The Pie Whisperer

Star Wars has always been my comfort zone. It was the first movie I remember seeing. The first toy I can remember asking for was the Millenium Falcon. I had the digest-sized version of the comic book adaption that I read every night. Star Wars has always been a part of my life and because that, it has always been like comfort food for the soul. If I’m in a bad mood, popping one of the movies (preferably Empire Strikes Back) in the DVD player is sure to make me feel better. Reading a Star Wars book or comic feels like catching up with old friends. To me, Star Wars just feels like home.

Now I can say the same about World of Warcraft.

I didn’t even realize it, at first. I’ve been reading the comics, bought (and rarely played) the trading card game, bought the miniatures game, played the MMO (of course), but it wasn’t until I picked up Warcraft 3 that I really made the connection. You see, I had somehow managed to convince myself that I enjoyed Real Time Strategy (RTS) games. After trying quite a few over the past several months I realized that the only ones I enjoyed were Star Wars RTS’s; it was being able to play around in Star Wars universe that I enjoyed. The same can be said for Warcraft 3. Playing through the campaign I’m coming across all the RTS tropes (like micro-management) that would normally cause me to stop playing a game, but because it’s Warcraft, I’m sticking with it.

I was feeling pretty lousy over the weekend (a cold, sore throat and a pinched nerve in my back that’s causing a lot of trouble) and felt the need for some “comfort.” Instead of grabbing a Star Wars DVD or book, I booted up World of Warcraft, which in hindsight really amazes me. In the three years that I’ve been exposed to the wolrd (of Warcraft) that Blizzard has created, I feel just as home with it as the universe I’ve been sharing with Star Wars fans for the past 30 years, an accomplishment that - to quote Darth Vader - is impressive.

Most impressive, indeed.