I'm Virtually Burned Out

World of Warcraft is the largest and most popular MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) in existence today. It is estimated that at any given time, hundreds of thousands of users are logged on to the system. People, some of whom I've met in person and worked with, have become massively addicted to the game. They delight in traveling great distances through the gigantic virtual world, or accomplishing quests that involve defeating creatures and collecting items.

Me? I just couldn't really get into it.

I tried, you see. Around this time last year, I downloaded the WoW application and logged on to my free trial account. I traipsed across the world, killing small trolls and collecting trinkets. But it never really 'stuck' for me. I never was able to become really engaged in the virtual world.

I think I burned myself out when it comes to MMO games by playing an online MUD all through high school. This was a text-based dungeon, similar to the "Zork" games but with multiple players. I took two characters (a ranger and a necromancer) all the way to level 50 though killing NPCs (non-player characters) and roleplay. I must have logged hundreds of hours on the game, staying up late into the early morning on weekends.

After that, the prospect of "bumming around" a virtual world again simply doesn't appeal to me. Especially a graphical one. All I can think about is the expressive power of plain text when it comes to role playing. That, and the fact that I never figured out how to make virtual friends in these virtual environments.