{"id":104484,"date":"2024-11-23T22:24:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T22:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegeek.games\/?p=104484"},"modified":"2024-11-23T22:53:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T22:53:58","slug":"world-of-warcraft-20-years-of-guilds-orcs-and-memes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegeek.games\/2024\/11\/23\/world-of-warcraft-20-years-of-guilds-orcs-and-memes\/","title":{"rendered":"World of Warcraft \u2013 20 Years of Guilds, Orcs, and Memes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RETRO \u2013 Online role-playing games are more than just a form of entertainment. They have transformed how we communicate, love, grieve, spend money, and relax. World of Warcraft has not only had a massive impact on the gaming community but also on pop culture. Today marks the 20th anniversary of World of Warcraft, which was first released on November 23, 2004, in the United States and Australia.<\/h4>\n

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Even if you\u2019ve never immersed yourself in the battle for Azeroth between the Alliance and the Horde, chances are you\u2019ve heard of World of Warcraft. This colorful online role-playing game, where orcs, blood elves, night elves, and dwarves band together to complete quests and defeat villains, has far exceeded the boundaries of gaming, becoming an integral part of pop culture.<\/p>\n

World of Warcraft, published by Blizzard Entertainment in November 2004, quickly drew millions of subscribers paying monthly fees to join guilds, either with real-life friends or in hopes of meeting new ones. The game soon appeared in South Park<\/em> and political campaigns, followed by the obligatory Hollywood adaptation. However, its influence extended into unexpected realms, such as cryptocurrency and epidemiology.<\/p>\n

Although it is no longer at the peak of its popularity, World of Warcraft\u2014commonly referred to by fans as WoW\u2014remains strong. Its latest expansion, The War Within<\/em>, was released this August. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, here are 20 examples of how it has shaped the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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WoW Was a Social Network Before Social Media<\/h3>\n

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World of Warcraft\u2019s popularity eclipsed earlier giants of the genre, giving many their first taste of the future of online social networking. In its first year, Facebook was still limited to universities, and broadband internet was only beginning to become widespread in homes.<\/p>\n

Gamers were accustomed to connecting with a few friends over online servers or local area networks (LAN) for first-person shooters or real-time strategy games. But stepping into WoW\u2019s bustling capitals, where hundreds of players gathered, offered a wholly different experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d often just log in and use it as the coolest chat room in the world,\u201d said Ion Hazzikostas, who joined Blizzard in 2008 after spending long nights as a guild leader. \u201cIt was literally about seeing who was online and deciding what to do together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThe guild I played with 20 years ago is still active.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Politics Discovered WoW<\/h3>\n

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This year, the Democratic Party used Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s Twitch account to host a World of Warcraft stream, paired with a Tim Walz rally, to engage young online voters.<\/p>\n

Although the event attracted only around 5,000 viewers, it offered a more positive portrayal of the game than the Maine Republican Party did in 2012. Back then, a state senate candidate was criticized for writing online that her orc character, who operated as a rogue, enjoyed \u201cstabbing things.\u201d (The candidate ultimately won with 53% of the vote and served one term in office.)<\/p>\n

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South Park Won an Emmy for Its WoW Episode<\/h3>\n

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The irreverent animated series created the \u201cMake Love, Not Warcraft\u201d episode in 2006, in which Cartman and his friends attempt to take down a vengeful high-level player. The Emmy-winning episode explored the game\u2019s addictive nature and served as a meditation on media obsession in the pre-social media era.<\/p>\n

In South Park<\/em>, the obsession that glued players to their computers portrayed them as pimply, overweight addicts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mik\u00f6zben<\/h3>\n

WoW Inspired Academic Studies<\/h3>\n

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The game provided a unique setting for academic research, from analyzing war crimes and folklore theories to group behavior and religious conflicts within Azeroth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Egy<\/h3>\n

WoW Proved Subscription Models Could Work<\/h3>\n

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In the early 2000s, the gold standard for MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) was EverQuest<\/em>, which peaked at nearly 550,000 players. Within a year of its 2004 launch, World of Warcraft had reached 5 million subscribers.<\/p>\n

By 2010, the game hit its peak with 12 million subscribers, generating billions in revenue for Blizzard through monthly fees and in-game purchases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis made up a huge part of Blizzard\u2019s revenue, and it still does,\u201d<\/em> said Jason Schreier, journalist and author of Press Reset<\/em>. Schreier also cautioned about the downsides of focusing on a single game: \u201cA stable source of income like this allows for innovation, but in practice, it often consumes all resources.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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WoW Made Orcs Heroes<\/h3>\n

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When orcs appeared in J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s The Lord of the Rings<\/em> trilogy, they were brutal demons serving as cannon fodder in Sauron\u2019s armies. Peter Jackson\u2019s films reinforced this fearsome image in the 2000s.<\/p>\n

World of Warcraft, however, rehabilitated the perception of orcs. Suddenly, these creatures could display heroism. Orcs, along with other \u201cterrible\u201d races, fought to survive in a world that feared them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Birth of a Meme: LEEEEROY JENKINS!<\/h3>\n

