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Cover Story: It Came From Outer Space!

Harry Correll


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Chrono Breaker
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Sex: M     Age: 27
Spartanburg, SC

What I'm Playing

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Minecraft

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Milkman megadude83


Clean slate.

Posted: October 24, 2011

Holy shit, this stuff is embarrasing.  Amazing what two years will do.

I think it's time for a purge.  Be right back, starting over. 

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Posted: April 16, 2009

Okay, listen up folks, this is a long one. But I feel I really need to explain a few things about raiding in World of Warcraft.  Or really, any games that takes up our time.

And, more to the point, how it can affect the way we operate in reality.
Because really, the more you know, the easier it is for everyone.

The note is not directed towards anyone, and it's purpose is to spread awareness of how these things go down.  I'm not bitter towards anyone at all; I just want to set a few things strainght, and make sure everyone is seeing eye to eye.

First thing to address: THE PEOPLE FACTOR.
    Try to understand that these things are not something to be taken lightly; there's a 10 man requisite for the EASIER version of the dungeons, 25 for the tougher versions, and absolutely none of them are computer AI.  Each and every one is another player, each with their own goals, schedule, and path in life.  And each one of them is taking time out of their day to raid the shit out of wherever they might be going.  It's a lot to ask them to stay the whole way, because a raid dungeon usually takes a few hours to do. So the least one can do is stay with them as well.  A 'needs of the many' plus "equilvilent exchange" kind of deal.
    Plus, there's the whole teamwork issue; raids are usually consisting of the same folks.  they know how the fights go, and they know how to complement eachother.  That kind of synchronization is simply not possible with a Pick-Up Group, which consist completely of utter stangers of varying skill and preparation.  And about 60% of the time, replacing a usual member with a random pug (different term, same idea) throws a wrench in the entire process.  A clock doesn't work quite right when it has one cog that doesn't fit; and it's get worse when you have multiple cogs out of alignment.  And this usually lead to having to pick up slack from the oddballs, which can lead to wipes, which leads to more time lost.

Which actually brings up my next point: RAIDS ARE A TIMESUCK.
    Anyone who's ever been to one will fess up to this one indebatable fact.  A good group of players who are decked out completely in Epic level gear (Which is the best stuff you can get) can usually clear out Nexus, one of the first instances you can attempt in the latest expansion of WoW, in about half an hour.  Heroic Nexus, an hour.  Jumping to the endgame stuff. Naxxramas?  3.5 - 4 hours, and that's if you're pushing hard and know the strategies to every fight and don't wipe even once.
    Which is why it's hard to plan these things, because they almost never go that smooth.  And even if they did, that's still a lot of time to take out of your schedule.  Which, incidentally, is why we do these things in the evening.  Which, yes, unfortunately, is when everyone else is socializing or going out drinking or whatever.  That's our punishment, I suppose; but it's not like we do this every night.

Which brings up my next point: THE LOCKOUT.
    The main reason that we try to stick together and get as much done as we can is because the dungeons have a week-long lockout period.  And we get saved to them.  Which will probably take some more explanation.
    Let's say you're going through Naxxramas.  Everythings going swimmingly, you clear every boss, nobody dies. You reach Kel'Thuzad, the final boss of the dungeon.  But something comes up, and you have to bail.  Nothing wrong with that, reality takes precedence over a virtual world.  But the rest of the group finds a replacement and takes Kel'Thuzad out.  They're done.  And they can't enter the dungeon again until the next scheduled maintenence, which is the following Tuesday, since the final boss is dead.
    But you weren't there.  He's still alive for you. And you're ready to smoke that bitch.  He drops that axe you've been vying for for the past few weeks.  Well, you can't just bring in the group you were with; they finished everything, they're not allowed in.  So what do you do?  Find another 9 people (most likely PUGs) and take him out?  Ideally, yes.  But let's be realistic: you know how many people are willing to do that kind of thing?  Nobody's going to help you.  Because they'll get saved to your instance, which only has the ONE boss, and when he gets taken out, they'll be locked out too. And for what?  So that one guy they don't even know can see if his axe drops?  Fuck him. (And that's the mindset of the common raider, for the record.)
    So long story short, you can't just drop off where you are and pick it up later.  Not unless the whole raid is willing to do it.  All 9-24 other people.  And chances are, they'd rather keep trucking, because 8 times out of 10, they're not gonna have the time to do it the next day.  And you'd have to find willing replacements for all the ones who can't make it, which takes up even more time.
    In summary, all I'm saying is if you drop, you get left behind.  You get left behind, you're essentially fucked out of making any more progress or having any chance of getting better gear out of that instance for a week.  Do you see where I'm coming from?

