I was reading the comics at work yesterday and came across FoxTrot. I know Mr. Amend was a big fan of World of Warcraft, but didn’t expect to see one of his “World of Warquest” comics appear on a Sunday. Nevertheless, the comic shown Sunday (link) showed Jason playing the game and getting an incredible drop. He explained to his brother how incredible the drop was and that all he had to do was click on it and it was his. ..But he got disconnected from the server, prohibiting him from getting his drop. I found it humorous, and told my dad about the comic. He found it funny as well, but then presented me with a question: If there exist so many problems with World of Warcraft (namely server disconnects, occasional bugs, and cryptic/useless explanations from Blizzard when said events occur), I really couldn’t give him a straight answer. For server disconnects, there’s too many items at stake (your computer, your connection through the internet to Blizzard, the realm you’re connected on, the amount of load the server is handling, etc.). As for occasional bugs, again you have to remember that there’s always at least 2 million people playing at any time, and considering the rather low amount of bugs found, that’s not too bad either. The cryptic/useless explanations from Blizzard could easily be remedied, but I’m sure that will never happen.

But let’s focus on the other two: Why are we OK with server disconnects or bugs? Why are some OK with the apparent lack of “endgame experience”? Why are some people bored of the game but still play it? I’ll try to cover these point-by-point.

Technicalities: Server disconnects and bugs
If I buy a TV, I expect it to work. If it stops working for 5 minutes every day, I would be furious and demand a refund or a new TV.
If I buy a loaf of bread, I expect it to meet my expectations. If half of it is moldy when I come home, I would again be furious and demand a refund or a new loaf of bread.
If I buy Windows XP and install it on my computer, I expect it to run and be bug-free out of the box. Oh wait, nevermind. Bad example.

So when I purchase World of Warcraft and continue paying a subscription to play the game, shouldn’t I hold even higher quality standards than the TV, the loaf of bread, and (hopefully) Windows XP? Of course! I don’t pay subscriptions for the others. Are these higher quality standards applied in the World of Warcraft gaming world? No! How do I know this? Servers go down (I’ll allow for weekly maintenance, as that just makes sense), patches go awry, and in-game content can sometimes (yet rarely) be buggy. Yet we still pay Blizzard to continue this. Why? Is it because Blizzard is taking advantage of some people’s obsession? Possibly, but not everyone is “obsessed” with the game. There’s just as many casual gamers as there are “hardcore” gamers out there playing the game. Maybe it’s not Blizzard at all. Maybe it’s the IT industry in general. I mentioned earlier about Windows XP being a bad example. Why? Why should I pay money for a product that I know is buggy? Why are we OK with bugs in Windows, or in World of Warcraft, or in any software or hardware? When I buy my bread, I don’t continue eating it and hope for a better one next time when it’s defective. No, I return it.

Yes, errors can occur (as shown with the bread vs. software). But with the bread, the error is sporadic. With software, it’s inherently always there, as everyone is using the same thing (everyone runs the same patch in WoW, or everyone is [usually] running the same version of Windows, albeit XP or 2000, etc.).

Even with these errors, nothing is really done. Sure there’s online petitions, or forum posts, or emailings. But none of these really convey the point. Perhaps a hand-written may get the point across, but sometimes the only way to get the message through is to return the product (as shown with the bread), or terminate the subscription. With some products (like Windows, for example), returning the product would prove futile as your computer would be useless until you reinstalled Windows or another OS on it (and the EULA prohibits you from returning it anyway). As for WoW, you really can’t return the game either, but you can pull the cord on the subscription. Am I suggesting that I am doing this or that you should do it also? Not yet. I still enjoy playing the game despite it’s flaws. The first step you (and I will take) should do is the written letter. Yes an email or even a typed letter will be received by them, but it’s proven that the written letters that are clear and concise are the ones that are read and sometimes even acted upon.

