Wrath of the Casual King

With the release of WOTLK WoW took at distinct step towards a MMORPG that caters for casual gamers. Where will it go next? Who is the game designed for?

As a backdrop for this you find the endless arguing simply referred to as "casual vs hardcore". The grife bewteen casual gamers and hardcore gamers has raged since... well forever. Long story short: Casual gamers complain that too much content is designed so that only no-lifers and social clients gets to enjoy it, it's too hard and too timeconsuming. The Hardcore gamers complain that the game is dumbed down and changes are made that is ruining the game, simply cause people are crap at playing.
That these will ever make peace is quite unlikely, you might as well put money down on pigs flying. However, what's getting interesting is that these two groups are getting harder to seperate. In early WoW days someone with an epic item was hardcore, cause that meant that they had either been in a raid (something reserved for the few and brave) - now you can roll through 5 man heroic dungeons withtout any issue and there has been a severe inflation of the value epic items from rare to standard. Moreover, a hardcore player used to be the one that knew their way around dugeons, about what specialisations were worthwhile and of the underlying mechanics. Now, this is something expected from everyone. Even the most casual of players is presumed to know about their classes abilities, to know of moneymaking schemes, instance strategies and patch updates. So is this still a valid distinction?

There is still arguments raging on most forums about upcoming changes and persistant problems, calls for nerfs or buffs to classes or content. Some say that the current content is too easy, while others are cheering about the chance to finally get access to parts of the game that previously were only avaiable to a minority group and a ceritain playstyle. However, it's not a clear divide between the two groups. It is true that the current content has taken a surprisingly short time to overcome, however as a entry level raiding dungeon: Naxxramas (which comprises most of the current raidingcontent) is alot more advanced then Molten Core (one of the first raid instnaces in early WoW) ever was. The community as a whole is more educated about game mechanics and strategies, regardless of the hardcore/casual distinction.
What's been removed is the elements that earlier were central in making the distinction between casual and hardcore: fights were you needed a strange raidcomposition (like 8 tanks on Four Horseman), gearchecks (fights that required the entire raid to be max-geared), resistchecks (fights that required a ceirtain type of gear to give survivability, like fire resist gear in Molten Core). With these timeconsuming and committing elements gone from the game, the focus is now on the fights themselves.

A bit of a roundabout way to my point, but I think I am getting there:

Our perception of new content is colored by our previous experiences, but we seem to forget the advancement of the player community when making such comparisons. Gameplay isnt just about what is designed, it's also about what the player brings to the table. With the aveage player beeing more knowledgable then before, new content ends up beeing perceived as easier - but in reality it's more complex then ever before.

Twinking - an introduction

"Twinks are player characters who have gained the best powerful gear for their level ... Twinks are mainly used in PvP fighting and Battlegrounds. Twinks obtain their items through rare drops, drops off of bosses in instances, rewards from quests that are difficult to complete at their level, and from the Auction House. Twink items on the Auction House can be expensive. Twink enchantments can only be performed by high-level characters. Therefore, twinking usually requires significant assistance from high-level alts, friends, and/or guild members." (From Wowwiki.com about Twinks)

Twinks represent a special type of playstyle. While the majority of players will aim to be the highest level, to get the best possible gear in the game and conquer now content - following the ideal of beeing on the bleeding edge - twinkers decide to be somewhere else.
Instead of reaching for the most powerful character in the game, a twinker aim to have the most powerful character at a given level. Since Battlegrounds (zones where you fight other players) are bulked together in level brackets of 10-19, 20-29 etc Twinks will be 19,29,39 etc.

So, whats the challenge then? Why not go all the way to 80? Certainly it makes no sense staying at such a low level?
For twinkers, evolving the character represents a different kind of challenge. While leveling most people will go for things that are available or doesn't require too much effort to get, as soon you will level on and items will be outclassed fairly soon. Twinkers however put just as much effort into getting their gear as raiders would. Since a twink will stay a ceirtain level (like 19,29,39 etc) with no intention of moving on, its more then anything a game about finding the most suitable items possible for that exact level - even if that item is ridiculously expensive or hard to get.

