(no subject)
There's an interesting debate going on in the World of Warcraft community regarding the role of time and skill in the PvP portion of the game.
Argument for Skill being more important than time below.
Linky:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060222/sirlin_01.shtml
Its fascinating to me that he equates WoW PvP (hurray camel words) with a near instantaneous glimpse into real life. He argues the absurdity of time put in being a bigger driving force than skill brought to the table. His example is Artist A can create 10x value in y hours, while Artist B can only create x value in y hours.
But how did they get to this place where Artist A (Alan, from now on) is ten times more productive than Artist B (Bob from now on)? Pretty clearly Alan is either more talented, has put in more time learning how to best do his job, or is purely more productive while working. It doesn't really matter how this imbalance between Alan and Bob occured, only that it exists, and was brought to the table at the instant the article views. This shortsightedness that runs through the whole article.
I think it stems from a misunderstanding of the game scope. His example is SF2. Sit down, bring strategy and quarters, and play. Then walk away. What you bring to one match doesn't carry forward outside of strategy.
A persistent world game is more closely linked to a real life (as much as it is truly possible while you're killing dragons, at least) environment, where you bring everything to a match. That sword I got last week? Yeah, that's coming with me. Link's Boomerang? He'll be using it. My opponent doesn't have one? Great, advantage me!
He wants a world where everyone starts with the same gear and results are dependent entirely upon skill. He lives in a Chess world. I prefer a world where one's skill is expressed not only in ability to play, but the tools you have available to play. I live in a TCG world.
Five Things WoW Teaches Our Children Correctly (no, I don't have any kids yet):
1. Time > Skill - Putting in the time to learn skills and acquire tools to accomplish tasks will make your life better. Skill will only get you so far in life, if you don't put in the work.
2. Groups > Solo - Life is not a solo experience. Life is about your interactions with other people. Work is rarely done in a vacuum, and much more often you'll find yourself working as part of a team to complete a project. You need to be able to communicate with others, and meet goals and deadlines.
3. Guilds - Build a group of friends. And then continue to expand that group. Don't exclude people, instead expand your circle of friends to encompass new individuals. Your life will be richer for the people you meet.
4. Terms of Service - Just because you *can* do something sketchy, doesn't mean that you should. You have an opportunity to line your pockets at your job by taking a kick back from the paper seller? You *know* that the rules say you shouldn't. When you do, expect punishment to come, and be prepared to accept it gracefully. Cascaded MC? Take your week long ban and like it.
5. Goals and Planning - So few people understand how to correctly set up and execute on goals. WoW demonstrates great goal planning. Have a big goal. Have reasonable and reachable intermediate goals. Write them down. The quest and leveling systems in WoW have incredible depth and breadth, allowing you to play the game largely your own way.
And now, to give equal time to the negative.
Five Things WoW Teaches Our Children Incorrectly (still no kids):
1. We're Victims - "Shaman are broken." This idea that it ok to not accept your weaknesses is absurd. The ability to blame other people for your shortcomings means you'll never look at them and try to make yourself a better person.
2. Skill diversity is bad - My job description is "Design Games and Whatever Else Needs to Be Done." In my year here I've designed games, designed 2 databases, handled pre-production, proofed files, packed product, stuffed envelopes, written articles for publication, modelled, become an art critic and bought ice cream. And a ton of other tasks which don't deserve mentioning. You don't perform one task repeatedly in life, you perform many different tasks.
3. Poor Communication Skills - 5 minutes in Ironforge will bombard you with so many variations or the word "Rogue" that you will be reduced to a quivering ball of protoplasm. Whlie it may be ture taht you can raed tihs fnie, it srue mkaes me look dmub. In real life, in real communications, proper spelling, grammar and punctuation informs your audience that you have a certain level of education and intelligence. Employers will reject you out of hand if you have misspelled something on your resumé. Just don't do it.
4. Addictive Behavior - I'll be the first to admit that I might have a problem. But I could quit any time I wanted. Anyways, the game is flat-out addictive. Moderation in all things. Too many cookies make us sick, and too much time playing WoW has the same consequences.
5. Fishing - Anyone who has done any significant real (reel) fishing knows that its not as simple as this. Where's the fight? Where's the casting? Can't wait for my trip to Montana in July.
