Post by duri on Jun 8, 2008 14:09:07 GMT -5
Hello again... and goodbye, at least for now.
Its not something I planned, it just sorta happened
In MMORPGs I have noticed that I never really make a conscious, thoughtful decision to stop playing; rather, I just wake up one day, notice that I have little desire to log in, and so I break my habit and dont. Then, after many days of not logging in, I realize that I have little desire to start playing again (relative to other things in life). Thats what happened here. Its not like I woke up one day and thought "I am going to quit any not tell anyone", haha In fact I only realize that I truly lost interest when I look back and reflect on why I havent logged in for a month or more.
I think I lost interest for a few reasons. First, with the new baby's arrival (and little Duri's second birthday last week), we have been really busy the last month or so. Even in the winter and spring, I would log on and before I could even play, I would have something in real life distract me and I would auto-log out, without ever moving my character or talking. That had been happening a lot, and it was far worse after the new baby arrived and Mrs Duri needed my help. Basically it seemed like I never had 20 minutes straight, much less an hour or two... which makes it almost impossible to play. What time I did have was almost exclusively in the morning and early afternoon, when its very hard to find groups, and the few people who are around were afk almost as much as me.
Second, I am an 'explorer' type player, and frankly after playing LotRO for over a year and a half, there just wasnt anything much left to explore. Even Forochel seemed more of the same. And the best, most interesting things required a group, because of my time constraints, that was very difficult. The raid content was about the only thing left that was new and challenging, and it had become clear that it would be very hard for us to go further in the Rift, and indeed there wasnt really a consensus to do so. Which is perfectly understandable; everyone plays the game for different reasons, and raiding isnt everyone's favorite thing - including mine. But since that was one of the few real goals I had left in the game, it reduced my desire to play even more. And since I had already reached the Balrog encounter, and seen the Balrog, it wasnt that big a deal for me (as compared to if I had never gotten that far).
So I cancelled my LotRO account the other day. Just happened to think about my account, logged in to the account, and saw that it was renewing literally the next day, and after talking to Mrs Duri, decided to go ahead and cancel. I can always renew in the fall when the expansion comes out, if I am feeling more inclined towards mmorpgs then. Right now I am playing some strategy computer games because its so much easier just to hit 'pause' anytime I want and disappear for an hour. Or maybe I will try Warhammer when it comes out (I liked DAoC a lot,although the Warhammer world doesnt appeal to me as much). Not really planning on giving Conan a try, hardcore pvp games demand so much time, and plus I have some severe doubts about the maturity of the Conan player base, even on an RP server.
Thanks to the folks who befriended me and the other Cardolan Covenant players. Lady V, who often was the only other guildie awake during the day and so we talked often, and Rhav who led those expeditions into CD and the others who went with us, and of course all the people who went into the Rift time and time again. And also the people who crafted for me or gave me the honor of using one of my crafted items. Many thanks to you and all the kindnesses you showed Duri and Ceol. If we didnt talk much, well understand that I try to avoid IMs in general (especially on non-game issues), and have no interest in Ventrillo (unless there is no other choice, like raiding) because to me it just ruins the immersion aspect of the game which is so important to me. Which I totally understand is a very different perspective than some of you, that use these avenues for real-world socializing.
Since my account has been cancelled, I cant access in-game mail (and havent done so since April). Even the forums I dont think I have looked at since I quit logging in, but I will try to remember to check this thread. (of course I was also going to remember to clean out my in-game mail, and house, and vaults, and look how that worked out, haha). In any event, I wish you the very best, in Middle-earth and elsewhere. Good luck, and may the Valar bless your journey!
Duri & Ceol
Its not something I planned, it just sorta happened
In MMORPGs I have noticed that I never really make a conscious, thoughtful decision to stop playing; rather, I just wake up one day, notice that I have little desire to log in, and so I break my habit and dont. Then, after many days of not logging in, I realize that I have little desire to start playing again (relative to other things in life). Thats what happened here. Its not like I woke up one day and thought "I am going to quit any not tell anyone", haha In fact I only realize that I truly lost interest when I look back and reflect on why I havent logged in for a month or more.I think I lost interest for a few reasons. First, with the new baby's arrival (and little Duri's second birthday last week), we have been really busy the last month or so. Even in the winter and spring, I would log on and before I could even play, I would have something in real life distract me and I would auto-log out, without ever moving my character or talking. That had been happening a lot, and it was far worse after the new baby arrived and Mrs Duri needed my help. Basically it seemed like I never had 20 minutes straight, much less an hour or two... which makes it almost impossible to play. What time I did have was almost exclusively in the morning and early afternoon, when its very hard to find groups, and the few people who are around were afk almost as much as me.
Second, I am an 'explorer' type player, and frankly after playing LotRO for over a year and a half, there just wasnt anything much left to explore. Even Forochel seemed more of the same. And the best, most interesting things required a group, because of my time constraints, that was very difficult. The raid content was about the only thing left that was new and challenging, and it had become clear that it would be very hard for us to go further in the Rift, and indeed there wasnt really a consensus to do so. Which is perfectly understandable; everyone plays the game for different reasons, and raiding isnt everyone's favorite thing - including mine. But since that was one of the few real goals I had left in the game, it reduced my desire to play even more. And since I had already reached the Balrog encounter, and seen the Balrog, it wasnt that big a deal for me (as compared to if I had never gotten that far).
So I cancelled my LotRO account the other day. Just happened to think about my account, logged in to the account, and saw that it was renewing literally the next day, and after talking to Mrs Duri, decided to go ahead and cancel. I can always renew in the fall when the expansion comes out, if I am feeling more inclined towards mmorpgs then. Right now I am playing some strategy computer games because its so much easier just to hit 'pause' anytime I want and disappear for an hour. Or maybe I will try Warhammer when it comes out (I liked DAoC a lot,although the Warhammer world doesnt appeal to me as much). Not really planning on giving Conan a try, hardcore pvp games demand so much time, and plus I have some severe doubts about the maturity of the Conan player base, even on an RP server.
Thanks to the folks who befriended me and the other Cardolan Covenant players. Lady V, who often was the only other guildie awake during the day and so we talked often, and Rhav who led those expeditions into CD and the others who went with us, and of course all the people who went into the Rift time and time again. And also the people who crafted for me or gave me the honor of using one of my crafted items. Many thanks to you and all the kindnesses you showed Duri and Ceol. If we didnt talk much, well understand that I try to avoid IMs in general (especially on non-game issues), and have no interest in Ventrillo (unless there is no other choice, like raiding) because to me it just ruins the immersion aspect of the game which is so important to me. Which I totally understand is a very different perspective than some of you, that use these avenues for real-world socializing.
Since my account has been cancelled, I cant access in-game mail (and havent done so since April). Even the forums I dont think I have looked at since I quit logging in, but I will try to remember to check this thread. (of course I was also going to remember to clean out my in-game mail, and house, and vaults, and look how that worked out, haha). In any event, I wish you the very best, in Middle-earth and elsewhere. Good luck, and may the Valar bless your journey!
Duri & Ceol
