World of Warcraft killed our gaming group!

[Kid Socrates]

I really think anything has this potential. Video games, dates, girlfriends, wives, kids, work, sports, television shows... WoW is more prevalent because it's hugely popular, and because it's close to tabletop gaming in conception (and with the World of Warcraft RPG, which I recommend), they're going to talk about it around gaming. I've got a player that does that, because we all used to play before my girlfriend and I quit WoW earlier this year. I quit in shock after finding the /played command, which shows how long you've played that specific character, and on my level 60 paladin I'd played for 28 days of the last year. Spending almost 1/12th of my life on one character in one game was terrifying, but only ranking sixth in that list in my casual guild sealed the deal.

But because WoW is like D&D in some regards, and because a lot of us play/played it, it became conversation before and after games. Granted, I can only hear about group tactics in a high-level raid once before they make my brain go numb, but we could talk about troll origins and Northrend until my ears bled with joy.

So I wouldn't waste time hating WoW. I'd talk to them if you wanted, and let them know that their actions are hurting them outside of the game, at least in regards to the game and friendships.

 

[Krelios]

I don't see it as a problem once the novelty of WoW wears off for your players. I have played an MMORPG ever since the beta of EQ1 and it's never been a problem (through EQ, UO, DAoC, CoH, Eve, EaB, CoV, EQ2, and WoW). I play when I feel like, which is usually every night, but if there's a possibility for real human interaction, I take it.

I currently play WoW about four hours every night, but we still have our weekly game and friends still come over to hang out. I'll admit to a bit of pre-game WoW chat as we wait for players to arrive, but once we get started there's not a word of it.

 

[WizarDru]

Actually the similarities aren't even funny anymore: They have to keep spending money to get their fix, they shut down their social lives, some even stop going to work (I had such a case - though that guy has always been unreliable and not right in the head). And there have been cases where people died from an overdose.

No, they didn't die from an overdose, they died from neglecting their personal well-being. If they'd done so with alcohol, it wouldn't have even been worth noting. People do stupid things and any sufficiently large population will have such incidents. Have a NFL playoff game in the middle of a snowstorm and there will invariably be people who volunteer to shovel out the stadium who lose fingers to frostbite and folks who catch pneumonia and die while waiting for tickets or running around without a shirt in facepaint while drunk. That isn't the NFL's fault any more than a couple of obsessive Chinese WoW fans playing the game for 72 hours with no sleep suddenly having heart attacks and dying. It's a sad fact that children are neglected across the world ALL THE TIME...but somehow it's different when they do it to play WoW or EQ than if they're alcoholics, junkies or sociopaths. How is it different? It's new and makes for great soundbites.

That's the conundrum here: Are you guys lucky to find the few that are okay, or am I unlucky and for some reason every single WoW player I know personally or hear from from people (I trust) who know them personally has become insufferable since starting to play.

But for me the fact is that every single WoW player I know of (1st- or 2nd- hand) is a complete nut about it. Really. I haven't met a single guy who won't shut up about it. Maybe some of them don't mention the game, but I think sooner or later they'd mention that they play, without going on about it for hours.

Considering there are more than 6.5 million subscribers to the game, I'm guessing that you've met plenty and didn't know it. My newest player didn't know that the rest of the group played some sort of MMORPG for weeks, since it didn't come up except during pre-game chat, which he often arrived late for. Consider how many people on this very forum are WoW players, who DON'T discuss it here, for example.

One thing you have to consider is that many of WoW's designers PLAY D&D. Many D&D players ALSO play WoW. It's not a zero-sum equation. That your DMs have foregone D&D in favor of WoW says that you had a group that clearly wasn't really enjoying D&D very much, and furthermore that your group apparently consisted of a bunch of inconsiderate JERKS. Not letting your fellow players know that you won't be attending a scheduled session because you've made other plans is just plain RUDE. This may be because that the players in question, the DMs, actually are enjoying PLAYING for a change...but there's no excuse for picking up the phone and calling. Millions of players worldwide manage to not obsess over said game. WoW isn't the problem, it's a symptom.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

No, they didn't die from an overdose, they died from neglecting their personal well-being.

If you're done splitting that hair, may I have that splitter for a moment?

It's not a zero-sum equation. That your DMs have foregone D&D in favor of WoW says that you had a group that clearly wasn't really enjoying D&D very much, and furthermore that your group apparently consisted of a bunch of inconsiderate JERKS.

Not really. It consisted of some nice people and a couple of inconsiderate JERKS. It's the minority. But the thing about minorities is that they can often drag the rest down.

WoW isn't the problem, it's a symptom.

I guess you're right. I was pretty angry at the whole situation. The fact that they weren't like that before WoW makes me think that I'm entitled to at least some anger at WoW, and the same for all the obnoxious players I met.