Cognitive dissonance theory would say that once you did spent blood, sweat and tears in front of your computer, you cannot help but consider your work an RP achievement and very relevant to RP if you are an avid RP-er.
To me FW feels like the RP equivalent of the WWI trench war, both in typology and effect. A lot of fighting for inches back and forth, with the conquest of a few yards having no noticeable impact on your actual day-to-day activities. Generals working hard to keep the troops inspired and morale up while they start to slowly zone out with no hope of any end in sight while the difference between enemies and friends fade.
I just had a flashback to this exchange in Blackadder Goes Forth, in which Captain Darling unveils a map of the territory that has been captured by the British:
Melchett: Erm, what is the actual scale of this map, Darling?
Darling: Erm, one-to-one, Sir.
Melchett: Come again?
Darling: Er, the map is actually life-size, Sir. It's superbly detailed. Look, look, there's a little worm.
Melchett: Oh, yes. So the actual amount of land retaken is?
[Darling whips out a tape measure amd measures the table.]
Darling: Excuse me, Sir. Seventeen square feet, Sir.