Quack Quack

When a game is successful as long as World of Warcraft has been it is bound to have an effect in the gaming industry as well as the gaming community. With a once reported 14 million subscriber’s world wide, I think it is safe to assume that WOW has a huge gravitational pull on both of those communities. For good or bad, Blizzard will forever influence the MMO world.

The laundry list of MMO innovations and improvements throughout WOWs life span is impressive but remember dear gamer, not everything that glitters is gold. One of the side effects suffered by many a WOW player is something I like to call the “WOW effect.”

The “WOW effect” is some thing akin to, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.” Meaning if it feels like WOW and contains some of the same in-game elements as WOW it must be played like WOW. Unfortunately for us Blizzard has trivialized parts of the de-facto MMO game standard (WOW) and what we now consider normal really isn’t that normal after all.

As an MMO player under the hypnotizing “WOW effect” we have begun to minimize those areas of game play that Blizzard has chosen to trivialize. An example of this would be the leveling process in the World of Warcraft. Blizzards implementation of leveling has long been considered lengthy and some what of a grindfest. To put it bluntly, leveling in WOW is boring. To combat this Blizzard decided to make the process go faster instead of making it more enjoyable. Lazy indeed.

For years now World of Warcraft players have been saying that the game doesn’t really begin until you reach max level. For the most part they are right. With this being the model for nearly the last 10 years there is a hidden cost the player doesn’t realize they are paying. The “WOW effect” says that because the leveling process is boring and overall worthless in WOW it must be the same in every other MMO.

The question now becomes “Will a gamer suffering from the “WOW effect” be able to shake it off when given the opportunity?” I think on the whole the answer to that question is an overwhelming NO. As participants in the genre we have become programmed to accept the parts of the game Blizzard couldn’t get right as something that doesn’t really matter. Also, if another MMO developer happens to get those areas right, meh… it’s kind of cool but because of all of the other elements “It’s just like WOW.”

Now I am going to let you in on a little secret. The “WOW effect” does not apply to everyone but Blizzard. Soon enough they will become victim of their own creation. Remember Blizzard is currently working on their follow up MMO code named Titan. You see in the MMO genre it doesn’t matter if the theme is sci-fi, fantasy or good old fashioned super powers. It doesn’t matter if there are revolutionary changes to questing, crafting, instances or any other MMO characteristic. As long as the game fits the MMO mold, all of those players under the “WOW effect” will cry out in unison “It is just like WOW!”

2 Responses to “Quack Quack”

Dimli says:

January 26, 2012 at 6:49 pm

Lately your articles scream WoW was the first MMO ever created. WoW didn’t invent long grindy leveling as you call it. Pre-wow (EQ, DAoC, SWG, AO) were in fact long grindy leveling. WoW leveling was the first MMO I played where leveling in fact really isn’t a grind, at least not what a grind used to be called. There arn’t spawn camps where you spend hours at a time “grinding” mobs. You level by questing. EQ and other pre-wow MMOs had quests but wern’t the primary leveling mechanic by any stretch of the imagination.

SWTOR is in fact quite similar to wow in that you level by questing, primarlily soloing. Yes the questing is more interative but I would still say it follows a similar model.

The biggest problem with any leveling via questing game is it’s horribly anti-social. Unless I play with someone else 100% of the time it’s less effective to play together. The second I spend an hour here or there questing while my buddy isn’t and our tracks get off we can’t optimally play together. Anyway gonna end here before I get any more rambly.
Carson says:

January 26, 2012 at 7:24 pm

Maybe developers need to make a more conscious effort not to walk like a duck and quack like a duck?

e.g. if WoW has trained players that levelling is a chore to be completed as quickly as possible, and that the level cap game is the “real” game – then maybe try breaking with the herd and making a skillpoint-based system rather than a class-and-level-based system. If there’s no level cap how are people going to rush to it?

It’s Like WOW – With Lasers!

