World of Warcraft as evolutionary model
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 14th 2009 at 1:00PM
This must be the time of year for zany social theories about videogames. First, we heard that World of Warcraft might quality as being a religion. Then we heard that it might make for better citizens. And now, in an essay over at Gamasutra on the event of Charles Darwin's birthday, Noah Falstein suggests that games like World of Warcraft are actually models for evolution -- as we level up with experience points, our characters get stronger and more evolved, and we feel comfortable with that because that's exactly what we see happening in the world around us.Technically, of course, you can't model Darwin's theory of evolution with a single character -- evolution isn't about one individual getting better, it's about a process of natural selection in a species over a period of time. To really model evolution, you'd have to play hundreds of alts, and quit them each time you ran into a problem, leaving you with just a few characters that worked really well. Wait -- maybe some of you are already doing that.
But Falstein makes good points in saying that certain elements of what Darwin described as evolution have shown up in game design as well -- the idea of specialization for certain character classes, tribal and national allegiances, and even the idea of memes (which are certainly widespread in WoW -- anyone ever heard of Chuck Norris or Leroy Jenkins?) are all drawn from Darwin's thinking and definitely embodied in the game we play.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
elstor Feb 14th 2009 1:07PM
And next they'll call us a cult of insane addicts that worship nonexistent gods and goddesses like Elune.....
Eternauta Feb 14th 2009 1:25PM
that's what I was going to say.
Tyler Feb 14th 2009 1:28PM
Isn't that every religion?
kozom Feb 14th 2009 1:32PM
isn't it might qualiFy as a religion?
Tim gibson Feb 14th 2009 3:15PM
thats all religions
Duck Knight Feb 14th 2009 3:50PM
You are correct, kozom. Also;
NIT-PICKING MODE ACTIVATE.
It's actually spelled "Leeroy Jenkins."
NIT-PICKING MODE IS NOW OFFLINE.
Crims Feb 14th 2009 5:27PM
Wait...Elune doesn't exist?!!
Tuhljin Feb 14th 2009 9:52PM
Yay, bigotry! Insulting the majority of people on the planet is fun! And earns you mega bonus points on the Internet.
Colin Behrens Feb 14th 2009 1:16PM
I would think this more as how Blizzard has adopted the game to current needs. Each patch and expansion, they've improved on the game, made it better. Surely if they hadn't, it would have fallen by now (no way Vanilla WoW could go against Warhammer). Surival of the Fittest at its prime example.
Terrant Feb 14th 2009 1:34PM
Of course, that kind of behaviour might extend beyond Blizzard and be interpreted as "survival of the fittest" happening within the entire game industry. Doing what people are willing to pay for = survival of the gaming company, and Blizz's MMO success compared to others would be a reflection of it being more in tune with what most consumers want to do with their time and money.
Smoken Feb 14th 2009 1:13PM
Completely stupid and out of context imo. As much as calling it a religion or anything, i mean thats just a game.
DescentFromKings Feb 14th 2009 1:17PM
this is a spot-on idea. When you think about specs, you notice how there are always typical talent distributions? go to talentchic.com and note how common some specs are, and how often people vary from them. Evolution. The strong, playable specs get used more, and the weaker ones don't. Darwin FTW.
Firestride Feb 14th 2009 2:29PM
You're missing a step for it to be evolution and natural selection. The increased use of superior specs would have to further propagate those specs. Not just because they're better, but because there are more of them because they are better. Get it? And until everyone is checking those sites to determine what spec to use, that's not happening here.
xnn Feb 15th 2009 5:28PM
Right, Firestride.
Also, there are no outside environmental factors that are constantly changing to influence the propagation of said specs. More importantly, there are not several groups of a given species (race/class?) that live in different places that have different environments, ultimately producing variation between the groups.
grelk Feb 15th 2009 10:23PM
Yes, but if we're talking memetically propogated specs as our 'genes' we have to allow for the fact that these genes transfer through more than spec sites - there are those who respec based on what their friends tell them, those who respec based on something they heard in guild, those who do so based on analysing their own game, who might go on to share in these already listed ways.
So, Blizz creates (and modifies) the environment in which specs can enjoy success or otherwise. Success in propagation is determined by (1) the ability of the "sending" player to reach an audience (one on one, one to many), (2) the ability of individual receiving players to find (through developing friendships/finding sites/independently theorycrafting) and apply new specs, and (3) the actual and perceived benefit of any individual spec (eg EJ as our most reliable (?) source could put out a superb spec and a large swathe of the population would still have it post-nerf because they got it 3rd hand and are continuing to circulate it even though it's not that great a spec. Phew!)
All this being said - the notion of "levelling = evolution" is pure bs. Evolution created, and then got rid of the dinosaurs. If intelligence (our current benchmark for power) turns out down the track to be non-survival away it will go and glowing cockroaches will have their turn at the top of the pile. There's no tree with bigger/stronger is better at the top, just niches and accompanying strategies.
Eternauta Feb 14th 2009 1:24PM
WoW is not:
A religion.
A model of evolution.
A manual to citizenship
or whatever...
IT'S JUST A GAME.
Smoken Feb 14th 2009 1:29PM
Thank you!
Falcio Feb 14th 2009 2:43PM
Yes, WoW is just a game, but it's a very social game. Because of that simple fact, some aspects of real life will traverse into our little virtual reality where orcs roam the world and camping means something other than a pageant of s'mores and scary stories.
Basically, when you have something as social and wide-spread as WoW, comparing it to real-life aspects can create some actually interesting articles.
I hate when people shoo off some actually interesting and relevant information by saying "It's just a game." Yes, it is just a game, but that doesn't mean real life aspects are forbidden to exist within it.
Tuhljin Feb 14th 2009 9:56PM
Falcio: And I hate it when people stretch the definitions of words just to make some inane point in order to look wise. Eternauta is right: WoW is none of those things listed here.
Siddaru Feb 14th 2009 1:32PM
I think the leveling process can be a model for evolution if you look at the entire player base. Maybe WoW isn't the best example because it's pretty easy to level, but players who aren't good at game mechanics or socializing tend to become frustrated at lower levels and quit. Think about it, even the worst level 80 usually knows group mechanics, lingo, good talent builds, spell rotations, things like that. Poor players are weeded out, and good players ascend to the end-game.