World of Warcraft is one of the success stories of the gaming world. The sales of its expansion packs have set records in North America and Europe, with over 2 million copies of The Burning Crusade shifted in the first day it went to store. MMORPG’s have always encouraged compulsive gameplay – as Everquest fanatics found out early. WoW has been far more successful than EQ, however, and has dominated mainstream media as well as gaming magazines. It broke the mold, appealing to both hardcore gamers and the casual weekend player. So what was the secret of its success?
Blizzard – the company behind WoW – produces quality games. In the current climate, many game publishers send out buggy, big-name cash-ins or derivative works with little to recommend them. I am particularly enamored of Blizzard for their habit of releasing games that play on both PC and Mac. If they can do it, why can’t anyone else? I first began playing the Warcraft series with Warcraft III, and I loved the mix of strategy and ‘heroes’, the grandiose storyline, and the thread of humour that runs through all their titles.
The secret to the success of World of Warcraft then, is not so surprising. It is a high-quality game, with an easy interface and challenging gameplay. It has strong characters that break from stereotype enough not to feel like ‘just another ranger-type’. It has a massively detailed history, that satisfies role-play and fantasy fanatics – but can be safely ignored by those just looking for a bit of escapist gameplay.
It also featured an intuitive interface and smooth controls, along with a vast range of quests aimed at different levels of players. It is perfectly easy to progress through the game slowly with fairly easy solo-quests. It is also possible to complete incredibly challenging raid-quests that involve a large group of people co-operating down to the last detail of a strategy. You can expend hours just playing the Auction House, or farming, or exploring. There are multiple styles of play that are rewarded in different ways.
So, what lessons can we draw?
- Quality Counts. For the writer that means a polished storyline, attention to details, solid characters, and an engaging narrative. It also means humor – games are meant to be fun.
- Depth and Breadth. This means you need multiple ways of progressing through the game. World of Warcraft is open-ended, but even linear games need to have alternative story lines and ways of progressing.
- Disposable Elements. It is very easy to think that because you have written something, everyone needs to read it. Instead you work on the assumption that only 10% of your audience is going to explore every nook and cranny of your story. That doesn’t mean you cut corners – it means you create more content, something for everyone. In WoW that means different kinds of quests leading to different kinds of gameplay. For your game, it could mean whatever you think it means.
- Challenge. Hardcore gamers are good. There are people out there who can level a character from 1-70 in WoW in less than a week. A good game should include a couple of ‘impossible’ sidequests that are designed solely to test these fanatics. Think of the Weapons in Final Fantasy 7. You don’t need to reward them especially well – the thrill of a challenge is enough.
- Humor. All the best games I’ve played have had serious story lines that crack jokes. Never underestimate the power of a wry aside. Okay, so the /silly command doesn’t bring up any great gems – I know at least a few people who are addicted to it though.