Twinking is an oppositional reading of the games script, where they generate goals and procedures clearly not intended by the designers. They are bordering the line of cheating, always looking for loopholes in the game system - ways to get items or advances through neglect on the programmers side (such as lack of level requirement on items or quests). Since time and money is not an issue, it sometimes leads to slightly absurd projects. The Furbolg Pouch is one of these. Basically, you will need a friend (or alternate account) til kill 1157 furbolgs for you while you wait around dead, so that you can buy this item through reputation. 1157 isn't THAT many, but its many enough...

Opinions about twinks does differ. Some describe them as cheaters, ruining the game for others as in PvP situations a twink will outperform non-twinks to such an extent it can not be seen as a fair fight. In Battlegroups that have high population of twinks, playing PvP as a non-twink will then mean little chance to impact the fight and a great chance of spending the majority of your time on the graveyard.

"Wow, I hate twinks so much. 06/05/2007 11:05:09 AM PDT
Seriously, shut up about your leet x9 battle groups. You play a twink because you failed at 70 and everybody knows it. Have fun playing against people with 1/3 your HP/dmg/crit or w/e you stack.
Failures, quit plaguing our Battle Group forum."
Noxousx on Vindication Battlegroup Forum

For all the flaming and QQ around twinks (and how they are changing the nature of Battlegrounds), I have deep respect for how they are making the game their own. Twinks is relate to the script in a more proactive way then other playergroups. By choosing to stay at a certain level, they are not prone to constant changes as more content is added - and with a smaller selection of items and talentpoints to choose from: The potential for reaching the ultimate potential of the character is actually achievable. And this is a conscious part of the twinking community:

"Re: Wow, I hate twinks so much. 06/05/2007 01:23:16 PM PDT
IMO the only way we twinks "fail" at is being mindless drones who run on Blizzard's XP treadmill to get progressively better and better gear so that you can go to progressively harder and harder instances to get progressively better and better gear so that you can go to progressively harder and harder instances, etc. etc. etc.

If "failure" means that I'm off the levelling treadmill, then I am a failure, yessir! I'm quite happy to be a failure, running around at 19 and 29 having fun; isn't that the point of this exercise? Anyway, at the very least I am no Blizzard sycophant like you seem to be.

/hugs"
Tamlan in Vindication Battlegroup Forum

This ended up longer then first intended, but I guess that shows what potential is there. Twinks touch so many aspects of the game;
-Ethical: Is everything the game allows ok, or does it go against the "spirit" of the game?
-Techosocial relations: Twinks are co-constructing a new arena for developing characters and achievements by making characters outside the mainfocus of the producers.
- Production of knowledge: They also gather information and develop theories for areas of the game usually overlooked, as breakdown of parses for level 19 character will be pointless to someone who is going to level beyond 19.

Right now level 80 is keeping me more then busy, however I am sure I will be back with a twink in a battleground near you.

Fail and Meme's: About politically uncorrect visual humour

One of the views that STS provides (when putting on the STS-glasses, hats or any other suitable pedagogical headgear-metaphors) is how technology enables or disables certain actions. Lately I have been fascinated by how imaging and visual representations have become modifiable and spreadable by pretty much everyone. In the development of better internet connections, as well as better PC processing power; You don't need fancy or expensive websites in order to hold the space that images takes, sending emails with large attachements wont slow down your working day and lots of sites are now providing free hosting of your pictures. In addition programmes such as Photoshop have opened up the image to modifications, for play and making images your own - adding comments or morphing pictures to tell other stories.

One trend in particular is the meme's in the form of running jokes, through images - on the internet. A particular feature of these is the need for them to be completely politically incorrect.

Whether this is a sign of increased discrimination, racism, lack of tolerance - or simply a "We don't care" statement I am not so sure, though I lean towards the latter. Either way it shows a new area where the layman can tell stories (and in this case jokes) through a visual medium. No need to be a great artist, or even a master of cameras or Photoshop. In many cases all that is needed, is helping the spread and recycling of these images - ensuring their place on different forums, boards and websites.

I guess I now will do my part. Here is a small sample.

Big Brother Sees You!

Riskcalculation is a central part of playing MMOs like WoW: Will the reward be worth the time? Is the cost justified by the reward? And more importantly: Will teaming up with this person be beneficial or dangerous?

Even in smaller groups, players depend on each other to fulfill their role. If someone isn't performing at their best, the group is at risk to ALL have to spend more time and money to accomplish something. In guilds this is enhanced as new members are risky; they get a chance to reap the benefits, but you don't know them and how can you trust them not to screw things up or run away after they have gotten their part?

