home is where the hearthstone is

[helvetius]

I LOLZed hard and long when I read this piece analysing Kevin Werbach's alter ego in WoW. (If you have no idea who Werbach is, he's one of the two Federal Communications Commission chairpersons appointed by Obama. Yes, paying attention to US polictics now because it's a barrel of fun and all these days.)

It didn't help that just a few hours earlier, I found the Obama vs. McCain WoW vote battle video. FWIW, the majority of the Horde was for Obama (with priests and warriors being his top supporters) and most of the Alliance for McCain (rogues and shamans for the angry dwarf XD). And the vid was done before the election results came out.

... XD

***



RL peeps are perplexed about my sudden immense love for WoW. All I can say is that it is not as sudden as they think it is. I played Warcraft II and III, just that not many are aware of it. XD;;;

That said, how can you not love the Warcraft universe when it questions your values and views? I know players who refuse to do certain quests that involve the killing of innocents simply because it goes against their beliefs, to hell with leveling experience and Fraction Reputation (needed for discounts on repairs, wares and yadda) and high-level players who will do low-level quests for measly rewards because there's something about the storyline that touches them.

Sure, Blizzard isn't the most consistent when it comes to their storyline (the number of retcons in their lore is enough to drive the fanboys nuts), but they do put a lot of thought into their game and take note of the little details. And we all know God/Devil is in the details.

So yea. There you go. Now, the next person who ask me why I like WoW will get Moonfried.

Comments

[cheshirefeline.livejournal.com]

Haha, those are great articles man. I'm also very fond of the Taurens - warstomp (useless on my drood though) and +5% HP helps a lot, too.

I wouldn't say that the WoW universe really makes you question your values: it's not Fable or Fallout. You don't actually get to make choices. Choosing not to do a particular quest/questline isn't the same as actually making a decision and reaping the consequences of it (like good or bad karma).

The Warcraft universe is, however, a very well-made one. Blizzard does have decades of experience crafting epic story arcs through multiple titles and genres. I don't know of any other company that's been as successful as Blizz with first RTSes WCI-II then RP/RTS WCIII/TFT and then the MMO WoW, and that's not counting the books and comics.

Oh wait, there's also LucasArts and the Star Wars franchise. That's an even more epic universe.

[helvetius.livejournal.com]

Don't use Warstomp much either, but it's a godsend when I accidentally aggro more mobs than I can handle. (Warstomp and then cheetah awaaay! XD;;;)

Nah, I don't think WoW is the in-your-face "WHAT'S YER VALUES?" games. (Don't know much about Fable, but you should try BioShock. That one is a real mindfuck.) It's more subtle than that.

It's like the whole argument about Good/Alliance vs. Bad/Horde. Most seem to think everything is absolute and that there are no shades of grey. But then Blizzard will toss some quests here and there to make these peeps wonder if the Alliance/Horde is as innocent/wronged/whatever as they think. There are pages of such discussion in the WoW official forums, so let's not go there. XD;;;

And choosing not to do a particular quest/questline is the same as actually making a decision and reaping the consequences of it. By not doing the quest, you may miss out a chain quest (e.g the Elixir of Agony and Battle quests in TM). :P

Heh. I probably have to review Star Wars: TFU soon. Will let you know if it's really epic. XD