Project Lore

Blizzard's always been known for adding in little easter eggs for their fans to find, from the iconic soundbites of over-clicking a unit to the Secret Cow Level in the Diablo series to cleverly-named cheat codes (Operation CWAL holds a very special place in my heart).

It's this sort of attention to personality and fun that allows you to do the Macarena in front of the Lich King -- Azeroth's most fearsome villain to date -- as he idly waits for your raid to engage him. Indeed, if there's one thing more fun than playing World of Warcraft, it's /dancing in the process. You can do it next to the fountain in Dalaran, you can do it in in the depths of Molten Core, you can do it while in Bear Form, and even in the middle of a war! No corner of the world is safe from random, wanton hip-shaking!

It was only logical, then, that Blizzard continue this trend by slipping it into every game they produce from here on out. One enterprising tester in the Starcraft 2 Beta found out that you could open up the chat box and type in everybody's favorite emote. This is what happened next...

 

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All right, it's time to get down to business. We've seen a little gameplay footage of the Goblin and Worgen. We've read first-hand accounts on how each new race plays. We know that Goblins like to blow stuff up and Worgens are still shrouded in mystery. But what real crux of the conversation are we all missing? It must be that we don't know what either new Cataclysm race will do for their /dance. After all, I think we learn a little bit more about what makes each race burn with passion inside by the way they shake it. Plus, with us recently learning that The Old Republic MMO also will have a /dance, Blizz has to step up to the plate again to proclaim its /dance supremacy. On the new Cataclysm forums, there have been a few threads speculating on what dance possibilities lie ahead for WoW. We've also had a few of dance suggestions here on our own forums and on previous Project Lore blog posts. I've taken some of the best suggestions I've seen, added a few of my own wild ideas, and put it all together for us to laugh, and perhaps, cry over. Let the show begin. Worgen male I had to start here, because I've seen so, so many people begging for the Worgen male to dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Now no matter what you think of the man, I think its undeniable that MJ was a dancing genius. But some may question whether "Thriller" is right for the Worgen. After all, the dancers in the videos are more like zombies, and the only wolf-like creature from the video doesn't actually do the dance. Plus, Blizzard could not secure the rights to Micael Jackson's "Billie Jean" for the BlizzCon dance contest, so I wonder if that might inhibit them from any sort of rights required to borrow another of his dances. Regardless, "Thriller" has been performed by inmates and movie stars alike. Perhaps male Worgen are destined to be next up. Another idea from the forums that I had to include, although I'm not so sure it would work. Perhaps for those of us who like to think of the Worgen as no more than cute puppy dogs. Here's the Snoopy dance: Worgen female Next up, the female Worgen, with another obvious but perhaps fitting suggestion. We still only have a loose guess of what the female version of the Worgen will even look like. But many forum posters are betting that she'd look good performing a dance inspired by Shakira's "She Wolf." While I like this option, I think it'd be fun to incorporate a lesser-known option (at least for those of us not from Asia). In the past, Blizzard has borrowed dances from French artist Alizee and Bhangra singer Daler Mehndi - so why not some Korean pop influence next? Here's the super-cute Girls' Generation performing "Gee." Goblin female I haven't seen too many suggestions yet for either male or female Goblin, so these are mostly my own ideas. Knowing the Goblins' stereotypical love of commerce and exchange, why not have the females dance to a song demanding a diamond ring? It's a great dance song with some neat moves, plus it's already been the inspiration for a WoW spoof song. Know what I'm suggesting yet? Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It)." Here's a version that includes a preview of what could be the next BlizzCon dance contest. Beyonce not your cup of tea? Here's something a bit more classic. A scene from the movie "Flashdance." Goblin male Do Goblins already have a dance? Well that depends on whether you think this is enough for a full on /dance: If that's not satisfactory enough, I'll suggest an alternative: Soulja Boy's "Superman" dance. The little green Goblins would look fantastic pulling this one off. One final suggestion that I've seen thrown around a ton on the forums should not be taken lightly. This goofy, crazy, seizure-inducing meme could be inspiration for the Goblin male, or really, any of the new characters. Here's some Caramelldansen: Well, there's your list folks. What are your fave options? Did I leave something out that you think would work better? Let me know. This post will serve as a good running list of possibilities - so we can see if any of us predicted correctly once Cataclysm is released!

