I'm not supposed to be this guy. I'm supposed to be the guy who makes fun of this guy and then gets paid by a news organization for doing so. I'm not supposed to be ... playing "World of Warcraft."

Yeah, that's right. I've cast myself into the inky blackness of the world's most popular online game and I can't find my way out.

So, for the uninitiated, a bit of explanation may be in order. "World of Warcraft" is an online adventure game for Mac and PC where you play with 9 million or so of your closest friends in a fantasy setting. As you finish quest and defeat the evil monsters you become stronger and get better weapons and armor.

Now, with the description of a normal game, this is where you would put the point of the game or even how you beat it. But that's the thing. There is no end. You can't beat "World of Warcraft," you can only grow progressively more obsessed with your character and the world he inhabits until you quit your job.

I haven't quit my job (yet) but I have seen what all of the fuss is about and I have to admit that it's pretty intoxicating. The main draw for me is that I have a lot of friends playing along with my druid Frakas on our server (Thorium Brotherhood, if you're curious). As they increase their experience and powers, I want to too, just so I can keep playing alongside them.

We're all members of a guild, which, as my wife will gleefully point out, is basically like a club. We swap stories and items, we watch each other's backs, help with difficult quests, etc.

Even when you're solo though, the game has plenty to offer, with well-designed quests that are (usually) a lot of fun to complete, and an absolutely stunning world that's perfect for the exploration that the game encourages.

If I had to point to a downfall, it's that my character is now being forced to team with other real players in the game, something I'm not crazy about (I'm more of a loner, myself). Of course, there are still other non-team activities that I could be doing, so this isn't really a huge problem now. As my character continues its evolution though, I'm told this will be a bigger issue.

Justin McElroy is a freelance writer living in Huntington. His writing appears on video game sites like Gamezebo.com and Joystiq.com. Yeah, so this is the sorry state of my gaming life right now. I'm still keeping up with the writing biz (as you can see) and I really hope that will continue, but I just can't make any ... oops, sorry. I think I hear my guild calling.