What now?

I played a little EVE yesterday after work, but I'm getting the same feeling about this game as I have about WoW. Namely, the grind is already getting to me, and I am not that interested in the story.

For me, one of the main reasons I play video games is for the story. I tend to view games as interactive TV or make-your-own-choice books. I like the freedom to explore the universe of the game as well as become the all powerful hero in that universe.

When I watch TV/movies or read a book, I usually get sucked into the story and "live" the story along with the characters. That's one of the reasons I absolutely hate horror movies like "Friday the Thirteenth" and others of that genre - since, in my mind, I'm there, I get all the associated feelings of being threatened, fearing for my life, etc, etc. Do...not...want!!!!

So, if I don't have any interest in the story, I usually won't play the game. But, in some cases, the "become the all powerful hero" aspect of the game is enough to compel me to play it. CIV II was such a game. There is really no story except for the history that you create as you play, but the opportunity to rule the world...well, that's just sweet!

There are games that have very compelling story lines, but I won't play them due to gratuitous violence, cursing, sexual themes, and other things that I don't want to expose myself to. I was thinking about picking up Fallout 3 because I loved the first two series (albeit, I quit playing after discovering some of the same things from earlier in this same paragraph), but I've decided not to after reading a review that suggested there was a lot of cursing in the game.

Like many ex-smokers become militant anti-smoking zealots, I cursed quite a bit in my youth but, after coming to know the Lord, I stopped cold turkey and started becoming repulsed by it. I wince when I see it in print, and if I have the option, I will choose to avoid being exposed to it.

As an aside, I do not wish to censor people from cursing because I'm a big believer in the right to freedom of speech - even speech that I find offensive. I will, however, take measures to limit my exposure to those things that offend me. And so, I won't play video games that have a lot of cursing in them.

So, I find myself looking for a game to play. I loved a lot about WoW, but I've read that story over and over and over and over again! And while there are some books and movies that I can and have done that with, I'd also get sick of them if I spent as much time viewing them as I've spent in WoW.

And now, I ask, "What's next?"

And I answer, "idk...."