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Great article about WoW
Anageth
Member Posts: 2,217
Just found this article on Gamasutra, it describes certain "issues" with WoW. Oh and for those who don't know the site, it is very well known for it's "business" side of the video game industry.
Disclaimer: I have played WoW extensively, and have only certain quarrels with it, I don't mean to start any flame wars.
2. Time > skill is so fundamentally bad, that I'm still going to go on about it even though I started a new number. The "honor system" in World of Warcraft is a disaster that needs to be exposed for health and safety reasons, if nothing else. This system allows players to work their way through the ranks, starting at rank 0 and maxing out at rank 14. Winning in pvp gives you honor points, and at the end of each week, your performance is compared to that of other players, and you gain or lose ranks. Now, losing also gives you points, but not as many. The system overwhelming rewards time spent playing, rather than skill.
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Comments
I have seen a lot of articles about WoW. both negative and positive, but this one has to be, by far the most Rediculous article about WoW I have EVER seen. how the writes compares the game to Street fighter is just hilarious. he keeps talking about how WoW teaches us the wrong things for real life. its a GAME, not cyber parent.
also, the whole part of mmoRPg is wasted on him. he complains about the lack of playerskill, like the game is some sort of Counterstrike. I quote some of his rediculous statements:
"Coordinating 40 people is hard, but so is winning a Street Fighter tournament, which you have to do by yourself. Some personality types want to do things with 39 other people, but my personality type certainly doesn't. I have to wonder why the 40 person raids have good loot at all. To me, doing something yourself is far more valuable, and a much more interesting test than getting 40 people to coordinate fairly mundane tasks."
One thing is for sure: this player is playing the wrong genre. period.
the only valid thing in his article is his comment about the Honor system.
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If he wants to play all by himself, then why the heck is he playing an MMOrpg?
what he is saying is that games should reward people playing by themself instead of people who work together in an MMORPG.
If he wants to play all by himself, then why the heck is he playing an MMOrpg?
Well it necessarily about playing alone, it's more about how he doesn't want to have to play with 39 other people. I doubt most MMOG players always join a 40 man raid when they login, I'm sure they'd rather join smaller groups.
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If he wants to play all by himself, then why the heck is he playing an MMOrpg?
Well it necessarily about playing alone, it's more about how he doesn't want to have to play with 39 other people. I doubt most MMOG players always join a 40 man raid when they login, I'm sure they'd rather join smaller groups.
Sure, if you want to play in small groups, go ahead. there is endgame content for that. but if you want the best of the best equipment (Notice the word EPIC) then you will have to work together in an MMORPG. sounds reasonable to me.
Like he says here...
3. Group > Solo. You can forget self-reliance, because you won't get far in World of Warcraft without a big guild. By design, playing alone (even if you are the best player in the world) will get you worse loot than if you always play in 5-man dungeons. If you always play in 5-man dungeons, you'll always get worse loot than if you play in 40-man raids.
... the reliance on having to always be in a group/raid to get the best items not only effects people's health, but "Teaches the Wrong Things" (from the title). The only reason I quit WoW was because I didn't want to have to spend hours everyday trying to get that one item in an instance which I wanted. It's not fun, it's not skillful, it's not rewarding (unless you get the item of course).
If on the other hand you had all the time in the world, and wanted to go that much farther than anyone else, then yes raiding for epic items is fine. But another point he was trying to make was that not everyone should have to do that - there should be other ways out.
Edit: God damn forums screwed up my post.
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I somewhat agree with the writer. Wow is great overall, probably the most well rounded game in the market. However the pvp system and dungeon crawling leaves alot to be desired. PVP system point blank is only a contest for players with insane amounts of time on there hands. Not only do you have to have that insane amount of time to do nothing other than sit in front of your computer 7 days a week....you have to do it for massive amounts of time each day. Skill really isnt much of an issue with the system. And honor? Of course it is what is is....its not horrible. But I would tend to think Blizzard could come up with something alot better than this.
Dungeon crawling in 40 man raids ...can be fun. For the average gamer however, I do not think raiding 7 days a week at 3 hours a clip is considered FUN. And those 3 hour clips are sometimes even more when you take into account, getting the raid started and mishaps that happen within the raid. For the UBER l337 guilds , not only is time nto a problem but raids go faster. This is not the case with most guilds. Most zones will take some time to clear. First off for a new guild entering a zone, people will have to adjust to new tactics on bosses they have never seen. You will see whipe after whipe after on certain bosses till everyone learns there job...or you get rid of weak links in your raid party who can not adjust. For guilds who can not set aside time 7 days a week, trial and error method goes slow, very slow. And clearing a zone may take quite some time. Raiding is fun...but I definately dont like to rely on it to get my gear
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I honnestly don't understand the problem here. imo, if WoW is supposed to teach us something, then it teaches us the right things. You have to work TOGETHER in the game to reach higher goals (oh man, work together in an online game, who whould have thought?) isn't that how real life is as well? two people can do more then one, and 40 people can do more then two. if you have the ability to work together well with other people, then you deserve the loot. if you don't want to work together with other people in the first place, then maybe Half life or Final Fantasy would be a better game suited for you.
