So, yeah, there’s a Yuletide image of me and my little girl taken a couple of weeks ago (I'll maybe share it with some of you).

You’ll undoubtedly be shocked to know that I took the chance to get my images taken with a Diablo hat, so a little Blizzard-legend ended up being included with my beautiful 19-month old girl. But, despite choosing that hat, there was another reason that I wore it:

I’m the unlucky, and unproud, owner of a brain tumour – and to be specific, a glioblastoma.

Sucks, doesn’t it?

Except… I’ve been playing Blizzard games for just over 21 years thanks to starting it all out with my Edinburgh-friend, Christopher, back in ’97. His mum and dad’s parents slotted their ‘puter way up in the attic, so that’s where I spent some time with one of my best buddies (when we weren’t ROCKING MUSIC) and we rocked the heck out of Diablo’s church in order to woop his backside. I was such an expert that I started as a ranged girl, well equipped with the best sword and shield I could get my hands on, and got livid when the Butcher rubbed me out because I wasn’t far enough away to avoid death.

Ah, the memories.

I loved Diablo. Loved it. Prior to it, I’d been sticking with Sega consoles and I spent a lot of time after my Blizzard original experience with other control-pad boxes, but I’ve never moved away from what you’ve been spitting out. I finally got to Diablo II about ’03 or ’04, mainly because the first part of my naval career got into the way of games, and I remembered just how much I loved the entire Diablo concept. Playing a necromancer was all kinds of good, the character development was fantastic, and I just kept adoring the game.

Putting my Diablo things on one page, I had also played Warcraft III to its conclusion, and picked up its Frozen Throne and managed to get through that, too. I adored the tales of Illidan and Arthas and adored the gameplay and the stories surrounding the entire construct more than any games I’d played before them. I haven’t played the prior Warcraft games, as I’ve not had the time really, but by 2007 I’d played four Blizzard games and thought they were simply wonderful.

But come late in 2007, well, I came across the game I’ve adored more than anything else.

I started playing World of Warcraft during its Burning Crusade.

I’ve been playing it for eleven years now and, honestly, don’t feel sorry for that whatsoever. I’ve taken some breaks (I was playing Star Wars with friends, so Cataclysm got left behind for a bit, while Warlords of Draenor was easy to leave behind for just about anything) but have continuously been involved in the greatest MMORPG ever made since I got my first fun with it just prior to the 2.4 addition. My greatest time with it was during Wrath, as I played in a ten-man group with friends that I respected and adored, and we killed Arthas together (somewhat sadly) after starting with our first target of Naxxramas a couple of years before.

Wrath remains my favourite, followed by Legion and the Burning Crusade, with Mists and Cataclysm both being good expansions… I won’t mention the others.
But despite my continued commitment to World of Warcraft, I’ve not stopped playing the other games Blizzard have been releasing. The launch of Diablo 3 in 2012 was a shame, given the cash demands and the broken gear dropping, but the fixes made it into a wonderful game again that I wish I had time to play more. Did I buy the expansion and wrap that up? Of course! And 2014 saw me starting with Hearthstone, an utterly fabulous game assuming you don’t depend on a random spell to kill the right minion and it hits the one with the paladin’s Divine Shield. My favourite class is my mage, NOT JAINA, but I’m not that fabulous, sadly – the best I’ve managed is rank thirteen. :(

So given your games, I’ve been playing your stuff over two decades. All of the Diablo games, Warcraft III, the World of Warcraft and Hearthstone have seen me play them lots and lots and keep loving them. I’ve given things like Starcraft, Heroes and Overwatch a go but, sadly, they’re not really my games and I haven’t time. Making it more demanding, when you get your wife and your little girl, well… There’s less time to kill when you have a darling that wants tickled and giggled. :D

But what will I get more fun with?

I honestly don’t know. I can’t say I’ll have time for the new Warcraft III, and despite loving the plan for Classic World of Warcraft I don’t know if I’ll be able to play it. The next Diablo? I’d find a chance to play that epic too but, again, I can’t say if I’ll get that chance. The really crap thing about the glioblastoma I have is that I have a predicted continuation of eleven to fourteen months. To start with I didn’t care, because I assumed someone would have the ability to dispel it, but it seems impossible. But if I can’t get rid of it, you can auction several thousand gold that I’m going to be around longer than the averages. That’s my commitment.

So, what’s this message about?

It’s to the blues:

Thank your company for everything.

I’ve loved playing your games, I’ve loved listening to the builders and writers talk about what they adore, and I wish I had the ability to go to this years BlizzCon (I was a bit busy getting a brain cancer cut out). I’ll try and keep playing these games during radiotherapy when the time lets me, and I’ll continue looking forward to the things you guys are building and getting ready to inspire us with. Morhaime, Metzen, Kaplan, Chilton and many others that I don’t remember the name of will always be smiled at when I think of them, and I hope to one day live long enough to catch some of them somehow.

If not, well, just let them know that those who move on think they made some great time.

Love you, guys – peace. :)

To the blues... Pass on my 'thanks'. :)