Escaping Into MMORPGs

I am very rarely bored…

… until lately. And actually, it’s more a restlessness than a boredom. I want to be up DOING physical things, and that’s a no-go. I’ve started to do leg exercises several times a day to keep my right leg from getting too weak– but that only gets a gal so far.

A few weeks ago, I downloaded World of Warcraft onto my gaming laptop. I played off and on between 2007 and 2011 depending upon our funds and interest, and I thought I’d check it out. I expected the graphics and such to be better… and they were a little. Mostly still kind of cartoony. I tried it for free (up to level 20 for a few characters) and realized that it bores me now. It’s too juvenile, essentially. I wanted more sophisticated storytelling. Looks like I’ll be uninstalling that game!

Then a sale came on Steam (gaming platform sales) for 50% off Elder Scrolls Online. Well, I LOVED LOVED LOVED Skyrim when I had it on console (I still have it, but online updates are crazy, and I sort of gave up on it…) $10 buys you the basic full game, and NO monthly subscription! W.O.W. still expects a $15 a month payment (after the free levels) and I just can’t afford that on the new budget I have to make up for my soon-to-be lower alimony payments. But a one-time payment? Sure! One can pay more for the latest expansion with fancy stuffs, but I don’t need all that.

So– I installed E.S.O. a couple of days ago and checked it out. And I’m very pleased! Great graphics. Nice storylines. OPEN world– you can wander anywhere and the monsters are fairly leveled for you. I have 4 characters at level 3 to 4 already! The races are cool too– Bretons (like British), Nords (Nordic Vikings), Redguard (African-like), High Elves, Orcs, Dark Elves, Wood elves, Lizard people, Cat people, and “Imperial” or Roman-like.

My only bitch is that it’s VERY easy to accidentally kill friendlies starting out while you’re getting used to running around, and there are consequences for that (or stealing with witnesses around) and a bounty is put on your head and Guards in cities will try to kill you unless you have the gold to pay your bounty. Lots of players were getting chased by guards in “starter cities” where new players congregate. I have 2 characters on hold until the heat cools down, as bounties go down over time, luckily. Otherwise, I’d have to delete and start over- a pain in the ass for sure.

I prefer to play alone unless someone I know is playing. I don’t spend enough time on these things to get into Player’s groups or whatever. And I suck at dungeon crawls. Too chaotic and I get confused and end up screwing over other players by my ineptitude– OR I freak out and quit in the middle because I can’t take the pressure any more! I’m nearly 50 and don’t have the hand-eye coordination of young kids who play these things after all!

Lots of fun, but I have to watch out for sitting still too long or tensing up or any of a number of things that could make my pain issues worse. But today, I got another sun headache (that didn’t become a migraine) and had to find a way to relax and pass time until the sun went away. Holing up playing a game helped pass the time. I’m getting tired of TV! Also, I notice the scary stuff in games pushes my boundaries just a little, and sometimes it’s nice to surprise myself that I can actually tackle that stuff and come out on top.