There have been a lot of tough things about coming back to WoW after a long layoff.  Adjusting to all the class and mechanics changes, trying to figure out where old instances/raids I never did are located, and just playing the catch-up game, in general.

But recently I feel like probably the toughest part is that the community I once knew, and was once a part of, has largely disappeared.  No one plays the game anymore; it’s passé at best or “for kids” at worst.  People are moving on; either with “life” or to other games.  So here she is: Pike, still pluggin’ away at the same old eleven-year-old video game.  Look at her and marvel!

Now, I’m no stranger to pouring tons of time into old video games, as one glance through my Good Games That Are Good series can probably attest.

But WoW is, somehow, different.  Perhaps because it’s an MMO, which is social by definition, or perhaps because I really threw myself into the community via things like blogging and Twitter.  It was a little island that I became a part of.  And now I get to watch, one by one, as more and more people leave the island.  It’s a really weird feeling.

Ultimately, I will continue to do what I find fun and play what I want to play, of course.  Because ultimately, that’s the point of games.  But that doesn’t stop the weirdness that sets in every time yet another person says goodbye.  Is this what I am doomed to, stubbornly playing an aging MMO?  Is this all a part of the cycle?  Maybe so.  Maybe it’s what I signed up for.

In that case, I guess I’ll be over here on my island.  Dreaming dreams like the one I dreamed last night– about old guildmates long gone.