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In 2005, during a dungeon strategy meeting, a player suddenly charged into a dragon-filled room yelling his name, \u201cLeeroy Jenkins!\u201d The reckless action proved disastrous\u2014and, as it later turned out, staged\u2014but its impact was real.<\/p>\n

This was one of the first player-generated memes to break into mainstream culture. Leeroy Jenkins became a symbol of bold but ill-considered decisions, referenced in TV shows and even the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n

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WoW Became a Tool for Epidemiology<\/h3>\n

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In 2005, the uncontrollable spread of the Corrupted Blood debuff frustrated players but fascinated epidemiologists, who studied it as a case study.<\/p>\n

The debuff, which damaged players for several seconds before spreading to others, escaped its intended jungle zone due to a programming glitch. Players were expected to die before spreading it too far, but portals, pets, and NPCs exacerbated the situation.<\/p>\n

WoW\u2019s community attempted voluntary quarantines and isolation measures, reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but these efforts were insufficient. Ultimately, Blizzard had to reset the servers.<\/p>\n

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Celebrities Fell Under WoW\u2019s Spell<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When actor and comedian Robin Williams passed away in 2014, Blizzard honored him with an NPC: a genie referencing his role in Aladdin<\/em>. This permanent tribute also highlighted how many celebrities were fans of the game.<\/p>\n

Several stars openly discussed their WoW fandom on talk shows. Mila Kunis revealed she played a pink-haired frost mage, while Ronda Rousey and Vin Diesel played together nightly after filming Furious 7<\/em>. Jamie Lee Curtis shared plans to officiate her daughter\u2019s wedding dressed as a WoW character.<\/p>\n

Henry Cavill even missed the call announcing his role as Superman because he was playing World of Warcraft. \u201cI knew my priorities,\u201d<\/em> he told Conan O\u2019Brien, adding, \u201cI was in the middle of a very important dungeon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Steve Bannon and WoW\u2019s Peripheral Economy<\/h3>\n

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Impatient players unwilling to grind for hours could spend real money on virtual gold sold by specialized companies.<\/p>\n

In 2007, Steve Bannon\u2014later a political adviser to Donald J. Trump\u2014joined a company that employed underpaid Chinese workers to farm gold. The company, Internet Gaming Entertainment, received $60 million in investments, including from Goldman Sachs.<\/p>\n

Blizzard worked to ban the real-money sale of virtual gold. Bannon\u2019s company faced lawsuits, restructured, and was eventually sold. Journalist Joshua Green wrote in Devil\u2019s Bargain<\/em> that this experience profoundly shaped Bannon\u2019s strategies: \u201cIt provided a conceptual framework that he later used to build Breitbart News\u2019s audience and mobilize online trolls and activists who flooded the national political stage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Players Opened Their Wallets for WoW Favorites<\/h3>\n

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What fantasy adventure is complete without a loyal animal companion? WoW players could purchase pets and mounts for real money or earn them through in-game gold and quests.<\/p>\n

Pets, such as the one-eyed Parrlok, were mostly cosmetic and served as adorable travel companions. Mounts, however, offered faster travel across the vast world. Newer mounts, like the $90 Trader\u2019s Gilded Brutosaur, became widespread.<\/p>\n

Despite already paying monthly subscription fees, the pet and mount market was unstoppable. \u201cIf we saw no one was interested in buying them, we probably wouldn\u2019t have offered them,\u201d said Holly Longdale, WoW\u2019s executive producer. \u201cBut the demand was clearly massive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

One rumor Longdale firmly denied was that sales of the shiny Celestial Steed mount ever surpassed the revenue of StarCraft II<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Aki<\/h3>\n

Great Games, Terrible Movies<\/h3>\n

The 2016 Warcraft<\/em> film, directed by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie), was a critical failure in the U.S., though it was saved financially by the Chinese market. The movie joined the canon of bad video game adaptations, beginning with Super Mario Bros.<\/em> in 1993 and continuing with films like the 2024 Borderlands<\/em> movie.<\/p>\n

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WoW Slang Infiltrated Far-Right Culture<\/h3>\n

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Kek<\/em>, a fictional frog-like deity satirically revered in certain online far-right circles, traces its origins to WoW. When players from opposing factions communicated in public chat, their messages were distorted. Horde players typing \u201clol\u201d appeared as \u201ckek\u201d to Alliance players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe term spread from in-game chat rooms to forums like 4chan and Reddit, known hubs of far-right culture,\u201d<\/em> wrote the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m a Night Elf Mohican!\u201d<\/h3>\n

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Aubrey Plaza was one of several celebrities featured in World of Warcraft TV commercials, a rare instance of video games being advertised on television at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people think it\u2019s cool to be in a Revlon hair product commercial,\u201d<\/em> Plaza told Vulture<\/em> in 2012. \u201cI think that\u2019s embarrassing, but a World of Warcraft ad? That\u2019s not embarrassing. That\u2019s super cool.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Cryptocurrencies Were Inspired by WoW<\/h3>\n

