Getting acquainted with WOW in the summer is a BAD idea.  Into my second week of WOW, I now have my Undead Mage at Level 19 - there are 60 levels, which means I am a third of the way there (in reality it is a lot further away as each level progressively takes longer to complete). 

New game experience this weekend was meeting my first Elite quest at Pyrewood Village.  My buddy, Graham, and I have been running around laying waste to all the bad arse monsters.  And than, we got to Pyrewood Village.  The first thing we saw were a group of players outside the village standing around (you know real players by the blue name tags on their characters).  Till now, my buddy and I have been doing well and itching for something more challenging.  We moved into the village, with the attitude of let us show you folks how it is done, and within a minute we were DEAD.  Dying in the game is a BIG PAIN in the butt because you have to get back to your body with your spirit and that takes time - wasted time.  You think we figured it out?  No, we went back in only to be promptly DESTROYED in 30 seconds.  Ah... we get it.  Elite Quest - that is something for a big group of players.  It appears that the only way we are going to accomplish what we want is to go in with a larger group that is coordinated.  I have not played Rainbow Six and the likes.  I imagine it to require very similar skill sets - team work. 

I like to game.  Playing alone has never been a problem and playing with someone was at first a bit off centered.  I have to keep track of where my buddy is and what he is doing.  The first few times we were all over the place and I ended up dying a lot (mage is notorious for dying under melee conditions as they are weak and like to fight their battles over a long distance with ranged attacks).  Now, we work as a team.  As a warrior, my buddy goes in first to engage the enemy (big bad monsters ;-)  and I back him up with range attacks and cover him if two or more monsters team up on him.  Finally, at 10 PM last night, he had to hop because he has to get up very early for work on Monday (6 AM - 3 PM).  All of a sudden, I found myself alone in WOW.  With someone at your side, we always feel stronger and more invincible - maybe its a herd mentality   It took an hour or so before I got back to the one person mode of gaming. 

In all of this, I always try to appreciate the finer points of game design - what makes one game so much better than another?  It all comes down to User Interface (UI).  And, unfortunately, this is a learning curve for new players.  The Diablo interface became a defacto UI for RPG (Role Playing Game).  Mastering Warcraft III controls is critical in winning (it took my 2 years to get all the tricks of the trade).  Here is an interesting article on PC controls versus Consoles.  This is an ongoing debate as to which is better.   Another gaming buddy of mine, an IP lawyer, is a RABID XBox fan.  I have an XBox and I say that the PC gamers will frag the living day lights out of the console gamers.  There is now way the console can aggregate controls the way PC can.