The World of Heroes

My days at Azeroth begins with a werewolf dude yawning at me instead of keeping me

alive, and a cuddly little gnome mage setting ablaze the place, and I as a bear getting hit. Things

may change when I become a great owl (or boomchicken) calling forth the heavens to destroy

the undead priest that’s preaching to the light to heal himself (a zombie preaching to the light,

ha!). Later on I become a tree of life (literally a walking tree, with a face, and hands, and stuff) to

save my allies with the power of flowers and leaves from the clutches of evil (or those dumb

enough to stand in the fire!) And that’s my day playing a druid in World of Warcraft, where I’ve

met wonderful friends from all over the world, from Cuba, USA, Mexico and even Chile.

Therefore, World of Warcraft should be viewed as a healthy media community than rather just a

game.

World of Warcraft (WoW) as a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game

(MMORPG) evokes unavoidable social interactions with over eight million subscribers. The

game is set in the fantasy world of Azeroth with stunning geographical views scarred by the rage

of war, as a setting to the great lore of over millennia of struggles among the elves, orcs, humans

and much more. When playing the game for the first time the player must choose the faction of

the war he wants to be in, either the alliance or the horde. Then through sheer aesthetics the

newcomer chooses the race, and at the end the new player must choose the class that best fits

him (there are psychological traits and values playing while making the decisions). The game

mechanics favor those who group to level up the eighty-five levels of the game, forcing most of

the players to interact with one another. Therefore the player interaction is as varied as people

from England to Brazil, from over China to Mexico, From over USA to Argentina; people from

all over the world interacting. And one may think WoW is populated by children due to its

fantasy based foundations, however the game is mostly played by lawyers, teachers, mothers,

husbands, and the list go on. The social interaction between these adults from different places

and situations is rich in personal experiences and brings to the game a sense of reality, just as

Steve Levy said in his essay Living a Virtual Life, “…the interaction between guilds and

individuals relies on human choices and morals.” The constant interaction becomes the vehicle

for the in-game friends development. The people tend to befriend with whoever share their same

thoughts and establish real friend relationships, or off-line friends. The off-line friends are also

considered those friends or family members that players knew before gaming in WoW, most

likely those who live far away. This is, for some player, when WoW stops being just a game and

becomes a social media community, just like Facebook and Twitter, and the like, connecting

people through the fun of the game.

The immersing nature and the compelling social dynamics that distinguishes World of

Warcraft is a healthy way to help ease life’s stress. Most people believe that shoe who play

videogames lack the tool to engage in social interaction, however Lucas Gillispie, an

instructional technology coordinator, in his article Becoming Lore Keepers states the results of

his strategy on using WoW in his classroom, “…our gaming youth are actually strengthening

their cognitive skill by engaging in the complex and often social problem-solving environments

that good games use to challenge players”. Following Gillispie train of thought, the international

interaction helps players converge with other people to achieve a common goal, during the

interactional development people of all ages learn to understand and appreciate other countries,

other societies; because the borderlines become as real as WoW. The associate professor Jeffrey

Snodgrass conducted a study in which he focused on the positive aspects of in-game immersion.

Snodgrass studies revealed that players describe that diverging into WoW is akin to meditation,

other time is challenging and stimulating; Snodgrass describe those feelings as healthy states of

consciousness, “The idea is that if you lose yourself, you escape”. However as Snodgrass himself

said, the immersion must be controlled and temporary, because it can become a double-edged

sword, a feeling of immersion so strong that can develop addiction. A psychological addiction

just like workaholics, alcoholics and even drugs addiction. WoW addiction (videogames

addiction) unleashes bad eating habits social reprieve and affects the well being of the addicted. I

came upon WoW because of my brother who suggested it to me, and kept in the game, to keep in

contact with him. I become an active gamer as I leveled up through the game, I made friends

from all over the countries, younger and older than me, men and women from Costa Rica,

Mexico, USA, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and list goes on. At the beginning

I experienced addiction to the game; however I kept myself from getting caught in the game,

prioritizing over studies and chores, and other responsibilities.

Playing World of Warcraft is much more than a game, it is a media community for life-

long friends, and it also helps reduce life’s stress. And ain’t it good to becomes heroes with our

friends once in a while, just like the old days.