Thursday, April 12, 2007

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the fourth game in the Warcraft series.[3] World of Warcraft is a subscription-based MMORPG that lacks an offline mode. The Warcraft series of games are set in the Warcraft Universe, a fantasy setting introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft itself takes place within the world of Azeroth, four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. World of Warcraft's release celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.

Although its initial release was hampered by server stability and performance issues,[4] the game became popular[5][6] and a financial success, becoming the world's leading subscription-based MMORPG. On March 7, 2007, Blizzard announced that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft had reached a new milestone, with 8.5 million players worldwide;[7] there are more than 2 million players in North America, 1.5 million players in Europe, and 3.5 million players in China.[8] The game has won numerous awards and recognitions, including Gamespot's Game of the Year Award for 2004. The first official World of Warcraft expansion pack, known as The Burning Crusade, was released on January 16, 2007.

There is also a World of Warcraft Board Game published by Fantasy Flight Games and a World of Warcraft Trading Card Game published by Upper Deck Entertainment.


Gameplay

A screenshot of the game

A screenshot of the game

Unlike previous games in the Warcraft series, World of Warcraft is not a real-time strategy game, but is a MMORPG. As with other MMORPGs, such as EverQuest, players control a character avatar within a persistent gameworld, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, and performing quests on behalf of computer-controlled characters (also called NPCs—non-player characters). The game rewards success through money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve in skill and power. In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players, including both duels and fights against player characters allied with an enemy faction.

The majority of the quests during the early and middle stages of gameplay can be completed without the help of other players, particularly if the player is a higher level than what the quest suggests. Other portions of the game, such as dungeons (also called instances), are designed to require other players to work together for success. Dungeons are designed for parties ranging from two to five players, up to a maximum of 40 players for significantly more difficult "raids" (a term originating from EverQuest gameplay). The highest level, most complex dungeons and encounters are designed to take raiding guilds months of playtime and many attempts before they succeed.

With the recent release of the expansion, Blizzard has attempted to make endgame content more accessible to casual players by reducing the amount of required preparation to do these. The original (level 60) endgame dungeons involved gathering rather large amounts of supplies before the dungeon attempt, such as doing long "attunement" quests, which is a requirement for almost all raiding guilds in the game. The attunement quest enables the player to easily enter a specific raid dungeon, and for some dungeons, players cannot enter without completing this quest. Blizzard claims to have made these quests shorter in the expansion, but since not enough people have reached endgame level, this is unproven.

Version history

World of Warcraft runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Boxed copies of the game use a hybrid CD to install the game, eliminating the need for separate Mac and Windows retail products. The game allows all users to play together, regardless of their operating system.

As of February 2007, Blizzard has not released a Linux version of the game.[9] However, support for World of Warcraft is present in Windows API implementations Wine and Cedega, allowing the game to be played on Linux.[10] FreeBSD users have also been successful in using Wine to run the game.[11]

As of Patch 1.9.3 the game added native support for the newer Intel-powered Macs, making World of Warcraft a Universal application (as defined by Apple). As a result of this, the minimum supported Mac OS X version has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X.[12]

Due to the fact that new content is constantly being added to the game, official system requirements frequently change. As of version 1.12.0, the requirements for Windows have increased from requiring 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM and from Windows 98 to Windows 2000.[13]

Pricing

The original login screen

The original login screen

World of Warcraft is priced differently in different regions of the world. Usually, the pricing model is similar to that of MMORPGs previously released in the market.

In the United States and Canada, Blizzard distributes World of Warcraft via retail software packages that originally had a suggested retail price of US$50 at the time of release, but have since dropped to around $19.99. The software package includes one month of gameplay for no additional cost. After a month, a player must purchase additional service using a credit card or prepaid game card. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is one month. A player also has the option of purchasing three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount. Prepaid game cards are sold for US$30 and provide 60 days of gameplay.[14] Either way, a player pays about US$0.50 for one day of gameplay.

In South Korea, there is no software package or CD key requirement to activate the account. In order to play the game, however, players need to purchase time credits online via credit card or the ARS billing system. The minimum gameplay duration that a player can purchase via credit card is five hours. A player may also purchase game time by thirty hours or by increments of one week. A player also has the option of purchasing game time by one, three or six months of gameplay at once for a slight discount.[15] As of December 17, 2006, 30 days of gameplay costs ₩19,800 (US$21.46).

