Please feel free to use these articles on your website or as links.

However, I do ask that you keep the resource box at the end of the articles

Azeroth, the land of the online game World of Warcraft, is reported to have at least eight million players drawn from across the globe, joining in online adventures together.
What is it that draws these people into such a world of fantasy with complete strangers? Would they interact with members of other colours, creeds and cultures if they really knew whom these people were?

Are their lives so mundane and boring, that they have to find their excitement, so far away from the real world? Can they only have friends in cyberspace? Have humans in the so-called civilized world lost the very essence of natural existence, and so must find their excitement in the computer? Is normal friendship something that is only found in primitive societies? Why are people unable to communicate with each other face to face anymore?

According to Blizzard, the makers of World of Warcraft, fans are now able to “step into the world from a player’s perspective”, enabling them to have first hand experience of this fantasy universe. How can sitting in front of a computer screen, watching images of cartoon characters be real? What sort of person believes that the people and places have as Blizzard suggests, been brought to life?

Before being set loose in this world of fantasy, players must choose their character. The primary choice being which faction they wish to fight for, and this then has an impact on what can or cannot be accomplished by that character. During the game, in order to create the feeling of belonging to a huge and close-knit group, contact may only be made between faction members. Other factions thus become rivals or indeed enemies. Even those areas which players are allowed to visit, and the quests they can undertake, are decided by their faction. If this were the real world, surely civil liberties and the problems of racism at least would be challenged. But these players follow the rules like sheep, regardless of the ethics of what they are doing in the name of entertainment.

Once their travels begin, the players encounter monsters and exotic creatures, many of which are just waiting to be killed. One wonders how many players in their own world support cruelty to animals? Do they support whaling and vivisection, or are they vegetarian? Do they even think about what they have been asked to do? Perhaps like so many people, they are frightened of the different and unknown, and in this other world they have no need to mask their feelings of hate for anything or anyone alien to their own conception of self.

As the player’s travels continue, many different lands are encountered, forests, savannah’s and plains, as well as farmlands and devastated cities, ravaged by plagues are war. What a wonderful opportunity this gives for travel to exotic lands, without leaving the comforts of home. Why risk seasickness, ‘plane crashes, traffic jams, or the misery of different cultures and foods to see something of their own world and perhaps learn something new. They might even find they liked the challenge of visiting a country where everyone was different from themselves. Heaven help these poor souls who cannot seem to face real adventure in the real world. Perhaps the experience of even foreign travel would be too much for them

But of course, experience in the World of War craft game can be gained from what is known as “leveling”, as a player advances through the game, he reaches different levels. This can be done by combat alone, but the most significant way is through “quests”. These are dotted about throughout the game, and range from the simple to the complex. Hundreds of quest givers are sprinkled about and they provide simply thousands of quests for the players. Some quests ask players to collect trophies from creatures, whilst others ask for single or multiple beasts to be slain. As Blizzard claims, “although many quests share a similar structure, all of them are presented by non playing characters who deliver interesting backstory with each quest”, this in turn, is supposed to “bring the world alive and give each quest a unique flavour”. Do the players read all this information before beginning the game, to ensure that they know what they are supposed to think and feel, or are they just swept along by the thrill of the screen in front of them?

Although it is claimed that many players will want to “dive” into their quests, just for what they reveal, most quests offer rewards. Some of the best equipment such as weapons, cash armour and magic potions are offered as quest rewards. Perhaps this is what drives some players, especially those with mundane lives and dead end jobs. No-one’s life could really be filled with excitement and heroics such as this. Nor are they rewarded at almost every step as they move forward in their life and work. Imagine if you will, the thrill of clothing a fantasy, cartoon character in your chosen choice of boots, belts or girdles, what could be more thrilling than that? The mind boggles at such advanced doll dressing techniques. As children, girls had and probably still do have, cardboard cut-out figures, on which they hung paper clothes for different occasions. Have we really moved on so far from that?

Of course the real winners in this game, are Blizzard Entertainment, who must really be congratulated on devising and marketing such an outstandingly popular game. Whatever one’s thoughts and opinions on the game or its players, what Blizzard has achieved is truly remarkable. One wonders whether any other online game will ever prove to be such a massive success. I think not.

Author: Jane Holloway

http://www.woweasygold.com