Argument for Skill being more important than time below.
Linky:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060222/sirlin_01.shtml
Its fascinating to me that he equates WoW PvP (hurray camel words) with a near instantaneous glimpse into real life. He argues the absurdity of time put in being a bigger driving force than skill brought to the table. His example is Artist A can create 10x value in y hours, while Artist B can only create x value in y hours.
But how did they get to this place where Artist A (Alan, from now on) is ten times more productive than Artist B (Bob from now on)? Pretty clearly Alan is either more talented, has put in more time learning how to best do his job, or is purely more productive while working. It doesn't really matter how this imbalance between Alan and Bob occured, only that it exists, and was brought to the table at the instant the article views. This shortsightedness that runs through the whole article.
I think it stems from a misunderstanding of the game scope. His example is SF2. Sit down, bring strategy and quarters, and play. Then walk away. What you bring to one match doesn't carry forward outside of strategy.
A persistent world game is more closely linked to a real life (as much as it is truly possible while you're killing dragons, at least) environment, where you bring everything to a match. That sword I got last week? Yeah, that's coming with me. Link's Boomerang? He'll be using it. My opponent doesn't have one? Great, advantage me!
He wants a world where everyone starts with the same gear and results are dependent entirely upon skill. He lives in a Chess world. I prefer a world where one's skill is expressed not only in ability to play, but the tools you have available to play. I live in a TCG world.
Five Things WoW Teaches Our Children Correctly (no, I don't have any kids yet):
1. Time > Skill - Putting in the time to learn skills and acquire tools to accomplish tasks will make your life better. Skill will only get you so far in life, if you don't put in the work.
2. Groups > Solo - Life is not a solo experience. Life is about your interactions with other people. Work is rarely done in a vacuum, and much more often you'll find yourself working as part of a team to complete a project. You need to be able to communicate with others, and meet goals and deadlines.
3. Guilds - Build a group of friends. And then continue to expand that group. Don't exclude people, instead expand your circle of friends to encompass new individuals. Your life will be richer for the people you meet.
4. Terms of Service - Just because you *can* do something sketchy, doesn't mean that you should. You have an opportunity to line your pockets at your job by taking a kick back from the paper seller? You *know* that the rules say you shouldn't. When you do, expect punishment to come, and be prepared to accept it gracefully. Cascaded MC? Take your week long ban and like it.
5. Goals and Planning - So few people understand how to correctly set up and execute on goals. WoW demonstrates great goal planning. Have a big goal. Have reasonable and reachable intermediate goals. Write them down. The quest and leveling systems in WoW have incredible depth and breadth, allowing you to play the game largely your own way.
And now, to give equal time to the negative.
Five Things WoW Teaches Our Children Incorrectly (still no kids):
1. We're Victims - "Shaman are broken." This idea that it ok to not accept your weaknesses is absurd. The ability to blame other people for your shortcomings means you'll never look at them and try to make yourself a better person.
2. Skill diversity is bad - My job description is "Design Games and Whatever Else Needs to Be Done." In my year here I've designed games, designed 2 databases, handled pre-production, proofed files, packed product, stuffed envelopes, written articles for publication, modelled, become an art critic and bought ice cream. And a ton of other tasks which don't deserve mentioning. You don't perform one task repeatedly in life, you perform many different tasks.
3. Poor Communication Skills - 5 minutes in Ironforge will bombard you with so many variations or the word "Rogue" that you will be reduced to a quivering ball of protoplasm. Whlie it may be ture taht you can raed tihs fnie, it srue mkaes me look dmub. In real life, in real communications, proper spelling, grammar and punctuation informs your audience that you have a certain level of education and intelligence. Employers will reject you out of hand if you have misspelled something on your resumé. Just don't do it.
4. Addictive Behavior - I'll be the first to admit that I might have a problem. But I could quit any time I wanted. Anyways, the game is flat-out addictive. Moderation in all things. Too many cookies make us sick, and too much time playing WoW has the same consequences.
5. Fishing - Anyone who has done any significant real (reel) fishing knows that its not as simple as this. Where's the fight? Where's the casting? Can't wait for my trip to Montana in July.