World of Warcraft: Catechism

Once upon a time, many many years ago. A young(er) man sat in front of his out-dated PC, playing what he thought was one of the best games he'd ever seen.

The graphics were vivid and colourful, the scenery was beautifully rendered, and the multi-player atmosphere was generally very welcoming. He felt that he was actually part of a major storyline, and was sharing those adventures with the other players around him.

And then he made a decision. He had always wanted to try something different, something even mroe immersive. So he pulled out his wallet, blew the dust off his cash-card and went out to pick up a copy of World of Warcraft.
The graphics weren't as good, the scenery wasn't as nice, the multi-player side of things seemed so overwhelming that it was almost easier just to play the entire game as a single-player and never speak to anyone or share an adventure.

And for all his efforts, he was also having to pay £9 a month, for the privellege.
But for some reason, many many years later, he's still paying his 9 quid, and wouldn't seriously consider going back to his original game. Even though it ran better, looked nicer, and didn't have a monthly fee.... ... But why?

World of Warcraft was dominating, back in 2006 when I began to play it. And by that, I don't mean that it was at the top of the charts, or the best game around. I mean it was 'intimidating' and 'daunting' and lot of other 'ings'.

Guild Wars, where everything is instanced, and the only time you'll even see someone outside your group is in a city, felt very much like the game was on rails. It was a semi-safe environment.
You couldn't even reach the next area without being a certain level, or completing a particular quest.

When I first logged in to Azeroth, and got myself out of the starting zone, the world was my oyster. If I'd wanted to walk from one end of it to the other, I could have done. And it would have taken me hours. And then there was a totally seperate continent, more dominated by the opposing faction, that even today I haven't fully explored.

I loved the fact that not everyone was on the same side. And that if I saw an Orc wandering around in the same place I was, that he'd probably be looking for a fight, and have 10 mates secretly hidden behind a nearby rock.

And then TBC arrived. I missed the actual roll-out because I was moving between houses at the time. But it stopped the Orc from being my enemy. The years I'd spent talking about the 'dirty-hordies' now seemed a little pointless. They were now just people who I couldn't speak to, despite them playing the very same game. I'd see them in the same zones, doing the same quests, and occasionally we'd even help each other out without ever saying a single word or emote.
It felt.... weird.

WotLK didn't help much either. It was the same old story. Apart from the guards in cities, everyone else seemed to have completely forgotten about the old rivalries. They were doing the same quests, and helping the same NPC's as I was. What was the point in being on one side or the other?

I know the storyline was moulded to make the two factions team-up(ish) to defeat a common foe. But if that's the case, how come we still can't speak to each other? Or actually create teams together?

Cataclysm has been announced, and hopefully it will do something to renew the hatred between the 2 sides. I've always wondered if I should have rolled on a PvP server?
I'm not a big PvP player, but it would add an extra dimension to the game if there was always a risk when I was outside of my homelands.

The Orcs and the Humans, The NElfs and the UnDead... we're not supposed to play nicely together. We're supposed to hate each other with a passion, and even if we have a common goal, we'd still give each other a kicking if we thought no one was looking.

So I've got my fingers crossed. That when the new expansion hits, some dirty-hordie will jump out from behind a random tree and spank me. And then I'll have to call in my mates, and he'll call in his mates, and we'll all sort it out like the mass-murdering, plundering and pillaging, homicidal 'Heroes' that we all are.

So paint your faces in blue biro, put on a skirt, grab the nearest dealy object, and repeat after me:

"Our enemies who art nothing but scum. Hordies be they name. Thy time has come, thout will be done. On Azeroth, as it was in early 2007."
"Give us today are daily quests, and forgive not our trespasses, as we do not forgive those who trespass against us"
"For ours are the kingdoms, the power and the glory, forever, and ever Amen!"