Zero Punctuation: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
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NoDimensional Vortex said:
sort of
let me explain
In Runescape you need to pay to get the "Member Content"
a good way to put this in WoW terms
Normal WoW would be 100% free
then it would cost you $5/month to have access to the expansions
(if that makes sense)
my note of global agenda was mearly because it's an MMO that has no monthly fees
but you still need to buy the game itself (obviously)
...I think I could put Guild Wars in that too
oh well
cheers!
Smaller player base equals less money that needs to be spent on maintenance and upkeep. Most mmo's now a days try for the subscription in the event that it makes it big and needs the monthly payments for both profit and upkeep on the servers. If they do not get anywhere near the world of war craft levels of subscription then most mmo's turn into "free 2 play" mmo's focusing on micro transactions. This is actually more profitable than the subscription based mmo's only if there aren't enough subscriptions to both offer a profit with upkeep and server maintenance costs. Blizzard has actually expressed desire to make Wow F2P when their subscriber base falls after the launch of their second mmo currently being developed.WOPR said:
Wow's subscriber base is so damn large that blizzard is always forced to upgrade their servers with the best server technology available at the time because even with the best, they still have severe lag issues. This among many other problems is the reason why large successful mmo's have a subscription program. It is this money (aside from the profit it brings) that helps pay for the technology, man power and research required for both running the game servers and maintaining them.
Meh, again watching this reminds me how much I try to dodge and get away from playing WoW, just doesn't suit me, especially since it's about reading excessive numbers. Hell, I normally avoid most games like that unless I happen to know there are weapons out there that have multi boosts. The moment I found them in Dragon Age I cared less for most. Had myself a Frost Mage, and with Alistair's ram move I WAS UNSTOPPABLE!
Seriously, I took out damned Ogres with that combo o.o
Seriously, I took out damned Ogres with that combo o.o
Basically how Yahtzee described End Game content is exactly the reason I quit playing. Games are all pointless. But they all eventually end. WoW is just pointlessness, never ending pointlessness. This is supposed to be a game remember? fun? Not a fucking job.
See, most of this video contains perfectly valid points - from how Blizzard succeeded in making questing fun to how they continue to cock up endgame content.
But it still baffles me that he claims World of Warcraft is 'evil' because it betwitches innocents into surrendering their social lives, as though the game was a digital form of heroin when that isn't true. Anyone with even a slight modicum of self-restraint can stop playing the game when they feel like it, and those who do surrender their social lives are invariably those who would find some other outlet for their pent-up need to obsess if WoW didn't exist.
He can't even hide under the flimsy excuse that it was a throwaway joke because it wasn't funny. That joke has been done by everyone and their mother, Yahtzee! Would it kill you to come up with some original material?
Besides, people play Alliance because they have Dwarves, who are awesome.
But it still baffles me that he claims World of Warcraft is 'evil' because it betwitches innocents into surrendering their social lives, as though the game was a digital form of heroin when that isn't true. Anyone with even a slight modicum of self-restraint can stop playing the game when they feel like it, and those who do surrender their social lives are invariably those who would find some other outlet for their pent-up need to obsess if WoW didn't exist.
He can't even hide under the flimsy excuse that it was a throwaway joke because it wasn't funny. That joke has been done by everyone and their mother, Yahtzee! Would it kill you to come up with some original material?
Besides, people play Alliance because they have Dwarves, who are awesome.
But then it's not completely free, they're are still costs to experience the game to it's full potential .WOPR said:
Heh, this was as expected as his mock-review on Duke Nukem Forever. And that just scared the daylights out of me alone as it was.
He just described why I hate WOW. But I have to add that WoW is like drugs. It's fun at first but then you get addicted and you have to play. It becomes a necessity and that kills the actual fun part.
Yeah, the number part is essentialy true in the end-game stuff. But you might call exploring and completing things as a goal of the game. To me the fun part was level up, untill I got between 40-60 that's when it got repetitive to me as hell. Finally got to 60 and had it all unlocked so to say and it had some things to do again. But after a while that got boring too.
But well I do have to agree with the numbers part, it's like a vicious circle. Raid to raid, pvp to pvp.
Boring dull, repetitive aka grinding. It definitely is like a drug, because you keep playing untill you finally figure out what there is left to play for. This struck me when I wasted an hour waiting for something useless and just walking around town like the washed up warrior I could have been seen like. Game Over.
Thanks Yathzee, I am glad you stated my feelings for WoW again and smacked it right in my face. Because I almost had a moment of going back, after being clean for 4 years. Yay
yeah I almost see it as a drug.
But well I do have to agree with the numbers part, it's like a vicious circle. Raid to raid, pvp to pvp.
Boring dull, repetitive aka grinding. It definitely is like a drug, because you keep playing untill you finally figure out what there is left to play for. This struck me when I wasted an hour waiting for something useless and just walking around town like the washed up warrior I could have been seen like. Game Over.
Thanks Yathzee, I am glad you stated my feelings for WoW again and smacked it right in my face. Because I almost had a moment of going back, after being clean for 4 years. Yay
yeah I almost see it as a drug.
I really get the conclusions he drew here. I have been playing the game for a while now and find it really does get fruitless unless you fully buy into its always getting better philosophy.
No. They aren't. Horde players are kind of bigoted when it comes to factional pride due to whatever reason. (underdogs, misunderstood, angsty teenage-like reason #13, etc)LittleWings said:
Play where your friends are or where you're comfortable. I would recommend playing both sides though, especially since Blizzard puts more effort in Horde questing zones these days.
Pretty sure Horde had Tauren first.Crazy_Dude said:
you get to choices when you learn how to use a computer.
