Evening Entry: One Azerothians old Content is another Azerothians Stranglethorn Sunset! Blaugust Entry #8

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!

Warcraft Opinion Entry & Diving into #Blaugust! Blaugust Post #4

Happy Tuesday to you!

Today started out with some great music off of spotify. I found an EDM playlist that got my house pumping while I pretended to bust out the beats from my DJ booth (aka my stove) to my husband and babies . Who knew pans of scrambled eggs and bacon could make such amazing sounds :)

So I came across a tweet a few days ago asking what this hashtag #BLAUGUST was all about and I admittedly had no clue. I looked around and found that there is a blogging contest that takes place during the month of august. It caught me by surprise because I had just decided to make the commitment to blog everyday so this just makes it easier for me to really want to get my thoughts out there. They seem to have no problem flooding my mind while I sleep, or while I'm cleaning but when it actually comes down to sitting in front of a screen to pour my thoughts out I find myself procrastinating.  So I joined in the event with every intention to complete it and the good news is that you can play catch up this year unlike last year,from what I have read. I have a couple posts to finish I had actually started but I did not get to finish. Wish me luck! If you would like to participate, here is the info: Blaugust Anook Page .

GAMING related Opinion stufffffs:

           Please don't be like that cute puppy!

Twitter was a buzz with anticipation to see what the Blizzard-Activision Second quarter numbers were today. I snooped around and found that it hit the internet pretty quickly and Blizzard claims it actually did better than what hey had anticipated with 5.6 million subscriptions. Part of me doesn't understand the hype that goes into waiting for such information. It seems more appropriate for those types who love a juicy bone to chew on as opposed to someone who likes to pick the meat they want off of the bone and call it good. I tend to just take what I want , what fills me up and makes me happy. I guess I kind of approach this situation that way too. I enjoy myself in the games I play regardless if they go up or down in profits. I also don't slow down to spy on an accident on the highway. I say a prayer for those involved and their families and I keep driving. I really don't take any joy speculating on the failure of any person, place, or thing..( unless they are just an all around asshole. Then I might smile if they trip and fall >:D ).  Maybe I am just not curious enough or invested enough to care, but I find myself not really feeling the need to jump aboard the "blah blah downer hype train." Yes there are a lot of people who are not happy with this expansion but there are a lot of things to do in Azeroth that previous expansion offered and I bet a lot of us have not completed. I for one, was just thinking yesterday about knocking some stuff off I missed out in Mists of Pandaria. I had just given birth to baby moon when MOP launched and I was more interested in my new precious baby than I was grinding rep to get mounts and now I want to go back and work on that too.

I have heard people say, "I don't want to pay $15 dollars a month to just do old content!" Well that's fine and good for you but in my opinion if you have never done it or seen it , it is still new content . There are so many things that we have not seen or done in Azeroth yet it gets brushed off by those who's appetite is never satiated. Sometimes I feel people get swept up in the attitude of those they play with or look up to. In my opinion, it is OK to be critical. I believe  a certain amount of PRODUCTIVE criticism shows passion for what you love. I find that when you are critical about every angle of something you used to love maybe you just need to move on to something else as you may have outgrown your interests. Seeking new interests could bring you more joy than trying to force something into the shape of your expectations.  I think that many people become lazy  in regards to being entertained. I believe that you have to be proactive in seeking your enjoyment instead of being spoiled and waiting for your exact demands to be fulfilled and delivered in a nice package on your lap. 

                                                 

When you log into Azeroth you make the decision to run around and go,"I HAVE NOTHING TO DO!" or you can Google some mounts, achievements, or content you haven't had the chance to do. Blizzard has even tried to help grab your hand and lead you to try new aspects of the game with these weekend events and time walking and even the little guide that pops up reminding you of stuff you can do in game as your character progresses.  If all of that sounds tedious to you, then honey I am sorry to say, maybe you are looking in the wrong place for what it is you seek. Maybe you are just pining for times in your past? Maybe you are failing to realize you have changed and what the game has to currently offer is no longer your type of game or entertainment?

I'm sure you have heard the cliche, " You cant squeeze blood from a turnip" ?
Well I would like to say that you can't squeeze a MOBA from an Azeroth and you can't squeeze an FPS from an Azeroth.

If your time and tastes have changed it might just be time for you to explore new lands or at least go on vacation so that you don't pee on everyone's parade.

Well that's my quick take, I have dinner to make!

Esme out!