Why in the Hell do people play WOW?

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I'll admit it: I'm banned from MMORPGs because of the addiction factor. I used to thrive on that false sense of achievement you get from leveling characters, traveling vast landscapes and completing quests. Even now, years later, I still feel the urge to load one up just to wander the virtual countryside (I like Anarchy Online the best).

On the other hand, games should be entertainment, not an existence. I just don't get those people "living" in Second Life, buying virtual furniture and acres land with real out-of-your-checking-account money....
 
WoW is a collection game like Diablo II, just with a networking component added. People like to collect stuff and get "bigger" and "better" things. The online network aspect of it hooks players to play more with it. Some people, like with any game, take it WAY too seriously. I never got into a game like WoW, I much prefer FPS games and not paying a monthly fee to play a game online. I can get a quick fix and then move onto something different.
 
I played a Rogue up to 60, here's my impressions:

I have a career and a girlfriend, and we were both fighting over who gets to play (we shared an account). So, that isn't good.

It is addictive. Designed to create SEVERE need to upgrade equipment and weapons at every turn, because other RL players gank you or the monsters are too tough or too many, so you are always addicted to upgrading. Kinda like computer equipment LOL.

The music is cool and moody, the fighting in it isn't turn-based which is just silly, and the weapons are cool. Putting poison on daggers is more fun than watching Ad TV.

I am guessing it is just a real substitute for televison to relax and have fun, I mean, if you watch TV and WoW, maybe that's psychological.

Also, to be objective, I do think that the way corporate life is structured people don't have any fulfillment at the job. You log into your workstation, log out and go home.

I could always argue that skydiving AND eating pizza at the same time could be "more fun" too. Or 2 chicks at the same time. While skydiving. But, most people are just, frankly, fed up of TV and the massive amount of Ads.

The game is well developed-for, has great character design and equipment, but, come on:

This game needs a SEVERE graphical overhaul at this point for what they are charging for the game and the subsequent monthly fees.

I made 60, had fun in the auction house, and stopped playing one day. Just stopped, couldn't stand to play one more second. Kinda like the Clockwork Orange "treatments". I get sick to the stomach thinking about playing again.

Also, the monthly fees get bothersome after a while. And the grinding. I mean, who runs home to sharpen knives for 6 hours. It was a bit much.

So, my theory: People have unfulfilling jobs today. I mean, who gets to snowshoe around and shoot deer to make a living today? I mean, I wouldn't play ANY computer games at all then.

My second theory is it is just how bad TV has become. I mean, grinding in WoW or channel surfing Tampax ads?

Just my .02$
 
Falken699 is spot on with the assesment. If I had a choice of watching TV, playing guitar hero, or playing an MMORPG.. I would choose an MMORPG. I'd much rather have an interactive waste of time then a mind numbing one.

Of course you can argue that warcraft is a mind-numbing grind; but thats only if you dont actually do the quests and enjoy the stories behind them. There is alot of work put into the actual stories behind everything you do. It can be fun to actually "read" and follow along. Especially if you are doing them with friends.

Yes it is addictive.. but also keep in mind that humans by nature are habitual creatures. Many daily things we do can be called addictions. Obsessions on the other hand are the more dangerous activities. If you are letting an MMORPG ruin your real life then you should not be playing. However, if you are playing to pass spare time.. it can be a very rewarding waste of time. *shrug*

Would I pass up drinking with my buddies to play a PC game? Nope. But I would much rather play warcraft then go to another dance club meat market... did that for 5 years every weekend.. its old news for me.
 
I played WoW for a while. I got in at the beginning of Burning Crusade and stuck around for about 8 months. I played WoW more than anything else other than work or sleep and it gave sleep a run for it's money.

Then I realized how little I was getting done on my days off and how much was piling up, so I quit. I installed a couple of my favorite old games, bought a couple of new ones, and moved on. Now I am making progress on my house. WoW is kind of fun, especially when you are playing with your friends, but it is so easy to lose yourself in.
 
I think it is wrong to generalize that people who play WoW are purely for the constant better upgrade and so on. Nor it is right to assume that WoW regular players are unsocialable only to find solace in the virtual world. You can argue that playiing WoW is a waste of money and time. But isn't it true for *any* computer games for that matter as other non-gamers may see?

In the end of the day, it is to seek a balance. The only difference MMORPG and non-MMORPG game is that for MMORPG, there is no clear ending. You can go non-stop with little sleep on shooter game for 20 to 40 hours to finish the game. You probably need to put in about 4 times the same amount to yield the same result in WoW. I personally think that FPS games are stupid just shooting anything on sight, keep saving and loading the game ... but I learn to respect the FPS gamers. WoW gamers or MMORPG gamers are okay. We have one long game that last for a long time. For FPS gamers, isn't that true that you have to keep buying into the next FPS game to satisfy your crave?

Just my humble thoughts.
 
