WoW - A from a hater's point of view.

[Sil3nt]

Hello all,
Please. I really want to know the reason for that infernal games ever-growing popularity!
(OVRKLL)

Hm. That first reply was a solid answer... The other one was just repeating what's already been said a couple of times (fun isn't an argument for itself).
But I did get one answer: WoW is gaining popularity through its social aspects. That's understandable.
Bye all!

Why is it gaining popularity through social aspects? Because its fun.

 

[ReVolver]

Why is it gaining popularity through social aspects? Because its fun.

Maybe it's the community, It's not like DotA where you get flamed or called a noob*, when I played with the free trial everyone seems to help each other out and are really nice.



*Reference to a bad community

 

[Bartuc08]

I was hoping you'd translate the post into English so that we might discuss the topic further... For that seems to be what you wish.

heres my somewhat English translation

WoW is just a game, like every other game out there its meant to entertain you. also like every other game it doesn't get you anything worthwhile out of real life. so instead of just flaming WoW because a lot of People like it why not flame another game? seeing as they all are similar. if there wasn't WoW would we be getting Anti-Halo stories? probably so. WoW is a popular game and like all Popular things theres gonna be a group of people who will hate it for whatever reason they want.

saying that WoW is a waste of time, but not saying that another game is a waste of time is a stupid arguement to me... all games are a waste of time. there are much more productive things you can do besides playing games. now that we've established that WoW is a game, whats the idfference between playing WoW for 6 months, and playing 3-5 games in 6 months? not much, mainly a little bit in cost variation, but other then that your still wasting time.

now fun factor, some people enjoy the simplicity of WoW, while others like the always on Edge shooter games, or the storyline of some RPG game. the reason we have so many genres is because everyone is different, because u might be a hardcore FPS guy, and can't stand RPGs doesn't mean it's useless and that playing such games is a stupid choice. i personally can't stand racing games, so i don't play them, I'm not gonna go up and start arguing why i don't like them to someone, unless they ask me of course.

 

[OVRKLL]

heres my somewhat English translation

WoW is just a game, like every other game out there its meant to entertain you. also like every other game it doesn't get you anything worthwhile out of real life. so instead of just flaming WoW because a lot of People like it why not flame another game? seeing as they all are similar. if there wasn't WoW would we be getting Anti-Halo stories? probably so. WoW is a popular game and like all Popular things theres gonna be a group of people who will hate it for whatever reason they want.

saying that WoW is a waste of time, but not saying that another game is a waste of time is a stupid arguement to me... all games are a waste of time. there are much more productive things you can do besides playing games. now that we've established that WoW is a game, whats the idfference between playing WoW for 6 months, and playing 3-5 games in 6 months? not much, mainly a little bit in cost variation, but other then that your still wasting time.

now fun factor, some people enjoy the simplicity of WoW, while others like the always on Edge shooter games, or the storyline of some RPG game. the reason we have so many genres is because everyone is different, because u might be a hardcore FPS guy, and can't stand RPGs doesn't mean it's useless and that playing such games is a stupid choice. i personally can't stand racing games, so i don't play them, I'm not gonna go up and start arguing why i don't like them to someone, unless they ask me of course.

Thank you
Okay, I'll try to be more polite then...

First: That fun isn't an argument for itself -- with this I mean that all gamers find their game fun or exciting (why else would they play it when it's about entertaining). So when you say that the game is fun really just means that you like it personally. That's why I need the reason you find it fun.

Second: I started this thread to investigate the topic... Unfortunately, people didn't seem to take my personal oppinions and phrasings very well so next time I might want to be a little more objective.

Third: The reason for my interrest is the fact that WoW (more than any other game) has a lot of time where the player is bound to repeat the same actions over and over again. A good example is grinding, most quests, dungeons, and (for some above average gamers) even raids. This makes me wonder if you see aspects of the game that are hidden from me or if you simply enjoy these more monotone activities?

 

[Squll2]

Why is it so harmful to like wow? for it to be fun for you? because other people are jealous that you enjoy something and they cant find anything that they can. - that is why things like this exist.

Jealousy = all.

 

[ArmedCitizen]

People do enjoy the monotonous parts and people do enjoy the action filled PvP. It gives a social aspect that many games don't provide. It has a nice, mature community for the most part. And it is world wide known so it has become like sports where you can have conversations with people in real life about it. (Another social aspect I guess.) It kills time when people have too much on their hands. It is pretty damn cool to see characters from the Warcraft series come to life in the game.

