The World of Warcraft: all the benefits without the high Columbian prices!

The World of Warcraft: all the benefits without the high Columbian prices!

April 15, 2007, 3:49 am
Filed under: posts | Tags: addiction, friends, self, society, technology, WoW

In the college world, the World of Warcraft, (WoW) is a commonly known lifestyle game. It carries both a stigma of digital addiction as well as an entrance to a reserved group of people. In a blog partially about college, it has to be mentioned. You would really be blown away by how many people and the variety of people who play this game. Blizzard entertainment has cleverly found the goldmine of online gaming and it will milk this thing to the very end.

We’ve all heard the stories about insanity surrounding this game in Asia. For instance take this and this article about deaths directly related to prolonged time spent playing this game. Here’s a story about a suicide related to the game.

However, what about the home front?

I used to be a WoW player, so here’s my take for both the addicts and the uninformed.

Let’s start with something more comical. I guess you’d need to know some game terms to truely compehend the comic, but it’s still pretty good nonetheless.

Ok, as for my own experience, I played WoW for about a year and a half on and off. For those who care, I played a warlock on the Black Dragonflight server with a mixture of online and college friends. I suppose I am someone who likes change and so I got bored of the game and quit a few times only to rejoin after a few months. I made a few hundred dollars in the end when I finally sold it. However, I definitely played the game enough to understand the social dynamics that drive its community.

First of all, here’s a quick rundown of how WoW works in the most concise method possible. This is also probably how most people understand the game on a basic level. Here’s the rundown in chronological order.

1. Make character

2. Join Guild (group of allied characters/friends)

3. Complete tasks, kill monster, gain levels

4. Obtain good equipment (through the completion of tasks and killing monsters)

5. Beat other players in PvP (player versus player) settings

The Cycle

This seems like a straightforward process, and it is to a point. The time needed to achieve this can range from weeks to years. However, this game is far deeper than a linear process. The key key key note, in terms of gameplay and addiction, is that Blizzard is constantly adding new material to the game that is better than existing stuff. They can afford this through the 14 dollar subsciption fee to play the game and it also means that the game never ends. In order to be the best, you need to be constantly updated with the best gear. However, the best gear is arbitrarily updated by the company and therein lies the trap. That clean 5 step process is actually a great frustrating circle.

However, why do people even want to excel in this game anyways?

Accessible Power

The answer to this lies in a very primal explanation. As humans, we desire power. WoW offers power at a very simple cost – time. The money part is really unimportant. I can see Blizzard upping the prices a few dollars higher per month and their new players may drop a bit, but the existing numbers would be firm. Time is the real currency that is paid for virtual power. This is such a universally accessible cost for people. WoW players begin to realize that the game is not like any other heirarchy of power out there. There are no concrete restraints like looks, social skills or knowledge. As long as you can put in the time, you will accumulate more and more social presitge and power.

Now, WoW players will argue here that there is definitely an amount of skill and knowledge required to play effectively. Though it is a valid point, in perspective, these are trivial skills and information that is easily obtainable given enough time. (Who can’t learn to click boxes or remember black and white strategy points?) In the end, WoW offers a social ladder that is completely unrestricted by anything exlusive and ranked only by time inputted. This is how you get players who have played hundreds of days on their characters, literally large portions of years exclusively spent online.

The Guild System

There would be no point to accumulating power if there was not a social structure to express that force. Hence, the guild system. WoW offers players the opportunity to form groups of characters called guilds – like in the medieval sense of the word. This creates exclusive social groups within the community, very important when you want to simulate a real society. This creates friction and cohesion amongst players since now you’ve introduced a sense of special belonging and the much needed “us versus them” (literally) mentality.

Viritual friendships are like BB guns, an allusion to the real deal that feels great except for the obvious (glowing orange) tip that tells you it isn’t. WoW players know viritual friends are a step away from meeting people in real life but just like that kid blasting away with his BB gun, players are just looking for the idealized image of friendship. You make friends quickly because of the natural factors: you have similar goals, interests, enemies, and allies. Race, religion, looks, age are all unimportant. Though this sets a scene for a less restrictive model for friendship, it is also very unrealistic and immature. Friendship completely devoid of real social pressure is as shallow as it can get – no matter how much computer gold someone gives another.

Issues, real issues.

Couple this danger-free friend system and the social heirarchy based on time spent and accumulation of virtual wealth and prestige, and you get the WoW world. In the end, it is a social outlet for people to show their abilities. It is another source of possible compliment and pride. It is a form of success that is made to be accessible to all and therefore so universally believed and respected in the game. There is not a new player who does not believe he/she cannot reach the social power of a stronger player.

In this blog, the author disagrees with the importance of guilds, but cites the same social factors for the game’s popularity.

It is important to remember that the game is designed to be an endless cycle of trying to be the best. The means to the top dictates that time is the cost. Therefore, what are players really doing when they are flaunting their virtual accomplishments to this virtual society? They are doing the opposite in reality – the real world. Instead of accumulating the skills and experience needed to succeed after college, they are given the false idea that time is all that is required to achieve real greatness. How can you blame them, it has been the only real obstacle they have faced in the virtual realm. Instead of meeting new people in a real social setting, they flourish in a safe, behind the keyboard society that values the addiction. The real social situations they will face aren’t as protected and simple. What then?

The world then is a conflicting place. Reality is not the same world their social instincts have been molded in. This drive the addiction even further as now their social comfort zone is in-game. It is the place they feel they have control over their lives and the ability and means to succeed. The virtual community applauds their achievements while the real world may label them as geeks or outcasts. Value systems are completely skewed. The problem becomes evident then. When nurtured in a realm where everyone has the same potential and where admiration and power come indirectly from time spent, then of course you will see people playing the game 18 hours a day.

Quit, dammit, quit!

There’s no other way than to just do it. Sell your account.

What do you guys think?

Note: I know there are plenty of WoW players who are fine in their offline lives. My concern is not with the casual player, but really with the addict whose life is completely WoW-based. Criticisms accepted.

8 Comments

8 Comments so far
Leave a comment

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI