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Azeroth Interrupted: WoW couple success stories
Each week, Robin Torres contributes Azeroth Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with WoW. Last week, we talked about some basic guidelines for having a successful WoW playdate with your significant other. This week I want to talk about some examples of couples playing WoW together.From last week's comments, we have a few success stories and one not so happy ending. Diana received a tiny red dragon for Valentine's Day (I want one!). Scott and wife, fellow SWG refugees, have characters they level together. Erica and husband watch fireworks in Stormwind together and and play a bunch of duos (an excellent idea). And Jasperwind romances his betrothed in Azeroth and bought her a pretty dress there.Rudathin coaxed his bride into playing and highly recommends dedicating characters for duoing. You can read about their exploits in their blog. (RP Alert) He also directs us to The Daedalus Project where there is actual hard data supporting WoW as a "place where existing RL ties are being strengthened." Dan, I'm sorry to see that you did not have a positive experience playing with your girlfriend. You are better off without someone who has a wandering eye. Playing WoW together can enhance a relationship, but it won't change people from their true nature -- however much you may want it to.This brings us to my very first piece of reader mail. (Yay!) After writing my first Azeroth Interrupted, I got a great story from Baroes and Reighlei.
Azeroth Interrupted: The couple that plays together, stays together
Each week, Robin Torres contributes Azeroth Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with WoW.First of all, I would like to apologize for my lack of column last week. I may be good at balancing real life with WoW, but I have yet to master balancing anything with illness. I'm feeling a lot better now and looking forward to a WoW date with my husband, after not having played for a week. Are you snickering now? Do you think that virtual romantic outings are unforgivably geeky? Well, if you don't think playing a video game makes you a bit of a nerd, go argue it out with Gabe. Those of us who are comfortable in our geekiness will be here when you get back. Regardless of the dork factor, sharing any hobby is a great way to keep a relationship going, particularly when the hobby is as time consuming as WoW can be. Today, we're talking about established couples, not couples that are just starting a relationship -- WoW dating is a different topic which I will discuss in a future column. I've already talked about getting a girlfriend/wife to play WoW, so this is for couples who already both play WoW. I'm also not saying that WoW dates should replace romantic dinners and other traditional togetherness activities. But having romantic "outings" in WoW are a fun, low-cost way to supplement the other things couples do to keep things interesting. Spend your quality time together any way you like, but it's best to take care of the fundamentals to get the most out of it:Make an Appointment: Set aside a day and time beforehand and don't be late. You both will appreciate having something to look forward to and the convenience of being able to plan around the session. Do not "play it by ear". This will make the person who is ready first feel neglected waiting for the other person to become "available".
Azeroth Interrupted: How to get your wife or girlfriend to play WoW
Each week, Robin Torres contributes Azeroth Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with WoW.WoW players do have girlfriends (and boyfriends and spouses), contrary to the taunts heard in The Trade Channel and Barrens Chat. Many Players even play WoW with their Significant Others, but often, players have trouble getting their significant others to join them in their hobby/addiction. In general, the problem lies with the girlfriend or wife not being a gamer. Following are some tips for getting your lady to play WoW.First of all, have you tried the sincere, straightforward approach? Just throwing out "Well, if you played WoW with me, you'd understand." here and there is not the same thing. Neither are hints or endless stories of how much fun you're having. Try saying something like "I would have more fun playing WoW if you joined me and I think it would be a great way for us to spend more time together. It would really mean a lot to me. Would you please give it a try?" If this doesn't work, it is time to analyze and tackle her objections."It's just a stupid game." Take a deep breath -- don't let it hurt you. She probably isn't a gamer and sees computers as tools, not sources of fun. Easing her into games is a very good approach to counteract a lack of interest. Be patient, this could take several weeks. Start her off with a simple and addictive solitaire game like Bejeweled. Once she catches the bug, and this is a double edged sword, move her onto something more complicated that has a wide female fanbase, like Sims 2. This will introduce her to the fun of character creation and a minimum amount of roleplaying. Once she grows tired of this, she may be ready to try WoW, but if she still resists, introduce her to your favorite single player roleplaying game. It can be an old one. The quality of the graphics is not as important as the gameplay (which is arguably always the case), and your passion for the game as well as your interest in how she is progressing will be flattering and encouraging.
