Read Online MMORPG: How a Computer Game Becomes Deadly Serious by Emile van Veen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Emile van Veen
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landmass to the north was called Northrend. She zoomed out again. This time a fourth continent called Outland appeared that looked nearly as big as Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms combined.
“What’s that?”
“Outland, which came with the first large addition to the game. It’s the Burning Crusade package you installed.” She held up the box still lying on his desk. “A new continent was added, and the level cap was raised from sixty to seventy. Outland is restricted to players of level fifty-eight and higher and you must access it from a portal situated somewhere in the deserts in Eastern Kingdoms. She clicked on it, and Robert could see that it consisted of only ten different zones, each of extraordinary size. She opened one called Terokkar Forest, and he could see that there were two major cities, two smaller ones, and about eight villages.
“Now let’s finish the list and get some proper food,” she said, closing the map. She quickly entered the names of all the guild members of The Hammer of Grimstone. Only one was online, a character called Pharad. According to the displayed information, he was in a place called Dalaran. “Dalaran is the capital city of Northrend,” Rebecca explained. “No use trying to find him. There are too many players crawling around like ants over there.” She exited the game and turned around. “Now, what’s for dinner?”
They went to a small Italian restaurant, which was only a five minute walk from where he lived. The pizzas were so large that Robert was truly amazed that he actually finished his Pizza Vulcano, his favorite pizza picante . His appetite was caused by a combination of feeling famished by an afternoon of playing World of Warcraft, the skill of the Italian cook, and the company of Rebecca. They didn’t talk about the game at all.
She told him an endless parade of hilarious stories about her childhood in a small village in northern Scotland. She was a gifted storyteller who could turn the most mundane happenings into glorious events. Her undertone of sarcasm had him laughing all the time. It was nearly eleven o’clock when Robert poured the last drops of their second bottle of Barolo into her empty glass. He paid the bill and, without any discussion, they walked back to his place together. He felt a quickening of his heartbeat when she followed him upstairs to his room. Inside, she tossed her coat on his bed and sat behind his desk.
While Robert searched the small wine cabinet for a suitable successor to the Barolo, she brought the computer back to life. A few seconds later, he heard the distinctive music of World of Warcraft.
“Robert, come here, look at this!” She sounded truly distressed.
In the restaurant, the thought of a romantic turn of the evening had crossed his mind several times, and he felt a momentary pang of disappointment. It was going to end in playing a computer game together.
He crossed the room and looked over her shoulder. She had her friends list open and was pointing at it. He could see that most of The Hammer of Grimstone were online now.
“This isn’t making any sense!”
He didn’t understand what was bothering her. “What’s not making sense?”
She tapped the screen with the point of her index finger. “Do you see that? They’re all in Ashenvale. That doesn’t make any sense at all!”
“Why? What’s the problem with Ashenvale? Is it a zone?”
“Yes, it is. The problem is that there’s no reason at all for ten level eighties to be in Ashenvale. No reason at all!”
“Why not?”
She took a deep breath, calming herself. “Because Ashenvale is a level twenty-five to level thirty zone. That means that the enemies, called ‘mobs’ by the way, are all between those levels. Players of those levels find worthy opposition and quests there. That doesn’t mean that you’ll never find a level eighty there, as there are always people helping a guild mate with a difficult quest or something.”
To
“What’s that?”
“Outland, which came with the first large addition to the game. It’s the Burning Crusade package you installed.” She held up the box still lying on his desk. “A new continent was added, and the level cap was raised from sixty to seventy. Outland is restricted to players of level fifty-eight and higher and you must access it from a portal situated somewhere in the deserts in Eastern Kingdoms. She clicked on it, and Robert could see that it consisted of only ten different zones, each of extraordinary size. She opened one called Terokkar Forest, and he could see that there were two major cities, two smaller ones, and about eight villages.
“Now let’s finish the list and get some proper food,” she said, closing the map. She quickly entered the names of all the guild members of The Hammer of Grimstone. Only one was online, a character called Pharad. According to the displayed information, he was in a place called Dalaran. “Dalaran is the capital city of Northrend,” Rebecca explained. “No use trying to find him. There are too many players crawling around like ants over there.” She exited the game and turned around. “Now, what’s for dinner?”
They went to a small Italian restaurant, which was only a five minute walk from where he lived. The pizzas were so large that Robert was truly amazed that he actually finished his Pizza Vulcano, his favorite pizza picante . His appetite was caused by a combination of feeling famished by an afternoon of playing World of Warcraft, the skill of the Italian cook, and the company of Rebecca. They didn’t talk about the game at all.
She told him an endless parade of hilarious stories about her childhood in a small village in northern Scotland. She was a gifted storyteller who could turn the most mundane happenings into glorious events. Her undertone of sarcasm had him laughing all the time. It was nearly eleven o’clock when Robert poured the last drops of their second bottle of Barolo into her empty glass. He paid the bill and, without any discussion, they walked back to his place together. He felt a quickening of his heartbeat when she followed him upstairs to his room. Inside, she tossed her coat on his bed and sat behind his desk.
While Robert searched the small wine cabinet for a suitable successor to the Barolo, she brought the computer back to life. A few seconds later, he heard the distinctive music of World of Warcraft.
“Robert, come here, look at this!” She sounded truly distressed.
In the restaurant, the thought of a romantic turn of the evening had crossed his mind several times, and he felt a momentary pang of disappointment. It was going to end in playing a computer game together.
He crossed the room and looked over her shoulder. She had her friends list open and was pointing at it. He could see that most of The Hammer of Grimstone were online now.
“This isn’t making any sense!”
He didn’t understand what was bothering her. “What’s not making sense?”
She tapped the screen with the point of her index finger. “Do you see that? They’re all in Ashenvale. That doesn’t make any sense at all!”
“Why? What’s the problem with Ashenvale? Is it a zone?”
“Yes, it is. The problem is that there’s no reason at all for ten level eighties to be in Ashenvale. No reason at all!”
“Why not?”
She took a deep breath, calming herself. “Because Ashenvale is a level twenty-five to level thirty zone. That means that the enemies, called ‘mobs’ by the way, are all between those levels. Players of those levels find worthy opposition and quests there. That doesn’t mean that you’ll never find a level eighty there, as there are always people helping a guild mate with a difficult quest or something.”
To
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