Many of my guild mates have been hitting "the wall". Be it level 40, or 15. Some aspect about the game presents a barrier that even the veteran MMO players are having difficultly getting by. Even I found that some days I simply could not play anymore. I was very confused since I had leveled 14 85s in warcraft and had played for years.
Today it struck me. The constant choices we have to make in this game can cause something called "ego depletion" or "decision fatigue". They are the same effect but the connotation can be different. Usually ego depletion is the giving into temptation while decision fatigue is self explanatory.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/ma...pagewanted=all
http://216.22.10.76/wiki/Ego_Depletion
So what does this mean for bioware? Their classic move is to give the gamer choice and for many of their fans this works out. They pace themselves and treat this like mass effect or dragon age.
I personally think that this might hinder their ability to corner the majority of MMO players who see the leveling process as a means to an ends instead of as the game itself.
Since hitting 50 I've noticed no more slumps in my drive to play (amongst other things. When I would burn out I would just sit on the couch watching the news for the most part). Except for when I play my alts.
Anyone else notice this?