Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Applying wordplay to welfare epics prompts a question: what does the
adoption and repetition of the term welfare indicate about the structures
and reward system of
WoW
and other MMOGs? Originating in a single
mention at a panel discussion, welfare epics quickly entered the discourse
of
WoW
, from discussion boards to blogs that discuss the game and even-
tually reaching in-game chat, including cameo appearances in my guild's
chat channel. As a
WoW
gamer who raided extensively, yet also wore a
welfare epic or two to compensate for bad luck on player versus environ-
ment (PvE) drops, it was clear to me that the perpetuation and reuse of the
term elucidated important elements of
WoW
's construction, especially its
core game design and the motivations and interests of players who play the
game. Looking at the discourse incited by the comment, wordplay shows
how the emergence and reuse of the term demonstrates key elements of the
design and play of
WoW
, including the importance of scarcity within the
normative reward structures of the game, how players were socialized into
a never-ending cycle of earning new rewards for their characters in
WoW
,
and how the debut of the new rewards marked a shift in
WoW
's design.
Tigole, with his clear preference for raiding, represented a sentiment
shared by many raiders: that rewards for raiding were being watered down.
Those who preferred PvP expressed their outrage at having their ef orts
within
WoW
likened to receiving welfare. The online response was over-
whelming and demonstrated the rhetorical force of welfare, dif erences
between expectations of rewards in PvE and PvP content, and, ultimately,
how players in
WoW
are ef ectively paid for their ef orts in epics, all of
which are key pieces of games that can be identifi ed through the application
of wordplay.
A HISTORY OF EPICS IN
WOW
When
WoW
was originally launched, there were only three ways to get epic
loot. One way was from killing monsters. Each monster has loot they drop
when killed, and more dii cult monsters generally drop better loot. Loot
is sorted into categories, ranging from grey and white (poor and common
items) to green and blue (uncommon and rare) to purple (epic) and orange
(legendary). Generally, the rarer the item is, the better it is, making purples,
or epics, quite desirable. Epics had a low chance of dropping of of any
monster in the world, while instances or dungeons of ered groups of play-
ers a greater chance of getting higher quality loot. In raids, groups of up
to forty in pre-expansion
WoW
, and ten or twenty-fi ve starting with
The
Burning Crusade
, players are guaranteed epic drops from a variety of boss
mobs if they have sui cient numbers and coordination to prevail in battle.
This reward system meant that players had to possess either extraordinary
luck or the ability to coordinate large groups of people who could defeat
dii cult monsters to get epics.
