Playing (and a lack thereof)

I... am over-extended.

I've played Warhammer once so far (more on that later). I have to finish a physics problem soon and then do the two sets of physics pre-lab homework before tomorrow, and really need to study for math and do the homework for that. Tomorrow I have a physics lab, math midterm, and a prospective student coming over. I need to clean my room before said prospie comes over. I haven't practiced flute since my last lesson, when I'm supposed to be playing an hour a day. I haven't gone to a single Soul Scribes meeting (they always have them on Sunday evenings when I have to do physics work...) and I need to call a bunch of people. I need to finish changing this blog, which looks like the territory of some abstract and confusing Red vs. Blue struggle. I don't need to but would probably be better for it if I could find some time to practice the Legacies dance for CDT. I haven't gotten my ID activated so that I can go to Sudikoff yet, and every time I think of walking over there and gleefully getting some good gaming in (alliteration unintended) a voice in my head goes, aw, isn't that nice... now back to work!

I'm not going to make it to Sudikoff today. Or tomorrow. The day after might be a better bet, but I can't make any promises, because I also, unfortunately, need a lot of sleep, and by then I might be so tired that I collapse on the Green. (It wouldn't be the first time...)

But, as I sit here and take a break from the weight of my unfinished physics, or the looming midterm, I think back to the time I have put into Warhammer and it is cheerful. I have come, I have seen, I have patched, and I have begun what may be a very bad, but fun, influence on my life. Under the slightly-impatient pressure of some of the other members of our team, who were waiting to begin their own playing, I became a Magus and entered the realm of Destruction.

On Magi...
I still don't know how to pronounce my own race. Is it "may-juhs"? "maa-juhs"? "maag-us"? It occurs to me that the exact pronunciation of my Magus's name, Szyr, is also a bit inexact. (I like the name, though, because it has two rather uncommon letters and remains feminine-ish while still like it belongs to a Chaos human and not a flowery elf-maiden.) However, I do know that I have taken a demon and, through sheer force of will, bound it into a strange, undemon-looking disc that I hover upon, exuding galactical purple and aquamarine light reminiscent of the aurora borealis/australis wherever I float. I have dark skin and hair and undead, glowing white eyes. I have a long stick. And, really, that's all that matters.

On Ventrilo...
I haven't yet played Warhammer and used Ventrilo simultaneously, but I have used Ventrilo, and it is quite curious. I Skype with my family less-than-regularly and am quite used to that, but having to push a button to talk makes a big difference. Should you push the button if all you have to say is "ha ha." If you don't push the button to laugh, will the person who said the funny statement feel unfunny? How does this work when integrated with gaming? I will have to investigate further.

On WAR...
I'm enjoying the graphics thoroughly. As a console gamer, I've got pretty high standards for graphics, but in general, I just want something pretty to get me excited about the game, and Warhammer certainly does that just fine. However, I'm really used to tutorials. Really. I'm okay with a bit of in-game, "Hey! This is how you walk! This is what you do!", etc., although it's always nice when you can skip these, as sometimes they become overbearing. WAR seems to assume that you've done this sort of thing before and puts you in the middle of an extremely pretty but complex world, complete with Restless Undead who will not only attack you when you don't know how to attack back, but who keep spawning because they're so restless. Although I felt pretty cool when I killed one with only 1 health point left, on the edge of death but not quite there.
However, were it not for the (somewhat exasperated) aid I recieved from those nearby, it would have taken me a really long time to figure out the game. I still have only the most tenative of grasps on how to play, really. No one tells you how to pick up things or how to enter combat or that you automatically heal or even where you're going, not really- they give you vague instructions sometimes but it's hard to stay oriented. And somehow I got a quest that required me to join an RvR situation and... well... that didn't go so well.

On RvR...
I was level two.
We lost.

On battle...
Maybe it's just me and my low level, but it takes a really long time to battle, even with 'easy' things to fight like Restless Undead. I can beat them, yes, but it takes a rather monotonous while. I guess my RPG experience to date has really been more like Zelda, where most enemies require four or five whacks with your sword, or like Mario, where you jump on them and they disappear. (For the most part.)

So yes, I really do look forward to playing more. I want to learn more and actually be able to hold my own and learn some new skills. It's all very exciting, and I'm sure that eventually, I will be able to sit down and dedicate four or five glorious hours to the game. And that will be very fun.

Michelle/Szyr (probably soon to become Szyr/Michelle...)