Michigan fans rearrange their lives to devote hours to newest 'Warcraft'
BY HEATHER NEWMAN • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • NOVEMBER 11, 2008

For Ryan Molitor of Flint, 21, it'll mean weeks of three to four hours of sleep a night as he squeezes in video game time around his class schedule at Kettering University.


For Susan Struble of Clarksville, 36, it'll be three days of vacation from work taken solely to hole up in front of her computer and slay wyrms, giants and skeletons.

For her partner, Daniel Martinez, 37, it'll be a TiVo full of unwatched TV shows and a cupboard stuffed with Mountain Dew and 5 Hour Energy drinks.

For players across Michigan and around the world, the release of the new chapter in the "World of Warcraft" PC game means a break from real life and a chance to flex their virtual muscles in a world of mystical creatures, swords, sorcery and intense player-versus-player battles. "Wrath of the Lich King," an expansion to the popular online game, debuts Thursday at 12:01 a.m.

More than 11 million people subscribe worldwide, paying about $15 a month to play. "Warcraft" debuted in 2004, and is what gamers call a massively multiplayer online game. Each person creates a character, ranging from orcs to humans to elves to undead, and plays it online in a virtual world.

They can see other people and their characters and interact with them, completing quests, killing monsters, selling items and working on dungeons with tough villains, called "bosses" by players, that require 25 people to conquer. The more monsters you kill and quests you complete, the stronger your character becomes. (The more difficult encounters are limited to those at the maximum level.)

The "Lich King" expansion offers players the chance to grow their characters from the current maximum level of 70 to 80. Also included: more player-versus-player zones, including areas that use vehicles and siege engines; a new type of technology that changes how players see the world depending on what stage quest they're in; an achievements system comparable to what gamers see on the Xbox console; and more dungeons, quests and zones to play in.

Molitor, currently in the middle of a semester at Kettering, plans to get his level 70 orc shaman to 80 as soon as his game arrives Thursday -- limiting sleep to three or four hours a night.

"It's mostly the social aspect of working together with 24 other people to down high-end raid bosses that is most exciting," he said. "The adrenaline rush when you're close to a kill is unrivaled."

He said it takes careful balancing to get everything done -- in addition to studying mechanical engineering, he has an on-campus job. He's been playing since 2005. Three days a week, he plays from 6-11:30 p.m. with his guild, a group that plays together online. He's a bit of a nerd at heart, he said.

"I'm not going to lie. Dedicating this much time to a hobby takes some excellent time management skills," he said.

"I like the people you meet in the game, and it is a rather cheap hobby," said Jerry Carter of Warren, 32. He plays two to three hours a day during the week and four to five hours a day on the weekends. He's been playing since 2005, and plans to buy the expansion, slowly working on getting his level 70 human paladin to 80.

Rey Powell of Pontiac, 25, plans an all-nighter online with his girlfriend and some members of their guild when the expansion pack releases,. He'll pick up his copy at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

"The chat livens up late at night, so we expect it to be a lot of fun," he said.

Tom LaFleche of Alpena, 25, is taking the opposite tack: He's using the expansion as an opportunity to gracefully quit the game. He's been a serious player since 2005, logging between 6,000-7,000 total hours of game time. ("Warcraft" includes a function that lets you check; his experience is not unheard of for dedicated players.) His son is due to be born in early January.

"With that coming along, starting the grind to 80 on multiple characters is simply not viable," he said. "I will miss the game a lot. The people are the only reason I have kept playing so long. My guild is a great collection of people. But I won't commit the time to playing a video game religiously for four hours each night."

Martinez of Clarksville has played "Warcraft" for more than four years. Outside of the game, he works as a wine consultant, shows dogs, fishes and, with Struble, raises a 9-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl who also play.

He puts in 25-30 hours a week now, and considers himself a fairly casual player compared with past years.

"It's entertainment for me, and it replaces my TV time, mostly," he said. "I log in when I have the time."

Struble's looking forward to her three vacation days.

"I'm just trying to get as much play time as possible before I have to head back to real life," she said. She plays a level 70 blood elf paladin, along with four other level-70 characters. "I used to be a serious raider. However, with family demands and changing priorities, I am more of a casual raider/player now."

She plays two to three hours a day and on weekends when her schedule permits, she said.

Bryant White of Melvindale, 19, plans to dedicate his week to getting his level 70 human mage to 80.

"Thanks to our amazing economy I have been laid off, and I'm currently on a break from school, so I seem to have plenty of time," he said ruefully. "Right now when I'm not playing, I'm looking for jobs online. I don't plan on doing anything that isn't a necessity until I hit 80."


Source: http://www.freep.com/article/20081111/ENT06/811110382