A vacation from MMORPGs

September 4th, 2007

During my two-week vacation last year (2006), I spent many an evening playing World of Warcraft (for which I’d just reactivated my account) on dial-up while my one-year-old daughter slept in a room separated only by a curtain. My delight in exploring the genuinely different workings of each class (I leveled “one of everything” to ten) and pleasure in playing with real-life friends kept me interested and engaged (and up late).

This year, though I had my laptop with me, I didn’t run WoW even once. I spent a great deal of time online via dial-up (mostly for work), but not one moment of it related to MMORPGs. I didn’t even bother to make my once-every-four-days mooncloth or once-daily arcanite.

And I didn’t miss it for even a second.

This doesn’t entirely surprise me. Although I very much enjoyed hitting 70 and the whole process of leveling, I had begun to realize that the time:reward ratio was getting worse and worse. I’d eagerly anticipated some serious PVP time, but after a few attempts I began to realize that my crappy gear was a liability. And the prospect of having to do badly for long enough that I’d earn competitive gear made the whole thrill of PVP start to feel like a treadmill rather than a challenge.

Now, I know that MMOs are designed as treadmills. The most rewarding treadmill is leveling to the level cap, as almost every level grants you new abilities or power improvements to play with. WoW’s reputation grinds are less pleasurable. You have to stay on a rep grind’s treadmill for a long time to get the best rewards. But some of the rewards are good enough that a serious player might justify the time investment.

(Ironically, I know most people see leveling as an obstacle to be overcome to enjoy the game. In truth, though, I think the vast majority of players actually enjoy leveling most. They may not be the most vocal on the various discussion boards, but most players, once they hit the cap, will either start leveling another character or will find another game.)

For myself, though, I’m just not motivated by the idea of having the rarest pattern, mount, or suit of armor. I like ones that give me an edge in gameplay, of course, but once you’ve got 98% of the “edge” you can hope for, investing the same amount of time all over again for the final 2% just doesn’t interest me.

So I’ve begun experimenting with other MMOs. I’m in the beta for Tabula Rasa, and I’ve downloaded demos for Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and even Sword of the New World. I’ll have separate posts about all those, of course, and I may actually sign up for any one of them. The prospect of leveling up in LotRO or DDO has tempting elements, although taking a real, extended vacation from MMOs so I can really indulge in board games, other computer games, card games, and even non-game relaxation has great appeal as well.

Quitting an MMO used to seem like a terrible prospect. Having invested time into a character (or several), it’s hard to let them go. But now, because you can always quit an MMO and count on your characters being there if you decide to come back, I’ll be canceling my WoW account soon. I’m almost certain I’ll be back when the expansion comes out, to enjoy the leveling process. And before then, I’ll take the time to enjoy any other MMOs that catch my interest. (Pirates of the Burning Seas seems the most exiting to me, but it could turn out to be terrible.)

But having take a break from WoW, I’ve learned a lot about what I want from my leisure time. I want fun. It doesn’t have to be easy fun, but it better be genuine fun. If not, I’ll be moving on to something else.

For those of you out there who have quit, how did it feel? And what are you doing now?

Entry Filed under: Massively Multiplayer