However, as we got into combat it got interesting. At the time I was grinding trolls in Mithas and I scrolled up to slow down the combat-"feed" for her and explain each hit as best as I could. "There I hit it with my sledgehammer", "there Cassius' dragon swoops down from the sky", "there dragonfear sets in", "there my special attack hits on a kill - look, the troll is a pulp! lol!"
As I explained that it is my view that we "old" players play this game out of habit, a novelty game from a past where there were no MMO's and internet was a scarce commodity, and that people who start out playing muds today (well, from the ones I've talked to anyway) see themselves as part of some litterary work, and totally dream themselves away while simply walking along the east road.
Anyway, being an artist by nature, she immediately got hooked on the trolls. How they looked, and then she explained she started picturing trolls in her head. This made me reflect on how I view Genesis. I'm what you could say totally unimaginative. When I play I see areas as maps, rooms as a means to an end, weapons and other gear as the sum of their words, not what the words actually mean.
For example a "bloody skull club" is to me the words "bloody, skull and club" in a sequence that I attribute certain qualities. Other people might vividly picture a baseball-bat like object with a skull covered in blood set atop of it. To me, a troll is simply the word "troll", where the desciption of said troll is unimportant. So, when I think of Mithas, there is the map with the three camps south, I know that the word "troll" in each room has a certain difficulty slaying, and I will have to gear according to my role as tank or dps. They will only drop gems, killing them won't affect my align significantly, the fact that they are many means a that if all are spawned I'm set for the next 20-30 mins and probably more arbitrary 'facts' that come as naturally as walking.
Never once did I picture/imagine the fictious area Mithas, its fauna and flora, its trolls in their ugliness, how stupid they are or how they're afraid of fire, what the combat might look like.. hell, what I look like with a bucket on my head because it has a faint haste imbuement.
So, certain people might take offense to this. "HOW DARE YOU PLAY A GAME FOR IT'S WORDS, NOT THEIR IMPLICIT MEANING AND USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO 'VIEW' THEM IN YOUR HEAD?!?!?" - but it's how my mind works.
When people see me grinding, they see a massive amount of text scrolling very quickly. They ask if I read it all, and I usually say I know what it says. As the text is green and the background is black, "The Matrix" comes to mind, and I've often said playing Genesis is like watching the matrix, in code - and that grinding is like going to the gym; it sure as shit aint' fun, but after 6 months it's damn nice to see your progress in the mirror/meditation.
How does your mind work? Asking for a (girl)friend.
