The latest cinematic for World of Warcraft Midnight is unusually humorous. At first glance, it reminds one more of WildStar.
In the context of the “state of Azeroth,” a lot of new content has been released for World of Warcraft, but a small yet fine cinematic has also been revealed, which is meant to highlight a special aspect of the game: housing. Unlike the other WoW cinematics, the trailer is neither heroic nor dark – instead, it is humorous and a bit silly. This is precisely why it reminds one of WildStar at first glance. But see for yourself:
Housing brings joy – overshadowing the seriousness of the world
What does the trailer show? In the video, we see a blood elf being threatened by the void powers and caught in a life-and-death struggle – at least that appears to be the case. But after the enemies are defeated, she bends down to pick up what her opponent dropped, only to break out into a joyful frenzy with exaggerated facial expressions.
Afterwards, the elf returns to the Horde’s area – a neighborhood. There, many other allies live, and she heads to her own home, where it is revealed why her joy was so great: because the item she found fits perfectly in her home as a holder for a teapot.
Why does this remind of WildStar? The first cinematics of WildStar had a very similar tone to the new WoW cinematic. It begins with an (apparently) serious situation, before the tension is broken by almost silly and exaggerated facial expressions and behavior. After that, the trailer maintains a rather relaxed atmosphere and mainly conveys one thing: housing in World of Warcraft is a deeply emotional and social experience.
Because the housing in WildStar has long served as a model for player housing in World of Warcraft, it’s only natural that one would want to capture a similar spirit here – perhaps it is also a hidden tribute.
Cortyn says: Even though I really enjoy the WoW cinematics with story, dark emotions, or the feeling of heroism, I quickly grew fond of this cinematic. It is one of the first cinematics that doesn’t revolve around “lore-accurate” fixed characters from the game world, but rather around clearly player-controlled characters who are happy about things like “loot” or the opportunity to build new objects from items in housing. This is a new style that one might not take too seriously in regard to the story, but it wonderfully captures the feeling of World of Warcraft.
In housing, there are many creative minds that manage to craft new artistic values from just a few objects or have ideas for homes that one wouldn’t even think of – like the cave of a good friend, which has nothing to do with a cozy home…