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The first day of BlizzCon, as you have seen from numerous news coming out here at Project Lore, was an amazing time with a cataclysm of news (ba-dump-shh). Some of you may also be living it up at the convention, some are undoubtedly watching the organized chaos unfold from pay per view at home, and others of you surely have been refreshing your browsers as news comes out for you to soak up. So what about the other, fan-centered aspects of BlizzCon, beyond the news? Yes, I'm talking about contests. Costumes, sound-a-likes, dances, fan-art, songs and videos - all were showcased at the close of BlizzCon day 1. And although all the news has got my heart pumping in anticipation, I think the contests have been my favorite part so far. It's the first BlizzCon I've attended, or really even followed that closely. As iTZKooPA's photos showed, the halls are packed with a whopping 26,000 in attendance. And I don't want to play down the sheer amount of fun that being here has been so far, but the experience has been overwhelming at times. I found myself in a sea of other spectators, frequently lost and sore from carrying a ton of swag around because I didn't want to take the long hike back to the car. Not to mention the somewhat staggering nature of LA alone, for us non-locals. The contest was a time to sit back and marvel at the lengths some fans will go to show their dedication. Jay Mohr led the competitions with constant, expertly delivered comic relief (which is apparent by my constant laughter in the videos). As with previous years, we saw a hodge-podge of the good, the bad and the ugly. Costume-wise, I was smitten with interpretations of Queen Alexstrasza, several succubi and Lady Sylvanas Windrunner. And somewhat frightened, but very impressed by the overall winner who donned an unbelievably intricate Diablo Mistress of Pain costume. Amazing. Then dancing and sound-a-likes ensued, and many impressed. My faves: a blue, costume-wearing troll female shaking her thang for the audience, a band of "ninjas" doing the infamous Napoleon Dynamite dance and a seemingly husky man who surprised everyone with his tap-dancing prowess that translated perfectly to the dwarf female's moves, and won him first place in the process. The sound-alikes also were interesting for the most part, but the panel ran long. Each contestant had 30 seconds to mimic something heard in-game. Many chose speeches that bosses give when they attack or die. Some chose side effects or emotes. And we heard a whole group of Orc peons at "work, work." Between performances, Blizzard lit up their big screens with images of  the winning fan-art, and videos, and turned up the volume for excerpts from the winning original songs. I must say, I nearly fell out of my seat laughing at one video about a human man begging the moon not to get full because his wife is a Worgen and would rip his guts out. And again at an epic video about a player whose alt gets ganked over and over again. Finally, he gets his main and is ready to kick ass as he heads to confront the ganker. Then, a rogue unstealths and the pair team up to kill him again anyway. Loved it. Anyhow, who else here gets revved up by fan contests? How'd you feel about the costume winners? I'm curious how many of you would be brave enough to strip down and dance in front of tens of thousands of people watching (many with video cams) ? Personally, I've been known to enjoy costuming from time to time. But hell if I'd ever do a dance on stage! ...Now get pumped for Day 2!

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A while back I told you all about the jump into multi-boxing which I've been observing second-hand through my husband's toons. He's been leveling up two hunters through recruit-a-friend: one on his usual account and another on the new account. I helped out a bit in the beginning, then we both cut back on the adventure for a bit. Now that the end of the three-month window of triple xp is coming up, he started the push again and got both hunters both up to level 60. In the process, he racked up 30 levels to grant to another character on his main account. Here's where the fun begins. We decided to team up to act out a bit of the spectacle that can be garnered from level-granting. So I logged on to his level 30 paladin, Horadric, on his main account. And he logged on to the newly level 60 hunter, Officetemp. We met up in Orgrimmar, just in front of the bank and mailbox where there's usually a pretty decent crowd. It started off innocently enough. Officetemp /waved. Horadric /bowed. He said, "Let's see how this works." And so it began. DING! Flash of light, woosh of sound. Officetemp: "Grats!" Horadric: "Thanks!" Not many paid much attention. On with the show. DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! [Horadric] has earned the achievement [Level 40]! Now, a crowd was starting to gather. Chatter began. Some questioned WTH was going on. Some laughed. Some congratulated. Some cheered. Others asked how many levels more would be granted. Oh, the attention. Officetemp: "Hang on, I think I still have some more." DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! [Horadric] has earned the achievement [Level 50]! Now, spectators started speculating about how many more levels would be granted. Would he go all the way to 60 - the cap for level granting? DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! Horadric: "Getting close!" DING! Level 56. DING! Level 57. DING! Level 58. DING! Level 59. ..... Horadric: /bow. Officetemp: ...(silence) The crowd didn't like the suspense. Speech bubbles started popping up as some predicted that Horadric wouldn't get all the way to 60. Some seemed disappointed. Some even complained on Horadric's behalf at the cruelty to leave him hanging at level 59. Officetemp, an orc, finally speaks. And it's not pretty: "You have to work for this one. Dance, you filthy blood elf, DANCE!" Horadric, not one to be discouraged: /dance. The Napolean Dynamite-inspired number ensues. Some of the crowd seems to think this isn't good enough. "Get naked!" someone yells. A couple of spectators derobe and start getting jiggy with Horadric as he strips down, one piece of armor at a time. Toons hollar and whistle at the scene, and Horadric continues with the spectacle. Finally, Officetemp is satisfied. DING! [Horadric] has earned the achievement [Level 60]! The crowd cheers, jumps around, continues to dance, offers congratulations -- and those who guessed that Horadric would go all the way to 60 gloat in their victory. Horadric: /kisses Officetemp. The spectacle has ended, but a full-on party has started in the process. And nearly-naked toons continue to dance the night away. Officetemp logged off, and I handed the reigns to Horadric back over. It was a fun experiment in attention whoring. I was utterly satisfied that some simple role-playing combined with the awesomeness of level granting had made for a fun experience for all. The social aspect and interacting with a group of toons also was a great time. I thirst for more! Now I'm curious about what similar experiences everyone else has had? Have you had an opportunity to create a spectacle in front of a group? If so, what are some of your favorite ways to gather a crowd? Do you like joining in on group parties, or would you rather do your own thing and leave the attention-seekers to themselves?

