Unabashed

I just cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription, and I am suffering a little tinge of regret. I played for one month , canceling just before the free trial subscription ended, and advanced my character, during sporadic game sessions that usually didn’t last very long, to level 21. There was still a long way to go, and I’m kind of sad to abandon Kodus Kahn the Orc Rogue to sit indefinitely insubstantial in the corner of an Inn in Orgrimmar. But I don’t play it enough to justify spending the $15 per month. It is a sometimes thrilling game, but it is often slow and tedious, and… well, I’ll miss it.

Why am I canceling? For the same reason I don’t keep ice cream in the house: because I’ll eat it when I don’t need to. I’ll eat large portions of it, because I love it, can’t get enough of it, and soon enough I’ll be buying elastic-waisted pants. I have enough addictions without adding another one. So. Maybe I’ll give it another go in a few months or years, or maybe Kodus will just sit there forever, wondering if he’ll ever feel the spark of life again as my fingers tickle the keyboard that is his life.

Everyone I’ve talked to about WoW has had some story about someone who lost their job or got divorced because of the game. Everyone. I’d never even heard of the game, knew nothing about it, until a friend and coworker suggested it. This was the same guy who suggested back in 2000 that I give Unreal Tournament a try and it became my favorite game for a few years, so I took his suggestion seriously and I went and bought it. But UT was before I had children, and I had all the time in the world, it seemed, to play my fingers raw. Now, I can’t imagine losing my job because of a game. And to lose your wife? Your family? For a game? Not only can I not imagine it, it’s impossible to me, and I feel sorry for people who have sunk so low.

So, anyway: So long Kodus Kahn, it was fun for a while, and maybe I’ll see you again sometime. I’m going back to playing NCAA ‘08 (at least until ‘09 comes out) for an hour at a time when I get the chance. It doesn’t cost me any subscription fees and it’s fun just to play against the computer. Turn it on, turn it off. Wipe your hands and walk away. My kind of game.

Does anyone else think the Under Armour commercials are homoerotic?

written by Matt Mitchell