Op-Ed

For the Zombie Horde

This is among the scenarios that troubled some sensitive World of WarCraft players; people who had established set patterns of behavior and were unprepared for the coming undead incursion. Many players, myself included, found it to be an engaging change that established a setting and narrative from which Wrath of the Lich King will hopefully blossom. Others found it to be an irritating offense to the foundation of the game they play. A few even found it to be a breach of some unwritten contract by infusing PvP elements into the normally safe and staid spaces of warfare-free servers.

For me, the genius of the world event was not simply the zombie invasion, but the fact that upon being zombified, players retained control over their character and were free to attack any and all other players or NPCs without penalty. The zombie invasion of major cities not only infused normally conflict-free areas with massive warfare, but even negatively affected game performance. Many of those attacked by friends and fiends without prior warning were, let's say, perturbed.

For me, the positives of the world events leading up to the release of the expansion exist not simply in the establishing of a narrative, but also the introduction of chaos and disorder into a predictable world. Despite the fact that I was inconvenienced by the event, I like very much that it brought tension and uncertainty back into a world that I took for granted.

On the one hand, the unexpected tension adds spice into the mix, but a spice that is tempered by the knowledge that the event is temporary. Before long, the tumult will settle and we will all be inclined to return to the mundanity of leveling up characters, amassing gold and establishing a reputation in the world. Such is the necessary process of an established MMOG, to introduce change only to watch as the populations absorb and adapt to the change until it becomes rote. It is this tendency toward stasis and equilibrium, a blessing and a curse, which makes events that infuse temporary and targeted chaos such a necessity. In the long run, even though it may temporarily inconvenience some players, these events are the slowly beating heart of the game.

I am not a prime candidate for being satisfied with the zombie event, but I recognize it for the much needed medicine it brings. I understand the short term irritation, and sympathize with like-minded players who really just wanted to turn in a couple of quests and call it a night rather than staving off the undead masses, but to criticize and grouse about the event seems shortsighted. Sometimes even I have to accept that progress and improvement necessitate inconvenient change.

Images courtesy of World of Raids

Sean Sands is the co-founder of gamerswithjobs.com and honestly is only requesting access to your braiiiins for scientifically and medically responsible purposes.