A Place to Play
Every day, people around the globe head to the same place to meet friends, test their mettle, and have fun. And it’s a place that doesn’t even exist.
World of Warcraft’s virtual realm boasts more people than Sweden. It earns $2 billion annually in subscriptions, outperforming many small nations. And this extraordinarily compelling, popular, profitable world is entirely a creation of software code.
Impact
The World that Conquered Earth
The landscape of World of Warcraft (WoW) may be virtual, but its impact is real.
The game helped transform the way we have fun...as well as the business of fun, influencing a computer game industry that earns more than $16 billion annually in the United States.
Offering rich imagery, engrossing experiences, and social connections, WoW raised the bar for gaming, building a universe of loyal fans—and imitators.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Group play at BlizzCon, October 21, 2011
World of Warcraft debuted in November 2004, breaking all previous sales records in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Today it enjoys a cult following by millions around the world. In 2015 WoW remained the world’s number one subscription‐based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment at NASDAQ Marketsite, March 7, 2011
Blizzard, part of Activision Blizzard, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011 by ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ. In 2015 Activision Blizzard reported net revenues of $4.66 billion.
Blasted Lands zone, WoW: Cataclysm, 2010
World of Warcraft Software Makers and Users
Original World of Warcraft software, 2004
Who's Playing?
Teenage boys binging on pizza and cola: that’s the gamer stereotype. But the image is outdated, thanks partly to World of Warcraft (WoW).
WoW's riveting visuals and social interaction helped broaden gaming’s appeal. As of 2011, nearly 45 percent of all players are female, and the average age is 37.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
Former Maine senator Colleen Lachowicz, November 15, 2012
What happens in World of Warcraft stays in World of Warcraft...not if you’re running for the Maine Senate. Colleen Lachowicz, 2012 Senate hopeful, came under scrutiny for her “crude, vicious, and violent comments” made while playing WoW.
Marina Schlenzig, June 20, 2012
“Swifty” on WoW Cataclysm, December 24, 2010
Virtual Becomes Real
Multiplayer games created online communities, which then became real-world communities.
World of Warcraft’s (WoW) unprecedented popularity and interaction revolutionized the way players relate to each other. Conventions, like BlizzCon, and gatherings of people who share a WoW“Guild,” as well as individual friendships (and romances), defy the stereotype of awkward loners.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
BlizzCon 2014, Day 1
BlizzCon, held annually since 2005 at the Anaheim Convention Center, attracts nearly 30,000 attendees. Fans enjoy product announcements, game previews, speaker panels, and group play opportunities. BlizzCon also serves as an in-person meeting place for online friends.
Courtesy Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
BlizzCon 2014, Day 1
Cosplay, from “costume play,” is a popular activity at BlizzCon. Convention goers create intricate costumes of their avatars or well-known characters, complete with complex props and accessories. The BlizzCon costume contest attracts hundreds and awards thousands of dollars in prizes.
AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
US Army Spc. Anthony Decamp, and unidentified soldier at Forward Operating Base Warhorse in Baqouba Iraq, June 30, 2009
With gaming servers located around the world, popular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), like World of Warcraft, enable deployed soldiers to keep in touch with friends and stay up to date on the latest game play.
Courtesy of Jen and Nick Crovo
Crovo Warcraft Wedding, September 28, 2013
It’s not uncommon for romantic relationships to form between players while playing World of Warcraft. Some couples even have WoW-themed weddings, like Jen and Nick Crovo!
Wedding invitation and custom coins, 2013
Paladin costume, ca. 2011–2013
World of Warcraft in Words & Pictures, 2005 - 2010
World of Warcraft - themed games, 2007–2015
World of Warcraft-branded items, 2004–2015
WoW Coca Cola Rewards cards, ca. 2010
Not Just Fun and Games
“All work and no play” supposedly makes one dull. But what about all play and no work? Reports of gaming addiction fuel both fear-mongering hype...and legitimate worries.
“Gold farming,” in which people (typically in developing countries) play for long hours to collect and sell virtual currency and high-level characters, raises concerns about exploitation.
Photo by and courtesy of Jin Ge
Gold farm in China
In World of Warcraft, gold is acquired through repetitive basic tasks. Human “gold farmers” are used to increase players' in-game currency, which is then sold for real money. Eighty percent of gold farmers reside in China and include children and labor camp prisoners.
Gold farming advertisement in the WoW city Orgrimmar
Game addict Ryan Van Cleeve, Sarasota, Florida, June 3, 2011
Technology
Hardware and Software: The Power to Play
World of Warcraft may be a virtual realm, but the hardware and software it depends on is very real.
Sustaining the complex world of Azeroth, with its cavalcade of Goblins, Orcs, and Draenei, requires real-time coordination between local and remote systems. This complex interaction of software and hardware demands fast processors and video cards, as well as high speed Internet access.
World of Warcraft, 2004.
World of Warcraft requires a complicated system of displays and controls spread across networks and servers, known as “realms.” WoW’s software allows for the game’s intricate interplay between players and customizable user interfaces.
Water-cooled PC module, by Imfaceroll Gaming
The Right Game at The Right Time
Why did World of Warcraft (WoW) triumph? Because it was fun.
