scientists actually commented that it would make a good study, as players acted exacted as they would in real life.

A brilliant example of how real this game is.

At the same time, being in an online world can bring out the worst in people. It is ridiculously easy to forget the human behind the pixels.

Ninjaing items, harassment, etc

But this is a human thing too.

I cannot say that the social dynamics of the game differ from real life.

And I love the guild idea. We are the online version of a club.

It's a great way to meet like minded people.

Sort of like, going to a coffee bar and meeting people.

GT: The social dynamics are interesting because I think it's a lot easier to make enemies and friends, because people don't feel threatened as much on wow as it's the internet and they hide behind their avatar. Guilds can be great and bad, they're a great environment cause people like being apart of something together but everyone treats guilds differently. To work as a team or for individual gain.

If you have too many individuals it doesn't work.

Like any team I suppose.

Also people take great pride in their guild usually which is another interesting thing...

I'm not making sense so, GO ON.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Aero: I like turtles, the holocaust was a lie, Richard Dawkins mother fucker, deal with it, anal beads.

Blighty: Well, I'd like to thank you for intervOHGODBEES

Lyko: 1) Join Awaken. We're awesome.

Except that Coolade boy.

2) Buff Warlocks

3) Fear isn't OP

GT: For the Horde?