Where did it all go wrong?

I logged out a little while ago but wasn't quite sleepy yet so I decided to peruse some of my old screen shots from wow over the years. The thing I found interesting was out of, oh...i dunno...100 ish screen shots, I only had like 4 boss kills in them, the rest were just people goofing off

So it got me to thinking when exactly did this game lose it's luster for me. Granted the shots i looked at were all of vanilla and showed me on a few toons from 30-60 but the shots themselves weren't all that important, it was what was going on in chat that got me intrigued. Looking at the old UI I had and some of the stuff I was doing then was really interesting, i mean..killing a flight master and the bats that were also elite was screenshot worthy to me since I was 7 levels lower than them. Weird stuff like that was worth more than raid boss kills at that time! I have a few screenshots of me in instances, most are actually outside doing stupid shit with friends.

So that really got me wondering about what i enjoy most about this game. I suppose getting gear to run raids, which was a huge time sink, was fun, but it was the little things, the dumb shit we did to occupy our time that i found the most enjoyable. As it is now we have vanilla/BC/wrath, to do stupid shit in to have a "feel good" moment. but back in the day it was just about goin around and having fun with friends Like starting world pvp just cause it relieved the boredom, hehe.

Not sure why i made this post, not bitching or anything....just wanted to share that i really did enjoy this game at one time, and enjoyed (still do) the people in this game that made it fun You don't have to raid, or heroic, or BG to have fun here.....just gotta be creative with friends and make this game your own. Cause all that matters is having fun with friends, right? Thats the way I look at it anyway

ANd lordy don't get me started on the SWG screenies I have of us pre-cu, lol

I don't have the screen shots to refer to, only the memories. But I can safely say that my favorite memories in the game are not "yay, we downed the boss" but rather "omg, I can't believe you really did/said that!". The fun stuff...... Bob runs, leveling our worgens together, silly conversations on vent, questing with friends, exploring new places so many levels above that everything had skulls, meeting new people and learning about the people "behind" the toons.

I don't think it has "gone wrong" so much as the focus has changed for many people. Luckily, there are still those of us who just want to hang together, chat, goof off and have fun. I still totally love the game itself as well but the most important part of it is now and has always been, the people.

For me, the game is all about the people I meet while I play. I have played on many servers, and on none of them, except for Staghelm, have I ever felt like I truly belonged. I have met some great people since I came here.

The game to me, is not about getting gear, or downing the latest and greatest raid bosses. It is about hanging out with good friends, and having good times. I would say nothing went wrong, Snap. You just discovered the real meaning behind why the game exists in the first place.