So tired of WoW crashing? Tired of the que for your realm? Tired of server disconnects? Stop posting in the forums. You know your post will be on page 5 within 20 minutes (or flagged to be moved into Blizzard’s immense forum “Trash Repository of Doom”). Don’t fill out an online petition because those hardly ever work. Whip out that pen and paper and start writing your concerns. Waste a couple cents via postage and get the point across to Blizzard that you’re paying monthly for this game and while you do thoroughly enjoy it, you’re not afraid to pull the plug if some core changes aren’t made. Who knows.. maybe the next patch will proclaim stability upgrades and a new sweep of server upgrades.

Gameplay: Why we still play it, and why it’s so popular
When World of Warcraft came out and immediately topped game sales charts, many people dismissed it as the result of hype and good marketing. Fast forward one year. 5 million active players worldwide later (including over 1 million subscribers in the US), and you’re still looking at undoubtedly the most successful MMORPG of all time. Hype and marketing don’t last that long.

So why do we still play? Most would just answer that World of Warcraft is “good,” but that just leads us into a circular argument. WoW is good because it has many subscribers, and it therefore has many subscribers because it is good? That doesn’t answer the question. It’s not like the technical aspect is the reason either (while the uptime and overall stability of the game is quite impressive, it’s still not quite perfect).

The reason for World of Warcraft’s success must be in its gameplay. That is surprising, because it is exactly this gameplay that is constantly criticized on all possible forums and blogs. According to general consensus on game sites, World of Warcraft is too short, too easy, too dumbed down, and has horrible problems with the end-game. Shouldn’t the players have noticed this and left in droves long ago?

But like in so many other media, the requirements of the critics and the requirements of the customers vary widely for online games. It is easy to see how the people writing on message boards are generally more veteran and hardcore than the casual players which mainly populate the game. World of Warcraft is successful because it is relatively easy and short, not in spite of it. WoW tapped a large potential of players who were willing to play a MMORPG, but didn’t want to invest the huge amounts of time, dedication, and social skills required by previous games. Organizing a raid for 40 people is all very nice, but many average players just want to log on for an hour or two, do a couple of quests, and then go back to their real lives.

At level 60, World of Warcraft begins to fail its core audience of casual players, and stops offering easy progress in small bits. But the 500 hours it takes the average player to reach level 60 will last many months for people playing only an hour here and there. And with more quests than a player can do with one character, 9 different character classes, and 2 different sides, WoW has some replayability, so players who don’t like the changed gameplay at level 60 aren’t necessarily all leaving. There are certainly those quitting WoW all the time, but currently there is no mass exodus, and new players flock to the game faster than the old players are leaving.

Thus, if you want to produce the next smash hit MMORPG, is it enough to make the game easy to solo and to level? I don’t think so, although I’m pretty certain that there will be some game developers trying this strategy. World of Warcraft has a secret weapon, which isn’t that easy to clone: The quest system, which strikes a good balance between leaving people the freedom to explore the world and guiding them to where they should go. Virtual worlds are often huge and a bit overwhelming, and the WoW quest system does a fair job of taking people by the hand and leading them to where the fun is. That looks easy, but in fact is carefully balanced to keep people in a zone just long enough for them to level up and then sends them to the right next zone.

Guiding people to the right places with quests, giving them goals they can achieve in a reasonable time, and rewarding them with level-ups frequently enough, all makes World of Warcraft more accessible for the average gamer. It is this accessibility which makes 5 million people play this game.

In the end, yes WoW is far from perfect. But am I upset and displeased with the service I receive? No. Considering the load Blizzard is carrying right now, I really don’t blame them for the occasional mistakes. My only problem is that it’s been over a year now and we’re still running into core problems that occurred even as early as launch time. It’s these mistakes that people are quickly developing shorter fuses for. I’m certain there’s plenty of work behind the scenes at Blizzard, but I hope they realize that most people would be just as thrilled to see “Several Realms Upgraded and Many Bugs Addressed” (including a brief list of what was fixed) as they would seeing new content introduced into the game. Both hold equal standing to us WoW players, and I hope they remember that.

~Jaker

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