I tend to use “devs” and writers" interchangeably. But, assuming for the moment that this is what happened, how is it in any way a good idea? How does it provide a good experience for the player and therefore create positive feelings toward the game, which should translate into money for the company?
Well, which are you saying Saurfang’s storyline is, then? Is it an exploration of an institution objectively founded on villainous concepts, or is it a subjective story of disillusionment on the part of one random character? Because you’ve implied both at different times.
A good in-game experience is not necessarily synonymous with good writing. In fact, those things can often be at odds. I cant even honestly say that there was very much good writing in BFA (and I would never say there has been in SL) but I will say, as I have said, I have no problem with the overarching themes, the plot, and major developments of BFA. In fact there was little really bad about BfA until viewed from the perspective of SL.
Calling it a social commentary is taking the notion a bit far. Its poked a lot of fun at war especially in the context of red vs blue, but stopped short of taking itself too seriously in that respect.
I dont think so. Theres a popular WoW podcast called “morally grey” because thats been a part of WoWs world so long that it became a meme (even if its strayed a bit from that). While WoW doesnt take itself too seriously, and is meant to be fun, the reason wow is morally grey is because the narrative constantly explored the theme that there is no good side and evil side in a war. No one comes out of a war without blood on their hands. The orcs of wc3 and WoW were not evil (even if the idea of a horde of orcs is). But no one was good. Thats social commentary.
Morally grey became a meme because it was the developer’s goal for BFA but that didn’t happen, showing how out of touch they are. It’s the same reason Human Potential is a meme. You sound like a Blizzard developer.
Yeah that argument falls apart when you have the Alliance just leaving Dazar’alor when they destroyed the Zandalari fleet and killed their King. Even though they should’ve stayed and potentially captured some key figures from the Horde. Like Nathanos. I mean Jaina and our Jadefire Masters delayed the horde long enough for the Alliance to defeat 4 bosses. Grong reanimated, Opulence, Conclave of the Chosen and King Rastakhan himself. While also getting away. Clearly the narrative supports that the Alliance could’ve easily captured Dazar’alor.
Admittedly the reason given for them not staying in Dazar’alor longer was that the Horde’s fleet was coming back around from dealing with the diversion in Nazmir and would trap the attackers there by destroying the Alliance ships.
You know, the Horde fleet? The thing that, like the Alliance fleet, wasn’t supposed to exist in any meaningful capacity, thereby providing the reason that the Horde was so desperate to get the Zandalari fleet?
Ugh BfA was such a mess. From early on they straight-up couldn’t even manage to maintain the story justifications for the entire expansion having happened in the first place.
I submit that good writing for a game is writing that produces a positive in-game experience for the player. Things that might work in a book or movie are not always appropriate for a game, especially not a two-faction game.
I call that a muddled mess of an attempt to have their cake and eat it too.
Honestly MMO’s are bad for story driven content in general. Some can make it work sometimes but they tend to fall flat on their face most of the time.
Particularly when you make NPC’s the focus of the stories and not the players. After all, the main selling point of WoW in the first place was to allow the player to experience the world directly. Not be a glorified third party watching a soap drama.
So you think that the fact that an institution can be fundamentally flawed and the idea that a story can follow an individual character’s perception of his own faith system as just such an institution are mutually exclusive concepts?
If they are simultaneously trying to say “This is an objective problem” and “This isn’t an objective problem—it’s just this one character’s perception and you don’t have to agree,” I consider that to be a muddled mess at best and a cowardly attempt to weasel out of making a real statement at worst.
As a general point:
Dazar’alor was absolutely incoherent.
You don’t draw off the combatant force to attack the now exclusively civil target, to supposedly keep that nation neutral.
“I’m going to attack another nation’s Capital to make them stay out of my war!”
WHAT?!
(Technical point: The actions of the Alliance in avoiding combat victory, and acknowledging an inability to hold the ground, makes the attack population targeting. Anduin himself claims history will call it a “great victory” and only worries about the Zandalari now siding with the Horde… heh… what a mess.)
Lot of people, including the devs, forget that the RTS’s are a ton different since playing them through required seeing both sides. The things you can get away with there are just different.
WoW as an evolving long term game needs more care and effort in the story. Both to keep it rational, and to deliver plot lines in a reasonable time.
Yeah, they have got to back their character story out. It’s in the way and messing things up.
… I would link that time South Park did an alcohol commercial showing an increasing number of hot women in skimpy clothing, sports cars and voice-overs about if you don’t drink you’re (various slurs) that ended with the phrase ‘Please drink responsibly’ but it would get flagged.
‘War’ in Warcraft is only ‘senseless and futile’ when it’s between the Alliance and the Horde, because neither can be allowed to be truly defeated purely for game mechanics reasons, not in-story reasons. Our wars against the Sithlid, Illidari, Scourge, Twilight’s Hammer, Thunder King, Iron Horde, and Legion were all successful and beneficial to us.
To be fair, at one point after Sylvanas’ ouster in reference to Saurfang’s efforts over the years to help other orcs confront their complicity in the old Horde’s misdeeds, Eitrigg expressed deep shame and regret for everything he’d done under Blackhand’s command.
He indicated that while Saurfang had spent the intervening years after the Second War trying to help other, similarly affected orcs confront their misdeeds and try to be better, he’d been too weak to face what he’d done and hid from the shame. Hence his being deliberately alone and hoping to spend the rest of his life in self-imposed isolation when Tirion encountered him in Of Blood and Honor; at the time he couldn’t bear to be around his own kind knowing what he and they had done and become as the Horde.
You can use characters who have subjective opinions in the narrative to nake commentary about objective real world problems, using the institutions of the game world.