How many reasons do you need to play it? I never count up the reasons why I should play Guitar Hero before I turn it on. I just enjoy it now and then. Can't WoW be the same?

 

[yabyab]

9 million subs doesn't make WoW more social than any other game. Because a server has a limitation. Your average WoW server should have around 10,000 subs and a 3,000-5,000 subs online at the same time in peak hours. This mean, whether you're playing in a 50k population game that has 1 server, or 9million population game that has hundred of servers doesn't mean the experience is different in terms of online-population. Because you will never meet those 9 millions(and a wide protion of these com from Asia by the way), most people play in 1-3 servers tops and that puts you in an isolated population of 100,000 users within these server's population.

Now, this game is creatively designed to make money. It makes money because it attracts many people. There are many reasons why it attracts more people, biggest is that it's Stable and require Low End Machines so if you have a PC you can play it.

The other main reason why it attracts many people is that it is designed to be easy. WoW is so easy that a 7 year old can still play it. I know my nephew who's 7 year old plays WoW and he has a level 70 character. This thing is good and bad. It's good for Blizzard and bad for some people. It's bad because the gameplay is dumbed down. It is too convenient to be rewarding for people who have tried other MMORPGS. For those who have only tried WoW, yes the experience is great. But for many who have tried other games they think it is a dumbed down version with little to no risk. You don't need a skill to hit level 70, for example.

You don't even need a brain to hit level 10. Monsters die too fast, you don't even "need" more than 1 skill. A toddler can hit level 4, independently.

The Margin of error in this game is 500% or something around that. While it should be 1-5% to make yourself feel that you've achieved something. I'm talking about the 1-60 range. I'll give you an example. If a mage accidentally over-aggroed in, say, Mara. There is very slight chance for the group to wipe or him to die. Very VERY small chance. He can even tank the monster the whole fight and not die. In other games, same example. If a mage over aggrod in other games he'd have a 80% chance of dying. Which means, in WoW everything is set for your convenience. No risk, little challenge if any.

Even if someone manages to die. Which is seriously amazing if it happens. You would lose no experience or time or gear(just some cash). You walk back in ghost form passing by all obstacles and continue where you ended. In dungeons you start from the beginning only downside is if there are respawns. So, death means nothing. Usually just 5 minutes wasted. In other games, death meant 1. XP loss(hours of XP worth), 2. You're naked and need to fight to get your gear, 3. Time wasted(the time for you to fight back to where you used to be and travel). Why should death be painful, to distinguish between the skilled and not-so-skilled people.

This doesn't mean WoW is a bad game. Easy is definitely not equal to bad. It just means it's for everyone. Most people want an easy game to have fun with. But for me I don't see the point of playing a game that guarantees me to achieve its ultimate goals just if I have an IQ of 25. Which is how my 7 year old managed to get to 70. Yes he might not be the best player out there, he is definitley out played in PvP and for sure people are complaining about how he use his class in group. However, that didn't prevent him from progressing and achieving.

I'd rather play a game that offers challenge and risk. A game that a 7 year old would hit a brick wall once in a while and think "why can't I progress?" and the answer is simple.

A game that guarantees that everyone no matter how stupid they are can achieve the same goals as the rest of the people is a game categorized as WoWish.

WoW is a big business hit. They changed how MMORPGs work, which is bad news for me. They opened the door for everyone and their dog to try the magical fantasy realm in the cyber world. Those people are hooked by this genre thanks to Blizzard and will keep playing this genre again. Companies now have to WoWish their games to satisfy these people. It is great, it is beautiful. All these moms and kids and parents having fun together in a family game. I know my brother and his wife with their kids are playing it. That's a very nice thing to see.

WoW's community is horrible. Because you don't know what kind of people you'd meet. You could've been arguing for 2 hours with a member of your group who's 8 years old. Or a 60 year old granny. Or a 14 year old geek. You never know.

There are decent people playing the game, people like ArmedCitizen and the rest of the cool guys of this forums. But there are so many of those "l2p", "stuf", "wtf" guys who don't have a high enough IQ to speak a proper language.

 

[OVRKLL]

Why is it so harmful to like wow? for it to be fun for you? because other people are jealous that you enjoy something and they cant find anything that they can. - that is why things like this exist.
Jealousy = all.

I'm not saying it's harmful (although I do think it can be). And I'm not jealous. But people fear what they do not understand and most WoW gamers seem to have realized this. You, for example. And I do not fear WoW but I still want to know why people play it -- out of interrest.