In China, because a large number of the players do not own the computer they use to play games (e.g. Internet cafes), the CD keys can be purchased independently of the software package. The CD key, which is required to activate an account, is sold for ¥30 (US$3.75) each. The software packages vary in price depending on the items they contain. In order to play the game, the player would need to purchase prepaid game cards in denominations of ¥30 each that can be played for 66 hours and 40 minutes.[16] This equates to exactly ¥0.45 (US$0.06) for one hour of gameplay. A monthly fee model is not available to players of this region.

In Australia, the United States, and many European countries, video game stores commonly stock the trial version of World of Warcraft in DVD form priced at A$2 or €2 including VAT, which include the game and 14 days of gameplay, after which the player would have to purchase the full version of the game priced at recommended retail price similar to those sold in United States. As of November 2006, the RRP is A$29.95.[17]


 Suggested Retail Price Monthly Fee Paid Character Transfer Fee
Europe €19.99[18] €11-€13[18] €19.99[19]
United Kingdom £14.99[18] £7.70-£9[18] £14.99[19]
North America
Oceania		 US$20[20] $13-$15[21] $25[22]

Realms

World of Warcraft uses server clusters, known as 'realms', to allow players to choose their preferred gameplay type, and to allow the game to support as many subscribers as it does. Users may have up to ten characters per realm, and up to a maximum of fifty characters per account.[23] There are four types of realms: Normal (also known as PvE or player versus environment), PvP (player versus player), RP (a roleplaying Normal/PvE server) and RP-PvP (roleplaying PvP server). The latter two enforce a set of roleplaying rules - players can be penalized for not roleplaying.

Blizzard posts announcements on the login screen of World of Warcraft about realm status or issues. The status for each realm can also be viewed on their main website.

Player versus Environment (PvE)

On the PvE (also known as Normal) realms, throughout most of the world, the PvP flag may only be enabled by actively turning it on, attacking a hostile player, entering a "Contested Territory" (such as a Battleground), entering an "Enemy Territory" (an enemy faction Capital City) or casting a positive spell on a friendly PvP-flagged player. The PvP flag will be removed when the player has been out of PvP combat for 5 minutes. If the PvP flag was enabled using the command, the player will need to turn it off using the same command and then avoid PvP combat for 5 minutes while also residing in friendly territory. Players also use this command to 'raid', or attack with a group, towns of the opposing faction.

Player versus Player (PvP)

PvP realms will flag the player for PvP as soon as he or she enters a neutral or opposing faction's zone. Faction specific zones (Zones made for characters between levels 1–20 and the major cities) are friendly to the player and are indicated with a green name when entered. When a player enters a contested zone (indicated by a yellow color) he or she is instantly flagged for PVP. Entering an opposing faction's green is indicated by by the zone text being red upon entering. In this situation, you alone are flagged for PvP combat. Enemy players can choose to engage you (thus flagging themselves for combat as well), or simply ignore you.

PvP-flagged players may attack any other PvP-flagged player of the opposing faction. Players on PvP servers can only make characters on one faction (Horde or Alliance), as opposed to PvE-realms, where players may create characters on both factions.

Roleplaying (RP)

The roleplaying servers use the same ruleset as PvE realms, with the exception that players must act and behave in character, and must follow "naming rules" when they name their character. This means that if players go onto one of these realms, those players act as their characters and anything that is not done in character is then out of character and usually in ((brackets)), or preceded by "OOC:". It is also against the rules to be off-topic in all public channels, such as General and Trade.[24]

However, it should be noted that this is very rarely enforced (unless brought to a Gamemaster's attention numerous times), and out of character chat is common on RP servers, though usually not in such a blatant manner as on non-RP servers.

Role-playing Player versus Player (RPPvP)

The role-playing PvP realms are an extension to the role-playing realms in that they use the PvP ruleset instead of the Normal (PvE) ruleset. Blizzard did not initially have this server type when the game was launched. It was added later, largely due to player feedback.

Characters

Characters in World of Warcraft are tied to specific user accounts. User accounts can be used on all servers, or realms. Characters can be moved between servers in the same region (e.g., from one European server to another) for a fee. Users can create up to 10 characters per realm with a maximum total of 50.[25] The two playable factions currently in the game are the Alliance and Horde, both consisting of five different races each, of which there are 9 playable classes. The Burning Crusade expansion, released on January 16, 2007, added one new race to each faction. In a controversial decision by Blizzard, each of these new races are able to play as the previously faction-specific class of the opposite faction. This means that a Blood Elf can become a Paladin, and a Draenei can become a Shaman.

Races and classes

Main articles: Races in the Warcraft universe and Classes in World of Warcraft

Players create characters which serve as their avatars in the online world of Azeroth. When creating a character in World of Warcraft, the player can choose from ten different races and nine different character classes. The races are split into two diametrically opposed factions, the Alliance and the Horde.

