Stop the FOMO: Play World of Warcraft on Your Own Terms

Community General Discussion
122

On a broader level there’s 2 trends that I am hopeful about.

One is that Live Service games are generally not being very successful anymore. Gamers just don’t favor the design anymore. We’re generally good at seeing the design for what it is now. And so the Live Service games that do have success tend to be the ones that have had it for a long time and have already gained an established audience.
So there’s some hope here that game development is starting to shift a bit back toward exceptional gameplay and less toward gambling and FOMO and collections.
I think the last few years of top-selling and award-winning games have shown that as well. There’s a shift starting to happen. Not so much within Blizzard, but in gaming at large.

I also think we’re slowly starting to see legislation here in the EU become more than just wishful thinking. Not so much because oldschool gamers are concerned about these issues, but because parents of younger generations are. That’s where the real concern comes from. These kids are not being introduced to Super Mario Bros. on the NES as their first experience. It’s Fortnite, CoD, WoW, and Candy Crush. And thus naturally the parental oversight is starting to push in the direction of more regulations and laws to curb these predatory game designs that feel very akin to what we see in the gambling industry.

But for WoW I think we’ll see this trend continue into the next expansion and beyond. Microsoft’s Phil Spencer talked about how these triple A companies, like Blizzard, are in a bit of a crisis, because they don’t really know how to compete in the gaming market anymore. They can’t really beat the indie scene on gameplay or price, so they’re kind of stuck just doubling-down on their established IPs and milking them for all they’re worth. And that’s unfortunately also what we see Blizzard doing. For however many years WoW has left Blizzard are going to squeeze the playerbase for all they’re worth. Because they don’t know what else to do.

1 Like
123

There is some real mental gymnastics going on in this sentence to make it sound like its a bad and predatory thing.

Like… real tin foil stuff going on.

A business is allowed to promote itself. Like all businesses. They can advertise and put on offers to encourage more trade.

Seen Buy 1 Get 1 Free Offers in the supermarket. It’s no different.

124

If this is your comparison, I truly do feel bad about your lack of comprehension. Like truly.

1 Like
125

That’s not pointing blame. :man_facepalming:

That’s pointing out what’s actually going on. The facts.

No, I don’t think that a company promoting itself is a bad thing. I don’t see it as predatory. I see it as a company trying to survive in a very competitive market.

Well that’s all it is. Your comparison is like Blizzard are committing genocide or something by doing this.

126

I fear that too… I truly do enjoy the game, but its a sad tendency when the drivers of the game is not the actual gameplay but small cosmetic rewards that are there for 2 weeks and then its dead for months…

I really do hope however, that the new expansion brings in some changes and they start reverting back to Long term events thats not a “You have to no life this Daily if you want a chance!”

1 Like
127

[quote="Emberthal-magtheridon

Are you serious now? :joy: Well, I already got my confirmation about you, so shouldn’t be surprised really.

, post:125, topic:514309"]
No, I don’t think that a company promoting itself is a bad thing. I don’t see it as predatory. I see it as a company trying to survive in a very competitive market.
[/quote]

Then you wouldn’t struggle to answer the question you’ve skipped the last two times I asked you :slight_smile:

1 Like
128

What question?

That I’m a sane human being, who doesn’t wear a tin foil hat, accusing every business that promotes itself as being out to get me!

Lol. That’s what you sound like.

129

To tale a page from your book:

Time for you to scroll up :slight_smile:
Stated them clearly twice.

Hint: you conviniently jumped over them.

1 Like
130

I stand corrected. Thanks <3

1 Like
131

If I skipped them, they weren’t important enough to answer.

The only important part in this topic is, if you are struggling with addiction get help.

The game isn’t forcing you to play it. If you feel forced, just stop. Just put it down.

132

I stopped Remix as this rush-rush while at one point, getitng weaker as you level up put me off.

Back to live now and catching up on other things past expansions.

1 Like
133

Nah, you convieniently just skipped them. But hey, not surprised.

No one is saying it does… But… Just for the heck of it:

You can look at these research papers:

“VIRTUAL GAMING, ACTUAL DAMAGE: VIDEO
GAME DESIGN THAT INTENTIONALLY AND
SUCCESSFULLY ADDICTS USERS
CONSTITUTES CIVIL BATTERY”

“Dark Patterns, Warcraft, and Cyber…: The Addictive Face of Predatory Online Platforms and Pioneering Policies to Protect Consumers”

" Predatory Monetisation? A Categorisation of Unfair, Misleading and Aggressive Monetisation Techniques in Digital Games from the Player Perspective"

Because they would all argue that the companies are not “promoting themselves” or as you would put it:

But hey… I guess those researchers claiming companies use predatory behaviour is also just wearing tinfoil hats! What do they know am I right?

