World of Warcraft

I can’t remember if I’ve written about this before and quite frankly I’m much too lazy to check, but there is a piece of writing advice I once heard by way of the late Christopher Hitchens. The idea being that one ought always to try and write posthumously, that the considerations one might have when alive; taste, reputation or commercial pressure be cast aside as best as one is able. No easy task for the successful scribbler, but fortunately for me I am in effect already dead and as such am unburdened by default.

The purpose of this preface is to lead into a somewhat embarrassing confession. It is perhaps more common than I imagine but part of my love for RPGs lies in my elaborate fantasist inclinations. But for my aforementioned idleness I have no doubt I’d be LARPing and cosplaying with my similarly minded brothers and sisters. As it stands however I am resigned to indulging all that is nerd-like within my soul with video games, and role-playing games offer the surest way into imaging myself as anything other than the over-anxious, over-sensitive bore that I am. So with little on the horizon for me to try I decided to take an extended trip to Azeroth, that seemingly immortal realm of devastated sleep schedules and digital ossuary to the many pretenders that dared to challenge its dominance.

Mercifully for my wallet Blizzard have now taken the decision to include all but the latest expansion in the standard experience and with a starter edition allowing free play to level 20 there is more than enough opportunity to learn whether you will or won’t be pulled into Warcraft's gaping maw. As one might surmise from the quartet of celestial bodies above I was largely won over and whilst World of Warcraft may suffer to an extent due to its age, so many years of updates and improvements have led to what remains a breathtakingly large and varied adventure.

From the myriad races and classes comes Noctaria, a blood elf warlock because yes, I do imagine myself a dark mistress of the arcane, summoning demons from the Stygian pits to do my bidding, draining the life force of my enemies and all the while looking fabulously fashionably evil. Alas then that I’m but a pleb gawking at a screen but the vicarious existence is at least entertaining. The appearance options are quite limited but the knock on effect is whilst you don’t get to see any spectacular freaks on your travels everyone at least looks consistent within the context of the world at large. Similarly with each race having its own starting area there’s a good sense of how you fit in to the world from the outset and goes some way to establish a sense of home and belonging.

The first 20 levels or so are built around this initial exploration of your own race’s internal politics and outward concerns before being flung far and wide across a seemingly endless landscape. Make no mistake, the world part of World of Warcraft is massive, and as varied as one might reasonable expect for its size. An effort has been made to put twists on the usual environments so you have woods where the trees blister from disease whilst engorged worms wriggle across the decaying grass, wastelands with Grecian temples and isolated outposts of lush greenery. The art design is especially strong and accounts for a great deal in how well the experience holds up after all this time. There are some noticeable inconsistencies where you can see those elements which haven’t benefited from an overhaul, but by in large the visuals remain a positive feature.

The level of environmental variety extends to that of your characters with no shortage of appealing weapons and armour to collect, and with the added ability to transmogrify items into designs you’ve already acquired there’s an appealing loot-fest and a personally delightful level of sartorial indulgence that appeals to my endless vanity. This variety is no doubt in part due to the number of expansions released; however it does bring to light the disappointing lack of loot variety in more modern role-players, where very slight alterations to a basic theme or breaking one piece of loot into 5 collectible fragments seems the fashion. An insistence on cutting edge visuals has its costs.

Mechanically the experience is still very much the classic MMO with its exhaustive hot-bar and tab targeting combat system. It’s an easy thing to mock now given the development of more free flowing combat in other games but the accessibility it offers to less dexterous individuals grants it a greater appeal to a traditionally non-gaming audience and one suspects played a role in its overall success. Such speculation aside it is admittedly an ageing system that feels somewhat stiff and clunky. Without the ability to dodge or move very much once engaged means that a reliance on timing and knowing your abilities is the priority. There are a few bosses and enemies that demand some level of positional sense but not to any great degree. The mix and sheer number of abilities can also be quite dizzying at higher levels but most are at least fun to use and have a touch of visual flair to add a sense of impact.

However it isn’t the combat that creates the main barrier to entry, rather it’s the quest design. Anyone who has had even a passing thought on the subject will know the setup; kill 10 wandering wanderers, collect 18 fragments of calcified boredom etc. It’s all as dull as it sounds and with only text boxes to give context in most cases it’s hard to be motivated beyond anything other than the allure of what lies at a quest’s completion; experience, gold and sweet loot. Thankfully this isn’t entirely pervasive and some effort has been made over time to break up these identikit quests with more engaging situations and events.

So for every handful of quests to kill 69 penis monsters you get the chance to mess around with a giant turret or watch your new monster friend extract spider venom by riding them on his belly. They vary in entertainment value but become more common as you progress and certainly offer a step up from collecting twigs in a forest. There are also some larger quests that are built around the location you’re in, one such adventure involved touring in a merchant’s caravan, solving the local issues as normal but whilst also following a thread of connected quests surrounding the personal issues of your fellow caravan members. It’s a nice touch as it gives us some actual characters to care about and the dialogue has some rare charm. It’s a shame that such things are not the default but it does add a touch more incentive to keep exploring and adventuring as you genuinely never quite know what you’ll find.

You’ll also never really be short of things to do. Reaching the level cap is a massive undertaking in of itself and when you add the group dungeons, raids, professions to learn and take advantage of, it's easy to understand how it has managed to consume so many souls for so long. My older brother for instance spent many years ensnared with me waking at 7am to find him still grinding away, chatting with his US cohorts. More than a space to game Warcraft is a space to meet others. Albeit not face to face, few games have managed to utilise the power of community in quite the same way. Whilst this in many ways is a positive with no small number of relationships forged in happy fantasy, it also represents the kick-off in the race to the bottom with the virtual habit former; the game in which the prime motivation is not a great experience, but one without end where daily routine is encouraged over any emotional engagement or the satisfaction of a definitive conclusion. Alas, today's industry is bloated with the latest gaudy treadmills and hamster wheels with very few genres able to escape its influence.

All of which leaves me with mixed emotions about the old dog. In of itself it's a great MMO with no lack of content and an imaginative loot filled world to explore. Yet it cannot be avoided; the grind, the repetition, it's nice to find a cool new robe but it's difficult to shake the feeling that it's not in service to anything other than keeping me busy. Fortunately for Blizzard my very motivation to start with was such and so I leave none the worse for wear. World of Warcraft is like a pleasant dream, it's all lovely whilst you're in it, but stay too long and it's easy to lose track of yourself. Have fun, just be sure to wake up.