1 to have a life
2 to have World of Warcraft
you cant have both
1 to have a life
2 to have World of Warcraft
you cant have both
I have to show this to my friend before he gets back into playing WoW! I must hurry, before it's too late!
I think this review warrants a more philosophical analysis:
Short Version:
The way I see it, what makes WoW evil according to Yahtzee and others is that people keep playing it because they're obsessed with slightly improving their character through better equipment. This only becomes a problem when better equipment is considered an intrinsic good, while the actual gameplay becomes a chore. At this point the player is no longer having fun or participating in recreation: they have established something within a video game as a legitimate life goal.
Long Version:
It's one thing to have the desire to prestige in CoD as a game dependent goal (i.e. a goal that one only acts in order to achieve once they have turned on their console), but it is quite another to have the same desire as a life goal (i.e. a goal ranked among professional success and personal relationships). The difference is that a game dependent goal is a goal one has when one is already in a gaming mindset, most people rarely get online because they want to get to that next level; they get online to blow off some steam and getting to the next level is a part of that. There's nothing in the game itself that makes it an intrinsic goal; it's played for enjoyment. But many WoW players have set something WITHIN THE GAME ITSELF as their goal and this goal transcends the realm of the game and intercedes with other goals that most people would consider a much higher priority (e.g. sleep, studying, work, relationships, etc.).
Another word for something that is given unnatural priority is an 'Obsession'. The psychological definition thereof focuses on anxiety, but I'm using the word in its more common sense. Just because these people wouldn't be committed, it doesn't mean that they're perfectly healthy. The way I see it there are two major symptomatic signs of obsession:
1) When something starts to hold such a high priority that it begins to take up an undue amount of the person's resources and the sacrifice of other major goals that would normally be balanced out(e.g. when someone starts losing sleep and meals over something.)The more of the other goals one is willing to sacrifice for something, the more obsessed one is with it.
2) When one loses sight of why one had the goal in the first place (e.g. if someone keeps playing a game for some reason even though it is no longer fun).
When these two things happen, a hobby turns into a perverse obsession.
1 without 2:
If the player still finds the game fun and can't stop playing it this would be a much lesser form of obsession in which the player is at least still getting something out of the game. In fact, this can be even more destructive because in the perverse case where the player is no longer enjoying the experience, this can be pointed out to them and become a strong reason for them to quit. 1 without 2 might be considered a mild form of obsession, but it isn't perverse so much as simply one needing to get one's priorities straight.
2 without 1:
This is really just a mindless habit. 2 is a relatively common occurrence, we lose sight of why we do things all the time. It is worth mentioning in the case of obsession because when combined with 1 it means that a person's motives don't quite match up with their commitment, which, I believe, is the quintessential distinguishing mark of obsession that most people will point to.
So... does this apply to WoW players? More than a few I think. What I think makes WoW prone to cause obsessive behavior is the online community in combination with gameplay that is centered around constantly improving the stats of one's character in small increments. Or numbers if you will.
Short Version:
The way I see it, what makes WoW evil according to Yahtzee and others is that people keep playing it because they're obsessed with slightly improving their character through better equipment. This only becomes a problem when better equipment is considered an intrinsic good, while the actual gameplay becomes a chore. At this point the player is no longer having fun or participating in recreation: they have established something within a video game as a legitimate life goal.
Long Version:
It's one thing to have the desire to prestige in CoD as a game dependent goal (i.e. a goal that one only acts in order to achieve once they have turned on their console), but it is quite another to have the same desire as a life goal (i.e. a goal ranked among professional success and personal relationships). The difference is that a game dependent goal is a goal one has when one is already in a gaming mindset, most people rarely get online because they want to get to that next level; they get online to blow off some steam and getting to the next level is a part of that. There's nothing in the game itself that makes it an intrinsic goal; it's played for enjoyment. But many WoW players have set something WITHIN THE GAME ITSELF as their goal and this goal transcends the realm of the game and intercedes with other goals that most people would consider a much higher priority (e.g. sleep, studying, work, relationships, etc.).
Another word for something that is given unnatural priority is an 'Obsession'. The psychological definition thereof focuses on anxiety, but I'm using the word in its more common sense. Just because these people wouldn't be committed, it doesn't mean that they're perfectly healthy. The way I see it there are two major symptomatic signs of obsession:
1) When something starts to hold such a high priority that it begins to take up an undue amount of the person's resources and the sacrifice of other major goals that would normally be balanced out(e.g. when someone starts losing sleep and meals over something.)The more of the other goals one is willing to sacrifice for something, the more obsessed one is with it.
2) When one loses sight of why one had the goal in the first place (e.g. if someone keeps playing a game for some reason even though it is no longer fun).
When these two things happen, a hobby turns into a perverse obsession.
1 without 2:
If the player still finds the game fun and can't stop playing it this would be a much lesser form of obsession in which the player is at least still getting something out of the game. In fact, this can be even more destructive because in the perverse case where the player is no longer enjoying the experience, this can be pointed out to them and become a strong reason for them to quit. 1 without 2 might be considered a mild form of obsession, but it isn't perverse so much as simply one needing to get one's priorities straight.
2 without 1:
This is really just a mindless habit. 2 is a relatively common occurrence, we lose sight of why we do things all the time. It is worth mentioning in the case of obsession because when combined with 1 it means that a person's motives don't quite match up with their commitment, which, I believe, is the quintessential distinguishing mark of obsession that most people will point to.
So... does this apply to WoW players? More than a few I think. What I think makes WoW prone to cause obsessive behavior is the online community in combination with gameplay that is centered around constantly improving the stats of one's character in small increments. Or numbers if you will.