One of the most idiotic things I have seen coming out of SWTOR general chat has been a player describing the game being exactly like WOW. Another description I have heard is SWTOR is WOW with lasers. When I read these types of comments all I can do is sit there stunned. SWTOR is nothing like WOW. Now before you go off all half cocked, remember I played WOW for 6+ years, I know a bit about the game.

Okay sure both WOW and SWTOR are MMOs and therefore they are played in a similar manner. It should go without saying that they both share “MMO characteristics.” Hell nearly every other game in the genre shares those characteristics. I am the first to champion that WOW did it best and the others have merely followed and polished. With that said I still maintain that SWTOR and WOW are nothing alike.

Comparing SWTOR and WOW is like comparing a bicycle race to a swimming race. They are both a “race” so to speak. Because of that they will share some similar characteristics with each other, not to mention every other race that has been ran, swam, run, drove or flown. In the end, it may be a race but I contend they are nothing alike.

Herein lays the problem. If I only have the WOW frame of reference for comparison, then I will compare those similarities. Unfortunately most people end up boiling this down to game characteristics, nothing more. Sure SWTOR and WOW both have leveling, training, professions, classes, instances, raids and so on. Unfortunately these will be the things that are compared.

When I say that WOW and SWTOR are nothing alike I am referring the experience of the game. In WOW the player never really feels enveloped in the story (outside of role play servers I imagine). The experience of playing WOW leaves the player feeling very disconnected from the story. You never really know how doing or not doing a quest for Chen’s Empty Keg could affect you in Molten Core. The sad truth is the only real benefit from the quest is some experience and a small bit of lore.

I am sure as some of you read this you are going to think I am nuts. I hear you saying “WOW is totally immersive what the hell is this guy thinking?” I agree with you. WOW can be immersive, but don’t you still feel a bit disconnected from the story? Before you answer, remember you can get the same XP from killing boars as completing Chen’s Empty Keg. There is no real benefit or punishment for not completing the quest. Let me ask you, how involved in the story do you feel now?

If we have to boil it down, the major difference between WOW and SWTOR is the questing experience. Read that line again, I said questing experience not questing characteristics. Nearly every quest I have done in SWTOR has involved my character in a major plot line in the story. What is the big deal right? Other classes and the other faction will interact with the same NPC and play and entirely different role IN THE SAME STORY.

Another difference is nearly all of my interactions with NPC quest givers will have some influence on how NPCs and my companions will interact with me as well as my gear upgrades and gear appearance. In my opinion this is nothing like slaughtering 1000′s of Furblogs to increase reputation with a given faction.

SWTOR is just like WOW? Not so much.

6 Responses to “It’s Like WOW – With Lasers!”

razor says:

January 25, 2012 at 4:33 pm

The hardest thing about SWTOR is putting into words for others exactly what the game is like. For me it is the joy of experiencing gameplay from several DIFFERENT viewpoints, You can choose to play an imperial character to light side or dark side, resulting in how others interact with your character and the notes you get down the road from npcs. If you so choose you can play a neutral character and go that route. I have 5 characters all through the starting phase and several up over 20. my highest being 45. I have enjoyed this game more than any other yet, hell just even reading the missions you can send your characters out on IS ENJOYABLE.
Carson says:

January 25, 2012 at 5:04 pm

I didn’t play SW:TOR beyond the beta, but I found the questing experience identical to WoW. I didn’t find any engagement in helping the Republic troopers deal with insurgents that I didn’t also find in helping the Westfall Brigade deal with the Defias Brotherhood.

But anyway, when people say TOR is WOW with lasers, I think you’re being a bit disingenuous when you say you “sit there stunned.” You know perfectly well they’re talking about the gameplay.

