Jonathan and Kyle both play World of Warcraft, and will talk about it a fair bit when they get together. I understand that game designers have to keep coming up with interesting new ideas and combinations. I understand that they have no obligation to hold to the atmosphere of fantasy literature, which is its own genre.
But really, dwarf shamans? Troll druids? And worst of all, the tauren, a cow race of fighters, can become paladins? Paladin cows? Absurd.
For those who have not yet seen the Red Shirt Guy, BTW, here is his original burst onto the scene of international WoW fame at Blizzcon 2010. I love this guy.
And the designers did in fact respond to his question nicely, by actually putting him into the game as an NPC.
Warcraft wasn't exactly a detailed source material for fantasy in the first place. It was never as internally consistent as Brandon Sanderson's settings, nor could you even compare it to the Wheel of Time.
ReplyDeleteOverall, the setting of various races fighting each other, was designed to be perpetual. All the things that went on in the RTS games essentially had no meaning. Warcraft III, though, had some redeeming values as it told the orc side of things from a reformist, but again, it is not going to fundamentally change how the world functions.
A world where individuals cannot permanently change things. Is that not the definition of a Utopia.