World of Warcraft’s incredible popularity

Back in 2004, Blizzard released an MMORPG based on their wildly popular Warcraft strategy series. Little did they know that the game would change the lives of millions of gamers, and become an almost household name with references in a multitude of other media.

People have been playing WoW for years, and I really mean years. Some players have had active accounts for over a decade. I personally have been playing it for three years now and still find it interesting and engaging. However, why is this game as popular as it is?

An Entire Alternate Universe

World of Warcraft really is a whole universe. In it you can live pretty much as you do in real life, there are other characters you can marry, you can buy property and items much as you do in reality, you can even have physical relations with others.

This means that as in life, things are ever changing. There are things to do every day, from quests to managing your alternate existence. One can also be somebody that you are not in real life; you can totally reinvent yourself without your real flaws, which is a huge draw for many humans.

There are even casinos in game, where you can bet gold and roll dice in the hopes of winning more, much like the real money pokies found all over the internet.

It’s Beautiful

From a purely aesthetic point of view, WoW is gorgeous. The artwork and detail that goes into the game is incredible. All of the different races live in a different, richly detailed environment from a crashed spacecraft to the sewers under the city, to an enchanted forest.

You can explore not only your particular races dwellings but others as well, especially during quests. The world itself has an almost never-ending supply of things to look at.

Natural flora and fauna vary depending on the landscape and the landscape itself is breath-taking. You really will never get tired of just wandering around looking at stuff.

It’s Designed To Be Addictive

Yes, that may sound bad, but it’s the truth. Blizzard has created the game so that you are constantly chasing rewards that are just within your grasp.

Be it a super powerful weapon or a flying dragon mount, you always want to play just one more quest before bed. Before you know, it is 3 am and you have work in a few hours.

There Is No Set Way To Play

There is no right or wrong way to play WoW. You can grind away at quests, or you can chill and explore the world. You can go fishing or hunting, or be social with other players.

You could even access special roleplaying servers where you will be expected to stay in character for the duration of your game, even while talking to others. Basically, WoW is a fully immersive nonlinear experience, much like life.

It’s Social

There are millions of players who play the game. At any stage, you can find thousands of real-life people in your area, and you can talk to them.

This is often much easier than going up to a person in real life and helps people get over personally issues like shyness of bad self-image.

In WoW you can be as attractive as you wish without worrying about your real image. People will see what you portray, which helps greatly in creating relationships.