agillooly@observer-reporter.com
He calls it "World of Warcrack" because it's that addictive.
Carl Rahner, 44, of Bridgeville, has been playing the popular online role-playing game "World of Warcraft" for just a year, but has quickly become a devotee.
He's climbed the ranks from player to raid master to guild master, and in those capacities coordinates specific game times for up to 25 people who can be logged on from anywhere from nearby Cecil Township to as far away as New Zealand.
"It kind of becomes a second life," he said, as he logged onto his account Tuesday night to see what WOW friends were online at the time.
Rahner is one of 2.8 million people who had anxiously awaited the debut of the game's second expansion pack, "Wrath of the Lich King," which broke sales records when it was released earlier this month.
He admits: The game is complicated. A player must create his character, hone skills, earn gold, complete quests and quash monsters in the role-playing game.
And that, Rahner said, is where the naysayers come in. The online game requires commitment, and that commitment requires time.
A lot of time.
Rahner, who is now furloughed from his job as a carpenter, said he and other members of his guild average about five hours of game time each day.
Some of the members in his guild, Rahner said, are husband and wife couples. Another woman, he said, plays with her two kids.
"The family that plays together stays together," he said.
And it doesn't matter to him that he doesn't know his guild members by their real names.
"It's like going to Kennywood and riding a roller coaster," Rahner said. "You might not know the person in front of you, but you know you're going to have fun."
He acknowledges there are some gamers who take that commitment to an extreme.
Yes, he said, some of the gamers he knows have dealt with their own WOW demons. Rahner was promoted to guild master only after his predecessor's marriage became troubled due to the time he logged as his WOW alterego.
Rahner called those people "weak-minded," and noted that the game provides not only a chance for people to associate with others half a world away, but also to engage in teamwork and strategy sessions - all positives.
But others aren't so sure.
Do a Google search for "World of Warcraft" and a site about addiction is sure to surface. One such Web site, wowdetox.com, allows users to tell how the game negatively affected their lives.
And plenty of people have logged on to purge. The game's addictive qualities also have spawned a number of Web sites where users can take self-tests to determine whether or not they have a problem.
The Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, a nonprofit headquartered in Bedford, even addresses gaming addiction, calling it "compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living."
Wowdetox.com includes a statement by Dr. Kimberly Young of the center, which explains how the game rips families and other relationships apart.
"The game becomes the organizing principle of addicts' lives. They are willing to sacrifice what they cherish most in order to preserve and continue their unhealthy behavior."
The addiction site, run by someone who calls himself Jessi Johnson, admits that the game had an effect on him that he was "not ready for."
He indicates that he began the site to provide an outlet for people struggling with their devotion to WOW.
"Hopefully, reading through some of the posts will allow some users to find reasons to break the habit."
Frank Yuvan, 26, who owns the Gaming Dungeon in Washington, said that even though he doesn't deal with Internet games at his store, he's familiar with "World of Warcraft" as a self-described "gamer."
He said the game might not have captured his attention, but it has affected the pastimes of many of his friends.
As a video game aficionado, he admits that "World of Warcraft" is a groundbreaking game, taking the traditional role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons and putting the characters and scenarios in color and sound right on your computer screen.
But that doesn't mean it doesn't have an ugly side - one he's seen by proxy.
"You can have an identity crisis," Yuvan said. "In this game, you can be anyone you want."
As a store owner, martial arts instructor and personal trainer, he said he simply doesn't have the time to devote to the game.
"I'm a lot more active, so I don't spend every waking hour of my day playing this," he said, adding that he wasn't even sure if his WOW account was still active. "It's actually scary how much time people spend playing."
And because the Internet is always open, "the game is always there."
Both Yuvan and Rahner also know that gamers are selling both their high-end, experienced characters and even gold for real cash on sites such as eBay.
Rahner said his character, a dwarf with divine powers, could fetch up to $1,500. While the sale of WOW gold being purchased for real American dollars has been banned by the game's administrators, it still happens.
He was online for only an hour Tuesday night and Rahner had already seen two gamers online trying to peddle their gold. He said one of the ads was selling 1,000 pieces of WOW gold for $22.
But Rahner insists that it's the extremists that give all WOW gamers a bad name, and he said despite the time he invests playing, he still remains social and active.
"People get wrapped up in it. I get wrapped up in it," he admitted. "But it's just a game. It's a hobby."