I got a 10-day free trial of World of Warcraft from cynica, because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. First I downloaded the 2.84GB install file, which I had to delete after unzipping because I needed the space to do the install! Once that was finally installed, I discovered I had to download a half-gig update. I had a hard time getting that to install, and when I finally did I discovered I had another half-gig update to download! I ended up removing RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 from the machine, because I can always reinstall it; I also removed a bunch of my music, which freed up a few more gigs. After the trial is over, I will restore the music from my external hard drive.

So I finally got to play the game after hours of downloading and installing. I created an undead character first and then a human character; I ended up playing as the human for a while. I got her to be a Level 2 Mage by killing a bunch of demons - at least I assume that’s how that worked. One thing I really like a lot about the game is that all those gigs of storage on the computer translate to a much faster playing experience. One reason I’m not really into Second Life is because it has to download everything as you move around, whereas WoW stores everything on the computer and then just interprets the instructions it receives.

I wasn’t able to get any other human beings to talk to me. I saw some people talking on a general channel but I couldn’t figure out how to talk to them - I think it may be limited by the free trial account. I know several people who play WoW but I have no idea what server they’d be on or anything like that. I can see why WoW is appealing - it’s fun to run around killing things and improving your stats, and I imagine the role-playing servers are fun too - but I’m not sure why it’s Warcrack for so many people. I don’t expect to keep it past the 10-day trial, which means I have to remember to cancel because otherwise I’ll automatically be billed $15/month. I’m glad to see what all the fuss is about, but I think there are probably very similar combat/RP games - even MMORPG’s - that are less expensive, and perhaps less space-hogging on the computer. I might try to find some alternatives, just for fun.