Reading through the WoW forums, a trend recently came to my attention. It is the tendency to talk of content as if it was specifically designed for a segment of the player base. This idea permeates Blizzard's stance since the end of Burning Crusade, which is that they shouldn't waste time and money developing things that only a tiny fraction of the population are likely to see. In other words, the 99% are responsible for 99% of our revenue, so why should we spend half of what we pour into the game trying to please the tiny minority?
It's a mistake - theoretically, practically, and morally - to try to artificially segregate "classes" in a society. Human interactions are way too complex to predefine in such a way. Every member of a community affects everyone else, directly or indirectly, subtly or not, in ways that are impossible to fully comprehend. And every "policy" that aims to affect only a specific segment of society is doomed to cause unintended consequences.
It might seem noble (and smart, from a business or political perspective) to cater to the "starving millions". And it's easy to dismiss the cries of the sacrificed 1% as "QQ from wannabe snowflakes". After all, electronic loot can be multiplied at the flick of a switch like manna, so why be stingy?
In the real world, of course, there is no such thing as free stuff. Nature is stingy and whatever we get from her must be taken by force. This continuous fight to stay ahead of entropy is what drives humans. And (allow me to get philosophical here a moment) if it wasn't for this cruel reality of mortality, there wouldn't be such things as great works that are remembered through the ages. There is no good without evil, no joy without suffering, no light without dark, no story without an end.
That is why failing in a video game, especially a MMO, is necessary. And it's why there will always be a 99% and a 1%. It's also the reason for which the things designed for the top 1% are pivotal to all 100% of the community: they represent the pinnacle, the unreachable ideal, the deliverance from the hardships that plague every struggling noob. Just like living the high life and not having to worry about money is the dream that keeps even the lowliest worker battling to accumulate wealth - even if his immediate concern is earning enough for his next meal.
The problem is, Blizzard have seen it fit to bring everyone to within an inch of that heavenly ideal. A winning lottery ticket for everyone! To the point where a lot of people may say: "what, I have to work that much to gain this little? Bah." And then they get bored. And then you get "more content than ever... but not enough content."
Players learning to play better, my arse. The devs have brought this on themselves.
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