Despite everything that is happening at Blizzard and World of Warcraft , Cortyn still enjoys the MMORPG WoW. But is that actually okay?
For Blizzard fans and players of World of Warcraft, the last few days have been tough. Of course, not nearly as tough as for the affected employees of the sexism scandal at Blizzard. Nevertheless, it is currently not easy to fully enjoy the fun in World of Warcraft.
Currently, two points are particularly decisive. There has already been a lot of discussion about both in recent days, but I still want to address them.
The sexism scandal looms over everything
The largest and clearly most important point is the current investigations and revelations regarding sexism and discrimination at Blizzard. The corporate culture there must be a complete disaster, where women are treated like prey and equality of opportunity exists only on paper, but not in everyday life.
To make this very clear: I find these revelations extremely important and every single atrocity that comes to light is disgusting and deserves to be heard so that such things can be avoided in the future and the perpetrators receive their just punishment.
I appreciated the strike and the demands of the Blizzard employees and hope they are implemented. At the same time, the players also staged a kind of “strike”: Many WoW players logged off simultaneously on my realm at 7:00 PM to show solidarity with the strikers. Others simply “threw themselves into the maw” at the same time in Oribos, also as a sign.
I also found that fundamentally a good thing and a way to make a statement if one wants to undertake any activity.
But as is often the case when people stand up for a cause, it quickly becomes an opportunity to profile oneself. At exactly 7:04 PM, I was messaged by someone from my Battle.net list asking why I wasn’t logged off. I was asked if I didn’t care about the suffering of the employees. Of course I didn’t, but I also don’t consider “simultaneous logging off” to be a meaningful way to make a statement or to effect any change. I don’t want to deny anyone their participation and for some, perhaps just feeling like they are doing “something” helps.
I believe that in my position at MeinMMO, where I (and other authors) report on such incidents, I contribute solely through the reporting in more than a dozen articles to generate attention for the issue and create pressure.
Such incidents where active players are attacked for still playing WoW, I am experiencing again and again in recent days and weeks. Not only in the game, but also in the subreddit and on YouTube. Players are starting to attack each other. There’s quickly the assertion that “everyone who still plays the game is mindless” or that they are a “cow that doesn’t realize it’s being milked,” as “no one has fun anymore, but no one can admit it but the addicts.”
Here’s my problem: I enjoy the game. Even despite the incidents at Blizzard, World of Warcraft remains a game I enjoy. A game not only created by the perpetrators of the scandal, but also by the numerous victims who fulfill their dream in the video game industry with it.
I enjoy it and will continue to enjoy it, and nonetheless I can condemn the incidents at Blizzard.
Everything is hated and everyone is a professional author
The second point does not have the societal weight of the Blizzard scandal, but it bothers me personally massively.
I like World of Warcraft. I like the game in its current state. I like the raids we have had so far, I enjoy the “Mythic+” system, and I have fun with the different covenants and also think Patch 9.1 is pretty good. Above all, I really like the story which, contrary to what many others say on YouTube or in the WoW subreddit, I do not perceive as “poorly written,” but largely as consistent and comprehensible.
I like how Sylvanas has developed over the last 4 to 5 cinematics, how her doubts slowly grew. How doubt begins to sprout in the conversation with Anduin, how she appears shocked for a moment when she learns that Nathanos is dead and the Jailer is holding his soul from her. I liked how a “flashback” from her time as Arthas’ slave, triggered by a single word from the Jailer, gives her the final push to reconsider her decision.
And my circle enjoys it too. Apparently, my guild and raid group is one of those quirky groups that do not hate every story development with a passion and do not accuse the writers every five minutes of being able to find better authors in kindergarten.
When I talk with the guild or raid team about the cinematics, there’s the same enthusiasm as with me. They enjoy the development of the story, had goosebumps during the cinematics, and their experience has been just as positive as mine. The latest part of the covenant campaign was wonderfully funny, had great characters, and a really nice finale with an appearance by Elune. I loved it. Everyone in my direct WoW circle loved it.
But looking at YouTube, apparently around 85% of the people found the cinematic bad. Just like the last cinematic. Or the one before that. Or the one before that.
Yet I am fairly certain that I do not praise WoW unduly. I too find some things poorly resolved. I find the domination shards extremely boring and poorly thought out, but that only minimally affects my enjoyment of the game. Perhaps because 1-2% performance does not affect me much since I never want to mythic raid anyway.
What I’m actually getting at is: If you enjoy the game, then enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy the game or believe that a boycott helps those affected – then don’t play it. Make the statements you want to make. But don’t condemn other players who still like World of Warcraft or other Blizzard games. Don’t argue with people just because they do not participate in a “logout protest.” Stop making others feel bad for enjoying something when you don’t like a particular story development.
What I read every day in the subreddit, on YouTube, but also sometimes in our comments, I find increasingly hard to comprehend. I would simply wish for a little more objectivity and differentiation. I believe it would do everyone good.
