Weekend Brunch is a weekly discussion post to get gamers thinking and have their opinion heard about the industry they love. It’s a light-hearted conversation just like you’d have with the family at brunch. Except without your creepy uncle. If you have a topic you’d like brought up, or just want to share your thought, sound off in the comments section below.
What brings us back to World of Warcraft, or WoW?
On a weekday evening back in 2008 some guy I knew from work decided to say, “Hey man you gotta try this game!” 16 hours and no sleep later, when we saw each other on our next work shift, he laughed at me.
WoW is a fantasy MMORPG as everyone knows, however I think it’s also a feeling, not just a game. A game is something that a few people play with a general “plot”, rules, and usually a clear cut winner. Hey 2/3 ain’t bad right? Besides having a world first or the highest geared or you are just Larry (a fellow <GT>er), there are no winners in WoW. The lack of a clear cut winner and end obviously keeps us immersed in the world of Azeroth.
If you are into the lore of the game, it’s a story line that never ends. It has always been shrouded in mystery and great cinematics I however know nothing of the lore mainly because I am the kind of player that really doesn’t care about it. I just want to go boomboom. This keeps a player in.
Blizzard tailors the rules to change in the blink of an eye to keep players satisfied or infuriated all at the same time maintaining a balance of trying to keep something for everyone. This keeps a player in.
I also think that the competition has been great over the years of WoW with several excellent MMO games such as WarHammer, AION, SWTOR, etc. We all have played these games and most have enjoyed them, but why do we leave them?? Simply put, they are not WoW. There is no other way to answer that question other then that.
For Warcraft players, or really devoted fans of any game, think back to every other title that you have played and ask yourself, “Why did I leave that for WoW? Why don’t I leave WOW?”
I can tell you that for me, it is because it’s a nice soft blanket of comfort that doesn’t seem to wanna go away, just like a kid’s blankie keeping that feeling going into adulthood.
Except a lot nerdier.
Brandon Zeman
Latest posts by Brandon Zeman (see all)
- Weekend Brunch: What Brings Us Back to WoW? - February 3, 2013
About Brandon Zeman
I too returned to WoW after about a year hiatus. I tried other games including SWTOR, DCUniverse, and even the shameful LOTR MMO. Nothing compares to WoW, even after Cataclysm annoyed and frustrated me to no end. The thing that always brings me back is the people. Though I have not been in GT for a couple years, the rules and spirit layed out in the GT rules are still the core guidelines to my playing. When you can enjoy time with friends who share this kind of interest, commitment, and group competition there’s just no comparison.
I have taken several hiatuses from WoW for various reasons–too much work, moving and no good internet, trying out a new game (SWTOR, Diablo 3). What keeps me coming back is the connection with my guild and the people who play. Sometimes the content doesn’t thrill me (Cata, endless dailies, etc.) but the people I get to play with are great. Some of them are like family to me. OK one of them actually IS family — I met my husband playing WoW. I’ll probably always return to WoW. Like you said, it’s comforting.
I have always been pretty steady in my game playing no matter whether it was in Counter-Strike 1.6 or when I got into WoW. Because my job was shift work, and I could plan the rest of my day with the family to give me some time at night, I always previously had the time.
However, recently with a position change and having to work 12 to 16 hour days, that time has been drastically reduced to almost non-existence. Recently things have again started to slow down enough that I can hop on most weeks at least once, and it’s not just the game that relaxes me it’s those long time friends who I know I will find when I log in. They are the reason I keep going back really, but WoW no matter what anyone says is also a game that simply has legs, its latest incarnations have provided something for everyone. Leveling, achievements, raiding, pet battles, dailies, pvp, lore, playing the auction house, etc… You can literally find something for everyone in the game and that’s why it is still the MMO king.
For me, Warcraft is an awful lot like a piece of Kobe beef. You’ve had and enjoyed other steaks before, but once you’ve experienced it, all others pale in comparison. You may have a different one here and there and very much enjoy them but while you’re eating your RIFT tenderloin, you know that the WoW Kobe is how it’s supposed to taste.
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