WoW is accomodating the new player base.

#0 - June 19, 2009, 4 p.m.

In the time I've had an account, I've never seen the amount of ranting/raving I've witnessed the past two days.
Anyhow the changes the developers have been making recently, simply mark their realization of a change in gamer base.
You 'hardcore' computer gamers can probably thank game consoles for that.
With the inception of game consoles being able to connect to the internet and thus other gamers (i.E x-box live), the idea of playing with others through the "internet' has become more socially acceptable and no longer the mark of a 'computer geek". As such I think its fair to say MMos in generally have seen an adequate rise in gamer base overall. As a result, in order to keep the interests of the influx of new gamers ($$$) who tend to be people who wouldn't normally invest time or understand the mechanics of an MMO, the developers make sure that the "causal' player maintains interest.

In other words, this isn't an argument for/against the idea of "casual/easier game play" I'm just stating that these continual changes reflect the evolving demographic of game players. It won't change anytime soon either unless suddenly the idea of online gaming becomes a taboo again.

Nethaera

#12 - June 19, 2009, 4:25 p.m.

We're working to accommodate fun. As you can see, we've released a lot of information for everyone to start taking in and digesting. We did this even though the PTR is not available for play currently because we felt good about releasing this information to you and felt that it would benefit the community as a whole to be able to see what was coming in the PTR and in the next large content patch.

The player base is large and varied. There is no way any one person can say everyone likes "X". It can't be done. Depite all these changes, there is a definite method to the madness. We're not just looking at the now, but we're looking toward the future as well. We're always trying to plan as far ahead as we possibly can so that we can take that next step. Sometimes an idea might seem great, we test it, it still seems great, we release it, and in the live and very vast player base, it doesn't quite work out how we felt it should and so we change it.

We're not doing it to cause anyone distress or "stick it" to anyone. That's not what we are about. We're about creating a fantastic gaming experience which means, giving people a chance to have fun.

I do believe that once the community experiences the PTR, there will be more understanding of the method to the madness and also, it will give us a chance to see these changes in action. Things can still be changed if we feel they just aren't working out the way we thought or expected.

I think the most important thing right now for everyone to remember as they are discussing these changes is that we're looking for constructive discussion. The more knee-jerk or non-constructive posts and discussions are going to be removed because they simply create noise versus discussion. We're perfectly comfortable with people not like a change and voicing that, so long as it's done in a productive way. (This isn't aimed at the original poster btw.)

I understand what these sorts of threads are trying to do, but I don't think you can nutshell these changes into a nice neat package of "they are doing this for 'these' people". Game design doesn't work that way and we'll be doing what we can to address as many conversations about these changes as we can. BUT we're looking for constructive discussions that add to the value of the community and would like to encourage everyone who may be posting in a moment of anger (or even enthusiasm) to take a quick step back, take a breath or two, count to ten, and then share with us your best and most constructive thoughts.

Passion is fantastic. It's one of my favorite emotions, but reign it in a little prior to putting your fingers to the keyboard.

Nethaera

#21 - June 19, 2009, 4:41 p.m.

Q u o t e:

*phew*
I'm glad it wasn't as my topic wasn't made out of acceptance or anger just a personal insight as to the reasoning behind some of the changes in the PTR notes. Like the above poster mentioned, seems that players do overlook the fact that you are also adding new endgame content to keep those ever so "hardcore" gamers interested as well.

I think people are underestimating the Coliseum. Which is what "they" want you do. *looks all shifty eyed*

Nethaera

#47 - June 19, 2009, 5:23 p.m.

Nehum, since this thread is a bit more general in nature, and I don't want to flood it with a variety of topics, thus making it difficult for other players equally interested in this and other topics, I'll see if I can find a more appropriate place that we can discuss this further.