World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

So what do you do when you want to make some art about World of Warcraft? Go and make the WoW pod that has water, food, a toliet, WoW, and more so that you don't have to get up except if your house is on fire or if you are unable to sleep upright. Come join David "Xerin" Piner as he discusses what the WoW pod is, will it ever have an affect on your gameplay, and what exactly does the novel Snow Crash have to do with this WoW pod thing.

So, let’s take the toilet out and just move to the food and water. Then let me ask how far your fridge is away from you right now? Many raiders I know keep food and drink nearby during raid times. I myself have a fridge within chair rolling distance of my computer full of video game essentials like soda and snacks. There is nothing really special about having food and drink around. That leaves a computer and you’ve got one of those reading this!

What does the book Snow Crash have to do with World of Warcraft? Not a whole lot until some WoW fans over at MIT created the WoW Pod. The WoW Pod is a hut that helps you isolate yourself from the world by containing all of the essentials (including a toilet) that you need to play WoW nonstop. Of course, it’s technically not limited to just WoW (even if no one has yet to look at the prospect), but it still holds a high interest as both an art piece and a social statement in the MMO community.

The WoW Pod is an art piece created by a group of people over at MIT that contains a large screen monitor (and accompanying computer), a toilet, a hotplate integrated into WoW (which is probably in some way breaking the ToS in a non-harmful way), food, water (in a cool water pouch), a chair, and a fold out keyboard all within a neat little hut. The intention is to create a neat little place where you can raid without having to get up to eat, drink, or make a trip to the bathroom.

The reality is that this thing gets so many kneejerk replies across the Internet. “LOL SOUTH PARK” and “LOL NERDS COMING UP WITH NERDY WAYS TO STAY IN THE GAME”. I’ll be honest; the only part of this that gets a strong reaction from me is the toilet. Not for the humor but for the design. As a male there is no way for me to cleanly use it while playing WoW. When raiding you have to give the game 110% and if you’re busy trying to do something other than raid you’re going to find yourself causing a wipe.

So, let’s take the toilet out and just move to the food and water. Then let me ask how far your fridge is away from you right now? Many raiders I know keep food and drink nearby during raid times. I myself have a fridge within chair rolling distance of my computer full of video game essentials like soda and snacks. There is nothing really special about having food and drink around. That leaves a computer and you’ve got one of those reading this!

So essentially what I’m saying is that a dream of this leading into a Snow Crash revolution where we can live inside of a game until it’s time to sleep is pretty near null and void. It’s nothing special in itself because it doesn’t provide anything that most of us don’t already have except the non-practical toilet and who wants their vent bind to misfire during the use of that thing?

It does make a neat statement on the social isolation of some MMO players and how raiding can cause a kind of reclusive state where a lot of things like cooking and cleaning come second to getting the latest boss’s new loot. It’s in the same way that it conjures forth more stigma by the uninformed masses who see the picture on their latest news blog and automatically assume that they’re not only for sell but installed in every house of everyone who plays WoW.

I will say one thing. It sure does look pretty and sitting on a throne while playing WoW may be a really cool idea. If these things were ever produced (sans the toilet) and I was really rich I wouldn’t mind having one just for a decoration. You can pick up some more information about the WoW Pod and even go visit it in MIT’s Museum right here. As for owning one? Not for sale and the creator’s have stated that they have no current plans to produce the hot plates.

Oh, and here is one for our forum crew. See this picture of the food? Do you think this would be a tasty treat or would using the thing to warm up some water for instant ramen be more your thing?