Speaking of gear: THE REASON WE DO THIS.
    Most raiders have been playing since the early days of WoW, back in the times when men were men, women were men, and children were FBI agents. And even if they weren't, getting your character to Level 80 (which is, at the moment, the current experience cap) takes a lot of time, and more importantly, dedication.  When you hit Lv80 is when you start truly playing the game; you do what you want, whenever you want, however you want.  But gear is an important thing in the game, because it's what lets you do whatever you want to do, better.
    We're not just going in to pwn a few bosses for the fun of it.  We're doing it because these bosses drop the best gear we could ask for, because it makes us better players, and because better gear usually means more respect for your skills and efforts.

    I'm not going to lie; I sometimes feel blessed that I haven't had to deal with a real relationship with a woman I care for. Because statistics don't lie, and statistics say that raiding causes a lot of problems between the player and their significant other, unless they're playing together.  Sometimes, yeah, it's the players fault for not spending anough time with them, or not giving them enough attention.  But sometimes it's just as much the fault of the other half; they don't understand why their better half puts so much time into a game. And they voice as such.
    Let me explain something, and this is important.  The worst thing you could say to someone who takes this kind of thing seriously is that "It's just a game."  You're just asking for drama, frustration, and an argument, all of which I hope I can prevent and end right now:
    Not to be an ass here, but guess what?  So is Football.  Soccer.  Golf.  Tennis. TABLE TENNIS. There are lots people out there (even with Table Tennis!) who are completely hardcore into these things, that take a major precedence in their lives.
    So explain to us how these are anymore important or acceptable than what we do. They all have just as little a point, in the big scheme of things, as World of Warcraft, Halo, Smash Bros., D&D, or hell, Pokémon or Chess.  But why are they accepted more readily?  Because they're more active?  Because their skill set is more physical?  Fuck that.
    Raiding in WoW , or doing any video-game related activity on a acceptably competitive level, requires a shit-ton of focus, concentration, and mental skill. After a good night of raiding, my mental facilities are completely drained.  I don't want to think, talk, argue, ANYTHING that requires me to use my brain any more than I need to. I just want to sleep.
    And how is that different from playing a game of soccer?  Soccer is exhausting in exactly the same way, it just effects a completely different system.  But the symptoms are the same: I don't want to think, talk, argue, let alone do anything that requires me to expend any more physical energy than I need to.  I just want to rest.

        See how similar they are?

So where am I wrong?  Where are we wrong?

I may have pissed off a few folks, but something needs to be said.  Make of it what you will.  And let me know what you think; I'd love to hear things from the other side.

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New Beginnings.

Posted: January 22, 2009

Another year has passed, and I've yet to write a single thing about what I enjoy doing. (Edit:  Holy shit, it's actually been two years since I last dropped a blog here!)

Not that many read this particular gamer's site, but just the same.

Not at SCAD anymore.  Now a blacksmith's apprentice, which is still awesome.  And I've been trying to keep my thumb on the gaming pulse.

And this stuff with 1UP getting bought out was a shocking surprise for me.  I have nothing but sympathy for everyone who was affected negatively, however much that measn to them from a nobody they've ever known.

But, I don't know.  This past year has been full of shocking moments like this.  Moments that remind me that I need to grow up at some point, that life isn't going to stop.  I've got to figure out what it is I want to do for the rest of my days; because as much as my friends and family are excited for me and my blacksmithing opportunity, I'm not sure I see myself on down the road banging on metal.  It's just not how I want to live my life.

One thing I need to do is to start pushing myself.  Actually push my limits and see how far I can go. So that maybe I can grow up, you know?  Be a better person.  Show some ambition for once in my life.

I'm not sure how much I can do right now to accomplish this goal, but I know where to start; I'm definitely going to write more and practice my drawing more.  I have ideas, so many ideas, that I need to start putting down on paper; ideas I want people to see!  I know most people do it for themselves, but right now that doesn't make sense to me.  Maybe it will in time, but for now I want to know what others think.  I want them to know what I believe, and I guess in a grand scheme of things, I just want more people to know I exist. That's the only way to descirbe how I feel right now.

So expect to hear more of me in the future.  I've got to get started sometime, and time's a'wasting.

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