Project Lore

It's easy to be cynical when you play online games. Between the illiterate malcontents, guild drama, and unreliable party members, it can be tough to remember why you even started playing World of Warcraft in the first place. I mean, a man can only take so much Trade chat before he's driven to the crazy house! And that's not even getting into the additional stresses placed upon hardcore players like repeated encounter wipes, angry raid leaders, and the never-ending gear treadmill. It's a wonder that everyone who plays the game isn't a big ball of fuss.

Well, its an easy page to skip over when you're looking for information about the game, but it's worth hopping over to the Story Archive once in awhile. Blizzard has found a few very personal player stories that they think exemplify one of the best aspects of WoW: the way in which it can bring people together. Yes, that's right. As much as the clueless pundits and self-proclaimed social scientists might want to tell you that you're wasting your time and alienating the people around you by playing video games, that is not necessarily the case. I'd argue that even the most angry, ornery person out there -- the type that likes to solo and makes no outward effort to communicate with others -- plays this game for its social nature. It's a great comfort to some people just to know that there are other people out there, whether or not they choose to interact with them.

Guilds aren't just for drama anymore!

But these tales are primarily about those who do openly seek out companionship, whether it''s in the game or from people outside the game that they'd like to get to know better by playing with them. One of the first stories details a whole family that was drifting apart, but finds love and warmth again while exploring Azeroth:

"We were growing apart in real life, each of us going our own ways to do our own things. My father's friend suggested to him that he play World of Warcraft with him. Dad saw this as an opportunity to have fun while bringing us all back together. It would be something that we would all enjoy, because we were all gamers at heart...

It may seem like a little thing, but truly gaming together can be an enjoyable experience for the entire family."

I think what's even more endearing about the yarn is that nor only do they come closer to each other, they significantly increase the size of their family by creating a guild, getting to know all sorts of new people that they would consider one of their own.

While most of the stories focus on family and budding romantic relationships, one of the most recently added highlights the escapist nature of video games. Some would malign players who forgo the real world for a virtual one, but that would be ignoring those cases in which a person actually has a pretty good reason to do so. Take 50-year-old Crossfire from the Shadris server:

I am a stay-at-home grandma, while my daughter and her hubby are deployed to Afghanistan at the moment. I hadn't spoke with my youngest daughter in a long time, and when my youngest son moved in with us, we got his sister into it also; now we quest, raid, and just have plain old fun...

I recently found out I have two tumors in my chest and will be having surgery on the 11th of September...of all days, and plan to be sitting and playing World of Warcraft during my recuperation. I am a survivor of breast cancer, and am praying that it hasn't returned, but if it has, I'll be playing 'til my last breath...!

Overall though, I have learned to relax and have fun and use my brain for something other than the drama of real life. I can escape for a couple of hours and in the end I have no worries other than maybe the next achievement or leveling of a lower character.

I hate to pull so strongly on the heart-strings and all, but that's a pretty touching story. Not only is the game able to connect people together that have not spoken with each other in quite some time, it can also help with rehabilitation by taking one's mind of the things that ail them. Hey, we all know that Warcraft can be an excellent time-waster, but virtue can be found even in that.

But, you might, ask: aren't most of these benefits true of all video games, especially social ones like MMOs? Well, maybe. I don't think it particularly matters which game people play as long as they can all enjoy it. But then, maybe that's what makes World of Warcraft so special. It openly caters to a casual audience. With an engaging story, lots to do, and a ton of ways to connect with fellow players, it's no wonder that just about anybody can pick the game up and have some fun. And the best way to bring any group of people together, whether that be a family or otherwise, is to give them a common goal to work towards. So maybe that's a 5-man dungeon instead of a camping trip (not that there's anything wrong with that, either).

If you're ever feeling down about your World of Warcraft experience, I'd urge you to seek out the Player Stories page and peruse the archive. People can and do find happiness within the game all the time, and that means that you can, too. And maybe it'll even convince you to connect with that long-lost relative or pal. Tell them to pick up the game, create an alt, and go level with them for awhile. See what comes of it. I bet you'll have a good time!

We here at Project Lore would like to hear some of your stories, too, if you care to share them. Please post them in the comments box below!