When is Enough...Enough?

Wow , it's been a long time since I've posted. I was hoping to post, atleast weekly on here, but sometimes real life and game life get in the way and time is limited. Of course, I don't know if anyone even reads this..lol.

I think generally, most people start playing W.O.W to have fun. It allows us to escape into another world. A world where we can leave the struggles of real life behind, if only for a few hours. We become a character, and we create our own story. We set out on our quests, somtimes alone and sometimes accompanied by our friends. We are challenged by other players, we are taunted by monsters. Our battles are always epic, even if we are not always victorious. All this in the name of fun...pure enjoyment.

What happens though, when the game becomes too serious? When the enjoyment we once had in this game, slowly deteriorates? I've seen game drama ruin relationships. I've seen friendships destroyed, all in the name of progression. I've seen guilds fall apart from things like unfair loot distribution and raid spots. What happens when it becomes more stressful to log in then to not? When is enough, enough ?

I've had both real life friends, and game friends stop playing for these very reasons. These were people who invested so much time and energy into this game. A game that once brought them so much pleasure, became a source of frustration and stress. It makes me question, what is the breaking point? When do you log off, never to log on again. When is enough....enough ?

Yes Virginia, There are Girl Gamers...

Just to give an introduction of myself...I began playing W.O.W. almost 2 years ago. My main character is an 80 level Human Mage on the Altar of Storms realm. I am one of the few people with a woman toon that actually is a women myself..lol. I would have never considered myself what you would call a "gamer" in the past, unless you would consider Mario Brothers and Mortal Combat hardcore gaming. W.O.W is the first MMORPG game I've played so let's say I've come from very humble beginnings. To say I was a "noob" when I started playing this game is a great understatement. I didn't even know how to move my character by using the mouse...lol. To master that took me alot longer than I would ever be willing to admit. Luckily, the wife of a good friend, took me under her wing, so to speak, and "showed me the ropes" . I will always be thankful for that, because if it wasn't for her kindness and patience, I probably would have quit this game within the first week. Thank you Alchie :).
It still amazes me, that I have and continue to spend as much time as I do playing this game. My first character was a female, dwarf rogue, who I only leveled to 12. I can say that I didn't enjoy playing a rogue. I believe it's because a rogue isn't a simple toon to play, especially not as a first character choice. It wasn't until I started leveling a mage, did I enjoy playing this game so much. So, this blog will be mainly about my experiences as being a mage in this crazy World of Warcraft that we play :)