People do enjoy the monotonous parts and people do enjoy the action filled PvP. It gives a social aspect that many games don't provide. It has a nice, mature community for the most part. And it is world wide known so it has become like sports where you can have conversations with people in real life about it. (Another social aspect I guess.) It kills time when people have too much on their hands. It is pretty damn cool to see characters from the Warcraft series come to life in the game.

How many reasons do you need to play it? I never count up the reasons why I should play Guitar Hero before I turn it on. I just enjoy it now and then. Can't WoW be the same?

Just one... And you gave me that, so thank you.

yabyab... Jesus. You sure do hate WoW I agree with most of the aspects, yet I have something to add...
The reason Blizzard put so much monotone gameplay into WoW might exactly be that the difficulty was often too low to keep the gamers entertained for longer periods. If the gamers are accepting the more homogenous aspects anyway, why not think business and pump the game full of it?
That's the main reason why I personally don't like WoW as a game.
EDIT: And 9 mio. users CAN, however, give richer forums and communities in general.

EDIT: And a personal conclusion: WoW is not about skills. It is about how much time you spend playing it.

By the way... A general reason not to play WoW is the fact that it is addicting... But let's leave that to the scientists.

 

[Cornface]

yabyab, It's just a game. End Of Discussion.

Or not, many of your arguments fail, if a player takes aggro from Maraudon, he has a high chance of dying, incredible high if the group ain't good. And there is no way he could tank monsters in Maraudon. WoW ain't easy, it doesn't require you to be god-like to complete your way to level 70, but it is not easy. But mainly, it takes time.

Also, your seven year old kid won't stand a chance in PvP, I would love to see him doing an instance, reading tactics and not overaggroing. World Of Wacraft is as IQ-required as any other game. Actually, the whole community is not horrible. It depends how horrible you are.

 

[Asehujiko]

I haven't heard a single thing in this thread so far about what makes WoW a good game.

In the eyes of a pessimist, everything is bad so nobody bothers.

 

[OVRKLL]

In the eyes of a pessimist, everything is bad so nobody bothers.

In the eyes of an optimist, everything is good so nobody bothers. I'm just trying to be subjective and sinse you have no examples I think you may just as well take your optimism elsewhere and stick to the subject.

 

[DDRtists]

Stop double posting.

 

[OVRKLL]

Stop double posting.

Jesus, read the post. I created it by mistake and wanted to remove it... Sinse I'm appearently not allowed to do that on this forum, I cleared it.

 

[DDRtists]

Theres no elaborate answer as to why WoW is "Good". It's no different than any other video game. What are they meant to do? Entertain you. You play them to get away from things, to spend your time doing other things than just sitting there bored. For the enjoyment. Just because -you- don't find the game good, doesn't mean it's not. You're being very pushy on your opinions on this topic, when really, it's COMPLETELY personal opinion. An opinion on the quality of a video game varies from person to person. So you don't like it, big deal. Do you seem me posting on how I don't like all the other popular games? I don't like Final Fantasy, but you don't see me going to Final Fantasy forums and asking why the game is so good.

If you don't like the game, why bother posting it? Do our personal opinions matter to you, after all, you don't like the game! In the long run, you're doing nothing but making yourself look bad by posting things like this. As for "Grinding over and over", why is that any different than shooting something...over and over. Take Halo for example, what do you do when you play the game? KILL THINGS! Why is it any different for a FPS than it is for a MMORPG? Answer this question.

 

[OVRKLL]

Theres no elaborate answer as to why WoW is "Good". It's no different than any other video game. What are they meant to do? Entertain you. You play them to get away from things, to spend your time doing other things than just sitting there bored. For the enjoyment. Just because -you- don't find the game good, doesn't mean it's not. You're being very pushy on your opinions on this topic, when really, it's COMPLETELY personal opinion. An opinion on the quality of a video game varies from person to person. So you don't like it, big deal. Do you seem me posting on how I don't like all the other popular games? I don't like Final Fantasy, but you don't see me going to Final Fantasy forums and asking why the game is so good.

If you don't like the game, why bother posting it? Do our personal opinions matter to you, after all, you don't like the game! In the long run, you're doing nothing but making yourself look bad by posting things like this. As for "Grinding over and over", why is that any different than shooting something...over and over. Take Halo for example, what do you do when you play the game? KILL THINGS! Why is it any different for a FPS than it is for a MMORPG? Answer this question.