The nine available classes are Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. The Paladin class was previously only available to the Alliance, and the Shaman only available to the Horde. With Burning Crusade expansion installed, this changes, as the Draenei (Alliance) are able to play both Shaman and Paladins, and the Blood Elves (Horde) are able to play as Paladins, removing the previous faction exclusivity. Classes are primarily limited by race. Including combinations only available with The Burning Crusade, there are currently 26 possible combinations of race and class for each faction, for a total of 52 combinations across both factions. Without the expansion, the character and class combinations are limited to 20 and 20 respectively.

Character types

There are two types of characters in the game: Player Characters (PC) and Non-Player Characters (NPCs), the latter having many different offshoots. Player Characters are people around the world actively playing the game. The color of a PC's name tag can vary from blue, green, yellow, or red depending on faction and Player vs. Player (PvP) status. NPCs are characters that can only interact with player characters through scripted events or artificial intelligence (AI).

There are many types of NPCs. There are friendly NPCs, whose names are displayed in green, and hostile NPCs; mainly the NPCs of the opposing faction and mobs (enemies controlled by AI) (also known as Creeps by some players), whose names are displayed in red. There are also NPCs who are neutral and will only attack if provoked; their names are displayed in yellow.

Some NPC interaction is affected by the reputation you have with them, and certain NPC merchants will have more items available if you have a higher reputation with them or their faction. Your standing with a faction can be increased or decreased by killing certain NPCs or handing in items to certain NPCs.

You cannot gain reputation with the opposing faction; the Horde cannot gain reputation with any faction of the Alliance, and vice versa.

NPCs in major and minor cities can buy and sell merchandise, train class and profession skills, give quests, and provide a large number of services that are needed in the game. While some will merely offer advice or further the story, others patrol around set paths to keep cities defended against attacking players or hostile NPCs that may attempt to invade a city.

Professions

In addition to the character classes, a player may choose two primary professions and all three secondary professions that the game offers, if they so choose. Essentially, there are two types of professions: gathering and item creation. Many players choose to pair two related professions, thus allowing the character to gather the required materials for the crafting skill.

The most commonly paired skills are as follows: Mining and Blacksmithing, Mining and Engineering, Skinning and Leatherworking, Herbalism and Alchemy, and, to a lesser extent, Tailoring and Enchanting.

With the release of the expansion, the Jewelcrafting profession was introduced, the paired skill for Jewelcrafting being Mining.

Items and equipment

Player characters can acquire various items in the game. Items can vary from resources such as herbs or raw ores to items to be retrieved for quests. Player characters can also equip different weapons and armor, either to customize their character or improve abilities such as better attacks or defense skills. Items are classified by the color their name is displayed in; grey meaning poor, white meaning common, green meaning uncommon, blue meaning rare, purple meaning "epic", orange meaning "legendary", and red being "artifact".

Players of higher levels can obtain mounts of varying appearances and speeds depending on class and race, such as horses or mechanostriders, that increase their movement rate when ridden. Flying mounts were introduced with the "The Burning Crusade" expansion.

PvP rankings

See also: World of Warcraft Player versus Player.

As of version 2.0, the PvP system has been changed. Upon defeating another player of the opposite faction, the victor earns "Honor Points" which may be spent as currency to purchase various rewards like armor, weapons and mounts. Some rewards require marks of honor from various Battlegrounds as well (a loss nets the winner's team 1 mark, while a victory gives 3). A recently added PvP activity, the Arenas, offer gladiator-like combat in a World of Warcraft setting. The Arenas[27] have a separate system from the Battlegrounds. Instead of honor, the Arenas give Arena Points, which work exactly like Honor. There are also "Arena seasons", where, at the end of each season, the best Arena teams in each category(2v2, 3v3 and 5v5) are awarded Legendary-quality Nether Drakes, which can only be used in Outland (the area added in the expansion) as a high speed player controlled mount. These Legendary Nether Drakes are only obtainable in this method. The only people, though, who can earn something from the arena are level 70 players. For lower-leveled players, no honor points are awarded for kills made in the arena. Arena points are calculated and added to players every Tuesday. In order for a player to get the points, he/she must participate in at least 30% of their arena team's matches for that week. The team also needs to play in a minimum of 10 matches per week. Also, the larger the team, the more arena points won.

Players can be rewarded with titles[28] in the Arenas if they belong to one of the top teams at the end of an Arena season. These ranks are (from highest to lowest) Gladiator, Duelist, Rival and Challenger.

The PvP titles that were available in the old system are still displayed but frozen to what they were before the version 2.0 update patch(which was released before the expansion came out). They now give no bonus and are just for display purposes, and can be selected from other titles the player has earned in the Character Pane.