Here’s thought experiment. Watch a session of someone playing WoW, closely observing the combat. Now watch a session of someone playing TOR, closely observing the combat. Now watch one of the Star Wars movies. What do you notice, with regards to similarities and differences?
msp says:

January 26, 2012 at 3:58 am

It’s not just that both games have quests, professions, GCD-based combat, etc. – it’s how similar these features are in their implementation. It’s hard to see Retaliation and Intimidating Roar on my action bars and not think Revenge and Intimidating Shout, for example. My talent tree looks suspiciously Burning Crusade-ish, only presented upside down. No matter how engaging the stories are, they can’t completely mask all of these similarities.

I must also confess that I don’t find WoW’s “kill 30 furbogs” questing experience any less engaging than killing 30 sandpeople in SWTOR. If anything, WoW’s smooth combat system makes dealing with furbogs a lot more fun than slugging through an army of sandpeople while tripping over my combat animations. Class and companion stories is where SWTOR shines. Unfortunately, at higher levels filler quests start to dominate, so it feels like I have to grind just to advance the main story. It’s still enjoyable in its own right, but I can’t say that I don’t see where “WoW with lightsabers” claims are coming from.
razor says:

January 26, 2012 at 7:13 am

AS far as the kill 30 republic soldiers quests and such 9 out of 10 times these pop up as bonus quests whilst doing your original quest, meaning you do not need to complete them if you choose not to do so. It will not hurt your progression as there are lots of ways to stay at the proper level for your planet. having the option to not complete a grind quest and still be able to move on to the next part is a bonus in my eyes.
Kauzmo says:

January 26, 2012 at 4:11 pm

@ Carson – I think we are going to have to agree to disagree. SWTOR is nothing like WOW, its game mechanics match those of just about any other MMO released in the last 7 years but SWTOR and WOW are two different beasts.

@ msp – The implementation is going to be similar, any MMO development team would be foolish to reinvent the wheel at this point. As far as “smooth combat system” remember, it has been polished for the last 7 years Look how smooth combat used to be: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZr0nclFSA0

I appreciate all the comments guys, keepem coming!
msp says:

January 27, 2012 at 12:56 am

@ razor – The quests I’m talking about are voiced side quests. You know, those “I failed at my mission, only you can save us now” type quests that usually end in a plea to go slaughter 10 critters?

@ Kauzmo – Call me blind, but I don’t see much ability delay in that video. It’s choppy, but abilities seems to fire when they are supposed to. We could be talking about two different things, although I do not know first hand what WoW’s beta gameplay was like… so again, maybe not . Regardless, my choice is between WoW with 7 years of polish and SWTOR, not between 2004 WoW and SWTOR.

SWTOR – Flashpoints

By far one of the most enjoyable aspects of SWTOR is flashpoints. These are the equivalent to WOWs’ 5 man instances. These lower level flashpoints are really well done and do have some replay value to them.

At the lower levels the SWTOR flashpoints are typically a 4 man scenario. They usually include they typical “trash” mobs and 2-3 bosses. As with other MMOs the boss mobs usually include some gimmick for survival. When playing through the flashpoints on level they are challenging and fun.

Up to this point, the in-game elements are the stand outs in SWTOR flashpoints. The music and graphics are well done here and they really help the player become immersed in the game. Once again I find my self at a loss for words trying to explain how it feels to be in the SWTOR universe.

I must say it truly is an experience to watch the enemy mobs as they cut their way through metal doors at the opposite end of a hanger, only to have them bust through with guns drawn and lasers being fired in your direction. The gun fire continues as you approach the mobs and the experience is just that, an experience. Let me say right now, for a Star Wars geek, there is nothing cooler.

As you can tell, right now I am totally sold on SWTOR. The playability of this game at the lower levels continues to amaze me. I know am sounding a bit like a broken record, but the lower levels in this game are really well done. I guess I am so used to feeling like the leveling process is mere formality and here I am surprised to find it is actually part of the game.

One of the stranger things that have happened recently actually has to do with how much fun the lower levels really are. Completely independent of one another, both Kik and I voiced our hesitation about seeing the higher levels. We were worried that the higher levels of the game would not live up to what the lower levels have delivered. I found it amusing to find out that we were both thinking along those lines.