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World of Warcraft ate my friends
I was a big video gamer all my life. In college, I really slowed down, because I preferred hanging out with friends. Now, all my friends are gone, though I see them still. How can this be? It's because....
World of Warcraft ate my friends!!!!! (picture that text all wobbly against a background of spiraling white and black stripes)
Last summer, after running Morrowind and Baldur's Gate into the ground, I longed for more massively open-ended RPG action. I looked into many games, but I couldn't find any that looked worthwhile.
So, I gave into the demons and picked up Final Fantasy XI. After downloading their bullshit for like 6 or 7 gentoo installations (layman's terms: many many hours), I played the game. Welcome to an MMO where monsters can hit you with melee weapons from thousands of feet away as you run for your life. Ha ha. Next week, no more FFXI.
So a friend recommended Dark Age of Camelot. An older, simpler game, more true to the roots of RPG's, so I heard. I found a 14-day trial, played it, and didn't mind horribly. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it past that, except all my friends joined in.
So we played it for about a month. Then I got a job, and really didn't have that kind of time, so eventually I stopped. Then, over time, so did they.
Okay, fine. So that November, World of Warcraft comes out. They all get in the beta except me. Resentful, I resolve never to play it. Then, they all buy it. Fine. Eventually I gave in and bought it too.
Now, with 5 people in the house all playing the same game, it was kind of fun; okay, massive server problems and hilarious balance issues in the first few months, but, you know, fun.
So I had my fun, and then it got real boring in about month 3, so, enough for me.
Except they all kept playing.
And they're still playing.
All of them.
To this day.
Ranging from merely having nothing better to do than play, to full-blown oh-my-fucking-god-how-the-fuck-did-you-get-a-college-degree addiction, my friends have all but departed this dear world for the one Blizzard made.
I rail against it, but to no avail. I laud the virtues of real life, and decry the sins of virtuality, but my sermons are unheard. Only D&D (thank god), TV (ugh), and sometimes food can lure them away, and then only for a few hours.
How do I rescue them? I've thought about perhaps reintroducing the true meaning of gaming. Perhaps some new Gamecube games, to refresh our collection which hasn't grown in a year? Or maybe a few German Board Games in the stockings. I long for the age of random pickup battletech games, illuminati, and shogun (aka samurai swords aka omfg it's so fucking expensive).
I only hope they do not steal Alex's soul and give it to their dark Blizzard overlords, casting subliminal soul-crushing spells during our d&d games.
Help! Or point at me and laugh.
World of Warcraft ate my friends!!!!! (picture that text all wobbly against a background of spiraling white and black stripes)
Last summer, after running Morrowind and Baldur's Gate into the ground, I longed for more massively open-ended RPG action. I looked into many games, but I couldn't find any that looked worthwhile.
So, I gave into the demons and picked up Final Fantasy XI. After downloading their bullshit for like 6 or 7 gentoo installations (layman's terms: many many hours), I played the game. Welcome to an MMO where monsters can hit you with melee weapons from thousands of feet away as you run for your life. Ha ha. Next week, no more FFXI.
So a friend recommended Dark Age of Camelot. An older, simpler game, more true to the roots of RPG's, so I heard. I found a 14-day trial, played it, and didn't mind horribly. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it past that, except all my friends joined in.
So we played it for about a month. Then I got a job, and really didn't have that kind of time, so eventually I stopped. Then, over time, so did they.
Okay, fine. So that November, World of Warcraft comes out. They all get in the beta except me. Resentful, I resolve never to play it. Then, they all buy it. Fine. Eventually I gave in and bought it too.
Now, with 5 people in the house all playing the same game, it was kind of fun; okay, massive server problems and hilarious balance issues in the first few months, but, you know, fun.
So I had my fun, and then it got real boring in about month 3, so, enough for me.
Except they all kept playing.
And they're still playing.
All of them.
To this day.