Many players did not receive well the changes that were made to the honor system as of version 2.0, as players who had previously taken months to reach the High Warlord or Grand Marshal rank (the highest honor ranking for both factions) felt betrayed by Blizzard. In the old honor system, it would take an excess of 3 or 4 months of honor collecting to reach the High Warlord or Grand Marshal rank. By achieving this rank, players had access to some of the most powerful weapons and armor in the game, as well as other minor perks. When Blizzard released the 2.0 patch it allowed players to purchase all the High Warlord or Grand Marshal gear that they would need after significantly shorter time spent honor collecting.

As of March 2007, Blizzard has added a section to their main website where any player on any realm can view their current arena team's rankings.

The world

Geography

World of Warcraft Map (Including 'Outland')

World of Warcraft Map (Including 'Outland')

The current virtual world is built around two different worlds: Azeroth and Outland.

Azeroth is currently playable on two continents: The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor.

Kalimdor is the beginning continent for the Horde races of the

  • Orcs
  • Trolls
  • Tauren

And the Alliance races of the

  • Night Elves
  • Draenei; added after the release of The Burning Crusade

The Eastern Kingdoms is the beginning continent for the Horde races of the

  • Undead
  • Blood Elves; added after the release of The Burning Crusade

And the Alliance races of the

  • Humans
  • Dwarves
  • Gnomes

Another planet, Outland, was added after the release of The Burning Crusade. It is only accessible to those who have bought and activated the expansion pack.

Cities

There are four main cities for each 'side' and seven neutral cities.

Horde cities include:

Alliance cities include:

Neutral cities include:

As of early 2007 a number of regions in the virtual world have yet to be implemented. Some examples of this are:

Many of the unopened areas in the game are off limits to players. However, using exploits or outright hacks, players have managed to enter these areas. One example is where a player used to be able to walk through a wall in the low level instance Deadmines, and walk to a beta version of Outland long before the release of the Burning Crusade Expansion.[citation needed] Blizzard Game Masters monitor this and have asked players to leave the banned areas or banned them outright.

There are four large portals located in Ashenvale, Duskwood, Feralas, and the Hinterlands that are connected to the Emerald Dream. Each one of these portals is guarded by a corrupted green dragon. The Emerald Dream itself is not yet accessible.

The third major continent on Azeroth, Northrend, featured in Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne, does not appear in World of Warcraft. However, Burning Crusade includes a map that depicts both Outland and Azeroth, where Northrend is visible.

Instances

Main article: Instance (World of Warcraft)

Instances, also known as instance dungeons or simply "dungeons", are areas where multiple copies of the same area can exist concurrently.[29] This means that multiple groups can both be doing the same activities in the same location, yet not interfering with one another. Instances can be started at level 10 and going all the way up to level 70, with some instances needing more than 5 people to compleat.

A dungeon instance is usually identified by its entrance - a large, swirling portal (with a few exceptions).

"Instance" can also refer to a particular copy of such an area. Other areas, such as battlegrounds, are also instances, enabling multiple groups of players to participate at the same time.

Virtual community

In addition to playing the game itself and conversing on discussion forums provided by Blizzard, World of Warcraft players often participate in the World of Warcraft virtual community in creative ways, including fan artwork[30] and comic strip style storytelling.[31] Blizzard furthers this community by offering in-game and out-of-game prizes, as well as highlighting community events and occurrences. Blizzard has also provided incentives for introducing new members to World of Warcraft. In late October 2005 each subscribed player received a 10-day free pass[32] which they suggested be employed as seasonal gifts that could either be used by the current player or given to a friend. These passes would generate a free month's usage if the guest player purchased a full account.

There are various memes, including "Face Melting,"[33] a reference to a very long thread on the priest forums on the World of Warcraft website that consisted of players saying, "You will melt faces as a Shadow Priest in PvP" in different ways. This is because the icon for Mind Flay, a powerful skill used heavily by Shadow Priests, looks like a melting face. Another popular phenomenon in the community is a video[34] starring a player named Leeroy Jenkins, intended to provide publicity for Leeroy's guild. Leeroy's popularity inspired tributes in other games, and he was even part of a clue on the November 16, 2005 episode of the TV game show College Jeopardy!.[35] These memes gain notoriety through postings on the World of Warcraft Forums.[36]

As of August 2005, the Dark Iron server has been home to the guilds of web-comic creators Scott Kurtz (PvP) and Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins (Penny Arcade). Kurtz created Panda Attack and Djörk on the Horde side, while Holkins and Krahulik initiated a series of guilds that is now known as the Penny Arcade Alliance. This event is referred to as the Comic Guild Wars, and has created healthy competition between the authors, to the extent of dedicating some of their strips to the subject. Tim Buckley of Ctrl+Alt+Del and the creators of Holy Bibble have also joined in on making guilds for Dark Iron players.

