It's been a while, I know, I know, but consistency has never been one of my great strengths. Anyway, I'm back now, and I think I've finally nailed down what I want to talk about this week.
You're probably already feeling soreness in your eyes from the rolling that most likely involuntarily began when you read the title of this blog. Yes, I'm blogging about World of Warcraft. No single gaming entity that I am personally aware of has become more integrated and powerful in every day life as this role playing giant. Love it or hate it, World of Warcraft is huge--and it's not going anywhere.
There's generally three types of people that have a response to "Do you play World of Warcraft?" The first type, and by far the rarest and endangered, are those that shrug, look confused, and have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously, folks, it's been out for over six years, has over 13 million subscribers last I checked, and appears in magazines, television, movies, and even in partnered products like the Mountain Dew Game Fuel promotion. Get with the program. The second type, are those that excitedly nod, lighten up, and eagerly ask if you play Alliance or Horde, what class and level your main is, and what server you play on. (incidentally, I have realized it's nearly impossible to randomly approach a WoW player, ask them what server they're on, and have that be YOUR server) The third, and bless you if you're in this category and still reading, are those that roll their eyes, sneer, grunt, or have something negative and derogatory about a game that steals lives, provides 'no real challenge or substance,' and has the audacity to charge you 15 dollars a month even after purchasing the software in the first place.
I'll get to my more in depth opinions and analysis of World of Warcraft in a later post, but for this one, I'll just touch on a bit of why I think it's so successful, and my first experience with the game.
World of Warcraft is not a revolutionary new frontier of online gaming. Warcraft didn't do anything that Everquest, Eve, Dark Ages of Camelot, or Ultima didn't already know how to do. They didn't carve a brand new experience out of the Massively Multiplayer Online model, and they really didn't come out of the gate with a lot of innovation. What made it so crazy popular then? Accessibility. Warcraft was easier than most MMOs. Everquest was unforgiving, taking hours to raid, with dozens and dozens of players that would have to swap out, head to town, heal, repair, and return to relieve their friends. Death penalties were all the rage, you could lose experience, hours of gameplay, all thanks to a bad decision, or worse, a bad connection. Warcraft simplified all of that, and folks that weren't necessarily in the hardcore group flourished because of it.
I was a soldier in Giessen, Germany in late November of 2004. Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, I had just returned a year prior from my first tour in Iraq, and my combat injuries had all but healed. I was, for lack of a better term, bored. Sure, going out and drinking with the guys was fun, but even that gets old. I had played out a lot of the games I owned, and was scouring the web and magazines for something new. My experience with MMOs was limited to City of Heroes, and while I enjoyed the style, I had always been a fan of my beloved Warcraft series. So, the marriage of Warcraft and the MMO gametype I'd learned to enjoy seemed only natural. I called my dad, told him about the game, asked if he'd mind getting my Christmas present a little early that year, and described the box I saw on the website. "A brown box with some kind of face, a purple lady or a green orc thing." About a week later, my package arrived. I had to admit the package looked large for just one game, but my dad has a habit of sending snacks and books and stuff, so I disregarded then suspicion. Upon opening it, however, my jaw hit the floor. In the box, brand new, was my huge Collector's Edition packaging. I was elated.
I happened to be on 24 hour duty that night, the day I received the box, with my laptop and an internet connection. It seemed meant to be. I installed the game, connected, patched, logged in, and started creating my first character. I created an Orc Warlock to play with the controls and check out the universe. After about thirty seconds, I logged out and tried again. Not even a minute into the game and I'd experienced alt-itis. Judge me how you will, but I was a fan of the Night Elf race in Warcraft 3, so my first real character past level 10 was a Night Elf Druid. That's when I learned I hated Druids. Alt after alt later, (an alt is an 'alternate character,' for the unenlightened, meaning a character you do not play as often or attentively as your main character (toon), or 'main.') I settled on a toon I enjoyed. My Human Paladin.
A few of my friends in that unit, some of which I still play with today, formed a guild that I was invited into. On the PvP server of Kel'Thuzad, we hacked, slashed, and carved our adventures into the world of Azeroth, defending the people, bolstering the Alliance, and wielding formidable weapons and powerful magic against those that would do them harm. The world was vibrant, brilliant, full of live and lush scenery. There are many who complain of the fantastic and almost cartoonish art style of the game, but I think it fits perfectly. Say what you will, naysayers, but it's still a beautiful, beautiful game.
Something happened, though, while playing that game. Something more than just a video game ended up resulting from those adventures in that virtual world. More than just a set of items or a bounty of gold. I made friends in that game, real people across the world. Fellow adventurers, sometimes fierce adversaries, but living, breathing, players that acted and thought on their own. The experience was so dynamic, and though the game still existed within its own framework, it was as if we'd broken some wall of limitation that gaming wasn't supposed to allow. Far more than anything I'd gotten from City of Heroes, there was true camaraderie here. Perhaps it was because the majority of us were soldiers, and already had that, or perhaps because we'd all started the game at the same time together, and we were all we knew in that hostile, alien place. However it happened, it created an experience like no other I've ever had in a gaming platform or environment, and to this day I treasure it.
This is only the first post on what I'm probably going to make an ongoing series about this game, and games like it. I've even started making videos to augment the blogs, to add a bit of flavor and life to what I'm trying to portray. Here's one now!
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's some cultists in Deepholm that have insulted my honor and must be dealt with.
-TehKnuck out.