You're seeing it too black and white, to you there's no grey area. Sure it's a MASSIVELY multiplayer game, but have you considered that there is still a population which wants to group casually? They may want to do certain instances from time to time with friends, and not PUGs (and can you blame them?). Like I was saying before, there is no way out of that raiding option, it's raid raid raid or just do lower level instances a lot.
If you want it to be put into real world context, imagine going to a toy shop as a child, and wanting that new GI Joe action figure, but as you get to the shop, the guy tells you that they're out of stock. So the next day, you go back to the shop on the bus (you're paying your journey there), and again the shop keeper tells you that it still isn't in stock. Several weeks later, after many attempts of finding your new GI Joe, you go into the shop and there it is in all it's wonder. As you walk towards the counter to get your own, someone comes along, grabs it and runs.
That's repetitiveness.
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"But we all know that World of Warcraft hasn't really stopped teaching. Although it's ability to teach is highly impaired by the entire "Terms of Service" approach, it's still teaching literally millions of children that time spent is more important than ability and that group activities are strictly superior to personal improvements and self-reliance.
This problem is so troubling, that I feel a personal need to take action. The only thing I can think to do, though, is to design an MMO that teaches the right things. Look for that on store shelves in 2012 or so. For my next trick, I will write a proper Terms of Service for an MMO. Stay tuned."
This person is so narrow minded, that he actually believes kids will take this into real life. like the kids don't know the diffrence between real life and a GAME! did it ever came to this persons mind that people might use MMO's as an escape from real life? real life is like this:
"Hey, this guy is smart, so he gets a well paid job in an office. but unfortunatly, I didn't receive the same inteligence he did, so I have to work twice as hard for a rediculous low salary outside in the cold just because I'm not as smart as he is"
a perfect example of a high position office worker and a, lets say guy that works on the road (afraid english is not my native language, so I forgot the name for this proffesion) change "inteligence" and "Smart" with "skill" and you get what the writer of the article wants WoW to be.
yet in WoW its like this: if you work hard, you will get rewarded for it. despite your skill
If you don't work hard, you won't get as far as somebody who DOES work hard.
what is so wrong about this?
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Whatsever you think of the article he is spot on when it comes to the honor system and doubt many can disagree.
A pvp reward should be achieved as you progress.Be it playing 12 hrs a day to get it in a month or 2 hrs a day to get it in 6 months or 1 hr a day to get it in 1 year.
Thats the reward more time spent means faster you get it and every mmorpg i know of has done it this way for a good reason.
The gushian curve used by blizzard is probably the most ridicolous idea ever to make its way into pvp.Make sure you are early in getting 60,make sure u pvp 12 hrs a day every day ,do not go on holidays,do not do anything else,heck don't even dare be sick.
For a game that claims to cater to casuals it most be the least friendly casual mmorpg at 60 i ever seen.
Why can't anyone understand people wanting to solo in a MMOG? Some people like to group and that's great but what's wrong with people who like to solo. I would rather bang my head against a wall for a hour than deal with the 13 year old junior high mentality of most groups with people telling me how to play MY character and deciding what loot I can and can't use. I know what I can and can't use and I won't go for loot that doesn't help me but don't tell me not to roll on something I certainly can use. I know it's a hard concept to understand, someone in a MMOG game that does actually have some morals or ethics.
Despite my general hatred of grouping, the option is there IF I choose to group but I find it much more enjoyable not grouping. In fact, the only time I do get into groups is on my days off when school was in, the game was peaceful and the groups were good. Now that summer is here no more grouping for me until September when the little kiddies go back.
As far as Wow and the Honor system the article was right. The honor system is a joke, the whole game has really gone to hell over the last year or so. Hopefully a new one comes out soon I can move to.
Articles and opinions like those of the author arise when people who want to be the best (in WoW speak: "best geared") simply cannot be for any particular reason.
-------------------------------------
Their guild's rate of progression is slow and subsequently their gear is "subelite"
-you can't get into a better guild, you are trapped
AND
They're intolerant of the pvp grind
-you cannot stand the boredom of extended pvp, you are trapped
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OR
Their time availiability effects their ability to raid and or pvp
-you have a family or a job that conflicts w/ the pvp grind or your raiding, you are trapped
The fact that WoW offers two completely different paths for great endgame gear is just not enough for people who HAVE TO BE THE BEST.
And please no one feed me any tripe about wanting to solo. In most raiding circumstances you can not say a word the entire time and be just fine. No one asks that you jabber on and on in raid chat like some, or joke around w/ one another. If you are unable to imagine your co-raiders as simply complex environmental variables then its your loss.
You can't be the best, but it's just a game. Move on.
PS. Trying to differentiate time invested and skill, nice. Don't know about any of you but I'd trust Dr. Forest Gump w/ my appendix more than I would Albert Einstein.
You CAN handle the truth...it's just really slippery.
I think the most valid point in the article was the PvP honor system as a health hazard. I ran into people in game and on forums who seemed to be at a point where the honor grind was in fact a health issue.
Some of the assertions he tries to make about learning life lessons from Street Fighter are beyond laughable though. I guess I subscribe to the school of thought of games being an escape from reality. This guy seems to think games are a textbook for reality, and he's entitled to that opinion. I just really don't think games are designed for the purposes this author tries to establish.
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