Major world events

For a time, it was argued that dynamic world-changing events were in extremely short supply in Warcraft. There was an overall feeling that the ongoing "wars" from which the game takes its name were external and out of touch from the playerbase. The only cross-faction interaction took place during server-crashing city raids and skirmishes in certain "hot spots" around the world such as the popular "Southshore Tug of War" in which Alliance and Horde forces would fight back and forth over the stretch of land between Southshore and Tarren Mill.

The first world events were added in the form of outdoor raid bosses that could be accessed without entering an instance. These bosses were the blue dragon Azuregos of Azshara and the Burning Legion demon Lord Kazzak in the Blasted Lands. These were followed by four green dragons corrupted by the "Emerald Nightmare." In addition, certain areas of Azeroth experience an "elemental invasion" where waves of elemental-class monsters will run rampant for a time or until they are destroyed.[37]

Blizzard has also implemented holiday content that could be considered a world event. Valentine's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, as well as New Year's and its lunar counterpart all have their Warcraft-themed counterparts. During these week-long events players partake in holiday-themed quests usually involving humorous references to real-world pop culture surrounding the holiday. For example, one of the Winter's Veil (Christmas) quests involves fighting a creature known as the Greench and rescuing a kidnapped reindeer named Metzen (styled after lead designer, Chris Metzen).

The Darkmoon Faire

In patch 1.6, players were given the opportunity to plunder the first new 40-player raid dungeon added since launch: Blackwing Lair. However, a more peaceful distraction appeared traveling across Azeroth and coming to rest in Mulgore and Elwynn Forest on opposing months called The Darkmoon Faire. The Darkmoon Faire features attractions from across the globe such as the world's strongest woman, a petting zoo for some of Azeroth's most interesting creatures, various games of skill, a fortune teller, a giant human-launching cannon, and plenty of ale.

Players can perform quests for various members of the Faire and receive Darkmoon Prize Tickets in return. These tickets can then be redeemed for items of various quality, from "Month-Old Mutton" to epic-quality jewelry. Additionally, players can occasionally find Darkmoon Cards scattered throughout the world. Four sets exist at the present time: Elementals, Beasts, Warlords, and Portals. Collecting all eight cards of a set (Ace through 8, there are no face cards) allows the player to combine them into a deck and redeem them for a powerful, epic-quality trinket depending on which set was completed.

The Faire sees sporadic updates and expansions in a semi-regular fashion. The most recent addition was a 'battle' minigame in which players take control of tiny, remote controlled tanks called 'Tonks' which use various weapons to disable other Tonks.

Corrupted Blood plague

Main article: Corrupted Blood

While not an intentional world event, the Corrupted Blood plague nonetheless was one of the first events to affect entire servers. Patch 1.7 saw the opening of Zul'Gurub, the game's first 20-player raid dungeon where players faced off against an ancient tribe of jungle trolls under the sway of the ancient Blood God, Hakkar the Soulflayer. Upon engaging Hakkar, players were stricken by a debuff (a spell that negatively affects a player) called "Corrupted Blood" which would periodically sap their life. The disease would also be passed on to other players who were simply standing in close proximity to an infected person. Originally this malady was confined within the Zul'Gurub instance but made its way into the outside world by way of hunter or warlock pets that contracted the disease.

Within hours Corrupted Blood had infected entire cities such as Ironforge and Orgrimmar because of their high player concentrations. Low-level players were killed in seconds by the high-damage disease. Eventually Blizzard fixed the issue so that the plague could not exist outside of Zul'Gurub.

The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj

Patch 1.9 saw the first true world event in the World of Warcraft. Located in the mysterious insect-infested, quasi-Egyptian themed area of Silithus, Ahn'Qiraj was the capital city of the powerful Qiraji, a race of magical creatures under the thrall of an ancient and terrible Old God who was chained beneath the earth in ages past. A coalition of Night Elves and dragons of the Four Flights fought a war against the Qiraji and their Silithid minions and sealed them behind the Scarab Wall. However, after many centuries the bonds of their prison began to break and Silithus was overrun by the creatures once more. A call for War against Ahn'Qiraj went out and the combined might of the Alliance and Horde sealed away the menace of the Old God for good.