A commonplace practice in serious guilds (as well as less serious ones) is to make applications, usually on a forum/website. They are in most aspects similar to a work application with questions like; What are your previous experience? What do you bring to this community? Are you a team player? What are your goals?

The problem ofcourse is that this is The Internet (tm) and it's possible to forge this. To claim to have more experience or brush over earlier misgivings. Reputation is a key element for players to ensure success, the name sticks with the character and a rocky reputation will exclude you from many a community (See Taylor 2006: Between Worlds). So, how do you ensure that people are telling the truth?
The Armory: a online database which holds a copy of your WoW character with both it's gear and spec (skill specialization) put some pressure on this when introduced about 2 years ago (?). Now everyone could see what gear the character had, and thus what part of the game this toon had explored and overcome.

The Armory is now an integrated part of the game, a chance to look up guilds, servers as well as battlegroups to get an impression of what standard and achievements have been done. But, apparently that wasn't enough... With the 3.0 patch the Amory was extended. In game an achievement system appears (will log if you complete instances, do x amount of quests, make x amount of gold, train professions, explore zones, get many pets etc.) similar to that of LOTRO and WAR. In addition a statistics function appears which tells how much money I have made, how many potions I have drunk, how many kills, how many times I have died and more.

For some obscure reason, this achievement and statistics system is now also available in the Armory. So - anyone can basically log on and find out fairly intimate details about what I have been up to since last patch. Is this really necessary?

Is there really a need for other players to find out how many bandages I have used? Its like your boss keeping track of how many pencils you have used, or your partner wanting a graph over how many sheets of toilet paper... Why is this posted in public?

My character isn't excellent by any standards. It's actually an old character I have revived. In early vanilla WoW she kicked some ass, but in WoW terms that's so long ago it might just as well be during the Second World War.

Looking at her achievements and statistics, it tells the reader about how much I have done on her since patch 3.0. However, it doesn't tell much about me as a player. It doesn't tell what other characters I have been lvling or playing with. Am I just sulking cause now everyone knows she sucks, or is it still OK to be angered when the illusion of privacy is broken?


One good thing is that you can access the in game calender through Armory, so you won't forget what you are raiding tonight.

Misconceptions about gaming and gamers - More addiction...

A highly misinformed article in Dagbladet told us on 30th of November, that WoW now had a netpoker function that could be linked to virtual gold, but also real net poker sites. Reading the article it was clear that this was actually a crazy cooked up story about an old addon (player programmed software addition) that allowed players to play poker in game.
Fortunately today Martin Eide put the facts right: this has nothing to do with Blizzard, gambling is NOT encouraged and kids are NOT the majority player base.

Reading both reactions to these articles on Dagbladets commentary field, as well as related blogs - I am constantly shocked over the misconceptions around. Statements like "the biggest problem we are currently facing" and "we all know this is a danger to society". What? Who? Where?
So a bunch of kids and young adults who cant manage their time is the biggest threat to society? Did I miss a memo?

When portraying game addiction there are several key elements: excessive time use, conflict with family, neglecting other responsibilities such as work/school and aggression. Also, this seems to concern primarely young boys. Going by this standard there are several things I have issues with.
Firstly, there has been no studies linking gaming as the cause for any of this, and when there are - you will find equally as many stating the opposite. A scientific community is dissent holds no "truth".
Secondly, that a teenage boy is not enthused about school, is in conflict with his parents, don't go to bed at time and can be agressive - might have very little to do with World of Warcraft of any other game. In fact it sounds very much like the state most teenagers are in. And to be honest, is it really THAT bad having your teenage son at home on a saturday night?

Ofcourse, there is always a minority that has severe problems linked to gaming. However, it is not necessarily addiction and its not necessarily something the game hsa caused.

Computer Game Addiction

This was published in Klassekampen 28th of October
Sadly they dont give out a full version of their newspaper so I whack it in here. Its in Norwegian, if you dont understand norwegian... Well... too bad for you... Atleast I have posted an image to explain the moral of the story.

Bruk eller misbruk i online rollespill?

Kristine Ask, stipendiat, NTNU, Institutt for tverrfaglige kulturstudier

Avhengighet er en enkel måte å forklare hvorfor noen velger å bruke store deler av livet sitt foran en skjerm, men det er ikke nødvendigvis en riktig forklaring. Er vi så redde for kompleksitet at vi unngår den virtuelle virkeligheten?

