Welcome Muffett and Tuffette to Azeroth!
After several days of trying to match our schedules , my mother and I finally had the opportunity to log in together for the first time and create new characters in World of Warcraft together! She has been playing her baby hunter on Borean Tundra on her own but we still wanted to have some characters to play together when time allows. It also makes it easier for her to learn when someone is walking her through stuff.
We had a bit of a rough start because she misplaced her password and didn't know there was a box asking if it was "OK for Blizzard to make changes to her computer" for the patch updates. LOL! It took about an hour of troubleshooting over the phone until I finally figured out why her battlenet launcher kept saying, " Initializing" . I did not realize how many things come first nature for me in regards to the entire process of playing world of Warcraft. There are a lot of things I take for granted! You do not realize how much of the game is "trial and error" and research based until you are trying to teach someone who has never played Warcraft, an MMORPG or even a video game in the last 30 years. The last game my mom had played was Frogger on my parents Atari and a very brief stint of Super Mario Brothers that ended after running Mario into the first gap in the ground and dieing OVER AND OVER ! She did it at least 15 times in a row and made my sister and I want to pee ourselves so very badly! Now, after years of hearing me talk about it on my podcast, at family gatherings, and with friends, she decided to give World Of Warcraft whirl. ! Ha! It was hilarious to say the least and I was truly happy and humbled to be joined by her in game. She knows I have played for 8 years, but I don't think she every knew why, until the other night...
We are Role playing as little Gnome Sisters on an RP Server
and
We are rolling WARRIORS! RAWR!
I think one of the things that brought her the most laughs was the ability to emote! The first thing I did to her in game was run up and do the /chicken. Here is a handy list of emotes you can do in Warcraft if you want to broaden your emote abilities!
She got a huge kick out of the /dance emote because lets be honest, these new gnome models are totally adorable and even more so when they are dancing. It felt really good to hear her laugh the way she did . It had been quite a while since she got to really get a chuckle out of something. Everyday is rough for us as we make our way through the fog and different stages of emotions that grieving brings. There is something about being able to touch in with your child like side that completely outshines any darkness the adult world can bring you. I think that is what gaming offers many of us. That opportunity to fly in a world where we are without wings. It is a world where you can stand side by side with others just like you to conquer horrendous beasts instead of lowering your head as you walk past the bullies of life hoping to go unnoticed. It allows people to climb mountains when life has them feeling like they can't even climb out of bed. It allows shy people to flex their voice and it allows followers to become leaders. It allows you to sneak in a laugh or two in between the tears, and that is why I am so happy to introduce my mom to gaming and to World of Warcraft.
I think that this popular cliche often gets overlooked.
During the last couple, days following the World of Warcraft Expansion Reveal, and todays "Live Warcraft Q&A" from Gamescom, there has been quite a debate once again on social media. There has also been a lot of excitement and joy, and for that I am pleased! I have never understood why people think that berating, threatening, and attacking others will ensure that they get their way and that their voice will be heard and respected. I find myself feeling like I am in the middle of two very different reactions for the same game. I look to my left and see the absolute amazement for Azeroth through my mothers reactions to this new and fantastic world. I actually feel quite proud of my home away from home as I take her on a tour of the place. THEN I look to my right... I see people who seem to spend more time out of Azeroth dissecting, scrutinizing, and complaining about the game and its developers, than actually playing the game.
I seem to see and hear, "EVERYONE FEELS THIS WAY! WHY ARE THEY NOT LISTENING!?" regarding game development and game developers. I can assure you that not everyone feels the same about anything in this world, pixel based or not. One woman's/man's trash is really another woman's/man's treasure. The same game someone is spending the majority of their free time scrutinizing is another persons escape, paradise, and source of complete entertainment!
Everyone needs to call it a night in Warcraft, so I showed her how to tuck her little Gnome in bed!
The night ended with the famous words, " ITS ALREADY GOING ON 1 am!?"
I assured her that this wouldn't be the first time.
I bet my mom never thought she would be staying up late and "Warcraf-ting" with her daughter as much as I never thought I would be "Warcraft-ing" with my mom!
Well that is all the time I have for today's post as my babes will be waking up from their nap soon!
My final thoughts on the matter I put into a graphic :)
Esme out!
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