Escapism does, indeed, get a raw deal in the media. But then “escapist nonsense that makes us forget ourselves” has been the charge directed at various new forms of entertainments down the centuries. First of all there was the theatre that turned men into women and women into prostitutes, then the novel which made women hysterical, then the television that made us into square-eyed zombies … and now computer games which make us irresponsible and violent. It’s weird, actually, to think of the legitimacy conferred on cinema and television just in my life-time. My grandparents still don’t approve of it in the slighest, but nobody would look askance at anyone for turning on the TV after a long day at work.

Sorry this is a tangent, but I think it’s interesting to look at computer games as part of this trajectory of disapproval, acceptance and validation. Soon they’ll be an art form and the next big thing will be our social scapegoat.

I have no real examples to contribute, but just wanted to wish you and arbitrary well.

<3

By the way, I agree with you completely about the releasing Crusader souls. There were a number of surprisingly ‘ugly’ quests/acts in Wrath (mutilating bodies, torture, feeding Scourge goo to prisoners) — blowing Hodir’s horn, ‘praying’ for Tuskarr and releasing Crusaders’ spirits are oddly touching.

Condolences on your loss.

That’s why I quit WoW this time. It was taking up way too much time and becoming way too much of a second job in my life to be worth the minimal fun I was having in-game.

I hope I can find a very casual MMO that lets me play without worry of stress soon. I hope Champions Online does that. With planning a wedding for Halloween this year, I need all the catharsis I can get.

On the other hand, I think sharing (appropriate ) personal experiences is one of the things that makes blogs so compelling, and it gave me an excuse to bring up an interesting topic that we often tend to avoid.

But there is something liberating about logging into a character and laying aside your ‘normal’ persona for awhile. I think gamers are so wary of negative portrayals that we try not to discuss the lure of escapism, even though we all feel it.

And it can be negative, there’s no doubt about it. But there is more to it than that.

One thing I found amusing is that I was oddly soothed by doing some daily that involved releasing tortured argent crusade souls. It’s kind of silly, but I wonder if counselling in future might be able to make use of this kind of gaming in some way …