Man the Flamethrower: Why World of Warcraft is Badly Designed
The arguments and analysis from this article will surely generate significant agreement and disagreement. I must admit that I found the points well made and well argued.
Why World of Warcraft is Badly Designed
I particularly agree with the sections on Quest Grinding (surprise, surprise), Time over Skill, terrible class balance, poor UI that relies too much on user made addons, and pure gear grind gameplay. I think Simon leaves out another major problem and flaw, which is the design obsession with raiding.
Read the article and then share your own opinions here. Let it rip.
When I say “game within the game”, I’m not necessarily referring to mini games. I’m referring to aspects of the game which are competitive and require mastery to succeed in(typically requiring skills seperate from those required to actually play the game), and are typically highly rewarding. The player economy is the most clear example of this. I believe Blizzard intentionally designs loot distribution this way as well.
By that standard, I would include “configuring video card/graphics settings”, “updating drivers”, “reconfiguring UI every patch”, and “dealing with lag” as games within the game. They are equally challenging and rewarding, and also happen to be equally miserable (as guild politics and loot distribution bullcrap).
The difference being I don’t think Blizzard intentionally makes it so some people suck due to their driver settings. I do think however that it is their intent that there be winners and losers in the loot distribution system, those winners and losers being primarily decided by what amounts to guild popularity contests. I don’t think it’s an unintended consequence of the way they designed the system, I think it’s a deliberate goal.
I don’t think the loot system is about winners and losers. I think it is 100% designed as a time sink. The more times you have to run a dungeon for Loot Item X, the more time you spend subscribing. That’s why DPS gear is more common than tanking and healing gear, because tanking and healing is generally what limits your progression more than anything.
If it was truly about winners and losers, then you’d have some kind of half assed contribution system like Warhammer.
If it was deliberate, then I’d have even LESS confidence in Blizzard as game designers. Because a system that can blatantly screw people over to such an extreme extent and spreading so much misery would have no business calling itself a “game” or “fun.”
Point well made, I have my own take on this subject over at my very own blog which is titled RuneScape Guide – Give me a comment!
What web blogs for web advertising can you suggest me to read through?