Ranging from merely having nothing better to do than play, to full-blown oh-my-fucking-god-how-the-fuck-did-you-get-a-college-degree addiction, my friends have all but departed this dear world for the one Blizzard made.
I rail against it, but to no avail. I laud the virtues of real life, and decry the sins of virtuality, but my sermons are unheard. Only D&D (thank god), TV (ugh), and sometimes food can lure them away, and then only for a few hours.
How do I rescue them? I've thought about perhaps reintroducing the true meaning of gaming. Perhaps some new Gamecube games, to refresh our collection which hasn't grown in a year? Or maybe a few German Board Games in the stockings. I long for the age of random pickup battletech games, illuminati, and shogun (aka samurai swords aka omfg it's so fucking expensive).
I only hope they do not steal Alex's soul and give it to their dark Blizzard overlords, casting subliminal soul-crushing spells during our d&d games.
Help! Or point at me and laugh.
Comments
If you want to use other video games to lure them away, I think the Nintendo DS is the ticket. Get everyone a copy of Mario Kart and you'll be golden.
But if you want me to point and laugh, I can still do that. Mostly at you for trying to save them instead of just running away to greener pastures.
Basically, if somone chooses to be uninteresting or reclusive, there's not much you can do about it. It's their choice, and they'll resent you telling them to do differently.
Any hobby can suck people in and cause them to spend lots of time and money indulging in what they consider fun. I don't see how the fact that some people don't know how to manage their time makes a game evil. I somehow managed to finish a PhD, teach three classes at a university, help raise 2 children, and play WoW. It's all about the individual. Back in the 80's DnD received a great deal of heat from the media because it made use of devils and demons as adversaries for players and also because kids were hurt in some capacity by going down into sewers, etc. Video games, movies, and comics receive bad press because they're too violent and are desensitizing our youth. I think the argument that Blizzard is eating your friends falls into the same category. Remember, just because YOU don't enjoy something, doesn't mean it's not a valid form of entertainment, and you can find Barrens chat everywhere.
From your post it seems as if the enjoyment you derive from WoW is not from the game itself, but form the socialization with the people in your guild, so let me ask this. If socialization is what you want, why not just hang out in a chat room or forum? Why not just use any of the free social networking sites out there? If you want your socialization to be in the context of a game, why not pick a free game instead of a game with a subscription fee? Why not at least pick a game with some substance? Why pick a game that consists of nothing more than repeated mindless clicking and watching numbers increase?
There are an innumerable amount of games in the world that you can use as a context for social interaction. An MMORPG in the style of WoW is perhaps the worst game you can possibly choose. Why not choose Go, Counter-Strike, Scrabble, Civilization 4, or any game that actually has redeeming value?
Let me try an analogy. The socialization with the people in your guild is what you want. That's the deli meat. WoW is the bread. It is a vehicle that you use to deliver the deli meat. However, WoW is a stale and tasteless bread that is nothing more than a vehicle. It is also horrendously overpriced. Instead, why not have a, much cheaper, fresh-baked bread to deliver the same deli meats? Everything will taste better, your wallet will be fatter, you will save time, and you will be enriched by the healthier food.
1) Person A goes on a crazy rant about how bad WoW (as an MMO not sure of the validity of his tirade). This is a board game cafe after a YuGiOh tournament which he yelled about. All in all it was about 60 minutes of ranting about things that are crap but he was talking nonsense.
2) Person A again at the same board game cafe is sitting with a laptop about a month after incident A is sitting with many people walking around him playing WoW. Still complaining about the game and how Blizzard doesn't care about the game. Apparently he quit for a few weeks and played Everquest.
3) Person B is sitting with a group of people playing Apples to Apples and is playing WoW while pretending to play Apples to Apples.
It's kind of sad what happens to people when they play WoW. Sometimes people ask to me play again and I may try but it is really boring.
