I wrote this paper for a classification and division assignment in my English class this semester. I hope you enjoy.

World of Warcraft has become a historical achievement for the video gaming industry, and consequently a popular social icon. Over the past three years, it has gained an almost religious following of over 10 million people. If the entire population in New York City and Philadelphia sat down and played World of Warcraft at the same time, it would still be short of 10,000,000 by about 250,000. World of Warcraft, or WoW for short, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Thousands of players can be on the same seamless and persistent virtual world. Players assume the life of a fictional charter in the fantasy world of Azeroth, a brainchild of the software developing company Blizzard. Azeroth is an intricate universe of swords and sorcery. Players create their own customized character based on race, class, and appearance. The underlying theme of the game is a continuing epic war between the Alliance and Horde. The Alliance is made up of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Draenei, and Gnomes. The Horde is composed of Orcs, Undead, Tauren, and Blood Elves. On top of nine different races, there are nine different classes. Each of these classes have unique abilities and traits that allow them to compliment other classes when players work as groups. Teamwork is integral part of WoW, and consequently one of features that WoW is most renowned for. Players must often work in groups of up to forty players to defeat powerful bosses and fight back mobs of monsters; this is called dungeon raiding. Some of these raids can literally last days. Another interesting element of WoW is Player versus Player (PvP). WoW allows players to fight each other. This makes the Horde versus Alliance storyline very interesting and competitive. The role-playing aspect of the game allows players to complete quests or kill monsters to gain experience and level up. With the recent expansion pack, characters can be leveled up to 70. WoW is probably the most sophistically engineered game every made; it would take a thousand- page guide to properly explain the game play completely.

This immense complexity and vastness of WoW is most likely the reason why it remains such an enigma to anyone not in the gaming community. WoW culture has come under scrutiny in television series such as Family Guy and the Office. These shows basically give people the impression that WoWers have no social life what so every. People need to understand that not all people who play WoW are friendless and girlfriendless geeks. After all, WoW is without a doubt a prime example of how the internet serves as a vehicle of communication that can span across the world. It is a social network phenomenon. The global connectivity that WoW creates brings a lot of diverse players to the same magical world; consequently, there are several different groups that players could be classified under. While these categories may not be all-inclusive or entirely realistic, understanding the kinds of people and reasons why they play may give the public a better appreciation of exactly what World of Warcraft is all about.

The Noob

A noob, a slang term for newbie with variations such as noobie and nooblet, is someone who is completely and utterly clueless about what he or she is doing in World of Warcraft. It could possibly be the first time that the noob is playing WoW, or it could be a derogatory name used for someone who is acting retarded in-game. Most of the time, however, noobs are genuinely new to the game. Most noobs are often the older players, rather than the younger ones. Noobs often annoyingly ask the more experienced players where to go for quests or how to get to a certain location. A level 70 human paladin player was quoted, “One day, a random noob came up to me and said that he wanted to be like me some day. I almost rolled out of my seat laughing.” Being slapped across the face with the term boob is very insulting to an experience gamer, but people often forget, that at one time they were a noob. It is just a stage in one’s gaming development.

The Causal WoWer

Most noobs generally become a casual WoWer in due time. This type of players does not make WoW an integral part of their life. They may have a high level character, but it probably took them a year or two to achieve this. Casuals may be involved in a clan, but they are mostly likely not active participants. On average they play between two and four hours a day. In real life, they definitely have friends, family, a job, a girlfriend, and maybe even married. This type of player is statically the plurality of all WoW players. In WoW, they may be a level fifty-four Warlock, but in real life they are a high school science teacher. In WoW, they may have an armored white war stallion, but in real life have a dog named Bozo. Yes, it’s true; the majority of people that play Wow are not obsessed about it. They are contributing members of society. They have lives outside of the game.

The WoW Addict

In his gleaming armor from the depths of dungeon Zul’Gurub, the WoW addict has mastered every class and every race. His attacks or spells can instantly kill, and his battle cry is something to be terrified of. The WoW addict spends the majority of his or her day playing WoW. It holds a higher priority than going to college classes or a job. His relationships have been ruined and he is receding from his social life and friends. WoW addicts, have the World of Warcraft certified keyboard to better help them navigate and make battle with other players. On average, WoW addicts spend between six and ten hours playing. They have not only financially invested in the game, but also emotionally. There is no distinction between the fictional character and the addict’s individual consciousness. His only friends are WoW friends. He may be the leader a guild, or a loner wreaking havoc in his enemy’s territory. He is the raid leader, commanding all thirty-nine of the other group members in a strategically coordinated attack on a dark fortress floating in the sky. The game enthralls his imagination. The ability to be someone else in alternate fantasy universe never ceases to wet his appetite for adventure. He becomes so immersed in this magical world that he begins to forget the important of the real world, where he feels that his feet must always remain on the ground and head out of the clouds. Some readers may feel that a WoW addict has stepped over the boundaries of rationality, but in the gaming community, putting six hours or so into a video game daily is common. The WoW addict simply loves the game and cannot live real life each day without being taken away to this limitless environment where imagination is the only inhibitor.

The WoW Rehabber

The adage, “Life in moderation,” is a piece of advice that WoW players need to remember. World of Warcraft has ruined the WoW rehabber’s life. The WoW rehabber is someone that has identified that they have a problem and ceases engagement with the game. They have put so much time into the game that it is physically, emotionally, and even financially impossible to continue playing the game. A WoW rehabber is someone who was once an addict but has quit playing WoW .To correct this damaging addiction, a WoW rehabber deletes characters or in worst case scenario deletes their accounts. This is one of the hardest things that a WoWer can do in his or her life. They are in a sense deleting a part of their soul or consciousness. Going through withdrawal and rehab is very prevalent in the WoW community. In Korea, it was reported that a child died due to neglect by her World of Warcraft addicted parents. China even imposed laws setting time limits on WoW. There are even guides out on the internet with instructions on how to go through WoW rehabilitation. The key concept here is self-responsibility. Responsible WoW players will never have to go through rehabilitation.

World of Warcraft is not merely a game to some people, but an on-going story that they are actors participating in. It represents a tiny fraction of what future virtual technologies could be capable of creating for the human imagination and mind. These four types of WoW classifications are very broad. Even in this attempt to tear down stereotypes about World of Warcraft, the four classifications are stereotypes in themselves. There are many different kinds of WoW players, and each person has their own reasons for playing. The real question that needs to be answered is whether a character in World of Warcraft is merely a pixilated avatar on a computer screen or an extension of someone’s life. Can someone truly live their life in the World of Warcraft universe? It may like a silly question in this century, but in a hundred years or so, when developers can create a virtual environment so realistic and vivid, who is going to be able to tell the difference?