It's a Thursday night, and Engineering sophomore Peter Na is planning to hang out with his friends.
But Na isn't putting on a Lacoste shirt and heading to MarBar or Smoke's - he's starting up a voice-chat program and entering the world of Azeroth.
This scenario was plausible until last August, when Na would log over 40 hours a week playing World of Warcraft, a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG), created by Blizzard Entertainment and set in a fantasy world.
And though Na quit the game in the fall, the eight million people worldwide - including many Penn students - who still play now have a new continent to explore.
Burning Crusade, an expansion pack to the game, was released on Jan. 16 to wide acclaim, selling 2.4 million copies on the first day.
The excitement has extended to Penn's campus, with Warcraft lovers jumping at chances to have new experiences - even if they're only virtual.
"I saw some of the screenshots they had in advertisements, [and] some of the new lands are really breathtaking," Biotechnology graduate student Noel Pura said.
But as Na will tell you, World of Warcraft and its expansion have their pitfalls.
Na said he had played over 3,600 hours since the game's release in November 2004. Hearing him describe the peer pressure, the effect on schoolwork, the disregard for obligations "i-r-l" - in real life, to use a gamer's jargon - though, one could almost imagine he was talking about a drug, not a video game.
"It has a tendency to ruin lives," Na said.
His roommate for the fall semester, former Engineering sophomore Mengze Mao, spent so much time in the game world that he failed all of his courses at Penn, Na said. Mao is now taking time off from his studies.
Na has quit playing WoW since last semester, citing school and family as reasons. "I put WoW in front of real-life obligations," he said.
Most WoW players who become addicts are members of raiding guilds made up of other world-wide users who give directions in battle.
Their goal: to defeat the most difficult bosses and earn the best equipment in the game.
"There are serious rivalries" between guilds, he added, because guilds attempt to one-up each other and earn what is jokingly referred to by gamers as "e-penis."
At the height of his addiction, Na's day would be, "Go to class, come back, turn on WoW, play until 2 a.m. - sometimes until 5 a.m. - and then skip class," he said. "I'd have my friends bring me food while I was playing."
Na said he tried to quit several times before he succeeded. "Every time, I'd be away for two weeks and then come back.
"I never thought I could get addicted to a game," he added.
But not all parents of Warcraft players should fret: Most people who play the game do so responsibly.
Engineering sophomore Josh Carroll plays WoW about 10 to 15 hours a week and manages to keep his life in balance.
Ji Zhou, a Wharton junior, also deemed the game highly addictive, adding that every gamer should know when to stop.
For Zhou, that time is now.
He is currently taking a break from the game until he secures a summer internship.
"I'm planning to play [Burning Crusade] - after I get an offer," he said.
And though the introduction of Burning Crusade has piqued interest for many, Na says he's done with WoW for good.
"My GPA was ruined," he said, but "I remember the good times."
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