What they need to do is just create the tools for people to create their own stories. Much like Dwarf Fortress, developers should only focus on the physical interactions with the world. They should have skill based combat (for a fantasy MMO it would be similar to Oblivion), the ability to create buildings and design your own structures (maybe using something like the Spore building designer or The Sims), basic skills like painting that could have a photoshop like interface for players to create their own art, cooks and brewers that create food and drink out of plant life, miners which dig out great mines and caves in mountains, engineers to design war machines, and a simple monetary system (no prices set for objects, just a market system which will allow players to establish an economy). Nothing else will be implemented though. No pre-defined alliances, no established cities, no boring fetch quests; just a blank sheet for the players to create their world. I believe that one would get a much more rich and immersive environment out of such a game. Would governments be established? What form of governments would their be? How would the economy work? Will their be any warring factions or will the world live in relative peace? I know this may be asking a bit much and I may be thinking too much of it. Maybe it would just be a giant cluster fuck. But the potential for such a social environment and game is amazing.
As for my enjoyment of the game, I like the group that I've met, and I also like the rising numbers and game play. I don't think WoW is stale and old. I'm a goal driven person who likes to have a challenge. I won't argue that it gets repetitive at times (say working on your Netherdrake), but how is that any different from a first person shooter? How many times can you do the same board on Half-Life or play versus another player in a mod? How about slaying yet, another dragon in a DnD adventure? Now you've gained a level and your numbers rise; maybe you've even got a new flashy "epic" weapon from its horde. What about playing the same strategy board game for the 50th time? Think of the first turn in Axis and Allies (which I'm sure many of you have played). How different is Russia's first move from game to game? I'm not going to stop play AandA because I need to secure my western front from Germany every game. Blizzard's created a rich world for its customers. The eye candy alone can be worth playing the game, and I started playing with my graphics on the lowest settings because my laptop had a crap video card. What about the "intertext" between WoW and other games/pop culture? If you pay attention to what the NPC's are doing, you'll catch references to Elton John's Rocket Man or the Legend of Zelda series. The game play is engaging and challenging. You can choose different roles to play according to character customization. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the game does have a great deal of redeeming value. It's easily the best computer game I've played in a long time.
As for socializing, I don't think the game is all that restrictive. How much you do with that is up to the player. I'd say that I've seen people take things too far given that they have a layer of anonymity. As always, the internet can be a scary place.
As for playing WoW while doing something else, I've seen people multitask in that fashion doing lots of stuff. How about sitting in class while you text message or talking on the phone and doing virtually anything these days. That's not WoW specific either, and you're right in that it can certainly be rude. For all y'all know, I'm talking to my wife right now and pretending to listen to what she's saying while I focus on what I'm typing. (I'm not... this time.)
In the end, I don't see how playing WoW means that people want to be alone and waste time. Yeah, it's a time sink, but so is any hobby. By it's nature, WoW encourages interaction with other people, and I would say much more than many other computer game. That's what the guild structure is all about. I've met a number of my guildmates, whom I didn't know already, in real life because we've had so much fun in the game. WoW gives me a way of keeping in touch with old highschool buddies on a week to week basis, too. Seriously guys, it's not the devil.
Candy Land is a game that does not test any skills. When you play Candy Land, the results are determined as soon as you shuffle the deck and decide who is going first. The entire game consists of slowly revealing the pre-determined results. Playing Candy Land is a waste of time. All you do by playing Candy Land is waste precious time in your finite life.
WoW is a little better than Candy Land, but not much. Much like Candy Land, the game also does not test any skills. It simply tests how much time you are willing to invest. If you invest more time, you do better at WoW. If you invest less time, you do not do as well. The only other thing that determines how well you do at WoW is your knowledge of the game itself. The more you know about WoW, the more you can get out of the time you invest. On the fundamental level, WoW is nothing more than a bottomless pit which eats time and money, and gives nothing in return that can't be had for less.
