Why is wow so addictive?

Question

Why is World of Warcraft so addictive?

I've curious about WoW. I've heard a lot about it - how there's millions of people playing it. But I've also heard that it's ruined lives.

There are some sites where people talk about how WoW has ruined their lives, but they only go into details about how their lives are ruined. They mention that WoW is incredibly addictive, but they never go into detail about how exactly WoW addicts them.

Even the short Youtube documentaries about WoW just talk about how many hours they spend on the game, how they miss classes, or ignore responsibilities. They talk about the fallout from WoW without looking at the mechanics - which is what I'm interested in.

I have to say, I kind of want to try it. I play a lot of single-player games, like Fable 2, Fallout 3, Crackdown. I'm familiar with reward systems, and am curious about WoW's. I mean, to get millions of players, they must have an incredible reward system. But I am also afraid that if I try the game, I will find it so rewarding that I won't want to stop.

I've even read things where people say they've been playing this one game for years - doesn't it become boring? Can someone who has played WoW dissect for me how WoW compels or manipulates you into coming back for more?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Honestly I don't see how people get so addicted. I've played on/off since vanilla I hit max level every expansion play for a few weeks get bored and move on. Come back two years later repeat the same for about 3 months and move on for a few more years.



I think what we hear about are EXTREME cases as no one I know in real life or met in game are nearly as addicted as anyone you ever hear about in the news.



I've heard about these extreme cases but out of the 20 people I know in real life who play/have played are not like that (only about 3 of my friends currently play the rest moved on a loooooooooooong time ago) nor anyone I have ever met ingame are so bad (actually any time I restart 99% of the people I use to know have moved on).

Answer 2

Our minds work on the basic habit function of Cue - Routine - Reward. Any habit you have is started with a Cue- which causes you to go through a Routine- and then provides a Reward. Our brains will remember these cycles. For instance: you see your trashcan is full (Cue) so you stuff the trash down, tie off the bag, and put it out in the dumpster (Routine) and then enjoy your fresher home having completed a task (Reward). This is called the Habit Loop.



Wow is technically not addictive, for your body can t become physically dependent on it like drugs or alcohol, but the game can become a Habit Dysfunction. This means that playing wow can, for some people, become more rewarding than everyday living. Gambling, smoking, overeating etc. are all examples of Habit Dysfunctions.



Blizzard has taken the Habit Loop and has woven it into every fiber of the game. Everything from the biggest raids, to the quest cycle, to each mouse click is based upon this Habit Loop of Cue - Routine - Reward. (Cues: questgiver punctuation marks, red names above heads while on a quest, etc. Routines: Slicing down monsters, gathering materials, etc. Rewards: Loot, discovery, completion, victory, damage numbers, abilities, acceptance, praise, etc.)



They also understand economy very well and know that the more time/money/relationships/effort you invest into the game, the harder it will be for you to stop paying the monthly subscription.



On top of that, they understand the fulfilling human desire of Mastery. They ve designed a system that allows you to choose your path, perfect your skill, rise in the ranks, specialize, and become a needed expert and team member.



Wow is interesting because it s a very close mimic of real life and how fulfilling it can be. The reason many people choose Wow over real life is because real life is filled with lots of pain and failure that comes with real progress vs. virtual progress with no pain while sitting comfortably in your own home.



Another important aspect is Challenge. Wow constantly provides challenging content that makes you feel very satisfied when working toward or achieving goals. People who become engrossed with Wow simply aren t challenged enough in their lives.



On the flip side, this game can teach you how to focus and work consistently. It can teach management, patience, and how to learn. Anyone who enjoys Wow can apply the same principles to their own lives if they will accept that pain and failure are a part of life.

Answer 3

Think of it like this:

Wow has over 2000 quests. Long ones at that.

You can to lvl 90

It's got a bunch of cool mounts you get as rewards for dungeons but they are rare.so you gotta go on a lot of em.

You got bad-A armor , You got rare items, You can battle people.

There are two alliances; the alliance and the horde they go at each other all the time

And that's the just some of it.

It's a really big world full of achievements that can take literally days to accomplish and with this new pet battle stuff it's got a bunch of rare cute animals to get too.