Its fantasy landscape was beautiful and its “quests” complex. WoWwas simple enough for beginners, yet let sophisticated users customize their experience. Plus, it debuted as prices were falling for powerful video cards and fast processors.
Courtesy of William Harnack
Screenshot of user interface for Beginner, WoW: Warlords of Draenor, 2014
WoW newbies, fear not. Beginners are given a simple user interface that can be customized as skill sets increase.
Credit: © Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Screenshot of user interface for Advanced, WoW: Warlords of Draenor, 2014
This screenshot shows the user interface for a maximum-level player during the Hellfire Citadel raid, including a central grid tracking all raid team members. The UI is from a Healer's perspective and conveys valuable information for that role.
Credit: MedievalDragon via warcraft.blizzplanet.com, December 13, 2015/© Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Screenshot of “Those Who Couldn’t Be Saved,” WoW: Legion, 2016
Quests allow players to earn money, gain experience, build reputation, and advance character storylines. They also allow for interaction and coordination between players, underscoring the rich narrative quality of WoW and other massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMPORGs).
Screenshot of user interface for Raid, WoW: Warlords of Draenor, 2014
Statue of Thrall, ca. 2002
Frostmourne sword (replica), 2010
What’s Where?
That Orc attack seems to be on your computer. But World of Warcraft is actually choreographing a complex global ballet of hardware, software, and far-flung users.
Remote servers supply settings, game rules, non-player characters, and more. Each gamer’s computer, meanwhile, processes the visual, audio, and player information—so the game looks different to each player.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) interaction (player’s perspective)
MMORPGs rely on real-time updates. When players execute a command, the command is recognized as code by the game engine. The game engine instantaneously coordinates a series of checks and updates before sound and visuals are relayed back to players’ displays.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) diagram (developer’s perspective), 2010
World of Warcraft server blade, 2007
Teamwork
Like making a Hollywood film, creating World of Warcraft is a collaborative effort.
Directors, producers, artists, writers, lighting consultants, composers, and others rely on a toolbox of animation, graphics, storyboard, music, and other software to bring the game and characters from their brains to our screens.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Early Blizzard team (then known as Silicon & Synapse), ca. 1992
Frank Pearce (far left), Michael Morhaime (far right), and Allen Adham (striped shirt) founded Blizzard as Silicon & Synapse in 1991.
Teams of artists and musicians work behind-the-scenes to create the look, feel, and sound of World of Warcraft
- Sam “Samwise” Didier, Senior Art Director, Blizzard
- Cole Eastburn, 3D Artist, World of Warcraft, Blizzard
- Laurel Austin, Principal Artist, Creative Development, Blizzard
- Russell Brower, Senior Director of Audio, and John Kurlander, Engineer & Score Mixer, WoW Mists of Pandaria soundtrack
- David Sabee, Conductor, WoW Mists of Pandaria soundtrack
Samwise Didier, Senior Art Director, World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment
Thavirat’s sketchbook for World of Warcraft, ca. 1999
History
Old Game, New Medium
World of Warcraft is a brilliant example of inventive re-use.
The online game that debuted in 2004 evolved from Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, introduced a decade earlier as a single or dual player game for a standalone PC. The company adapted its successful Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos game engine to fit the online environment, bringing a proven product to a new medium and a global audience.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, 1994
Warcraft: Orcs &. Humans was a 1994 real-time strategy game for the personal computer. Several original elements, such as the fictional world of Azeroth and the Orc race, continue today in World of Warcraft.
The Evolution of OrcsOrcs, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, 1994 Orc development, World of Warcraft, 2004 Orc development, WoW: Warlords of Draenor, 2014
Michael Morheim, President and Co-Founder, Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft expansions, 2007–2016
Warcraft real-time strategy games, 1994–2002
A Growing Community
Solitaire has its charms. But from the earliest days of computing, people have wanted to play with others.
Early games such as Maze War and Empire let users interact with people on their network. But not until the 1980s did games begin to span multiple networks, offering broader interaction.
Credit: © Electronic Arts Inc.
Screenshot from Ultima Online, 1997
Ultima Online was the networked version of the Ultima computer games released in 1997. It was the first massively mutiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) to gain wide-scale popularity.
Screen capture of a MUD, late 1980s
Multiuser domains (MUDs) are early forms of networked, text-based adventure games. Revenge of The End of The Line (EoTL) is a long-running MUD and, like World of Warcraft, takes inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Screenshot of EverQuest, 1999
EverQuest, 1999
Once Upon a Time...
World of Warcraft (WoW) tapped into a venerable tradition of fantasy computer and board games, many inspired by the Orc-infested lands in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Dungeons and Dragons, text-based computer games such as Oubliette and Adventure, and graphical games such as Ultima all paved the way for WoW.
Credit: © Steven Roy
Hand-drawn map of Dungeon, January 1982
Players of text-based adventure games often created hand-drawn maps, like this user-created map of Dungeon, to keep track of areas within a game.
Credit: © Blue Flame Labs; Moby Games/Contributed by user Cavalary, May 19, 2011
Forsaken Realm, 2011
The success of World of Warcraft has led to a slew of imitators with a similar look and feel, like Forsaken Realm. These games are often short-lived.
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire, 1980
Listing of Adventure source code
Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954 and map of Middle-earth, 1965