Educate yourself. Open your narrow minded vision. Just put it down.

1 Like
134

Have you read the thread?

I’d rather not actually, for 2 reasons.

  1. Because these are clearly biased articles, written from a point of view to highlight the negatives.

but

  1. For the reason I have already explained above:

At the moment, I enjoy the game for the way it is. It works for me, it brings me joy and excitement.

I have no interest in the behind the scenes mechanics of why it makes me feel good. All I need to know is that the game makes me feel good. It’s an experience I enjoy, and that is why I continue to pay money for it.

Like going to the Spa for a massage, or going to the gym for exercise. Going out for a Pizza (like I’m doing later tonight). All these things make me feel good, so I pay for them.

If I have too many massages it’s bad for my muscles, if I work out too hard I’ll injury myself. If I eat too much Pizza I’ll get fat.

No, you’re wrong. You’re bringing biased magazine articles and trying to push them as fact. They a point of view, an opinion. It doesn’t matter if there is a scientific level of research involved. They’re purely pushing a one sided opinion.

But ignorance is Bliss, right?

For the record, I am educated enough to be successful in my field of work and expertise. So I’m not stupid or narrow-minded enough to not realise that there is a degree of thought going into every experience I enjoy.

But, in my free time I want shut off. I don’t want to think about what’s going on in my entertainment. I am paying for Blizzard to take me on a journey, I am paying for an experience. The mechanics they use to create that illusion, I need not know anything about.

If the experience felt bad, I would stop. If they tried to take money from me, that I didn’t want to spend, I wouldn’t go any further, it’s just simple self control.

135

I have.

“Clearly biased” :') Do you know what a peer-reviewed paper is? Just out of curiosity? xD

All I hear is “I, I, I, I” yet you make claims of “Companies do not”… This is some A-tier waffling

Again… Calling research papers “magazines” yikes xD

Peer-reviewed… Do you know it?

Yes… Saying “I am smart in what I do, therefor I don’t need to learn anything else and I don’t care” is truly ignorance xD

But hey, again proven correct.

With all this “me me me me” I truly feel bad for your lack of ability to see things from others perspective… Like holy damn, even when you claim to be able to, you turn it right back to “Me me me, I don’t care about others” xD

Doesn’t say much about your level of education really… But nice attempt at trying to show off xD

1 Like
136

I would suggest you go back and read that post again.

You have clearly missed the entire message, and decided that you’d try to belittle your imaginary perception of my level of education.

137

Pretty ironic, when I was the person saying I would NOT call you uneducated :')

Nice one my guy hahah

138

Have you read the post yet? Or you just trying to be rude and argumentative?

139

Hey its a give and take. You can’t refuse to read anything I point in your direction and when you don’t get your way go " trying to be rude and argumentative?" xD Like come on now… Would expect you to be a bit more grown up than that.

140

I have been quite respectful in this topic. But for some reason you decided to make this about my education. My point was that my education doesn’t matter, I’m not here to pretend that I’m a top Professor on this subject. I’m here to discuss the topic from the point of view of someone that enjoys how Time Limited content works.

Yes, I have dropped a few truth bombs here and there stating that I don’t care about other peoples personal struggles.

But that’s not because I’m an uncaring person. I care very deeply about my friends and family. It’s because “ignorance is Bliss” and well some addict in another part of the world I’ll likely never meet isn’t really at the top of my care list, when I’m off work and enjoying some relaxing entertainment.

Entertainment that I am paying to enjoy! In my free time, when I don’t want to think about Work and Education and stuff. I want to relax.

The mechanics used to take people on the journey are not designed to prey on the weak minded. They’re there to make the journey that much more exciting.

As I said, if you’re prone to addiction, then a good place to start is learning a bit of self control.

141

No you haven’t… And no I didn’t?.. I haven’t brought in your education… When others have, I even declined to agree?.. Like are you okay? :slight_smile:

Agree… Thats why I haven’t brought it up. And when others called you uneducated I refused to agree :slight_smile:

While also discrediting and not accepting the other side exists* (You calling others whiners, tinfoil hats, biased etc.)

No one asked you to care about others… Stated that multiple times…

But… I literally just sent you three out of many research papers that states the opposite… But for some reason you seem yourself more knowledgeable than actual professors… But lets remember:

Like LOL xD You call actual researchers on the subject “biased” and “magazine articles” but now try to be humble? xD

Is this what you call “being respectful” ? xD You diagnose me, implying I’m addicted and need help, you then proceed to try and undermine me with “You keep making excuses”, then you start calling me a tinfoil hat and makign absurd (!) comparisons to undermine my point…

While at the same time when someone writes this about you:

I go:

But yeah, its me making it about your education level right? :slight_smile: If you would maybe take a page out of your own page and actually read the thread yourself, you wouldn’t waffle on like that.

1 Like