by Byron Mudry on Apr 04, 2006
"Just 10 more minutes... just 10 more minutes... I'm almost done the quest...
*3 hours later* That took a... little longer than expected..."
How far have we all sunk in to the addictive game known as World of Warcraft? Blizzard has topped all the charts with the 5.5 million subscribers it has under its enormous belt, and their numbers are only rising. What makes us still play WOW after all these months? What makes us log in every day, join every second raid, and spend those late nights on this particular MMORPG? This article will provide a brief look at what Blizzard does to make us, the gamers, come back always wanting more, especially with the latest patch out!
"How to keep customers paying $15 a month for as long as humanly possible?"
Many say that Blizzard's original hook came and started with the free Beta trials, where people could download the game, try it for a short period of time, and from there, have their eyes opened to the incredible experience. Word of mouth travels incredibly fast, and soon many people who played the Beta, were passing the word along, and the views that Blizzard made another winner. I was one of these people, never really heard much about the upcoming Blizzard MMORPG, until I began to hear my friends at school talking about it. The fateful night where I came over and watched the game being played on a friend's computer, blown away by everything new, how great and colorful everything looked, and how I could really personalize my character. It seems that I judged it at a glance, a terrible trait most have when it comes to new things. Front that point on, like many others, WOW hooked me.
Today I have my level 60 Warrior (Memnok) and my level 60 Druid (Darkbeastman) both on Thunderhorn, and as the months go by, why do I, as well as everyone else, keep playing? We hit level 60, what makes us go on, what hooks us in? Blizzard made the level cap easily attainable by anyone, casual or hardcore. They made it so that all players could have the potential to be equal, to all have the power and armour and abilities.. or do they? Time means everything in a MMORPG, and WOW is no exception. Time after 60 allows people to Raid, to PVP, to Farm, all in hopes of bettering their characters. People with more time to spend benefit the most, and will always have better equipment, more honor, more fame within their server etc. What hooked us from the beginning you may ask? Many of us have forgotten what many of the incredible things WOW offers.
When we all first started, everything was brand new. This was a game where we could choose from our favorite Warcraft Trilogy races and factions, then be placed in a completely alive world. This world was completely different in every way for each of your starting races, a different experience, a different feel, and we all loved it. We became very attached to our Faction (as you can notice such a huge loyalty to Horde or Alliance by the WOW gamers) and the content was fresh, bold and new. The environment and landscapes were epic and colorful, some Tim Burton'y, others rugged and harsh, all was amazing. People were quite interested in discovering new regions, and getting to see all the new vendors in a newly discovered town was a great feeling. We all had a much better appreciation for one another in game, Guilds were forming, specs were developing, and Blizzard was right, we for that time were equal.
As time went on, more and more people joined WOW and the once massive world became much smaller, and it's mysteries much more small scale to its players. Mounts came, epic loot came, MC Rag runs went to farm status, progression in general. Many people enjoy the game and have fun interacting with it's players, role playing, and just having a blast with the comical, non- raiding or PVP content available throughout the old world, but not most. A large split has occurred inside the game now, a huge gap between "Raiders and Casuals". When a person hits 60 in WOW now a days, it means very little, unlike 8 months ago. You Ding, people congratulate you, but what then? Unless you have become part of a "Raiding Guild", is that the end for you? Blizzard has given all classes sets, both large and small scale. These are for players, both casual and hardcore, to achieve, from tier 0 Rare's, to Tier 2 Epics. Many players continue to play WOW in hoped to achieve better loot, to finnish their sets, to gain items. In a recent CNET News article, David Becker explains to us the lure:
"Such games also lure players with complex systems of goals and achievements. "Ever Quest" players engage in activities to develop their characters from one level to the next and compete to find valuable in-game elements such as armor and weapons. Players can find themselves wrapped up in the game for hours as they struggle to gain one more skill or weapon.
I'd say the most addictive part for me was definitely the gain of power and status, the way in which as you progressively gain power you become more (of) an object of awe (to) the other players...each new skill isn't enough."
This want and need for better equipment, for better "in game fame" for trying out a new class that has been upgraded in the latest patch are all reasons for people to continue playing. There is no doubt about how fun the game of WOW is itself, and for all those who have played, they will compare every other game they will ever play to it. It is appealing to both girls and guys, old and young, is not graphic or horrific in any way, and would be on par with a cartoony comedy, meant to make you smile. Blizzard is always adding in new things and events for people to visit, attraction and many having to do with media and entertainment outside the game. There are hundreds of references scattered in the world from items and quests, to npc's all named after movies, bands, songs, t. v programs and much more. Gurubashi Arena Booty Run, Darkmoon Faire, Battlegrounds, Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza, Elemental Invasions, Noblegarden, Children's Week, Engineers' Explosive Extravaganza, Hallow's End, and the Feast of Great-Winter are all great examples of events that make the players smile and always entertained.
There is always lots of content in WOW, it's really a matter of what you want to accomplish in the game, and whether you want to have fun or not. Achieving a PVP rank, a faction rep, a full set takes time, and a lot of energy, but there are so many things to enjoy. It is never anything to risk your health over a game. Some people take the addiction too far, for example, Mark McKay talking about a WOW related suicide committed just last year:
"Looking at a common addiction many people can relate to, smoking. Nobody would claim that the actual act of smoking could lead to anybody’s death. Rather it is the chemicals being inhaled while smoking that have been linked to various diseases leading to a potential premature death. Following this same logic we could then say that spending large amounts of your day playing World of Warcraft could not kill you. So the real problem in this case most be something else.
Examining suicide we should look at what really causes someone to take their own life. While a lot more research on the subject is still needed, it is believed that some type of psychiatric disorder, depression being the most common is the leading cause of suicide. If properly diagnosed most mental health problems can be treated and controlled. The difficulty is for people to realize that they have a problem and to go and seek treatment. The unfortunate stigma still attached to mental health problems leads many to go without getting treatment for what could be a highly treatable disease.
Looking back at the case at hand, we can see that a teen playing World of Warcraft too much could definitely be a potential sign that something is wrong. People who have difficulty dealing with reality or interacting with people are two possible signs of a mental health disease. So every parent should be aware of this, and if their children are using computer games as a way to withdraw from friends and family they should definitely seek profession medical advice, it just might save their child’s life."
WOW is a game we all play for different reasons, but we all play together whether we like it or not. With the latest patches, and the upcoming expansion, Blizzard has provided people with more than enough content, Raids and role playing then we could hope to go through in 2 lifetimes. There is always something to upgrade and something to quest for in Azeroth, and don't worry about things so much, it's only a game played to gave fun, and it is not going anywhere, nor are the items and factions people lose sleep over!
Have comments or suggestions? Thought of something that has been missed? Found an error? We would love to hear from you! Please email me at memnok@tentonhammer.com