Oh, Those Sleepless Nights!
It's tough at times to remain sane at late hours when you are in game. And it's tough at times when none of your friends are on for you to find a good group to hunt with. And it's also even tougher to not close your accounts like all your friends that you know just because you felt it got boring. Because without them, you felt that the game was alive!
Through the many nights of tortuous silence, I have crawled my way into the infinite levels of being alone, yet still enjoying the play time that I have, when I have it. As a college student a lot of my time is devoted to books, study and projects. No not really, but a lot of my time is spent on the computer working on programs and things that many of you would either understand or have your eyes glaze over at. However, when I feel that I need some DAoC time, it's late and hardly anyone that I know is on and I'm left or stuck with one way conversations and having the inner Camelot walls near the old forge be my victim of starring contests during crafting time! Many other people I'm sure have felt this similar sting of aggressive loneliness and have gone insane from it. But fear not, for there are methods to defeat the monster of late night aggravations!
1) Keep yourself occupied with outside interactions - When crafting (just for sake of argument) read a book, or draw, or write or watch TV. I have sat on countless occasions without doing such things for at least 6 hours and my brain has turned off after 2 from just repeatedly pressing the hot keys for making stuff! As long as you are able to preoccupy yourself with other things, you shouldn't have too much trouble with making it to your goal.
2) Make conversation - All be it that not everyone is the center or swagger of making conversation, there are many out there just like you hunting, dying, crafting, etc. All alone in that big virtual world! Pick someone random and just start making light conversation with them! "What are ye daft woman! I'm not gonna make talk with a stranger!" Well, ok, be bored out of your mind then! A friend is always a stranger until you talk with them and get to know them. Your circle will get larger as you do this. And it helps the time pass should the conversation be a good one!
3) Do small things to help others out - Just go out and do small things for the little wee folk of your realm! You would be surprised how many friends you make and how when you just go out there and act like you are there to help! Take them out to a nice hunting ground and PL them for a little, make conversation with them and answer any questions that they have! It's your own way of making a contribution to them and they will remember you for it!
4) Get involved any way you can - Self explanatory. Whatever is happening, a raid, a siege, something, go out there and do it! Make yourself get involved! So what if you only have a few gold in the pocket! Doesn't matter, go out there and have a good time!
There have been many times where I wanted to bash my brains in the desk because of the God awful late hours that I stay up just to enjoy my time in game. But I have to look at it like this. The more that leave, the more those miss out. The more that you get bored with the game, then it's time for a new tactic in livening things up! If you are still bored with the game, then find something else to preoccupy your time with. No shame in that, just time for a change of pace and a new temporary twist in life that you need. It happens to the best of us when we want to enjoy something so much, but just can't either find the time or the thing that makes us tick with it most. But having friends in game is the most delightful thing for the most of us because it brings out a level of nostalgia and interaction with them that we never knew possible. And we always have looked forward to them popping on and greetings us in their ways because it made us smile and enjoy the game and their company. Times change and so do feelings on practicalities of game play and time. People leave or move on and just stop talking and never say anything else. Life for you goes on though. You chug through and you make it work however that you can! That's what makes the game for you so great, because you make the experience for yourself worth while!
So, if you have other things or ideas that help you on those sleepless nights that keep you playing, send me at editor@warcry.com
