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Is WoW on iPhone a dangerous idea?
Liquidlizard
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi,
not being much of lover of the very contagious MMORPG WOW, (because of its crazy popularity), after I saw this video in which as if "WoW" is played on the platform of iPhone, I started wondering, if that's not a very crazy and dangerous idea.
Presuming that the video is not fake. (I haven't found any information about it)
iPhone itself and WoW both are very popular, and if you combined these things, the result could be scary. People playing WoW everywhere, I would not only have to listen to their never ceasing chatter about wow, but would also be forced to watch them play it everywhere. Somehow it disturbs me. Contagious things definately are dangerous and maybe some should not come together. Especially if we're talking about a person like me, who is not particularly fond of WoW and iPhone maniacs.
So I wanted to hear your opinion.
1) Is the video fake or real?
2) If it's real what do you think, would it be viable to play WoW on it and how would it contribute to the already ass-crazy popularity of the game?
3) Are Wow haters doomed?
Oops, it turns out the youtube version has been removed. Here's another link with working video.
not being much of lover of the very contagious MMORPG WOW, (because of its crazy popularity), after I saw this video in which as if "WoW" is played on the platform of iPhone, I started wondering, if that's not a very crazy and dangerous idea.
Presuming that the video is not fake. (I haven't found any information about it)
iPhone itself and WoW both are very popular, and if you combined these things, the result could be scary. People playing WoW everywhere, I would not only have to listen to their never ceasing chatter about wow, but would also be forced to watch them play it everywhere. Somehow it disturbs me. Contagious things definately are dangerous and maybe some should not come together. Especially if we're talking about a person like me, who is not particularly fond of WoW and iPhone maniacs.
So I wanted to hear your opinion.
1) Is the video fake or real?
2) If it's real what do you think, would it be viable to play WoW on it and how would it contribute to the already ass-crazy popularity of the game?
3) Are Wow haters doomed?
Oops, it turns out the youtube version has been removed. Here's another link with working video.
Liquidlizard on
0
Posts
Yeah, totally viable.
At work, when someone asks me about WoW and I say I don't play it, I usually get a few minutes of rambling on about armor or what have you anyway, and I nod and play along and feign interest, because I'm not looking for a negative customer service hit.
DICK COMMENT OVER. HONEST COMMENT STARTING.
It'd make sense to have it portable, but I don't think anyone who really plays WoW is gonna play it on a 3.5 inch screen with no mouse. You really don't have anything to worry about.
When I was living with a friend who had a PC that could run it, I was in love with WoW.
So realistically this would be my only way to play it, and I still wouldn't because of the hassle I'm sure it would be.
And I'm sure they'll be staring down at their iPhones far too hard to bother you, in any capacity. When someone dies on the freeway because they were too busy playing fucking WoW on their phone, this thread, and the question it poses, will be warranted.
Right now, a potentially fake video of it running isn't enough to warrant this discussion outside of an already existing WoW thread, in my opinion.
I don't think it's viable though, unless they up the framerate. Even then, they have to do some nifty interface magic to get all the commands you need and not clutter the screen.
I think WoW on iPhone is going to sell like crazy. No, people aren't going to be out killing stuff so much, but they will be hanging out in capital cities, checking the auction house, and bugging people in trade chat. It will be used for buying and selling and staying in contact with your guild 24/7.
Even so, it wouldn't be that bad for just running around killing enemies to level up. You probably just can't do big instances or raids with it.
The idea of an iPhone-friendly MMOG, though... has that been attempted before? Maybe not necessarily iPhone exclusive, but hey, the platform is portable, has a constant connection to the internet, and decent hardware. Why not?
Or maybe add a component to an existing MMO that is for the iPhone that helps your character out. Something like playing a bejeweled clone that gives your character gold/xp for high scores.
On the other hand, a bejeweled clone for an MMORPG set on a handheld device constantly on the internet is sort of like heroin in terms of potential addictive properties, so I don't really know if that's really ethical to develop...
1: Probably real.
2: Not viable apart from maybe checking mail or auctions. It wouldn't contribute to the playerbase whatsoever.
3: I guess if you hate people having interests other than your own, then you probably are doomed, because it'll happen all through life.
This is true. I still contend that this Wii thing is just a fad.
Wow on iPhone eh? Well, good. Data plans cost so much money, it makes me happy thinking that people will actually get some use out of them.
Maybe this way people can make it to the raid on time.
Personally I am excited to see the first Nax or Ulduar clear on an all iPhone guild.
So it wouldn't be in much use. Hence not being a danger.
I'm taking the angle, by the way, that people would be doing this crap from their cars or dumb enough to do it while on the job. Which is little different than dipshits who do it with text messaging. We penalize those fucks as is.
Just what the world needs more of. Complete lack of understanding of mental illness and of compassion, along with some hardcore victim blaming that will discourage people with problems from admitting them and getting help. Well done.
