Friday 10th September 2021
I get a bit pissy with people when they start talking shit about safe spaces. We’ve all had those places of peace, whether it be sat alone on a beach, or in the garden with a beer, or online. I don’t think it’s a bad thing having more places where people feel at peace and can unwind.
For me, the place I always used to escape to was Azeroth and World of Warcraft. Whenever I had a tough day, I’d go log on, unwind and get so immersed in the world that I forgot my problems for a time.
I always did things on my own though. Using group finder more often than not led to stress, so I tended to avoid those areas of the game and concentrate on things I could do alone, even if that meant I couldn’t do the latest content. I can do without all the crap that comes with playing with toxic players.
After all the crap with Blizzard in recent months, it’s soured Warcraft for me. I think Shadowlands will be looked back upon as a good expansion, but the length between patches have worn down the fans, and then with the Blizzard revelations on top…I can understand why a lot of people left.
I’ve found myself naturally taking a break as well. I’m busy, and this weekend I have to finish off the Fortnite Battle Pass (which I’ve not done because of the broken PC).
And when I have time I’ve played Minecraft. I have a server with friends and whilst the initial appeal might have worn off, I like dipping into it, either on my PC or on the iPad whilst sat on the Support Bubble sofa. Lately, I’ve just been busy building my great wall – a Game of Thrones inspired wall in front of a massive snowy biome. Nothing fancy… I just place a lot of blocks.
But thinking about this, and about a dev video I watched on community feedback, it occurred to me how nice it all feels. I’m on a server with just friends. I can build what I like, where I like, as space is near infinite. The Devs seem to love their community, and seem genuinely excited about their game and the improvements they’re making.
It feels… safe.
And it’s made me wonder if, going forward, when I’ve had a bad day, or feel a bit down and need to escape, whether it’ll be Minecraft rather than Warcraft I turn to.
I still intend to return to Warcraft at some point as I enjoy raiding and I’ve missed a few weeks due to being busy (and I’ll miss this week’s due to the Fortnite end event), but I do wonder if it’ll ever have that same appeal.
I hope so, as I do love the game. I just think the next couple of years are going to be critical, and it’s only going to take one more bad design decision or long patch before we really have a problem.
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