Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
fascinating ways. Combining wordplay with a critical analysis of welfare
discourse, several strategies can be seen in the responses produced by the
playing community, all of which demonstrate how players perceive their rela-
tionship with the game and their play. From directly confronting Tigole's
statements to lamenting a loss of avatar capital and analyzing the ef ects the
changes have on the multiplayer aspects of the game, the rhetoric of welfare
epics of ers unique insights into the importance of scarcity in the normative
structures of
WoW
. Applying wordplay to the concept of welfare epics also
helps show how players accept and perpetuate beliefs about the design of
reward systems in online games. Studying welfare epics with wordplay dem-
onstrates that games change over time and how subtle adjustments in design
can prompt substantial alterations in the way a game is played. The discus-
sion about welfare epics also demonstrates the interconnected relationship
between players and developers, as the debate about welfare epics shows how
both groups can infl uence the ongoing design and execution of a game.
Chapter 8:
Theorycraft and Optimization
As an emergent practice of
WoW
players, theorycrafting is the search for
the optimal set of strategies with which to play
WoW
. By using statistical
analysis and mathematical modeling, theorycrafters seek out the underly-
ing formulae that govern
WoW
, largely in an attempt to optimize their play.
Theorycrafting is a practice that emerged from a small segment of players
and changed how
WoW
is played, while reshaping the relationship between
players and designers. Analyzing theorycraft enables a discussion about
how the discourse of gaming connects to other cultural trends, like the
growth of statistical analysis in sports and society. In this case, the devel-
opment of a player originated discourse limits functional choice in
WoW
because all answers that are not best simply are not good enough and need
to be fi xed. Though the understanding and modeling of theorycraft may
be incomplete, theorycraft puts players on a level where they can engage
in discussions with designers about the best ways in which to design their
game of choice. Theorycraft demonstrates how player behavior is a key fac-
tor to track, especially in massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs),
as players can reshape how a game is played in practice and that the 'game'
of
WoW
extends well beyond the bounds of the imagined world in which
it is set.
Chapter 9:
Balance and Meritocracies
One of the themes permeating the discourse of video games is the supposition
that MMOGs are a meritocracy, where the best or most active are able to
excel through their ef orts within the game. Rewards and achievements are
often interpreted as indicators of great skill and superiority, separating those
who have ascended from those who should admire them. Tied to a key aspect