Feels like nobody reads what I'm writing. I don't want to flame WoW gamers -- I just want to know why they find the game so good sinse I am, as you suggest, not able to see that. The quest for knowledge and understanding is, however, often misinterpretted and it would seem that is happening over and over again here... I'm sorry if I'm writing too agressive but I was hoping you'd see as kindly on my agressivity that I strive to do on some WoW gamers' defensiveness.

 

[DDRtists]

Feels like nobody reads what I'm writing. I don't want to flame WoW gamers -- I just want to know why they find the game so good sinse I am, as you suggest, not able to see that. The quest for knowledge and understanding is, however, often misinterpretted and it would seem that is happening over and over again here... I'm sorry if I'm writing too agressive but I was hoping you'd see as kindly on my agressivity that I strive to do on some WoW gamers' defensiveness.

I can't tell you why the game is so good, because that would be my opinion on it, and not yours. I enjoy leveling, grinding, questing. Some people like the instances, some people like doing professions, it's all a matter of the person you ask.

If you don't like it, you don't like it, we can't tell you why it's so good, as you may not feel the same.

 

[OVRKLL]

I enjoy leveling, grinding, questing. Some people like the instances, some people like doing professions, it's all a matter of the person you ask.

Well... Actually you just answered my question again. Thank you. The thing is that I found all of these aspects exciting at first when I played the game but after a while things got monotone... And I was wondering what others found the game so good after that point. Now I get to conclude that those stick-to-it WoW gamers simply keep finding the same aspects exciting. And yes, you could compare that to hardcore gamers in any other games -- even shooters such as Counter-Strike that takes skills above time (although you need to almost dedicate your entire life to the game to reach these skills).

The difference I see between shooters (just an example) and MMORPG's is, however, that eventhough the ultimate purpose is the same (kill, kill, kill, don't get killed yourself, kill, kill, kill, get better, kill, kill, kill, get to the top of the ranks), the way your grind or even complete quests and dungeons in WoW isn't neccesarily challenging. That's one of the things I mentioned earlier.
Anyway, sinse I got my answers and you get the answers for questions behind I them guess we should just shut up and let other people out there debate the topic for us.

 

[DDRtists]

Well... Actually you just answered my question again. Thank you.

I'm sorry, but if you couldn't come up with those reasons for people liking WoW by yourself, after playing it like you did, theres something wrong there.

 

[Rapmaster]

The incentive isn't with the day-to-day grinding and quests, it's with the feeling of approaching some goal... getting enough $ to buy the mount, gaining that next profession skill, getting a key to ___ dungeon etc. Yes, this progress feels good to most people. I'm sure they have psychologists advising them of how to make these games. Of course all of these things just set you up for more goals. Ultimately everyone who plays seriously is trying to be among the best on the server, with the best gear. Obviously they all won't achieve that but they will try to be better than someone el se. You don't want to be the loser with all the green coloured items!

There is skill involved in the game. It's easily learned in the amount of time people commit to this, but it's still a skill. Raid encounters and pvp are examples. Having good gear will dumb it down but you don't start with the gear anyway.

The dangerous part of the game is that it doesn't have an end. Reminds me of Chase the Dragon for any South Park fans --- (someone made a mock up of it here http://www.gamegum.com/game/1857/heroin-hero/) Interestingly enough that one is based on heroin addiction. Hmmm. So if you are playing "to win" you will be in for a long ride.

On the other hand, casual play is quite possible. Some quests are a bit repetitive but some are quite unique and have some plot in them. The graphics are awesome (in a cartoony way) and there are lots of inside jokes. Others have mentioned the social aspect. It's a big world to explore. They've made it even more casual-friendly in the expansion and then the latest big patch (you can level faster and get nicer loot out of the smaller, earlier dungeons.)

About the author
I spent a good deal of time on it around 2005 and got all sorts of cool epics then I quit and I've gone back once or twice but never got into the raiding thing again. When the expansion came out: poof all those epic items that took probably about 1000 hours to earn were suddenly worthless. I reactivated my account for the expansion and had fun exploring and doing some quests then got to the point where serious commitment would be expected so I quit. My account is inactive but my character still wears these old, obsolete epics in Shattrath as a warning!

 

[Sooda]

Basically Rapmaster nailed it. Games what are build on replay ability are addicting. You reach on one level when another waits you. Endless loop is achieved.