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The living game and the end of nostalgia
The downside to being the equivalent of a WoW immortal, having played close to non stop for the entire history of the game, is that you see a lot of things come and go. Guilds, players, friends, raids, dungeons, zones, expansions. It was all new once, and it all eventually isn't new anymore. And as a result, although I have in the past waged wars of words against nostalgia among the WoW playerbase, I can be as guilty of it as anyone. There are, indeed, a great many things I miss. Some of them I get to see whenever I want, like Blackwing Lair and Un'Goro Crater, others are players who stopped playing, playstyles that are no longer valid (I loved and will always fondly remember the days of fury tanking Stratholme for my guild Eldritch Way over on Kilrogg, then taking the technique into raiding on Azjol-Nerub with Sworn, fury tanking in MC, BWL and AQ before finally speccing prot to tank Naxx) and even places that are just plain gone now. The other day, while doing my weekly scouring of the Barrens I realized that ever since Cataclysm, the zone I remember is gone, baby - Mankrik's wife is buried, and the days where I rolled a horde and leveled it to 60 just so I could attack my own guildmates when they raided the Crossroads are just as buried as she is.
WoW Moviewatch: Culling of Stratholme
Warning: This movie will contain spoilers if you have not completed the instance titled Caverns of Time: The Culling of Stratholme.You can think of The Culling of Stratholme by shadowline1990 as a "cover video." Basically, he took the in-game events that take place during the instance of the same name, and applied a more cinematic feel to them. He opens with a current-day shot of Stratholme, complete with Scarlet Crusaders wandering by. Then, in a cut scene, moves to the argument between Arthas, Jaina, and company.While the storyline obviously isn't unique or original, the way the author shot the events is much more attractive. I was apprehensive at first, but the new video creates a great deal more emotion and gravitas to the events. It was the contrast of present-day and pasty-day that really won me. I will admit, though, I'd avoid face-shots of Jaina. The eye-rolling thing human females do in-game makes them seem flaky, and it did detract a little from the video.I'd definitely encourage the author to keep advancing his skills. He has an eye for applying good shots and emotion to his subject matter, and I hope he advances the story in an interesting, new direction.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch
