Jumping out of his chair with the speed of a cheetah, senior Cole Crews does a quick touchdown dance to celebrate the accolade he had just achieved in World of Warcraft. The game informs crews that he had done enough for his character to advance to a skill level of 28. Crews quickly returns to his chair to begin his quest to the next level.
“To me, getting awarded in the game, is just like in the real world, I get equally happy about both,” said Crews.
Multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft, DOTA 2, and League of Legends have become a popular international trend. Games like such as these allow people all around the world to connect and either work together to achieve goals, or match players from different parts of the world against each other in battle. The majority of these types of games are gaining more subscribers, from all parts of the world, every single day.
There are hundreds of online multiplayer games being played worldwide, with themes ranging anywhere from dark knights and elves, all the way to realistic military simulation games. However, according to numerous online gaming websites, World of Warcraft is the number one MMO currently on the internet. Not only does Warcraft display it’s total domination of being the most liked MMO, but also holds the largest portion in sales on the online gaming market at a 36% stake, raking in over one billion dollars in revenue at the end of 2013 according to forbes.com.
Massive multiplayer games revolutionized the binary world of gaming where playing games alone, or with a friend in the same room were the only two options. The idea of connecting random players, whom usually knew nothing about one another, and have them either join forces to defeat all who dare challenge this new formed team of randoms, or go head-to-head with one another to see who gets bragging rights and some in-game goodies.
Once the battles end, it’s not about showering in the digi-coins which have no real monetary value, or getting to add another win to one’s overall record. It’s about people from various walks of life connecting to one another through a common interest.
“I think these games are really entertaining, and a great way to be more social when you are gaming,” said senior Dylan Byler.
The reward system for completing assigned goals is more commonly in-game money, items, boosters, or experience points. This makes it seem that the only benefit received outside of the game is feeling good about one’s self. This is true for most, but there are people who compete competitively in tournaments around the world for all kinds of prizes like money and game gear.
“DOTA 2 hosted a tournament in Japan in which the prize pool was 10 million dollars and the team who won the whole tournament split a 7.5 million dollar reward between the 7 of them,” said Byler.
The availability of these games worldwide have helped them gain global notoriety and all the perks that come with it. One perk of being so well known, is that the endorsements for these games have invaded all aspects of the media, boosting their popularity even more.
Well known celebrities were used in a surge of World of Warcraft adverts depicting a game character designed in their image, in attempts to appeal to the layman’s common interests. Imagine Dragons recorded a song called “Warriors” for the League of Legends 2014 World Championship promotional video soundtrack.
“I saw the World of Warcraft commercials with Mr. T and Ozzy Osbourne a couple years ago, and decided to try the demo. I have been playing regularly ever since,” said Crews.
All of these factors have come together to transform the already popular pastime of gaming into one of the world’s next big trends. These games have created connections all over the world, between people from all different cultures and walks of life. It has given people a way to express themselves, and created new forms of communication for those who have had trouble with social interaction.