How to get your girlfriend to play video games
Speaking from years of experience, we know how hard it can be to get your girlfriend interested in playing video games. Granted, it might be impossible to drag her into play-til-dawn Halo 2 sessions online, but dropping into casual gaming with a Wario Ware: Smooth Moves round or two is entirely doable. Need some tips? Wikihow has an entry up on how to get your girlfriend to play video games, which offers up some gender stereotypes like this: "Don't get games that involve things like strippers, prostitutes, and sex. Unless she has a really good sense of humor about such things, she probably won't like it." Well, where's the fun in that? Oh, we keed, we keed. True, most of the article is common sense, and it might actually be helpful to some of you out there who have had a hard time getting your significant others interested in jumping into the game with you. However, some of it is just plain whacked, like explaining to your girlfriend how to stretch and uncramp her hands. If your girlfriend doesn't know how to do this already, then you've got more serious problems.For those of you who need a girlfriend in order to find this article useful, check out Wikihow's hilarious "How to get a girlfriend if you're a nerd" entry. We're not sure whether to laugh or cry. For all of you female gamers out there, let us know how they could improve this entry, and don't worry about being gentle ... blast away.[Thanks, WebPimp]
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI Wii-ward
Must ... resist ... urge to use "Thwii" pun ...Now that we've sufficiently girded, here's the news: the PS2 Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI is getting an enhanced port on the Wii, to be released in Japan on March 21st with the enhanced title Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power-Up Kit. Along with the obvious Wiimote functionality, the game will be getting some new gameplay modes and scenarios.After trying to figure out the first NES Romance, we swore the series off forever. Kudos to those of you who managed to play these things.[Via GAME Watch]
More ESRB ratings found for Virtual Console
The ESRB ratings website is a veritable treasure trove of nuclear launch codes, CIA secrets, and unannounced Virtual Console games. Recently, ratings have popped up for Mighty Bomb Jack, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire. While not all of the ESRB rated games have yet arrived on the console, it's fairly certain that they'll get here eventually.In addition, Super Ghouls n' Ghosts was announced not only for the Wii, but for the 360 and PS3. This would make it the first game to be released on all three systems' classic download services, which then brings up silly flame wars and pointless arguing.But seriously, the Wii version will totally be the best.(Note: The GameSpot article mentions that Galaga was also tagged for release, but we actually caught this back in January. We rock.)
Wii Warm Up: Conning and coaxing the one you love
A recent article in Women's Health apparently suggested that the ladies should join their fellas and pick up a controller, because that whole shared interests thing is really good for couples. We agree, though we think things tend to be easier if you're lucky enough to find a significant other who's already a gamer. Either way, the Wii offers a little something for almost any gamer, whether they're an old salty dog or total fresh meat, and that seems like it would be a great thing in enticing one's non-gaming significant other (of whatever gender) into trying something out, at least for a little while. Or if you're already coupled with a gamer who simply has different tastes, has the Wii helped you to find a happy medium? Valentine's Day is less than a month a way, so we want to start the romantic mood early with your lovelaced Wii stories.
LF Romance and Fellow Gnome Killer
Is it a joke, or a guild leader's dream? This ad appeared on Chicago's Craiglist classifeds in the "women seeking men" section.Someone out there is a 60 Troll Priest looking for a troll or orc "Warrior, Rogue, or Shaman to fight in honor for Thrall in the lands of Azeroth." Apparently her parents wouldn't approve of a cow or corpse. But she does claim to have a black war raptor, and has hobbies like disenchanting "useless garments."So if "slaying of self-righteous paladins and squishy gnomes" is your thing, drop the anonymous email a note. She might just be making fun of you-- or it might be Epic (or even Legendary) love (that's a +12 spirit drop!).Just in case Craigslist thinks it's a joke and deletes the ad, I've reprinted it in full after the jump.
Breakfast Topic: Romance and WoW?
I hear about a lot of drama, usually caused by excessive WoW playing -- and a huge amount of the drama involves couples. Whether you both play, or the gaming is one-sided, it seems rare that trouble doesn't occur in a relationship. Of course, it's not just WoW that can cause rifts like this, but the popularity of the game means that drama seems more widespread than with other titles.If you're part of a WoW couple, how do you manage your time together and time online? How have you persuaded your non-gaming other half that staring mindlessly at a computer seven days a week is a healthy hobby?Personally, my partner doesn't play games, and I feel very isolated from him when I play. Especially when I turn down dinner because I'm scheduled for a raid, and numbers are tight. As I only raid a couple of times a week, this isn't a big problem, but I can imagine the love lives of those in hardcore guilds may be less fortunate.
"Love Detector" service now available for mobile matchmaking
We're not quite sure that the type of person who uses Nemesysco Entertainment's home or PocketPC (pictured) versions of the "Love Detector" service is out and about all that much, but the Israeli company has nonetheless released a mobile alternative that lets you discover your crush's innermost feelings while chatting on your cellphone. Already "wildy popular" in Israel, "Love Detector" allows you to dial a certain number before calling your intended target sweetie so that the company's server (and no snickering employees, we're certain) can eavesdrop on the coversation and calculate (with deadly accuracy, we're certain) four key parameters that supposedly determine your chances of mating. After the call is over (or the other person hangs up on you), the server delivers a text message to your phone that helpfully breaks the complicated analysis down into plain English, and even more helpfully, offers advice on how to proceed ("Love is detected! Proceed with caution!" or "Never call this person again, you perv."). Besides Israel, the precision service is unfortunately (?) only available in Turkey, Hungary, and the UK for now, but we're sure that once our US readers begin deluging Nemesysco with pleading emails, they'll have a version for the States in no time.[Via Shiny Shiny and Gizmos for Geeks]