I played WoW for about a year, it was the first MMORPG I ever played and it will be the last. I loved all the warcraft games prior and the idea of it seemed cool so I gave it a shot. I love gaming, but was never the type to play that much, usually a couple hours a night (unless it was a new game). Then I started playing WoW. I was instantly hooked. I would literally play every minute of free time I had, until dawn. Although at that time I was at a point in my life I had alot of free time, last year of college only 2 classes, I was in the national guard so I really didnt need a job to get by, had a girlfriend, lived in an apartment, most of my friends had already graduated so we didn't do much on weekends anyway. (but there were times I would pass up going out to the bar to play) My gf was more busy than me otherwise it could have caused more problems (she was in school all day and worked until 11pm). Its not something I can explain, the game is just designed to be addictive. When I wasn't playing, I was on the WoW forums. Finally after a year of it ruling my life, I said to myself, there is no way I can keep this up when I get a job after graduation, I deleted my account uninstalled the game and tossed the disks out. Its also the fact its real time, and when your not playing your "missing out" I think thats what drives the addictive nature. (I loved to PvP, although I just couldnt bring myself to PvP as much as the people who made GM or HW) especially in PvP does the need to keep playing arise. Non online rpgs, you can pause, save etc and pick up and leave off where ever you want at your own pace. After I quit the game, i picked up oblivion and it was such a relief to play a game at my own pace. I have no desire to play wow ever again.
 


Oh, if my memory serves me right, I was used to go with a group of strangers (read: no synergy or some lack experience) and spend like 6 hours+ in some of the pre-expansion dungeons. Man, those were painful times.

Fortunately, the new dungeons after the expansion seems pretty short and sweet. However, these days, I hardly play WoW (though whenever I log on, I still get the kick out of it ... kind of the nostagic feel) and I usually stay away from the dungeons.
 
IMO, People play WOW because MMO's are designed to suck you into a game, either through meeting people, improving your character, or following storylines. People play this specific MMO because it had the highest advertising budget (by far), and struck just at the time that broadband was taking off (not really needed to play most MMOs, very handy for downloading the regular updates that they tend to have).

Techically the only thing that I can see WoW does 'better' than other games is that it can be played on lower end systems due to simple graphics than other recent MMOs.

I've not heard of any innovations in the game that weren't done in other MMOs first, but there may be some. All the MMOs borrow from each other.

I don't personally play it, but have spent lots of time on Dark Age of Camelot, and Lord of the Rings Online. From which you can probably gather I favour a less Cartoony game.

At the end of the day, the only MMO I've ever seen a Movie Trailer, TV Trailer, or advert on a non-gaming/tech print or online press, for is WoW.

Darzil
 
I remember it was enjoyable for a few months when I played it after launch, it did get old after awhile and I heard the community has turned into Garbage.
 
its just an endless hunt for itamz, its a smart model by blizzard for $$$ but its a bad game in the end.
 
what i dont understand is how ppl are willing to spend $16 a month on WoW...that just seems wrong to me...they already make soo much money from just selling the copies...I played it for a while but when I heard they were gonna charge for the upcoming expansion (Burning Crusade), that just effing pissed me off...good thing by that time I was already bored with the game and really didnt have much time to play it anymore...
 
I've been gaming since the early 80s, and WoW has got to be the best game I've ever played. No game has ever kept me on it for so long (over a year now), and kept me so continously interested. My brother in-law told me about it and I admit, it took me a month to get into it. At the beginning I was like, "WTF is this game, how boring". Luckily there were no other hot games out at the time, otherwise I probably would have stopped.

After you really start to learn about all the aspects of the game (and there are a ton), you find out how stimulating it can be. You actually need to be really smart to understand what this game is about. There must be 20,000 pages on WoWWiki with explanations, strategies etc. Its fricken great. There are also so many things to do at the end game - not sure how someone can get bored.

The game is very addictive, and I think those with weak personalities can get carried away with it (but that goes for anything in life - drugs, alchohol etc). I dont think WoW is any different.

Anyway, hope to see you online somtime! Take it in moderation! WoW is not the enemy LMAO.
 
I played hardcore for two and a half years. By hardcore, I mean 6-7 hours per day, 6-7 days a week. I missed out on a ton of college life while doing this. I was playing with people I worked with and people that were real life friends. It helped drive the sense of accomplishment and made raiding even more appealing. It is VERY easy to get the idea of responsibility to your guild and "friends" once you've gotten into a raiding guild. As soon as you start signing up for raid nights and scheduling your time, it's the beginning of the end.

My personal friends and I started inviting a few anonymous strangers into the guild that we felt were worthy. The next thing you know, we are rooting them on and honestly happy for them when they receive gear upgrades.

WoW creates friends out of like-minded strangers and instills a feeling of responsibility to those friends. People play WoW because once they've made these friends, or in my case real life friends, they are letting them down if they don't play.