It's got an auction house too, so you can sell stuff and get rich. it's got funny gear in it too, semi- annual festivals, weekly competitions and (usually friendly) guilds that go on weekly raids and hold contests themselves. It's got good story too. It used to have a massive skill tree too.



It's not hard to get addicted to a game that doesn't end.



If your afraid of getting addicted just do the free trial it goes to lvl 20.

Answer 4

This is kinda a hard subject to tackle. Blizzard (the company that makes Wow) is quite popular itself it seems all the games it makes are extremely popular which help WoW's ever growing community. WoW itself has good graphics for an MMO, not only that the game can be extremely smooth as compared to other MMO. The interface is really customize-able to fit your gaming needs to be good at it, and it also allows addons that help too. The game has a very wide range of play. They suck you in with their standard starting area and story and such(the games story and lore is rather impressive too, mainly because it came from a single player game). not to mention it's relatively easy to get started in the game and give you incentive to level even higher. (such has new spells, mounts, glyphs, items and most of all dungeons and PVP.) The quests themselves can be really fun and inmersive. a good amount of quests have you doing cool things you cant normally do in the game. The game also has A LOT in it. There are varies quest or minigames hidden or just sitting around the world that can give you cool items that not a lot of people have. WoW also has a lot to where you can build your character more uniquely then other players as you get higher in level. It's hard to find another level 90 with the exact same items or build as you. people view their skill point differently then others and will invest them in different ways. so theirs a lot of diversity. Things in the game can be a lot more dynamic then other MMO's as well. People will find themselves wanting to achieve greater things in the game. You saw a dragon mount someone had and you just wanted it? you look it up and find out how to get it and try to. Theirs a rare mount you can get from a dragon that spawns very rarely, people will spend weeks trying to get that single dragon. It also had a achievement system that's, well... its freakin huge. you of course get things from that too. (titles and such) Then blizzard will release new expansions that just release more for one to accomplish. You can also create a endless amount of characters and build different characters differently, you can also send items to your lvl 1 and completely troll in the battlegrounds. now probably the BIGGEST reason people continue to play.... PVP, Raids Dungeoning and Guilds. Dungeons are unlocked at lvl 15 and are probably one of the funnest things to do when leveling. They involve you working as a team and completing something challenging. PVP is endless fun and raging. Battlegrounds will never go exactly the same twice. you need to strategize with your teammates and corporate as a team to win and prove you're better than the other faction. Their are endless possibilities when it comes to PVP, may it be on a battleground, raid, or just out in the world. NOW the most out of ALL is Raids and Guilds. raids and guild correspond with each other so they are together. starting with guilds... >.> early on guilds don't seems like much besides something that gives you benifits for free, BUT when you're a higher level you're excepted some kind of commitment to the guild. To help the guild by completing guild challenges or just simply meeting their requirements. a lot of guild are pretty chill and wont expect to much but other guilds have high exceptions and don't just let anyone in. These are the hardcore Raiders and PVPers. you normally need to be the level cap to enter and be committed. If you sign up for a raid YOU BETTER BE THERE! if not you gotta have a damn good excuse and half the time that doesn't cut it. some guild will have a lot of requirements to join and stay in. if you join and basically do nothing you'll be kicked out in a heartbeat. Raiding is a huge thing and tons of fun..... assuming your teamwork skills are in order. Raids can be really challenging and make you feel extremely accomplished when you finish. Raids on an enemy city in a highly populated server are especially challenging and fun. It may just be a game but it will often be all someone thinks about because they've played it so much, to simply quit and delete your account would throw away all that progress you made. often times when someone quits they don't delete characters or their account and will get it running. and if they see a new expansion they suddenly want to play because, well new challenges and adventure? hell yeah! Since WoW has so much in it you're bound to be drawn to something in the game. even for casual players, if you dont want to do all that hardcore PVP or raids, then theirs still a lot you can do. Even if you're brand new to the MMO world, WoW can turn you into a hardcore players easily. Of course it all depends on you. I got board of it and haven't really played for a while. will i get back into it? maybe, although my interests have drawn to other things. (League of Legends :p) I still watch videos about WoW from time to time. no matter how great something is it'll get boring eventually. Its a visually pleasing game that can basically fit into everyone's interests and can be very easy to get started. not to mention Blizzard is REALLY good and marketing their games and luring people in.



If you wanna play it go ahead. see how you like it, some people simply never get into it.