The Games we Play

Currently distracting myself by trying to link up as many towns as possible whilst playing OpenTTD. There is something very therapeutic about building bus routes and watching your mini cities grow.  It’s one of those games you suddenly get the urge to dig out and immerse yourself in and it doesn’t matter if you can spare 5 minutes or five hours. Of course, I start playing, planning my future moves and then Mr Harpy spots what I’m up to and promptly joins and builds a massive rail network across the middle of my map. Railway hogs aside, I do love the multi-player aspect of it especially as you can both play cooperatively  for the same Transport company.

I’ve pretty much given  up on SW:Tor because it’s lacking something for me and Dragon Age: Origins always begins to pall once I hit Ostagar. That said I did drive through a place called Cullen yesterday and found myself secretly smirking. As it happens, it has a rather pretty beach.

Candy Crush is still stuck on my phone, it’s tremendously annoying but has almost cured me of chocolate completely. I’m beginning to hate the encroaching horrible stuff.

This weekend we’re off to Ireland for a few days and then I suspect on our return, we might be returning to WoW. The plan is to roll two new characters on a new for us server and to see if we can rediscover that feeling of “WoW!!!” as we wander around. Of course my desire for the <HordeBreaker> title has played no part in this decision any more than my need for shiny things such as baby Val’kyr and mini Hydras. I mean I’m not that easily swayed. Honest!

Mixed Musing

My dabbling in SW:Tor has made me realise a few things.

Firstly I love the conversation choices and wish all games came with them. Even without having them influence the story too much, it allows personality  to shine through which in games like WoW where you might play through quests as many as 50 times (if you’re a true altaholic) would be wonderful. If you’re feeling snarky because you’ve just been presented with your 10th poop quest in as many days, why can’t we reflect that in the way we talk to NPCs. Although given how I’d treat daily quest givers… maybe it’s no surprise that feature hasn’t been added.

Secondly, space ships don’t really do it for me. I want gothic architecture or verdant forests full of cute critters.

I suppose that’s a round about way of saying I miss WoW which as a matter of fact I do. I’m planning on coming back to grab a Qiraji Guardling just because….. whether or not I’ll stay will depend on a few things. The new pvp changes have me tossing and turning. Equality in terms of pvp gear doesn’t bother me in the slightest, my blue geared alts have taken on plenty of purpled up characters and won. No my issue is that of progression. I like to tick boxes and seeing your stats rise is a massive part of WoW, at least it always has been for me. Without that, I’m not sure the game will still have it’s draw. Sure, there is the raid finder but I’ve got a enough sources of stress and negativity without adding a voluntary one to the mix. A casual guild might work but given the sort of work I’m going to be doing, there will be some nights when all I want to do is crawl into a ball and others when it’s a case of sod killing pixels, I want to take my rage out on other players in battlegrounds. We will just have to see.

That said, if I return to WoW in any serious sense, I don’t think it will be as a healer.

 

It’s a small small world: For Matty

I knew I’d seen that mermaid before, yep, this one.

Picture borrowed from Pat Fish

It’s been bugging me ever since that post, dancing just out of reach, twisting away every time I reached for it. Then with blinding clarity it came to me when I was reading your last post on muses, those most fickle mistresses. It wasn’t the tattoo I recognized but the stone carving along side it. My in-laws live around eight minutes away from the museum which houses the original. Sometimes the world seems so tiny, it makes Azeroth look huge.

Finding a Melusine on a Pictish stone stood out, although not enough clearly. Coupled with the fact that the comb and the mirror are common symbols on these stones, it makes you wonder if they knew something we didn’t.

My latest Distraction

Inspired by a comment left by the Dancing Hare, I thought I’d dabble in SW:TOR and much to my surprise I am actually enjoying the story so far. It’s weird because I hated the gated fixed leveling zones in WoW but yet here I find myself sinking into the story telling rather than focusing on the fact that everyone playing my class experiences the same beginning. The fact that I’m playing solo probably helps, wanting to play say a Worgen and then being stuck for 14 levels when you want to quest with someone who refuses to play a Worgen got frustrating fast. Not sure how long the “ooh” factor will last but then since I really really really want to kill the guy who keeps giving me quests, I suspect I’ll be enthralled at least to the point where I either get to slaughter him or the game designers disappoint me by making him turn out to be okay after all.

I’m also playing through Dragon Age: Origins as a Mage yet again. I could pretty much do my harrowing in my sleep by this stage. Although what normally happens is I burn out by Ostagar and run off and make a new character but this time, I’m determined. I have goals in fact. I will actually finish the damn game, seduce Leliana and make Alistair marry Anora.

On the flip (WoW) side, I’ve found myself missing Sprout to the point of starting to sketch gnome faces, trying to decide whether a plushie would work best with a painted felt face or one built out of embroidery and fabric. Not convinced I actually miss playing the game though.

Swan Song

This probably won’t come as a huge surprise but Sprout decided the stresses and strains of a world about to be torn apart by war (yet again) really wasn’t for her. Instead she packed her backpacks and headed off to join the Darkmoon Faire. Wrapped in purples, conjuring shadows for curious passers by who stand and watch for a moment before hurrying off to the safety of the firelight might not the life she imagined for herself but as long as she doesn’t stray in the woods, at least she knows she’ll see what passes for dawn on the Darkmoon Isle.

Yep, I’ve stopped playing WoW. There are many reasons why. In the next few months I’m starting a new job, we’re buying a new house (the exact one is not yet decided but it will probably need work on it) and in the autumn I’m starting another degree course (part-time because I haven’t totally lost it). My new job whilst masquerading as a 9 to 5 will be more than that, given that it’s all about helping those who need it the most. The house will cut our daily journey to work but not entirely as we’re going seaside idyll over inner city streets and studying as I want the first I narrowly let slip through my drunken partied out fingers the first time around will take effort and dedication.

Of course it’s not that simple, a girl still needs relaxation and had my long lasting love affair with WoW still been as strong as it was at the beginning then this post wouldn’t have been necessary. Whilst I’ve loved certain aspects of Mists, other bits have pushed me away as hard as green fronds caught in a first date’s teeth before you sit down to dinner and now, when free time is so precious to me, I don’t want to spend it getting frustrated in battlegrounds or grinding dailies for a few more points. Instead I intend to paint, to cook, to draw, to sew, to read, to walk by the sea and to ride. I’m sure there will be other games, I’m tempted by Guild Wars 2 just for a casual look and Candy Crush is firmly ensconced on my phone. I’m also excited by the thought of Dragon Age III and maybe curiosity will push me back to WoW at some point. I even have a secret hankering for board games.

As for my blog, well it’s been a blast. My intention once the aforementioned house is a reality is to return to blogging about crafts and cooking and random things which catch my magpie eyes. The title of said blog may mention Harpies and possibly even nests because you can’t change your nature. In the meantime, I doubt this one will remain completely silent (leopard spots and all) and I even have some weird idea about finding the time to finish all the posts stuck in my drafts folder.

Of course I won’t be disappearing completely as I need something to do in my lunch hour and so, I’ll still be popping up now and then and posting random drivel disguised as comments on your blogs! The bald truth is without the community, I’d never have lasted as long as I did so thank you ❤