As for the other games you used as comparison, some of them are good, and some are bad. Slaying Dragons in D+D is not different from WoW, but playing a proper tabletop RPG results in collaborative storytelling experience and produces a work of art. Axis and Allies is a pretty bad game, and for a player that knows the optimal strategy, it is no different than playing Candy Land. The same goes for any strategy board game that has been solved. Good board games that have not been solved test many skills. Go is an ancient game, and it still has no solution. Counter-Strike and other fpses might seem to be the same every time, but they test skills like reflexes and small squad military tactics. It's not much, but it's more than WoW.
Everyone needs some diversion in their lives. Diversion plus socialization seems to be a winning combination. In our vast world, we have available to us many options to fulfill this need, many of them games. Some of these games have redeeming values of their own, even if it is only a little bit. Other games are simply a waste of time. Nobody is immortal. We all have a finite amount of time in which to live. If you're going to spend some of that time on a diversion, at least try to find a diversion that has a small amount of usefulness. Do something that actually exercises some muscles, including your brain. There are plenty of free options available. Why choose a non-free option that offers no exercise?
MMOs provide a foundation for people to socialize and interact. A group of friends could meet up every day and communicate through a chatroom, but there will be times when no one has anything to say. The MMO provides a stop gap because you can always talk about what's going on in game which keeps the socializing happening.
May I say that I'm stunned that any gamer doesn't like Axis and Allies? I don't really know where to go from there. I can't count the hours I've spent playing that game, and even with the optimal strategy, the dice rolling adds a factor of chance into the game which makes it exciting.
You're right that DnD can be art. I've played since I was in grammar school... Well, grammar school wasn't so much playing the game as telling interactive stories. We were "fast and loose" with rules to say the least. Would I play DnD over WoW? I likely would. I'm going to move back to my home town soon, and I've already begun talking to my friends there about setting up a campaign. It certainly won't replace WoW completely though. Coordinating WoW is simply so much easier than coordinating DnD since you don't all have to be in the same place. I don't really know how much actual role playing goes on on the RP servers, to be honest. I suspect it's nothing like tabletop RPG's, but I could be wrong.
As for exercising your brain while you're entertaining yourself, I don't think that every moment of every day has to be spent doing something productive. I've been teaching at the college level for the last 9 years, and I exercise my brain all the time. I don't necessarily want to do a lot of heavy thinking when I'm at home and looking to do something fun. Sometimes chatting up friends in Vent while working on quests or running an instance can give me a break from worrying about the grammar and syntax of Latin (one of the things that I teach) or any other intellectual pursuit.
The money issue is also a minor one at best. After buying the game, you pay $15 a month. That's less than it costs to go to a movie and buy refreshments. It's the price of a decent bottle of wine. It's far less than one might spend at a casino in an evening or sometimes less than I used to spend playing Streetfighter 2 at the arcade in an evening when I was a teenager. I get a heck of a lot of entertainment for my $15 a month.
I'm just curious, but how much have you played WoW? I only started listening to the podcast a few months ago, and so I likely missed a review of the game aside from the occasional stray remark.
I had it all: I was the main tank for one of the top guilds on our server, and primary face-smasher for good arena teams. We were progressing quickly, stepping into BT/Hyjal when most of our server still had trouble with Gruul and Void Reaver (BT/Hyjal are at the top-end of the player-versus-environment game, for the uninitiated, and Gruul and Void Reaver are at the entry level). I was rolling in the T5/T6, thinking I was all that.
But one day, a few months ago, my guild disbanded out of the blue. Unable to raid, I frantically searched for a way to get into other guilds on the server. No luck (they all played either way too early or way too late for me). Then, sitting on the guild recruitment forums, I had a revelation: that it all had meant nothing. Everything had come crashing down upon me. It was then that I knew:
I had to quit.
