Jun 25

The Part Time Druid posted an excellent post entitled “Why do We WoW?” over on his site. I’ve talked with my wife about this quite a bit, as when you think about it, it really is a good question.

PTD brings up a few possible reasons we WoW, from searching for meaning in life or being competitive, down to accomplishing goals or socializing. But, he argues, these things don’t really exist. There’s no arguing that the drops you get or the items you craft aren’t really real. You don’t get any “thing” in real life that shows that you downed Illidan. Even the more abstract WoW-reasons, such as achievement-reaching or socializing (aside from the people aspect) aren’t real. They’re just a bunch of 1’s and 0’s, which, when you get down to it, are just electrons flowing on wire from my house to Blizzard’s place. No matter how much I do in WoW, I haven’t really done anything.

Or have I?

The rewards may not be tangable, but the chemicals in your brain that make you feel good are the same as the ones you get when winning a sports game, or passing a difficult test, or any other exciting accomplishment. I’m not saying that you should seek WoW as an escape from real life; there’s no replacing experiences in the mortal plane, especially when it comes to family and loved ones. I’m just saying that just because the physical thing you get isn’t real, it doesn’t mean the accomplishment’s not. The first time I went to Kara, I was excited. My wife doesn’t WoW, but she shared in that excitement with me. It was real, most definitely real.

That’s not even counting the social/people aspects of WoW. I invited a shy friend of mine that I met in WoW to a guild, and she ended up in a romantic relationship with a member of that guild. They even told me to come to IF one day and thanked me for “introducing” them. That’s as real as it gets, folks. Look at Second Skin–they were able to make an entire documentary of just the “people part” of MMOs.

But, aside from all that, Part Time Druid hits the nail on the head–it’s entertainment. I pay my $15 a month to enjoy myself, the same reason I pay money to get cable TV or go play raquetball at the “Y” or do anything else I do that costs money. I guess, in the end, that’s what it all comes down to.

What are your thoughts? Why do you WoW? Or do you even think about that? Do you look for reason in your WoW, or are you happy to just enjoy your entertainment?

Related posts:

1. Forum Post of the Week: The End
2. So You’re Off to BT/Hyjal: A Guide by Gragnarth
3. Why Gearing for Naxx Matters to Me
4. Feeling Lonely – Stay or Go?
5. Playing with Others