The world event was triggered by a twofold action. First, the entire server population was able to take part in the Ahn'Qiraj War Effort. Players of every level could turn in various items in both Ironforge and Orgrimmar for their faction's respective war preparations. Metals, herbs, textiles, and other commodities were all collected in great quantities. For example, one collector in Ironforge required players to turn in a stack of 20 runecloth bandages at a time. The total number of runecloth bandages required numbered in the tens of thousands. The faster materials were turned in, the faster the War would commence. In the weeks leading up to the opening of the gates many servers were neck-and-neck as Blizzard provided a rankings page to monitor the progress of each realm. In the end the realm Medivh succeeded in being the first to open the gates of Ahn'Qiraj.

At the same time the War Effort was taking in supplies high level players could engage in a quest chain that spanned the entire world to piece together an artifact called the Scepter of the Shifting Sands. This item would be necessary to ring the Scarab Gong and break the seals holding the Scarab Wall closed. When the War Effort was completed the armies of the Alliance and Horde would march to Ahn'Qiraj. In a spectacular set-piece the armies formed ranks outside the Scarab Wall and the gong was sounded by one lucky person per server. The gates opened and the minions of the Qiraji spilled out in a titanic melee. Additionally, invasions of Silithid insects occurred in almost every populated area of Azeroth.

With the initial event completed the gates were open to everyone on a given server and players were able to access two new raid dungeons: the 20-man ruins zone and the 40-man temple zone and a few new quests.

The Scourge Invasion

The Invasion began with the launch of patch 1.11. Outside each major city and at various high level zones in the game players could encounter floating undead constructs called Necropoleis with at least four groups of undead creatures spread out in a diamond formation below. At each point lay a necrotic crystal guarded by legions of undead. Upon destroying these crystals players could render the accompanying necropolis inert for a time and score a "victory" against the Scourge.

The Dark Portal Opens: War Unleashed Upon Azeroth

On January 9, 2007, the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands opened, with demons pouring out. This event signaled the beginning of the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion, much of the content of which is accessed by going through the portal. The demon leader Lord Kazzak escaped through the portal, replacing his presence with Highlord Kruul who attacked several areas in the game world.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for World of Warcraft was composed and arranged by Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush, Derek Duke and Glenn Stafford. It was released on November 23, 2004 together with the Collectors edition of the game. It is also sold separately on 1 CD, in the MP3 format.

World Themes

1. Main Title: Legends of Azeroth
2. Exclusive Track: The Shaping of the World
3. Exclusive Track: Legacy
4. Exclusive Track: Song of Elune
5. Exclusive Track: Echoes of the Past
6. A Call to Arms
7. Intro Movie: Seasons of War

City Themes

8. Stormwind
9. Orgrimmar
10. The Undercity
11. Thunder Bluff
12. Darnassus
13. Ironforge

Ambient Music

14. Elwynn Forest
15. Duskwood
16. Dun Morogh
17. Burning Steppes
18. Shimmering Flats
19. Felwood
20. Stranglethorn Vale
21. Tanaris
22. Teldrassil

Intro Cues

23. Tavern
24. Moonfall
25. Ruins
26. Temple
27. Lurking
28. Sacred
29. Graveyard
30. War

Modifications

A heavily modified World of Warcraft user interface

A heavily modified World of Warcraft user interface

World of Warcraft includes significant support for modifications to the user interface (UI) of a game, colloquially known as "mods" and "addons". At a simple level it allows full control over the content of toolbars and hot keys, as well as macros to automate sets of operations and the ability to script much more elaborate tools. The range of modifications that are available can be anything from ways to automatically advertise tradeskills, to adding extra rows of button bars for spells, skills and more. There are also various humorous mods, including one that reproduces the infamous Leeroy Jenkins sound.[38]

As of the 2.0 release of World of Warcraft, certain modifications and "Addons" no longer function the way they were intended by the addon designer, as the way that an addon interacts with the game has been changed. This has forced all addons pre-2.0 to have to be rewritten. This is such a drastic change to the addons that all players must now download new copies of the addon that they were using. More information on this topic is available in this forum post, made by a Blizzard MVP (Most Valuable Poster).

Addons are created using one or both Lua and XML, and images used for modifications are created using the .TGA (Targa) and .BLP image formats. Blizzard has also released a User Interface Customization tool to support and encourage UI modders.[39] However, Blizzard is unable to endorse or provide support for third party interfaces due to issues that may be caused by them.