World of Warcraft has been built from the ground up to be an addicting experience. Low level items look terrible and never match up, they time content releases precisely so that as soon as you finish the last raid you move onto the next.
They even said this explicitly at Blizzcon when discussing Lich King. They had most of that content done well before it released, but didn't want to step on anyone's Naxxramas toes.
To say that there is nothing inherently dangerous - ergo addicting - about World of Warcraft is misunderstanding everything about what addiction requires and what fuels such behaviour. It is not a chemical addiction like smoking or drinking, sure, but that does not mean that it is not directly contributing to that personality.
The reason why people don't play other games is because of this very issue. I'm sure humans can become addicted to anything. Any activity imaginable. But WoW features a tremendous number of 'hooks' to boost this trait in people.
That's why they make so much money. WoW is addicting. It was designed to be addicting so that you pay constantly into the Blizzard coffers.
Anyways, listening to the newest Podcast, Gabe and Tycho bring up a fairly good point. WoW is a pretty massive game in terms of hard drive space used. How large are Iphone hard drives?
It's a remote kind of thing, the actual game would be running on a server.
edit: Also yeah, WoW is huge space wise. Also, I made the mistake of taking a bunch of screenshots for like the first month of play... I didn't think it would save them in tga format.
My screenshots folder was roughly 20 gigs.
Wow + both expansions and all content updates thus far is easily over 12 gig.
The base vanilla game was 7 ish. I actually had it on 4 dvds. Those were the good old days, of two thousand and fucking five!
You really don't. When you hear people talking about video games in real life the way they do on forums, complete with using acronyms like "L O L" and "W T F" in real life, you just want to beat the shit out of them.
I actually did my thesis on basically this subject. PM me for details. If people are actually interested I may pop the bulk of it in here or something.
Yeah, the issue with space is quite formidable. Maybe there's going to be some version that is good for the things before mentioned - auctioning, gathering, tinkering.
I for one would love to see a quality MMO on the iPhone, even if I don't own one. I just hope it abandons the paradigm established by WoW. (And Everquest, I suppose.)
MMOs don't need to reward time spent above all else. That's only for a monthly pricing strategy. I am not a big fan of Popcap style pricing (that's paying for exclusive aesthetic content, right?) but I think that would be a lot better. They have those, right? How do they work out? Are the people with paid content huge pricks?
Ultimately, I am not a fan of any game design that sacrifices quality for profitability or contributes to a poisonous player base. I know the ultimate goal of the videogame industry is profit, but if every game pursued it in the same manner as WoW, I would quit playing games.
Yes, wow is designed to be addictive. Soda is designed to taste good. Roller coaster rides are exhilarating.
I haven't hidden my concerns behind some morality statement. I, personally, find it distasteful when someone would rather play a mediocre videogame than socialize with their friends. This extends to single player games, but the design of those often doesn't enforce social withdrawal as much as MMOs.
Everything in moderation, you know. MMOs and moderation don't really mix that well.
Social withdrawal from those physically near them, you mean. Clearly it's not the same as friends face to face, but a guild is as much a social group as anything else.
Also, you specifically mentioned a mediocre video game being the barrier of socialization. Do you find it less distasteful if the game is awesome?
WoW on iPhone is NOT a dangerous idea, just like the iPhone and WoW are not dangerous things.
Maybe in a couple years we'll hear about one guy who crashed his car because he was checking his auction house, but this guy had serious problems anyway. Except for such an extreme, I really don't see the danger.
"Forar, why is your DPS below half what it usually is, and why are you dying on every single trash pull? You don't usually die at all during this raid!"
"Oh, I don't have my usual mods, and my fps blows."
"... you're playing from your iphone again, aren't you?"
"yes"
Forar has been removed from the party.
so very true. scheduling time to raid is pretty much in the same realm as scheduling time to play on the local YMCA softball team, at least as far as social obligations go.
you have a group of people who get together to participate in something they enjoy and accomplish something they find value in.
if they choose that over hanging out with you, maybe you need to present yourself as a more entertaining alternative?
either way, it's a voluntary obligation, and you wouldn't bitch at someone if they told you they had a soccer game that night, so why is raid night any different?
I guess it just hurts when you learn you're less fun to be with than a "mediocre game".
It sounds stupid phrased so bluntly, but yeah, pretty much that.
Like I said, I'm not making an argument from a moral high ground.
At least if they were doing something cool, like a quality* videogame, it could be fun to talk about. (Hell, that's why I'm here when I don't have the means to hang out with other people.)
*This doesn't need to devolve into a debate on how value in entertainment is relative.
Also, WoW is very playable at 5fps. Hell, I used to raid 25 Naxx at that framerate. Then I came to my senses and sold my account. Best decision ever.