My character, Chanter, is a failure as a bounty hunter. Oh, she has killing power. She’s got monster dps skills. But she has no guile. She has no evil core. She struggles with making dark side choices because she sees the reasonable side to each argument.

How can she get great Empire loot if she’s a pansy?

So I went to a Weird Al concert a couple weeks ago. If you don’t know who that is, then 1) I feel sorry for you and 2) you really should check out his “White and Nerdy” video. There are too many great lines in that song to quote, but one of my favorite scenes is a visual joke near the end. Four words for you: Star Wars Holiday Special.

At the concert I was fascinated by the makeup of the audience. There were families, middle aged men, couples, kids, groups of teenage boys, aging bikers, tattooed young women, and a lot of guys walking around in Storm Trooper outfits. Traditionally the local 501st is invited by Al to appear with him and the band on stage during his Star Wars parody, The Saga Begins.

I like to get my coffee just right – and then drink the whole cup, without adding any along the way. If you go to a restaurant and the overly attentive waitress keeps trying to add a little, add a little, add a little…it screws up the mix, and it is no longer the way I like it. Then I have to fiddle with it, adding Splenda, adding milk, and attempting to get it right again. Easier just to start over. I know – if I took my coffee black it wouldn’t be an issue. But I won’t try to stretch my analogy too far.

A game has some of the same elements that really great coffee does.

SWTOR has caused some happiness, and some distress in my family. And it hasn’t even been released yet.  I wonder if the devs had any idea what familial discord they would cause by sending a beta invite to only one of us. Don’t get me wrong.  I’m happy my husband got a beta invite.  But I’d be happier if I’d gotten one, too.

What you need to understand is that I am a tad bit OCD about this game.  My spouse may log in to the SWTOR site once a week or so to casually check out the forums, etc. But me, I read them every day.  More than once a day.  How many times I’m not quite willing to admit.   Also, I’m a guild leader. I check in with my guildees and chat on vent with them, and yes, the lack of beta invites is often the topic of conversation. I’m the one generally girding my gamer loins for all things SWTOR. But my wookie of a husband is the one who gets the beta invite.

The guy who cooks my breakfast is a gamer who’s deciding whether or not to pre-order SWTOR. And I don’t mean my husband. He’s a good cook, too, but not an early riser.

I’ve been eating breakfast at Fat Jacks deli once or twice a week since 1995. And it’s been around longer than that – 40 years I believe. But Jason (Editor’s Note: This is not the Jason Dodge a/k/a/ Draegan!), the guy behind the line with the really scratchy, deep voice – he’s a gamer. And how do I know that?  Because we met in line at a game store at midnight 5 years ago when my husband and I were out getting the latest expansion from WOW. Since then Jason has gotten married and had an adorable baby. And we talk about that sometimes. But we also talk about gaming. And when he was standing by my table a few days ago, asking my opinion of SWTOR, one of the cops having coffee behind me joined in the conversation. Turns out he’s a gamer waiting for SWTOR, too. And after about 10 minutes of us all confessing our SW addiction to each other, a couple of guys in their mid-30’s, dressed for work in ties and khakis stopped by and joined in, asking us about the game, and if any of us had been in the beta yet.