Some third-party programs that operate in a stand-alone mode, or independent of World of Warcraft may be considered exploits, especially if they automate operation beyond that made available using the built-in macro functionality, or pass information in or out of the game. Use of these is against the Terms of Service agreed to when playing the game, and as such, may lead to possible suspension or closure of accounts. Blizzard has stated on the official forums that any modification that uses the Lua programming language will not be considered an exploit, though Blizzard reserves the right to change information available via the Lua language if the modification changes the nature of encounters in the game.[40]

Expansion pack

Main article: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

On October 28, 2005 Blizzard revealed that the first expansion pack would be called World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.[41] It includes an increased level cap of 70, a new profession (Jewelcrafting), the ability to 'socket' jewels into certain items for increased stats (a feature that originated with Diablo 2), and two new playable races. The additional races are the Blood Elves for the Horde, residing in the capital city of Silvermoon, and the Draenei for the Alliance, residing in the capital city of Exodar. The expansion also features Outland as a new playable zone, as well as flying mounts usable only in Outland for high-level players. Some of the expansion's features will be available to all players, though the most significant additions, such as visiting Outland and creating characters of the two new races, requires the Burning Crusade expansion to be purchased and installed.[42]

On July 21, 2006, Blizzard revealed that the new races will be able to use classes traditionally open only to the other faction, and that Blood Elves do not have the Warrior class open to them, making them the only race that cannot play a Warrior. These changes have received mixed feedback.[43]

Controversy and criticism

Main article: Criticism of World of Warcraft

Although financially successful (with 8 million players), World of Warcraft has received a moderate amount of criticism. One of the most recent of these controversies had to do with Blizzard's treatment of a transgender player when she made a guild for other gay or gay-friendly players.[44]

World of Warcraft has also come under criticism for stories of game addictions to the popular video game. In June of 2005 it was reported that a child had died due to neglect by her World of Warcraft-addicted parents.[45] In August of that year, the government of the People's Republic of China proposed new rules to curb what they perceived to be social and financial costs brought on by the popularity of games such as World of Warcraft. The measure would enforce a time limit on China's estimated total of 20 million gamers.[46]

Dr. Maressa Orzack, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, was interviewed August 8, 2006, stating that of the 6 million subscribers "I'd say that 40 percent of the players are addicted."[47] Note that the 40 percent figure was not derived from a scientific study overseen by Dr. Orzack, but rather came from "a forum that Nick Yee runs". She added in an August 2006 interview that "even if the percentage is 5 to 10 percent which is standard for most addictive behaviors, it is a huge number of people who are out of control."[48] Also, according to Dr. John Grohol, a colleague of Orzack's, "Dr. Orzack is not claiming that up to 40% of World of Warcraft gamers are addicted based upon any actual evidence or surveys of players. This is just her opinion, based upon her own experience and observation of the problem."[49]

After Blizzard started offering free trial gameplay accounts, players started receiving increasing numbers of spam sent by bots in the virtual mailboxes of their characters, advertising virtual gold, honour, and experience selling services.[50] One study shows that this problem is particularly prevalent on the European realms.[51]

In popular culture

  • The South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" prominently featured World of Warcraft through machinima animation. Blizzard actively collaborated with the South Park animation team in the making of the episode.[52] The episode drew 3.4 million viewers, making it Comedy Central's best midseason premiere since 2000.[53]
  • The September 22, 2006 episode of Stargate Atlantis, The Return Part 1, featured a scene where Dr. Weir distracts geeky scientist Bill Lee by telling him she too is a fan of World of Warcraft.[54]
  • The October 10, 2006 episode of Help Me Help You, "Fun Run," involves Inger meeting her online husband from the game.[55]
  • On November 20, 2006, Blizzard announced that major national television stations would begin airing the first World of Warcraft TV spot in North America.[56] The commercial is an edit of a scene from the cult comedy film Office Space with footage of the game and a World of Warcraft box overlaid onto the original footage.[57]

