Addictions, severe mental breakdowns, South Park and sweaty palmed 30-year old men living in their parent’s basement. Bring up World of Warcraft and beprepared to hear about any variety of these topics.
Let me make a disclaimer before I go any further: I’ve never played World of Warcraft. However, I’ve been closely associated with dozens of people that have been highly involved in the game. In addition, I was a hardcore gamer for several years of my life. Personally, I feel like WoW gamers are one of the most misunderstood groups of people that I’ve ever associated with. This post is an attempt to explain in plain English why over 11 million people play World of Warcraft. If you’re looking for an article to talk about how dangerous or strange World of Warcraft is, this isn’t it.
The First Encounter
Most of the people that I interviewed for this article shared one thing in common. Few of them were initially drawn to the idea of playing World of Warcraft on their own. Someone else introduced them to the game.
The Appeal
Some people read, some people watch TV, some people play sports, and some people play video games. Let me break down the appeal to games like World of Warcraft into 5 simple points:
- Possibilities are endless – What this means is that there is no “set way” to play World of Warcraft. You don’t get points subtracted for wandering around for hours or for going to one location before another.
- You can play with your friends – WoW has an enormous community. Friends play online. People meet online. Some even get married online.
- Customizing your character – The only thing I can relate this to is decking out a car. Players will spend a lot of time seeking out items or accessories for their characters. Most add some type of ability or attribute such as the ability to become invisible.
- Gaining XP and Leveling up – The main way progression is measured in a game like WoW is through experience points (XP) and levels. Certain levels of experience points are required to gain certain levels. These levels dictate how powerful a given character is. With each level, new abilities and items are made available. It’s a way for players to feel accomplished. It’s also a way to measure stature within the game.
- Escaping from real life – Are all WoW players trying to escape the harsh realities of life by spending every waking hour as an imaginary elf? I don’t think so. As I mentioned earlier, different strokes for different folks. It’s just a different form of entertainment. Aren’t we all “escaping” in a way when we engage in any form of entertainment?
Wrapup
There used to be a day and age where you could slap a stereotype on a WoW player (or any video game addict for that matter). Those days are over. Athletes play WoW, celebrities play WoW, your grandma might even play WoW. Let’s do ourselves a favor and get over common stereotypes and accept that people spend their free time in different ways.
Special thanks to: Ian Stepp, Sara Foster, Becca McGlawn, Angela Turner, and all the others that helped me out with this one!
