Intro to World of Warcraft

Brief History of Games

1st Person Shooter

FPSs are distinguished by a first person perspective, that renders the game world from the visual

perspective of the player character.

You will typically not see your avatar in an FPS, unless there is a mirror or cinematic transition between

levels

Third Person Shooter

Third-person shooter (TPS) is a genre of 3D computer and video games in which the player character is seen at a

distance from a number of different possible perspective angles.

Common angle is looking over character’s right shoulder

MMORPG

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) is a genre of 3D computer and video games in which the thousands of players are playing online at the same time. This genre of game typically includes a social

interaction requirement to complete certain activities.

Common angle is looking over character’s right shoulder

MMORPGs #1

World of Warcraft (WoW)

•41,007 hours of game play on June 14, 2012 by almost 10,925 Xfire players for an average of 3.75 hrs / player (http://beta.xfire.com/games/wow)

•10.2 Million players worldwide (12/31/11) http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=647732

What is World of Warcraft?

• Sword and Board Fantasy

• Players Choose Race and Roles for their Characters

• Once in world, players progress by accepting and completing quests

Terminology

NPC

Non-player character, a character, monster, or animal in a role-playing game or video game that is controlled by the

gamemaster or computer, rather than by a player.

Some advanced players are blurring the lines here, through the use of bot technologies

Mob

NPCs that are aggressive towards the player. Mobs may be monsters, animals, or of similar

race to player.

Boss

Typically stronger than normal Mobs that present a more difficulty fight for the player.

Bosses typically drop higher quality gear when defeated.

Guild

A group of players from the same side that collaborate and pool resources in a group bank. This collaboration is

encouraged by game designers and is necessary in multiplayer games

WoW Basics

3 Basic Roles

• Tank – Able to absorb and mitigate large amounts of

damage

• DPS– Quickly do high damage to targets

• Healer– Heal party members

Classes

• Deathknight• Druid• Hunter• Mage• Paladin• Priest• Rogue• Shaman• Warlock• Warrior

Goal of Each Role

• Optimize their specific set of abilities

• Tanks – Block, dodge, parry

• DPS – DPS (damage per second)

• Healer – HPS (heals per second)

Resources

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/

http://www.wowhead.com/

http://icy-veins.com/

http://cognitivedissonance.guildportal.com

Questions?