Larry Frum wrote an article for CNN.com about Rift, a brand new MMO that has been advertised as the “World of Warcraft killer”. I don’t have much to write about Rift, since I only got to play it during its Beta phase, but I will say the following:
Aion, Warhammer and Age of Conan were all advertised and promoted by media and their player base as the “World of Warcraft killer”…
Good luck, Rift. You’ve got a very steep hill to climb! (fyi, calling out your competition before your product makes that steep hill even larger)
Console gaming is something I consider a hobby of mine, and something I grew up enjoying, with my very first Nintendo Entertainment system. Online gaming, however, is something I’ve only experienced for just over two years. My game of choice? World of Warcraft. Since trying WoW for the very first time in the spring of 2008, I’ve developed an interest in the psychology of online gaming, or MMO gaming. Why do people play MMO games? What do they get out of it other than what the game has to offer? Why do people choose to stereotype those who play MMO games as the typical “South Park WoW” gamers?
When I started playing, I didn’t know anybody in my circle of friends who played, so my initial experience was a bit lonely, and not so fun. Eventually, I would run into a few players who helped me get the hang of the game. I guess you could say I was ‘initiated’ into WoW. Since starting out as a pretty average player, I’ve met some pretty amazing people through the game, and even started my very own Guild that’s been around for a solid two years on our server. In those two years, I’ve not only talked to members of my guild using Ventrilo chat services, but I’ve traveled around the country to meet and hang out with them as well. I will say that while playing WoW has been a lot of fun, I’m usually more excited to play when I know these great people are playing as well. I’ve started to use WoW as a way to keep in touch with these people, rather than just playing a game I enjoy playing. Although, I will say, if you’re not having fun playing a game, why play at all… right?
This post comes in response to a comment that was made to me from someone who recently made the same negative stereotypes in regards to my time playing WoW. Someone who personally knows me, as a friend, and refuses to understand that sometimes there are very real people behind the ‘screen’, and that a game doesn’t define a person. It just doesn’t make sense to make such a huge assumption without taking the time to experience it for yourself, which is on of the reasons why I’m so interested in the Psychology behind the players and the observers of MMO gaming, in all facets.
If someone feels passionate enough to attack someone about something so trivial, you’d think they could redirect that passion to… I don’t know… change the world or something…
Speaking of changing the world…
So enlighten me, fellow MMO players, why do you play? Does your personality carry over into how you play your game of choice? Do you allow your ‘out of game’ emotions carry over into your game of choice? Do you often help other players? Do you often ‘grief’ other players?
So, for the second time this morning, Blizzard Entertainment launched an April Fools day offensive. After ‘launching’ their new Warcraft console game, they announced a new player class for their upcoming expansion pack, ‘Wrath of the Lich King‘. The ‘Bard’ was announced as a new player class that would call for some pretty ‘nifty’ keyboard usage. Blizzard also announced that they’ll be shipping out a guitar-based keyboard, because the interface of the bard class will look somewhat similar to that of ‘Guitar Hero’. Enjoy the photos!
As some of you readers might not know, I do enjoy a nice session of Warcraft. But what I didn’t know, is that the creators of Warcraft, over at Bilzzard Entertainment, love a good prank. So when I woke up this morning, forgetting that today is April Fools day, I saw a page for a new console-ready Warcraft game. By the middle of reading all about it, I finally realized that it was all a big prank. Silly Blizzard, you ‘half’ got me! What was even funnier about the prank, is that they went through the trouble of creating a trailer for this ‘new game’. So, without any further interruptions, I bring you: “World of Warcraft: The Molten Core” (for the Atari 2600 platform)
J Soul 
The Webestrian’s Opinion