Here we are then, five years down the line (or 15 years for Warcraft) since World of Warcraft was launched by Blizzard. And I’m STILL playing. Why? What is it about WoW that keeps me coming back? What have I learned?
When I rolled my first character in 2004, a Night Elf Warrior whose name now escapes me, I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve covered this before but that failed attempt sent me running from WoW for a couple of months. I didn’t get it. Something brought me back, however, and my second character and still my main, Inoperante the Undead Warlock, has kept me going for almost that full five years.
I’ve tried to work out why. When I first started I as very much a solo player, levelling and speccing randomly, still not knowing what I was doing, really, but nevertheless progressing. And that is key to World of Warcraft’s success over the years.
Blizzard have cleverly expanded the game to make players strive to better themselves. Whether it was improving gear, clearing raids – and vanilla raiding was infinitely harder than it is today, believe me – or exploring new areas, Blizzard have introduced just enough at all the right times to keep people coming back.
Of course, I’m not an idiot – Blizzard create things that basically become time sinks, forcing you to spend hours and hours doing very silly things to achieve, in reality, very little. It’s the secret behind their revenue stream. You WILL continue to pay your subscription while you have things to do. Knowing that it is a waste of time doesn’t change the fact that the game is designed to goad you on.
It is an addictive game. For some, dangerously so. We’ve all heard stories of people who have ruined their lives by spending far too much time on the game. Thankfully, those people are few and far between and, I believe, had much deeper issues than the game itself.
I have spent such a significant amount of time on the game that to give up now would feel like quitting. And therein lies Blizzard’s other secret. If they can get you to do enough, you will not want to give up.
With the Burning Crusade they introduced a whole new way of keeping you hooked. Raising reputation for greater rewards wasn’t new, but boy, did they take it to a new level with BC. New raids, especially Karazhan, that were accessible by the many, not the few, were genius introductions. They didn’t forget their hardcore though, and introduced the Sunwell, Serpentshrine Cavern, Mount Hyjal and the like.
It was hard to ‘finish’ Burning Crusade – I still haven’t. But each player did eventually reach their personal limit with it. Some took a break, myself included. And just in time, Blizzard rolled out Wrath of the Lich King and subsequent patches. It drew us all back. Ulduar then Onyxia and the Trial of the Crusade. It has been non-stop and continues soon with Icecrown. Wrath of the Lich King has maintained interest at unprecedented levels.
The Achievements system was a GENIUS stroke. It allows even the solo player to strive for more and more. Truly genius.
They have, however, made mistakes. Ulduar was by far the hardest raid introduced since Karazhan but when they introduced Trial of the Crusade few but the hardcore had cleared it. ToC, so much easier, drew people away from Ulduar and it lies, even for my Guild, not quite complete. Yogg-Saron survives for GANK Inc and it has proved frustrating for me and my raid leaders. Onyxia had much the same effect.
The ability to get T9 gear from daily Heroics was a bitter blow for the hardcore player too, who felt that they had spent far too much time chasing it to allow just anyone to access it. They had a point.
These, though, are minor errors and have not damaged Blizzard’s income or reputation enough for them to worry about.
It is ironic that on the 5th anniversary of WoW I find myself burned out. I have had enough, there is little left for me to do that I can do and not enough for me to do that I can’t do as a semi-casual player. But Blizzard are set to do it again. Icecrown will launch before Christmas and I will be drawn back to new dungeons, new achievements and new loot.
I’m not sure how long that appeal will last. Right the way up to Cataclysm? It seems doubtful, but then I don’t know what patch 3.3 entails fully, so you never know. But it does ensure I will be playing for a few more months at least. Cataclysm WILL draw me back and for a year at least I would think.
But will I be playing in another five years? That depends on Blizzard and what they can do with the game over that time. Every dog has its day, even WoW, but when that day will be I don’t know.
One thing is for sure – Blizzard deserve all the credit in the world for producing such an enthralling, delightful and long running game as World of Warcraft and long may it continue. In the meantime, enjoy the anniversary site they have produced. It contains (or will contain) interviews with the creators, video features and the Battlecry Mosaic (go look for yourself!).
For the Horde!