”Spillavhengighet” har fått mye spalteplass i norske aviser de siste månedene. Både familie, spillere og helsepersonell har fortalt om hvordan ungdom blir ”fanget” i en virtuell verden. World of Warcraft (WoW) har ofte blitt trukket fram som et særlig risikofylt online rollespill der spillere forføres til et stadig større tidssluk på bekostning av skole, jobb, familie og kjærlighet.

At WoW har fått mye oppmerksomhet er kanskje ikke rart, siden det på mange måter brakte online rollespill til det store publikum. WoW spilles i dag av millioner på verdensbasis og det det er videre anslått at et sted mellom 70 000 og 100 000 av disse er nordmenn. Som det har blitt fokusert mye på i det siste, tar spillingen overhånd for noen av disse. Hjelpelinjen for Spillavhengighet (en hjelpelinje sponset av Lotteritilsynet) forteller at de får stadig flere henvendelser angående dataspill, hovedsakelig fra bekymrede foreldre som føler at tenårings sønner og døtre forsvinner ut av familielivet.

Bruk eller misbruk?

I en kronikk om spillavhengighet ’Fanget av den virtuelle verden’ (Aftenposten 03.09.08) beskriver Espen Idås og Hilde Tafjord beskriver seg selv som et del av hjelpeapparatet for spillavhengige og er med på å sette søkelys på problematisk bruk. Her avviser de spillforskeres krav om kjennskap til dataspill for å kunne uttale seg, diagnostisere og behandle ”dataspillavhengighet”. Siden de gjennom sin bakgrunn som henholdsvis psykolog og lege har kunnskap om andre former for avhengighet, hevder de at spesifikk kjennskap til dataspill ikke er nødvendig for å behandle spillavhengighet. I motsetning til dette valgte The American Medical Association senest i 2007 å ikke inkludere dataspillavhengighet som en klinisk diagnose nettopp på bakgrunn av mangelfull forskning på feltet. Argumentet for dette var at de manglet både datamateriale og gode teorier som kunne forklare slike fenomener. Istedenfor å anta at spillavhengighet arter seg på samme måte som andre avhengigheter, og slik kan forstås og behandles på samme måte, burde et gryende hjelpeapparat kreve mer forskning og viten på dette feltet - ikke avvise det. Uten særlig kjennskap til hva bruk av dataspill faktisk innbefatter, bør man ikke gjøre vurderinger om hva som er misbruk og hvordan det arter seg.

Som forsker på online dataspill som World of Warcraft vet jeg at dette ikke et enhetlig fenomen (eller problem for den saks skyld), nettopp fordi det er et mangfold av spillertyper og aktiviteter som foregår side om side. Selve spillets design og målsetninger kan for så vidt fortone seg enkelt nok; gjennom en digital avatar (den figuren som spilleren styrer) skal man i samarbeid med andre spillere drepe virtuelle monster eller andres avatarer. Gjennom å overvinne utfordringer som er satt (hovedsakelig datagenererte monster), blir avataren mektigere. Ser man på hva spillere faktisk gjør når de logger seg på finner vi en rekke aktiviteter, og disse aktivitetene gir et mye mer komplekst bilde av hva spillet handler om. Der noen holder seg for seg selv og utforsker verden i eget tempo, blir andre del av store grupper som stiller krav til aktivitet og deltakelse. For noen er det et par timer i uken, for andre er det mange. Noen fokuserer på å drepe monstre, andre foretrekker å rollespille eller kanskje prøve seg som digital finansmekler på auksjonshuset. Noen møter venner online, andre tar med seg vennene online. Det finnes mange spillestiler og aktiviteter koblet til spill som WoW, og før vi beskriver dem som ”avhengighetsskapende” eller farlig bør vi se nærmere på hva det er som egentlig skjer.

