Meet Myf

I have noted before that I am not a "gamer". Apart from a couple of blasts around the track in Mario Kart, I have never been compelled to go in pursuit of the Super-Duper Sword Of Killingness*. This is in no small way down to the fact that I am fiercely competitive. I don't start things I can't win, and if I start it, you had better assume my endgame is to win it.

I'm not really one for shooting, blowing up or setting my problems on fire. And I like to dabble ... and dabblers don't win races.

Since knowing Shippy, and as a direct result of Second Life having become a place of work and not leisure, I have been logging onto Clone Wars Adventures and have completed Guild Wars - Prophecies.

I had to start from the very beginning. In fact I still don't know how to move with anything resembling agility, and every achievement has come as the result of repeated smooshings.

I started Guild Wars 2 last week. Please meet Myf Rogue, and her companion/mentor Jyotis Ravi.

 I could write at some length, believe me, about the game culture, and what it's like to stumble into this microcosm. How intensive is the preparation and research, how resourced these players are. How it's natural instinct to them to make use of tools within and without the world they inhabit. And I probably will consider these things at other times. Because I really love this game.

Myf and Jyotis in Rata Sum, the capital of Metrica Province
"we're setting out on the journey"

Myf and Jyotis are Asurans -:

"The Asura value intelligence and intellectual superiority over all other attributes. Individual asura will dedicate an entire lifespan to building a portfolio of successful projects or becoming the foremost expert of some tiny aspect of the arcane. They constantly seek to prove their own intellectual superiority, and by extension the superiority of the asura race. This typically results in asura being arrogant to the point of rudeness towards others, especially towards non-asura races. The asura have quickly established their intellectual and magical superiority over the other races and view them as useful primarily for heavy lifting, taking risks, and asking stupid questions."

No comment on that at all. I admit, I chose an Asuran because Shippy already was one, although it was also because he thought the character type would suit me. Before I entered Guild Wars 2, I would have told you I wanted to be a typically beautiful human-type character. I don't really "get" how people spend their online lives as other creatures, maybe it's just been to fantastic for my fairly pragmatic nature.

There is just something so endearing about watching these two tiny creatures scamper through Tyria, exploring, adventuring, learning ... and fighting. The game is best played full-screen, and to do so cuts you off, somewhat, from the usual distractions like facebook updates, emails and IM from other forums. It's also such a beautifully made world, it's so easy to immerse.

Jyotis and Myf are agreed it is like having their own movie to influence, participate in, and ultimately consume. That's not dissimilar to what their Second Life counterparts have been heard to say. "Proper" gaming involves quests, challenges, the acquisition of skills, and very little of the "lifestyle choices" of Second Life. It is very goal-oriented, and in that sense, a refereshing diversion for chryblnd Scribe.

I'm still getting smooshed. At time of writing, I am a level 24 stain on the ground :-).

You can expect to hear more of Myf Rogue and her adventures in this lovely alien environment.

Music to read this post with:

Track 06 from The Unofficial Soundtrack for Guild Wars 2, composed by Jeremy Soule