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Is World of Warcraft More Than Just A Game?
walnutmon writes "Newsweek has published a three page article asking whether World of Warcraft is more than just a game. Though some spend their time in WoW grinding, others take a break from the monotony of gaming to interact with others from the community in a meaningful way. From the article: 'Generally, though, players of the game enjoy a form of community rarely seen in the real world; higher-level players go out of their way to tutor newbies and accompany them on quests. Deep friendships are forged. Relationships begin that flower into marriage, with Tauren brides and Undead grooms tying the knot in some virtual tavern in Thunder Bluff.' I guess the question is, does a game become more when people do more than play to win, or is this just an added feature?" Raph Koster has been of the opinion, for quite some time now, that all MMOGs are virtual worlds; it just so happens you can play a game inside many of them. What's your view on this? Are Massive games just another kind of game title, or are they something special?
Games like WoW have always fostered a feeling of community. Even back in the Dungeons and Dragons days (which live on for many of us) the games offered a feeling of belonging. The difference is a matter of scale. Wow is so massive that this community is much larger, more multifaceted, and has more sub-communities.
Information wants a fueled airplane waiting at the hangar and no one gets hurt.
There is some degree of community in other games, but not in WoW. Unless you consider Chuck Norris jokes community.
that happens to be addictive as hell to some people.. But it is still just a game. Personally I stay the hell away from those sorts of games the same way I avoid crack cocaine and heroin.. Heroin users have a community too. I always used to listen to them talk on the bus in the morning till they all got off at the methadone clinic. Seemed like nice people, but I don't want to join their community.
MUDs (precursors to mmorpgs) have noticed this for a long time. The game is cool, and it is what draws people, but the relationships and community is what causes people to stay. This logically leads to stuff like MUD meets (players going to somewhere and hanging out for a few days) and even an occasionally marriage. I'm serious; I know no less than two couples who met in a MUD and ended up getting married.
DYWYPI?
**'Generally, though, players of the game enjoy a form of community rarely seen in the real world; higher-level players go out of their way to tutor newbies and accompany them on quests. Deep friendships are forged. Relationships begin....**
Its pretty conceited to think that only WoW would have a 'community' feeling to it... I call BS, not because I think WoW or other online gaming communities deserve being called BS, but because the story is BS. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of real world places and activities (not that slashdot readers or WoW players would know about real world) to find community experience, and develop relationships through a common interest.... fer christsakes, that is what the world did BEFORE the Internet....
All I can say is that it MUST be a slow news day... geez!
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I play games to win.. to crush others and gain respect. Single player games can be beaten.. MMORPGs cannot be 'won' and they have no ending.
I got hooked on Shadowbane more than once in my college career. It's an mmorpg like wow where you just go around killing everyone pretty much (and you can knock down their cities too). It took a long time.. but eventually I had all the best gear for my character. Then I made a new character and got into the politics for the game. So eventually I ran a city.. then I ran a guild.. then I ran a whole entire alliance of guilds that comprised of half the server. Then I got burned out.. I must've played 14 hours a day at that point. I would go without food for hours until I was certain my alliance could function for 30 seconds without me.
So you'd think after all that I'd learn my lesson? No.
I went back into Shadowbane.. because it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Every day, I could find something new, kill someone new, find a new unique viable character build, etc. There is ALWAYS something new to do in an mmorpg. No matter what, you have NOT seen everything. I must've made over 40 max-level characters with the best possible gear. Granted, it only took about 20 hours of game play to get a character to max level once you were good at it - but still it was WAYY too much of a commitment. I began to think of 4-hour game-play blocks as expendable time. Now that I have an 8-5 job, I realize how ridiculous it is to just say "hey.. I can blow the next 4 hours helping a friend get XXX potion to make YYY item."
I'm glad I learned my lesson with just one mmorpg. I think I put multiple college degrees worth of effort into that game.
That game was seriously crack for me. When I was 'addicted' to it, I couldn't imagine my life without it. It depressed me to think of quitting that game.
So ya.. MMORPGs, imo, are more than just a game. WoW just happens to be about the gayest of mmorpgs one can get addicted to - but it still has all the addictive qualities of any mmorpg. If you can't beat it, DON'T PLAY IT (otherwise, you join it.)
--- We need more Ron Paul!