Det stemmer at noen av disse aktivitetene er tidskrevende. En av de mest tidsintensive aktivitetene er ”End Game” eller ”Raiding”. Slike aktiviteter blir aktuelle på et tidspunkt der enkelt-spillere ikke lenger kan utvikle karakteren på egenhånd. ”End game” refererer til de største og farligste utfordringene som spillet kan tilby, oppgaver så krevende at de kan kun løses om man går sammen i større grupper og samarbeider. Gruppen må så trene kveld etter kveld, uke etter uke for å vinne. For å lykkes krever det stor grad av koordinering og presisjon av gruppen som en helhet. Grupper som driver med ”End Game”, er tidkrevende og kan være en belastning i forhold til kjæreste, studier eller jobb. Men, når ble det farlig å engasjere seg i et fellesskap for å oppnå et felles mål? Hva er galt med å trene dag etter dag, uke etter uke for å bli bedre, og stille opp når man er litt trøtt fordi ”laget” trenger det?

Dataspill må forstås, ikke fordømmes!

Problemene med å forstå onlinerollespill ligger ikke bare i hva som skjer, men hvor det skjer. Det skjer ikke på en stadion eller på det lokale samfunnshuset. Det skjer via internett, og fordi det skjer et sted som ikke alle kjenner og forstår, framstår mange hverdagslige aktiviteter som farlige. Men er opplevelsene til en dataspiller mindre verdifulle enn til en fotballsupporter, bare fordi aktivitetene foregår i cyberspace? Poenget er at i denne digitale verden er det ekte mennesker som legger inn tid, arbeid og engasjement for å nå sine mål, og ekte mennesker gir ekte opplevelser. Hvis det bare er samhandling ansikt-til-ansikt som er ”ekte”, er det vel bare kunstig når vi ringer hjem til foreldre eller kjærester?

Det ideelle ville selvsagt være at det ikke finnes noen problematisk bruk av dataspill, at alt bare gir positive og berikende opplevelser. Dessverre er det ikke slik, og for noen ytterst få oppleves dataspill som problematiske. I denne situasjonen er det viktig at det eksisterende hjelpeapparatet faktisk forstår situasjonen og kan gi relevant veiledning. Det krever mindre moralsk panikk, mindre profesjonspreget interesse i å lage nye diagnoser, og mer aksept for nye måter å leve på.

Talking about games to non-gamers

We have all been there. A questioning parent, uncle or grandparent trying to find out what you do in your spare time. With great enthusiasm I try to share my exitement about an upcoming game, the latest develpement in my character or a planned drink-and-play evening. The reaction is mostly the same; a polite but worried smile.

Of all the things I share with family, talking about gaming is the only time I never get follow up questions. Even the times when I am able to rein in my enthusiasm and give short and brief accounts of my gaming existance.

Am I telling it wrong? Or is it just that boring to listen to?

One obvious answer is the lack of respect and understanding that still surrounds gaming as a activity, however is that all there is to it? Can it all be blamed on The Damn Fascists (tm)? I am trying to look at other possible answers to why noone seem to want to listen to the glorious virtual exploits of the gamer.

Perhaps it is boring. I am fully aware that I "went native" into (especially) the MMO community and still have a hard time differantiating between words that are and aren't explainable for people with no epics. And to be honest I have never really found the narrative of a single game session something of great estethic value. The times I enjoy talking about games, is when I am talking to people who play the same (or similar) games. A chance to explain and compare, where the small stories created within the game (like when you find that OH MY GOD AMAZING SWORD OF DEATH) are used as examples - not as stand alone account of events. Without that common background, it would make little sense and its entertainment value would be even lower.

Its a moment of self reflection when I realize that this probably works more then one way. I would have to agree that I dont ask follow up questions (unless I am in a extremely good mood) about my sisters new shoes. Neither about how things are going for my dads fotball team. Cause honestly, even though I love them to bits, I dont care. Them telling me feels like wasted time, like pollution of my brainwaves.

So perhaps I shouldnt be so surprised when they dont bounce up and down to hear more about my latest epic item, an upcoming con or where I am planning to take my character next.

Another part of me also want to keep it to myself. To let gaming preserve its somewhat mythical and unknown qualities. The more its described, populerized and publisized - the more magic disappears.

Perhaps its ok that people dont want to listen....




EDIT 11/11/08 :

A comment was made to me today during lunch about this topic: that the lack of followup questions, or show of interest - might simply be a lack of knowing. Cause its hard to ask about something you know nothing about. Noone likes looking like a fool, and if you barely know what computergames are - it can be hard to know what to ask about. The point is: This is not necessarely a lack of interest in the topic, or the experiences of a gamer. It can simply be that its so different from one's own known world that one doesnt know where to start.