Rune-keepers & Pandarens – Does Every MMO Have a Shark Jumping Moment?

MMO players are a contrary bunch. Take any community for an established game and you’ll often see the player base crying out for change and a break from the established norm. Then when the developers decide to address this very matter and provide something new and potentially different, you’ll witness voices raised in dissent of an unparalleled magnitude. Perhaps the biggest instigator of such an outcry is lore deviation, versus artistic interpretation.

LOTRO suffered this very dilemma back in 2008, when MoM was released and the Rune-keeper and Warden classes were added to the game. To this day, they are still a source of irritation to a percentage of players, who cannot see the need for a game developer to broaden the appeal of a product to a wider audience. The goat mounts were also met with a similar degree of resentment and derision from the same quarter.

This succinctly demonstrates difference in perspective from the players point of view, to that of the creative talents that generate the content. The former is very much driven by their own personal requirements and that latter, although having to consider the needs of those currently playing, also have to cater for perspective players and an ever changing market. With the best will in the world it is simply impossible to satisfy all respective parties iniversally. Commercial interests ultimately win out.

It would appear that a similar situation has manifested itself in that monolithic MMO, World of Warcraft. The recently announced expansion, Mists of Pandaria, sees Blizzard introduce an entirely new class, namely the Monk, along with an increase in level cap. That in itself does not seem particularly controversial and seems like standard fare for any expansion. However, a new race is being added to the equation. The Pandaren. It is this factor that seems to have caused a ripples in the wider community and ruffled a few feathers of the purists. The oriental theme of the new landmass along with the inclusion of Panda martial artists is perceived by some as a too big a change of direction. You only have to look at some of the terms that have been banded about on forums and websites to see the contempt.

Methinks this is Blizzard’s “Ewoks” IMO …

World of Warcraft Presents: Disney’s Mulan, sponsored by Panda Express!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

These being some of the more publishable comments. However, a few more thoughtful gamers have pondered the wider reasons behind these additions to the game. WoW although not teetering on the edge of ruin, has seen a decline in its player base recently. The losses are mainly among players in the Western world, whilst the customer base has started to increase in the Far East. Therefore it is not illogical to see cultural references to a growing market being included into the game. It can also be cogently argued that the stylised environment of Wow boasts many elements that can be superficially labelled as “cutesy”. So why the introduction of Pandas is the proverbial straw that breaks the Camels back, is somewhat baffling.

It will interesting to see over the months to come whether the alleged unhappiness among a percentage of the player base has any tangible affect. Blizzard, like Turbine ultimately has to think outside of the box to come up with new ways to maintain player interest and to pull in new customers. Lore is an important facet to both franchises but a degree of flexibility is required. Not all customers are aux fait or even concerned with internal logic and history. Hence Turbine’s recent addition of Draigoch into LOTRO with the ROI expansion. It was tenuously justified from a lore stance, but far more easy to understand from a commercial perspective. Ass kicking Pandas may also fall into that category for WoW.