WoW's rules are standard issue: Pay-to-Play, Earn Points destroying beings who deserve to die or who asked for it (“Raids”). Use Points to buy stuff; sachels, magic potions, armor, gear, and even little tag-a-long pets. Become High Scorer.
When it comes to fairy tales, myths and legends, WoW gets the gold star for having done its homework. Anyone can be an elf, a shaman, a witch or a warrior reagent with powers beyond those of mortal humans – if one pays, plays and stays long enough to hatch a compulsion of course. Not your mindless game of solitaire from where I've been sitting. One easily slips into the cyber reality of WoW, especially if the game is being played on a large screen computer. The audio and visual effects are mesmerizing.
Down at the nitty gritty level of WoW one finds the other players aka the other characters. Raids are done in teams of several – these monsters/creatures/targets are mighty powerful. There are a few one-on-one type battles but there aren't many points to be gained from those efforts. And no glory, either. And no marks. Found myself becoming a mark from the side chair the other day – I was the one marked Outraged. Two of the players began discussing the swinging lifestyle. Player One was encouraging Player Two to give it a try. Player One shared that his wife was bisexual and that they hooked up with a school teacher who was really hot and who he got to screw. Upon hearing that last bit of information, this mark's mouth started running involuntarily. I began arguing with someone who was unable to hear a word I was saying. Arguing passionately for discretion when it comes to public announcements of private activities, particularly of a sexual nature and in mixed company (which there was). My young friend shrugged and said “live and let live”.
What cans of worms have we opened by permitting privacy to become obsolete?