To Start this off, I'm going to state that I played WoW for well over a year and a half, From release to just two months ago. I've been a Raiding member in good standing on Malygos throughout the time I played. Yes, wow does foster a huge sense of community, Yes, it does form relationships. Indeed, I know of THREE couples who met, engaged, and married during the course of playing together. (this taken from my ingame relations with... say 200 people on a semi-regular basis) However... Every person I know of who quit seems grateful that they did so, Acting as if they finally kicked some long drug habit, or Finally escaped from some prison. Mind you, I come from the raid game, but there are those who would say that is the entirety of WoW. Take a second and ask yourself why would they be grateful they have quit? geh. the Game is addictive, in the same sense that having a weekly game of pool is addictive. You make excuses to other people IRL to excuse the fact that you can't do anything from 6pm to 10pm mon, tues, thurs, sat, sun. (etc, your raids may very) This is why I think that many people are grateful they quit, and it's the reason I am grateful of such. It gives a sense of freedom from the scheduling of one's time. People will argue, rightfully so, that people schedule thier time for leasure and all sorts of other reasons.. But I think the situation is kinda different when you're trying not to let 40 other people down. ;p
Don't Take this post wrong please. While I am grateful I quit, I met a great bunch of people while i did play, and can actually comfortably say that if I were to end up with just my clothes on my back in any number of about two dozen cities across north america (and one aussie city) I could find a friend that I made in game who'd be nice enough to let me crash there. So that's nice. I've also had my fair share of good memories with friends, Drunk in Strat, or just trying to push the envelope in PvP. the game has and does create a strong community, but it has it's downsides for sure.
Are Massive games just another kind of game title, or are they something special?
What I think is ironic is that people play these games to escape the mundanity of everyday life; the boring, daily grind. And yet, a huge part of a lot of these games is just that, repetitive mundanity that's no different than the world already around us, save for the exotic window dressing and some fancy costumes.
Anyone who's been on second life for five minutes can see that... in a game with limitless possibilities and potential, what do you get? a distilled, amplified re-creation of our own superficial consumer culture.
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People have been building communities around games for quite some time - from play by mail games to play in real life (such as chess and bridge) to role playing (such as Chainmail and D&D); all without computers. They had factions, newsletters, magazines, romances, leaders, etc. - which mirrored "real life." Not that that was restricted to games - look at any hobby and you'll see similar social constructs. All that the computer did was expand the ease of reach - no more waiting for mail or conventions to "see' old friends.
It's somewhat amusing to think that computers and the internet somehow is creating new "stuff" that has never been before seen; when often all it does is increase accessibility.
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1985 called, it wants its sterotype back. Seriously, this just isn't the case. My D&D group consists of three cops (one of whom is an officer, two are from very tough urban beats), a corrections officer, a tow truck driver and me. Vin Diesel is perfectly comfortable going on TV and proclaiming his love for D&D. There's been a mainstream D&D movie with mainstream actors (even though it sucked).
I'm sure we've all seen scenes in malls, at D&D shops, where a group of teenage jocks or punks start yelling at the customers and employees of such stores.
This is just ridiculous. I've never seen such a thing in my 25 years playing D&D. School kids bullying the geeky kids who played D&D? Sure, but not because they played D&D (some of the bullies played too at my school), but because they were weak and easy prey. Although if you live somewhere where a mall can support an RPG store (not just a GW store), you're already way ahead of the rest of the country.
WoW, on the other hand, has a far more widespread acceptance.
Accepted by who? I've never met an adult who played WoW who wasn't already a gamer. WoW gamers are looked down on by other "real" gamers (those who play face to face) as the true losers who have no lives and so have hours and hours to grind. You've got your stereotypes 100% backwards.
Go into any MMORPG that is developed enough to have a Guild system and you will see a full on society.
There's politics, currency, responsibilities, governments, charters, social contracts, friends going on outings, etc. IThey're nothing short of microcosms of societies that bring out different characters or enhance the characters of real life people.
An example: I'm an EQ addict. I belong to a "family guild" (a guild who doesn't want the focus of their organization to be raid "work" on a nightly basis) who is party of an alliance of "family guilds" whose joint efforts are to do "raiding guild" things. Consider it neighborhoods banding together for a common goal.
Recently, scandal arose when a full-on raiding guild engaged a target that belonged to the alliance. One of our alliance members, very angered, ensured that the target would be unkillable by the raiding guild force and thus brought severe shame on the alliance. Our member, after a "town hall meeting" in the forums, has chosen to disband from his guild and thus the alliance, while his guild decides what's to be done.
Furthermore, some are questioning the value of our raid leader and there is mumbling about asking him to step down.
Friends leave guilds. Guildies left behind are saddened. When a guild who enjoys its members witty banter and opinions disbands, people are actually sad.
People are social animals -- social meaning they require communication. These MMORPGS are 10% game, 90% communication. That's what sucks people in and that's why MMOs are closer to virtual political bodies than checkers and tic-tac-toe.