See also

References

  1. ^ Blizzard Entertainment® announces World Of Warcraft® Korean Release Date – 18 January 2005. Blizzard Entertainment (2005-01-24). Retrieved on 2007 March 29.
  2. ^ Blizzard Entertainment® announces World Of Warcraft® Europen street date – 11 February 2005. Blizzard Entertainment (2005-02-02). Retrieved on 2007 February 9.
  3. ^ Excluding expansion packs and the canceled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans.
  4. ^ Massimilla, Bethany (2006-02-27). Welcome to the World of Queuecraft (English). Freeplay. CNET Networks, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006 September 27.
  5. ^ G4 - Feature - World of WarCraft from G4TV.com Retrieved on 2006-01-16.
  6. ^ World of Warcraft for PC Review from gamespot.com Retrieved on 2006-01-16.
  7. ^ World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade shatters day-1 sales record. Blizzard Entertainment press release, March 7, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  8. ^ "World of Warcraft surpasses 8 million subscribers worldwide", Blizzard Entertainment press release, January 11, 2007
  9. ^ Technology FAQ. World of Warcraft Game Guide. Blizzard Entertainment (2007). Retrieved on 2007 January 17.
  10. ^ Wine application notes for WoW
  11. ^ FreeBSD instructions for WoW
  12. ^ "World of Warcraft Client Patch 1.9.3 (2006-02-07)" patch notes
  13. ^ Technology FAQ. World of Warcraft Game Guide. Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Archived from the original on 2004-11-13. Retrieved on 2006 September 6.
  14. ^ Prepaid Game Cards. Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Retrieved on 2006 October 21.
  15. ^ [http:http://www.worldofwarcraft.co.kr/billing/ Billing Guide]. WoW Blizzard Korea (2006). Retrieved on 2006 December 17.
  16. ^ Buyers' Guide. WoW China (2006). Retrieved on 2006 October 21.
  17. ^ Digital Home - World of Warcraft (Online) (2006). Retrieved on 2006 November 17.
  18. ^ a b c d Blizzard Entertainment (2006). General FAQ. World of Warcraft Europe Game Guide. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 November 8.
  19. ^ a b Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Paid Character Transfer FAQ. World of Warcraft Europe Game Guide. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 November 8.
  20. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2006). World of Warcraft. Online Store. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 November 8.
  21. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2006). General FAQ. World of Warcraft Game Guide. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 November 8.
  22. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Paid Character Transfer FAQ. World of Warcraft Billing Support. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 November 8.
  23. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Characters FAQ. World of Warcraft Game Guide. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 September 6.
  24. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2006). Roleplaying Policy. World of Warcraft In-Game Support Knowledge Base. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006 October 27.
  25. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2005). World of Warcraft Community Site - Support Retrieved February 23, 2005.
  26. ^ Interview: Jeff Kaplan on World of Warcraft Expansion, New York Times
  27. ^ Arena facts taken from http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/pvp/arena/index.xml
  28. ^ http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/pvp/arena/index.xml bottom part of the page
  29. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. Instancing. Retrieved on 2007 January 18.
  30. ^ Blizzard fan artwork web page
  31. ^ World of Warcraft comic strip site
  32. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2005). World of Warcraft Community Site - Check your inbox for the Recruit-A-Friend e-mail! Retrieved March 6, 2006.
  33. ^ "Face Melting" WoW forum reference
  34. ^ Jenkins, Leeroy (Starring). (2005). Leeroy Jenkins [Promotional video]. Pals 4 Life.
  35. ^ Trebek, Alex (Host). (2005). Jeopardy! [Television series]. California, US: NBC.
  36. ^ A WoW Forum Post About Leeroy Jenkins
  37. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. In-Game Events. WorldofWarcraft.com. Retrieved on 2006 August 21.
  38. ^ Leeroy Jenkins!!! sound clip mod
  39. ^ Blizzard's WoW User Interface Customization tool download
  40. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (2007-01-11). Terms of Use (English). Retrieved on 2007 January 18. “Section 9, Changes to ... the Program”
  41. ^ CGW Has The Goods on World of Warcraft news from 1up.com from 1up.com Retrieved on 2006-01-16
  42. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. Burning Crusade FAQ. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
  43. ^ Blizzard Entertainment. Burning Crusade website. Retrieved July 23, 2006.
  44. ^ Vargas, Jose. "Gay online gamers spark debate over identities.", The Washington Post, 21 March 2006.
  45. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59697
  46. ^ "China imposes online gaming curbs", BBC, 25 August 2005.
  47. ^ "Expert: 40 Percent of World of Warcraft Players Addicted", TwitchGuru, 8 August 2006.
  48. ^ Ars Technica interview with Dr. Orzack, 8/9/2006
  49. ^ PsychCentral - John M. Grohol, Psy.D., August 10, 2006
  50. ^ GigaOM: Inside World of Warcraft Gold Farm, Future of Work by Wagner James Au, retrieved 2007-01-13
  51. ^ World of Warcraft Gold Farmer Study by GamerPrice and Sheffield University, retrieved 2007-01-26
  52. ^ Blizzard press release regarding the episode.
  53. ^ TV/Radio notes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 12,2006
  54. ^ Warcry news item on World of Warcraft mention in "The Return"
  55. ^ Help Me Help You episode guide
  56. ^ Nebu (2006-11-20). New World of Warcraft Television Commercial. WoW Archived News. Blizzard. Retrieved on 2006 December 14.
  57. ^ (2006). World of Warcraft Television Commercial (AVI) [Television commercial]. California: Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.

External links

Official websites

Reviews

Useful information

Modification Info


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