Project Lore

So... How you been liking Noblegarden and Children's Week? Is it putting you over the edge? Making you crazy? Racing around for eggs then doing PvP /beggin for people to play nice?

It's a bit insane really. So much to do in a short time all for the opportunity to get a Violet Proto-drake. Of course I'm right on track for it too, with each world event done up until now and only two more to complete, but it has had it's cost.

You see I do my best to play as fair as possible given the constraints of the game, but I will admit Noblegarden got the better of me. In fact I'm not sure I acted as noble as my new title implies.

Near Ironforge, in the small little town of Kharanos, I camped a few egg spawn locations for about an hour or two one evening a few days after Noblegarden began. I was furiously clicking on spawn points as two or three other people were clicking on the exact same points.

They began to get upset with me after my clicking was too fast for them, saying I was playing unfair and that those spawn points were somehow theirs. I just turned off my chat channel as kept clickin.

Eventually I got all my loot, but the whole thing got me wondering...

I could see how those other people might become upset. The set up of the event is such that this sort of competition was certainly to ensue as some players became more despirate. Truth is I was there at those very coordinates as the server clock struck 12:01 AM and I clicked for two hours on those spawn points, two full days before the little exchange those people thought they were having with me, so I suppose there could be an argument made that they were my spots to begin with since I truly found them first, but that's not the point.

I am sure there were thousands of other exchanges like the one I had (and they continued to think they were having with me after I turned chat off) that were happening across every server. The conversations made me remember a favorite phrase other 'players' have which is "Don't hate the player, hate the game.'

I could see that statement somewhat true in this case but I think it's more accurate to say "Don't hate the player or the game". Why? Because it's a freakin game and you know what you're in for when you start.

Most of the players knew what they were in for when they began. On the first screen it says basically - pick horde or alliance. Right from the start, the game pits you against some other faction else for no other reason other than that's the game. Period.

And who makes the game? Blizzard. So those who chose to play the game are at the will of those who make the game. Period.

If you don't like the game, don't play. But if you do like the game, take it as it is and play it for what it is. Even though I can play checkers and chess on the same board, when I play chess, I play by chess rules. It's as simple as that.

Now some of you may remember that I am not a particular fan of the PvP server aspect of WoW. So what did I do? I switched servers. Done. That aspect of the game I can choose and I did so now I'm happier with the game.

But then the Children's week "School of Hard Knocks" achievement comes along and makes me want to crush some Blizzard skulls.

But... that's the game, and they made it, and I chose to play it, so there you go. Blizzard gets to say what the game is and that's that. If I don't like it, I can take my money and go elsewhere.

Sure Blizz makes concessions to make the majority of their paying fans happy. No one wants to harm their cash crop. But Blizzard knows that the game and many aspects in it have to feel like a challenge in order for people to feel the accomplishment of achieving them, no matter how long it takes them to do it, much to the financial pleasure of Blizzard.

I don't begrudge Blizzard for having to pay to play the game. It's worth the money in my opinion so I do not dislike them for the quality product they have made, nor do I personally dislike any of the people who play the game for being horde or alliance.

Now how is this all a life lesson? Well let us see...

If you join the armed services ( which by the way - more power to you and stay safe), then you are aware that there are certain rules before joining. You may not know all of them, but you have a good idea that someone else will be telling you what to do for the next four years and you have to do it or you'll be in the brig. So it's their 'game' ( if you will, not that honorably serving the USA in military service is a game by any means), and it is their rules, and you have to play by them or you can go somewhere else.

If you join a corporate job and they tell you you have to wear a suit and tie or a long skirt and flats, then that is what you do... if you want to play that 'game'. It's their 'game', you choose to play it for whatever reason, so you choose to play within their rules.

If you join 'X' and 'X' tells you to do 'Y', then you do 'Y' or you can't play with 'X'. 'Y' may be a made up rule, completely arbitrary, but if you want to stay in 'X' you have to do 'Y'. Either that or go find a 'Z'.

So don't hate the player or the game, whatever it may be. Each player gets something from playing and the people who made the game get something too.

Either way, It is by choice that you stay in the game, and it is that same power of choice that you can use to leave it if you want.

So play your game, within it's confines, and allow others to do the same, and when it's time, you can choose to leave the game if you want to.