Uphill was hard, downhill will be easy

I know that many of you Diablo-lovin' people are bored, impatient, exasperated with the long wait. I feel ya. I used to be the same. I've had butterflies in my stomach since they announced Diablo 3 in 2008.

It has been a long, uphill struggle since then. Every month has passed excruciatingly slow, every new piece of information awaited with bated breath and devoured with unsatiated hunger. If you think about it, the struggle is almost over. Our climb has almost reached the peak. Much of the 3+ years since announcement, or the almost 10 years that some of us have been waiting for a sequel to Diablo 2, are almost over. Once this year ends and 2012 begins we can consider ourselves out of the woods and on our way downhill.

Downhill is much easier, believe me. 2-3 more months won't kill anyone but I know that for some of you the long-drawn anticipation will be even more painful. This situation reminds me of an old comic strip. There's a long line of guys waiting to get inside the men's room. The newcomers, the guys at the start of the line, are relaxed and aloof. The can still hold it in. But as your eyes move down the line, the closer you get to the door, the more desperate they become. The guy who's just about to get his turn is almost pissing his pants at this point.

While the situation with Diablo 3 is not exactly like in the parable I just told, I can hear a lot of virtual foot-tapping from the community. The first 3 years since the announcement weren't so bad because we all knew the game was going to be released some time in the far, misty future. But the closer we get to the release, the harder it is for us to rein in our basest feelings. The whole range of emotions is coming out on the table: love, have, anger, depression, disappointment, denial and so on. The Diablo community is restless and this is compounded by the dismay that Blizzard apparently won't announce a release date for Diablo 3 in 2011. But hey, there are still 2 weeks left in this year so who knows. I wouldn't count on it though.

I have been through these emotions for a short time but now I'm over them. Diablo 3 is not the only thing in my geeky life. I have other hobbies that require attention, and even other blogs I run. There are even games that I can play with passion untill D3 shows its ugly mug. I will only list 2 of them: World of Tanks and DiRT 3. My advice to everyone is to keep busy, take care of your other passions, hobbies and real life issues and don't worry too much about Diablo 3. It'll be out when it's out. And when it is finally released, your real life will be over and your virtual life will begin.