It used to take 40 people to raid, now the number is down to 25 (if you think a ten person group is raiding you are fooling yourself (compare the last boss of a 10 person raid and a 25 person raid)). If someone doesn't show up for a raid and there is no one to replace him, 24 people are left staring at a screen.

I stopped playing after my wife had our daughter in October. RL > WoW

But, looking back, it's easy to see why I played for so long. The game is easy enough for anyone to pick up, and with enough time, to gain the max level. But, for people that raid, it becomes an entertaining job. There is real accomplishment in end game raiding. My guild had Illidan on farm status when I left. To be able to coordinate 25 people seamlessly is no easy task. Competing for fastest content completion makes that task even more daunting. Being 124th in the world, in anything, is an accomplishment. I am proud of our accomplishments, even if it was just in a game. I am also proud of how well my friends can work as a team.


With all that being said...
I don't understand the people that play WoW casually. If you are so devoid of social skills that you need to pay $15 a month to walk around anonymously to feel connected to the world, seek help.
 
AHAHAHHAHHAHAH OMG! OMG! I was just saying the same thing! WOW sux... its is a boring game for people who want to live a virtual life just as boring as the one they have... maybe theyre thinking 2 boring = 1 fun!

EHHHHH! Wrong! lol work with the life u have to have fun... one way might be to not play VG so much... theyre ok but this is a word of advice... u dont want to spend to much time on them... maybe ur thinkin the world is borin... EHHHH! i live in the most boring town in the world i still find ways to have fun not involving drugs or VG... just for those type of people out there... ull see someday if u don't take my word for it.

P.S. RL has no respawns and only 1 life! Use it cautiously =]
 
The greatest feature I loved about wow was the fact I was playing a RPG (I.e. final fantasy, Chrono cross) but with the added bonus of playing with millions of others players in one location.

Well that is all I have to say for the good parts.

The bad

Trying to get to the highest lvl takes not hours...but days upons days of game play until you played a single character non stop for about a month and finally reach lvl 60 (top lvl before any expansion packs came out). Even after reaching 60 lvl, you’re not done; you now must strive for the best equipment. To get this "better" equipment, you must run in a 5 person team in a dungeon for descent equipment or run in a 20 person raid team for the best equipment.

That is all fine and dandy but, it may be just me however, the higher I lvled the more time it took me to complete a higher lvl dungeon (up to 2 hours, raids can typically be much longer). Also, players that can run these higher lvl dungeons are harder to find to the point where you spend most of the time just trying to gather a team. The real annoyance was to waste time gathering a team just to have them break up halfway through a long run, only to result in wasted time.

The biggest irritation was trying to play with higher lvl players. This was like trying deal with a spoiled self absorb 7 year old that have literally has no patience or temper. Everyone in their eyes are noobs. Though, I give credit for the older audience in the game since most of them do show some maturity. It was typically mostly the younger audience that gave higher lvls a bad rap, however, a good portion of the older crowd were just as bad as the younger folks.

Thus, long missions plus long party gathering combined with self centered players, equals a bad game experience and bad combination with college. As result, I quit, since college was a little bit more important than wasting time on this game. Other games are less demanding and more enjoyable and better suited for a college student =P.



I thought self absorb counter strike players were bad........but nothing beats an egoistical wow player. x.x
 
it is good period, millions of people aren't wrong
you either like it or you don't, each to their own taste
altough a good clan can improved your experience in the game a lot
 


Flawed logic. Look at religion or any of the wars the world has had. I'm not not refering to WOW here, but remember, most people are weak-minded followers with a strong desire to connect to others.
 
still you need enough people for the big flock to follow and it IS addictive :) which can be said from any games that people see a "good"
 


The day my daughter was born my mother pulled me aside and said, "promise me under no circumstances that you will get a divorce within the first year of her life". I laughed at the time and made the promise. It is not so laughable now. I have moments that I wonder if I will ever get the woman I married back.
 
Woman marry men thinking they'll change, men marry woman thinking they won't. Ultimately both end up disappointed. Although I was referring to the moodiness of little girls as I have 6 and 3 year olds...
 
I had a lot of fun when I played. When I started, The Burning Crusade was already out. I tried to play a warrior and a pally (got to lvl 50 before deleting) - damn what a total waste of cash I though. Then I played a Mage. Now THAT was real fun. I lvl'ed to 60 (read: quested to 30 and grinded to 60 - more than painful) then got the expansion. Got to 70 and just got bored and quit. I tried to go back last month and I just couldn't do it anymore. It is WAY too repetitive and its all about gold (like any other pay-to-play MMORPG).

Don't get me wrong here it was fun, but the lack of variety is what eventually made me quit. And its the same if your Horde or Alliance...

I did like helping low levels with the Deadmines though. I like watching VC drop with a quick nuke while the stupid mobs keep hitting me when I have Molten Armor on - Good Times.
 
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