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RL girls or not, they're taking this bear down!

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post exploring the relationship between a WoW player's RL gender and what gender they play in-game. And all you Project Lore readers out there are so great that you provided tons of comments for me to ponder over. Let's take another poke at the subject. One of the things that I didn't address earlier, but that comments certainly did, is whether girl gamers have inferior or superior skills when it comes to playing WoW. Personally, I think it's all about experience no matter what gender you are. I'm sure there are just as many noob guys who play. But regardless, the stereotype is that girls can't play. Or that just because we're girls, we make good targets for taunting and sometimes harassment while playing in a male-dominated setting. And there's a lot of us who don't appreciate being treated differently for any reason, much less such stupid ones. Magradon commented:

I think us girls need to take WoW by storm... I’ve had WoW stalkers and guys who actually profess their love, talk about visiting me…and all I ever did to deserve it was to be nice. /ignore

And Nightwisher elaborated on similar experiences:

i get ALOT of shit for even playing wow and being female...  boys just cant take girl gamers seriously. though im pretty sure my fully epiced resto druid would stomp some faces if i actually liked PVP’ing.

My experiences have been less extreme and more amusing. Like when a guy toon properly positions his /dance so it's right on my chick's ass. Lovely. But my purpose today was not to spread *Girl Power,* even though there are plenty of us who certainly kick butt in game. Really, I just want to have a bit more fun on this topic. So on that note, here's the flip side of the situation. I actually have a lot of fun being the instigator sometimes. One of my favorite things to do when bored? Find a random male toon. /flirt. Wait for a response. /slap. Run away! Makes me laugh hysterically every time! I don't know, maybe doing that sort of thing makes things harder on other girls in game. I hope not. But regardless, it's hilarious. I try not to take things too seriously, and typically my targets don't, either. It appears that there are others roaming here on Project Lore who also use sex appeal to their own advantage. Like AlysiumX:

ok ok i admit it, im a guy playing a girl character but thats only for the +5% chance for grp invites

Way to keep it real. While I previously guessed that girls do not generally play cross-gender toons, it seems that you lovely ladies out there have proved me wrong. So props to brandywine, Hatell, elfennau, Cyan, Wrongway, Halcath and Percolatte, among others for breaking that misconception I (and based on the comments, apparently others) had. But it still seems that guys are a bit more likely to fall into that roll. Whether it's "cuz i dont feel like watching some guys ass when i lvl up" (thanks Marcwaznthere, for your articulate explanation), or if you're like jimbob who admitted, "i just have an ‘affinity’ with female toons, go figure!" I guess we all have our reasons for playing the way we play, even if we don't think about it much. Female toons? That's just how I roll! I thought Alayea phrased it best:

Female players FTW!

So, let's get this discussion going again. Regardless of your RL gender, do the benefits of playing a girl toon outweigh the other crap that some of us put up with because of it? Can you really get away with more when you roll female? And will you silly boys out there ever realize that a girl toon, no matter how hypnotizing she may be, is not your personal play toy?

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