And I’m Back is a mini-series column dealing with the return to Azeroth after being away for so long. The series chronicles personal reactions to changes to discoveries and making the needed adjustments to the new Azeroth.
The success of MMOG genre owes itself to social engineering as much as the rise of persistent worlds. By having everyone experience the same universe, the developers are given a common mentality to work off of. They can, at least loosely, expect the players to participate in the same quest lines, boss kills and landscapes. What developers can’t assume is how the populace will react to any given event.
After my long absence, it took a few conversations with various members for them to remember specifically who I was. Once reintegrated to my comrades, it was business as normal. No more searching for our mutual connection or reminiscing. It was time to have new discussions, and discussions we had.
Hit the jump to find out the mature conversation that was had without a single player ending the discussion in /gquit.
The most notable was shortly after the launch of Mists of Pandaria. Ever the mature guild, I logged in to find that the green chat was in deep conversation. The topic at hand; whether or not MoP represents a stereotypical, even racist, interpretation of Chinese culture. There was no final resolution, just a polite agree to disagree among members. Some played devil’s advocate, others the history teacher and a few attempted to be impressionable young minds.
It was the type of discussions that draws a guild together, allowing us to better comprehends the worldview of those we spend so much time with. The type of conversation that keeps guildmates returning to a game long after gameplay ceases being the main attraction.