Ken Levine loves World of Warcraft
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 8th 2008 at 1:30PM
Of course, instead of saying he enjoyed the game for its endless replayability, its pitch-perfect reward system, or its effective graphics and design style, he compares his love of Blizzard's game to alcoholism, and calls it his "always-reliable secret shame." Next time you talk about World of Warcraft in the media, Mr. Levine, would you kindly try praising the game instead of your addiction to it?
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Corey Taylor Apr 8th 2008 1:35PM
Pretty much how I view it as well. Except my alcoholism just adds to the fun. Hahaha.
alrdye Apr 8th 2008 2:00PM
Lol! Post of the day!!
Malyfactian Apr 8th 2008 1:33PM
Heroes of Might & Magic II....now there's an addictive game.
My first wife nearly divorced me over it.
Bravo Apr 8th 2008 1:47PM
"its pitch-perfect reward system"
Are we playing the same game? This is right on par with alcoholism, I've stopped telling people i play it and tell em I was watching tv last night.
Jay Apr 8th 2008 2:21PM
Haha, so true. I deny playing WoW to pretty much everyone I know, I'd rather not play it but sometimes I just get bored and tell myself if i spend an hour grinding Shattered Sun rep I'll be able to buy the shield, and it turns in to 3 hours. :(
Alchemistmerlin Apr 8th 2008 2:27PM
That sounds more like a problem with your own security than the game.
Bravo Apr 8th 2008 3:02PM
I think like myself many other people think more than 10 days played into any video game is a pretty disgusting thing... I'm very comfortable telling people I've heard of the game and I've heard many stories of their addiction, but thank you for your constructive criticism Alchemistmerlin
Mixx Apr 8th 2008 4:17PM
if you are so embarrassed about it - why do you play?
Aside from being a sarcastic response, this is an actual question.
Anyone?
FailedNinja Apr 8th 2008 2:05PM
He doesn't compare it to alcoholism. It's his way to unwind.
Narlic Apr 8th 2008 3:21PM
For him to take "You know how in the movies when the father comes home, and he puts on his slippers and drinks a glass of scotch?" and read "alcoholism" and "addiction" makes me think that Mike has perhaps a pre-existing bias against any sort of alcohol consumption.
Or maybe Mike was simply confused when Ken used a simile rather than simply saying, "I like warcraft, I play it to relax. It is a comfortable part of my life. But I don't admit it, because only dorks play WoW."
afhouston Apr 8th 2008 2:56PM
To be "good" at this game you need to plan your life around it.
glorft Apr 8th 2008 2:17PM
Who cares what he says about anything? Its cool to see a designer of great games praise the games you love, but he'll say whatever he wants about any game.
Yeng Apr 8th 2008 2:21PM
hehe, I like the "would you kindly" wordplay in there.
Badger Apr 8th 2008 3:45PM
Nice, I didn't even catch that on the first reading.
szimm Apr 8th 2008 2:55PM
lol you make it sound like ken levine created bioshock on his own. i wish ppl would some times credit the TEAM, not just one man.
Milktub Apr 8th 2008 3:03PM
Well, my two video game addictions are #1 and #2. Yeah to Civ and WoW!
Sewer-Urchin Apr 8th 2008 3:20PM
I like to pretend that Ken got out of game design after making the near-perfect Thief and System Shock games. It's nice to forget he had anything to do with the steaming piles of failure known as Tribes: Vengeance and BioShock :(
Mike Schramm Apr 8th 2008 3:28PM
Sorry, you liked Thief more than Bioshock? Just making sure. I won't defend Tribes: Vengeance (or the original Tribes, for that matter, though it did try to push the online gaming envelope), but no way was that light gem better than fighting Big Daddies.
wyrd Apr 8th 2008 4:32PM
In what possible way can Bioshock be classified as a failure? How many units did that game sell? I might not love it as much as alot of people do, but calling it a failure is just intentional ignorance.
Beep Apr 8th 2008 4:31PM
Ugh. Why do I keep reading this site? Horrible, horrible, horrible jump in logic from "puts on his slippers and drinks a glass of scotch" to "alcoholism" and "addiction".