As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve given up on the World of Warcraft. At times, I found the game to be a supremely entertaining way to spend time with a small group of friends. But the closer I got to the lofty level 60 plateau, the more I became aware of the discontinuity between the early-to-mid game and the end game and the havoc it played with the game’s established social order. I played witness to a disconcerting exodus of experienced players from our small, tight-knit guild to the sprawling raid and PvP guilds.
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I’m skipping the April Fool’s shenanigans this year in favor of regular content. Here’s a quick summary of a what I’ve been up to recently.
I’ve cancelled my subscription to the World of Warcraft. Blizzard’s take on the MMO was a refreshing break from the pack in the beginning. Though the game opens strong and holds interest through hundreds of hours of play time, it loses momentum at the end game. I watched the disturbing spiral of a once-strong guild hemorrhaging members as players scrambled to stay interested with life after 60. I’ll add more on my experience later.
Barco sent me to Washington D.C. on business. It was only my second time in the capitol, though I expect another opportunity in the near future. A smooth demo Monday morning freed up time for sight-seeing Monday night. I enlisted the help of friend and local, Jane, who proved to be an excellent guide. (Many thanks!) Dinner at the Raku Asian diner in Bethesda and a comprehensive night-time tour of historic downtown rounded out a very pleasant evening.
With tax season in full gear, I decided to file electronically for the first time this year. For all the IRS, Intuit, and the like are preaching the benefits of e-filing, I wasn’t impressed with the experience. After the $30 fee to TurboTax and extra follow-up paperwork, I feel like conventional filing remains a better value.
Mom and Dad both celebrate birthdays within a week of each other in March, so I took the opportunity to pay them visit. I treated everyone to a nice dinner at a local favorite, La Bamba, in honor of the occasion. We also took time to renew old Cribbage fueds and discuss plans for a summer trip to Vancouver.
The fourth installment of the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion, was released in late March. After a solid week with the game in hand, I’m confident that the game lives up to its pedigree. Bethesda has successfully enhanced and streamlined almost every facet of the game. Now, if they could only do something about those ugly faces in character generation.
That’s all for now. See you again soon.