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Critics often accuse cryptocurrency developers of gamifying finance, but the reverse is also true. Ethereum, one of the most well-known blockchains, has roots in WoW.<\/p>\n

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin quit the game in 2010 after a patch weakened his warlock\u2019s Siphon Life<\/em> spell, an event he said brought him to tears. \u201cThat night, I realized how horrible centralized systems can be,\u201d<\/em> he later wrote in a blog post.<\/p>\n

Three years after quitting WoW, Buterin delved into the world of cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Buterin and two collaborators proposed a blockchain concept called soulbound tokens<\/em>, an online verification system where issuers could \u201cburn\u201d tokens if recipients violated their trust. The idea was inspired by WoW\u2019s soulbound items\u2014non-transferable objects earned through challenging quests or defeating powerful enemies.<\/p>\n

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WoW Was a Welcoming Space for Many Women<\/h3>\n

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Women have been an integral part of the WoW community since its inception. A 2009 Nielsen report found that WoW was the most popular game among female players aged 25\u201354.<\/p>\n

Many PvP games (player versus player) tend to provoke negative emotions, like trash talk. While WoW isn\u2019t immune to such behavior, it generally fosters a cooperative, environment-based experience where players work toward shared goals. Like-minded players could form guilds to collaborate in dungeons or role-play, shielding themselves from more aggressive playstyles.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople choose this,\u201d<\/em> said Holly Longdale. \u201cIt\u2019s not mandatory. This creates opportunities for safety and comfort.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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WoW Bridged Physical and Virtual Worlds<\/h3>\n

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Long before QR codes appeared on restaurant menus, Blizzard connected tangible and virtual worlds through the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game<\/em>, which ran from 2006 to 2013. Scratch-off codes on collectible cards could be redeemed for in-game rewards.<\/p>\n

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WoW Was a Place for Love and Mourning<\/h3>\n

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WoW\u2019s guild system allowed players to unite forces against bosses that dropped valuable loot upon defeat. Regular gaming sessions after school or work often forged relationships that extended beyond Azeroth, with many finding real-life romantic partners.<\/p>\n

One particularly moving example is featured in the Netflix documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin<\/em>, released in October. Mats Steen\u2019s parents thought their son, who had a degenerative muscular disease, had few friends because he spent most of his time gaming at home. When they announced on his blog that Mats had passed away at 25, they were overwhelmed by the outpouring of condolences and support from his guildmates. Many of Mats\u2019s online friends traveled to Norway to attend his funeral.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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WoW Gave Artists a Virtual Stage<\/h3>\n

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Angela Washko, an artist interested in social practices, discovered WoW around 2005 and was captivated by the virtual world\u2019s ability to foster deep player connections.<\/p>\n

But in the game\u2019s darker corners, strangers hurled sexist insults at her during voice chats. \u201cThey immediately started spamming things like, \u2018Go back to the kitchen and make me a sandwich,\u2019\u201d Washko said.<\/p>\n

In 2012, she launched a four-year project titled The Council on Gender Sensitivity and Behavioral Awareness in World of Warcraft<\/em>. This virtual performance art involved initiating political and social debates in the game\u2019s capital cities. Washko said her work was ahead of its time, before society widely acknowledged the intertwining of virtual and real-life politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council provided an opportunity,\u201d<\/em> she said, \u201cto discuss why the politics of daily life offscreen became even more pronounced and extreme in the relatively unregulated space of the game.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"DDoS<\/h3>\n

WoW Tapped Into the Power of Nostalgia<\/h3>\n

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Missing the good old days? Many WoW fans did\u2014so Blizzard brought them back.<\/p>\n

In 2019, after years of fan demand, the company released World of Warcraft Classic<\/em>, stripping away expansions, gameplay updates, and modern graphics accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we look at other forms of media, we usually remaster or create HD versions, like colorized adaptations,\u201d<\/em> said Nick Bowman, a communication professor at Syracuse University who studies gaming nostalgia. \u201cIt\u2019s rare to say, \u2018Here\u2019s the original Metropolis from the 1920s, untouched.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Nostalgia plays an increasing role as the average gamer ages. Immersive games like WoW create deep connections and memories. WoW, Bowman said, \u201cis probably the closest thing we\u2019ve had to a metaverse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty years means some people have two hometowns\u2014the one they physically live in and Orgrimmar,\u201d<\/em> he added, referencing the Horde\u2019s in-game capital.<\/p>\n

-Gergely Herpai, “BadSector”-<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

20 Years of Guilds, Orcs, and Memes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[198],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-104484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retro","tag-world-of-warcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld of Warcraft \u2013 20 Years of Guilds, Orcs, and Memes - theGeek.games<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"theGeek.games\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thegeek.games\/2024\/11\/23\/world-of-warcraft-20-years-of-guilds-orcs-and-memes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World of Warcraft \u2013 20 Years of Guilds, Orcs, and Memes - 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