Smoke the Sky Away

this is the last semester of my masters. which means that this is the semester in which I am to write my thesis. as usual I have picked a subject that others might depict as weird or unbusiness like, but to me it is very much business. it deals with a field that is growing as we speak, to such proportions that it more than qualifies to be investigated. I am going to research creative consumption in online games, more specifically World of Warcraft.

If you did not know, I have been playing WOW for 5 years. And it is more than a game, it's a social system within itself. When you begin to play, it takes on such a power over you than you actually need it every day. You can be whatever you wish, a knight in shinning armour, a grumpy dwarf, a jolly gnome or a graceful elf. The choice is yours and helps you wash away the dissapointments of the real world. In the world of the game you have more power than in the world in which you were born. But ultimately, you do need to remind yourself that it is just a game, otherwise you won't be the one with the power, but you will be the one controlled by your needs to be all that you are not.

might sound a bit gloomy, but it's true. in the beginning I was addicted to WOW, I needed my daily fix. Now I see WOW as more of a recreational activity. I don't think WOW is a bad thing, I still love the possibilities it offers in terms of storytelling and roleplaying, but all that seems to have died away a bit since the start of it all. Now it's more about who has the better items, or who deals more damage.  So needless to say that I will try and capture that lost side of WOW through my thesis. :D