This past weekend was a treat for players in need of a dose of nostalgia as the Classic version of “WoW” got released. The MMORPG World of Warcraft is a 15-year-old game that has stuck around with sheer strength and surprising success up to this day. Released by Blizzard Entertainment it has gone through 7 major expansion updates, in which new content is added.
Players have stayed loyal to this game for many reasons.
Obviously it was a lot of fun. The openness of the World, which allowed you to go anywhere and do anything you wanted, inspired a sense of freedom and adventure in players. Friendships and everlasting memories were formed here as average players could spend between 2–4 hours per day in the game, hunting boars or challenging an enemy so strong only a group of 20 people could defeat it.
In fact, they loved the game so much, that they opened a version of World of Warcraft of their own. The game was in its original state before any of the expansions and update came along. It was called Nostralrius, a private project made by the community. The server exploded with 230,000 people joining quickly to relive their “childhood” memories and revisit the world of Azeroth once again. Blizzard had to step in as they were bleeding players to a competitor that was using their intellectual property. But the players only wanted something that Blizzard didn’t want to give them. After countless pleas to direct the game back to its roots, Blizzard looked down on them with the memorable answer:
“You think you want Classic WoW, but really, you don’t”
Eventually, Blizzard has gotten around to listening to its players and releasing the original version of World of Warcraft in all its glory, calling it Classic.
What's interesting to me is the huge influx of players. People mostly over the age of 20 from all regions of the world. The younger generations seem not to be drawn to the game for some reason. This is a game for millennials, as this generation was the one that grew up beside it. But what’s so special about a cartoonish, outdated, childish and arguably addictive game?
If You Want To Discover New Worlds You Need Not Go Far
There’s a common notion that the world is becoming “boring” or threatening enough that we need an escape from. Perhaps on the bright side of things we just need to break every now and then to recharge our batteries and come back at it stronger. The “World” in WoW indicates that there’s a whole new world to discover. The RPG factor lets you create a character of your own, with the help of many customization options. You can create a character entirely to your liking and play it out in the big world of possibilities.
Why would one spend their time in virtual reality?
The game itself is likened to an escape from reality. Players can transcend their limitations and play a role entirely to their liking. Before, that would be frowned upon, but now we can start to accept life in the virtual world. Because of social media, VR headsets, games, apps, etc, and the general state of the world.
AR mixed reality
To augment literally means to improve something or to alter positively. In this case, our reality, the world we see outside. Pokemon GO was a popular example of an AR application that put a virtual layer on top of the physical world. Pokemon, gyms, items, they were all in your mind, but millions of players downloaded and played the game with fervent frenzy. It’s as if they could not tell the difference or that the difference did not matter.
We’re all interconnected.
What’s interesting even more is that players enjoy mundane tasks like mining and fishing ingame. This is equally time-consuming as physical labor, without the pain and suffering you need to endure. The reward is a virtual good instead, which to players inside the game, is worth something. This opens up a possibility of earning money from in-game activities, which is a well-known fact already, as hundreds of Chinese players spend up to 10 hours a day farming gold and selling it to players in illegal online marketplaces. The reason it makes sense for Chinese players to farm the gold and sell it is because of the difference in currencies. $5 may not be a lot for you and me, but it’s a weekly wage for some countries.
Fantasy.
There’s a creative outlet that lets players play out their fantasies and have adventures and create long-lasting memories, that can compete with any of the “real life” alternatives. That’s why so many players returned to WoW Classic. Because of the strength of memories that will for some last forever. That’s the power of gaming and virtual worlds. That’s why the gaming industry is still booming. Since the time of the Sega Genesis, Cassettes, CDs, Commodores, all those yearly FIFA titles — the gaming industry has remained strong, far spread and has shown continual strides in improvement.