I took a long hard look at what it had done to me: more than once had I turned down my social life in favor of my virtual one, my academic life was being shaped around raid times, etc. I was an addict, through and through. Not once during the whole two-or-so year affair with the game had I ever thought of myself that way. It had consumed my life without my realizing it.
Don't let it consume yours!
You don't have to give up the ones you have but hang out with others you know who aren't in the game.
If you win at Tigris and Euphrates, Go, or in an olympic event, you have real bragging rights. You demonstrated clearly that you are superior to the other competitors in some way. If you win at Yahtzee, Axis + Allies, or Risk what does that say? It says the dice happened to be in your favor. If you "win" at WoW, what does that say? It says you wasted more of your time on WoW than the other guy. What games you play, what games you enjoy playing, how you play those games, and whether you win or lose, says a lot about who you are. What do your gaming habits say about you? I have played WoW for five minutes. However, we have many demo discs, and we plan to review the demo at some point in the future when we actually have time. Despite not playing WoW, I have played many MUDs and other online RPGs in the past. All of the evidence I have gathered suggests that WoW is fundamentally no different than any of these games. It simply has taken the mechanics of these games and polished them to a squeaky clean shine. Too bad the problem is that those mechanics make for a bad game on a fundamental level. If there is something about WoW that makes it fundamentally different from a MUD, please point it out to me. I will be very interested to hear about it.
*goes off and gets ready for the weekend*
It's a good game, I like it and I wish that I wasn't poor so I could play it (I don't think it's really that expensive at all, but I only get 200 a month and most of it goes to savings or buying things needed month to month). It's unfortunate for addicts, but it's their own damned fault if they get that caught up with the thing. I think that of anyone who gets addicted to anything (be it a hobby, drug, or otherwise), and that they will come out of it when they decide to - a good friend will help support them, but there's really no way to stop them.
And to be honest, I can stand playing WoW a lot longer than any board game or games focused on cards or such (Apples to Apples, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, any regular board game, etc) - the only exception is D&D so far.
http://www.soycarretero.com/2007/10/31/wickers-world-of-warcraft/
My only experience with WoW is second hand through a very funny South Park episode.
Contrast that against a game like Tigris and Euphrates. Tigris and Euphrates is a game that has randomness in it. You draw new tiles randomly out of a bag. That randomness does have an effect on the game, however the randomness has a very small effect on the outcome of the game. The random factor can also be mitigated by the decision making of the players. In a game of Tigris and Euphrates, who wins and who loses is almost solely determined by the decisions of the players. The same probably goes for Puerto Rico, but that is currently under debate, at least in the three player game.
You keep using D+D as an example, and it is an incredibly poor example. D+D is not a game of winning and losing. It is simply a conflict resolution mechanic for collaborative storytelling. You aren't testing skills, you are creating art.
Many people do argue that the value of WoW is in its role playing potential. If you buy this argument, then that means that the actual game mechanics of WoW are nothing more than a conflict resolution mechanic for telling stories. That's complete bullshit. The only conflict resolution mechanic in WoW is kill or be killed. The same is true for D+D, however, D+D still has a leg up on WoW. In WoW the story is already told for you. Blizzard has written all the story for you. All you can do as a player is experience parts of that story, over and over and over. You can't create your own story inside of WoW like you can in a tabletop game. Even if you could, you are just using the chat room to do so. IRC channels are free, so using WoW for that purpose costs a lot more, and gains you nothing extra.
I agree with you, though, that Blizzard is not to blame. Some people get "addicted", and some people don't. Some people have their lives ruined, and some people don't. The ruining of lives is not my criticism of WoW. My criticism of WoW is that it lacks no substance as a game of skill, and it is incredibly inferior when viewed as an RPG. It really is just a very expensive, very crappy, alternative to games that already exist. Playing WoW is like paying to play Quake 1 when Quake 2 exists for free, only take that difference up another couple orders of magnitude.
WoW isn't vile or self destructive. It's just a waste of time.