The common perception of World of Warcraft is that the immensely popular online game is a haven for obsessive nerds – folks with no lives and little to contribute to society.
The new "Player Stories" section of the World of Warcraft community site aims to accentuate the positive. While most anecdotes about World of Warcraft lean to the juvenile and the negative – accounts of pranks, tales of addiction or public airings of shameful behavior – these user-contributed tales focus on the ways that World of Warcraft improved lives.
In one story, an anonymous mother marvels at the way World of Warcraft encouraged co-operation among her two boys. "They would share items, help set groups up, and give each other advice from over each other's shoulders," she gushes. "It was great how they worked together!"
Another gamer expresses thanks to Blizzard for creating an in-game quest written by Ezra Chatterton – the 10-year-old boy who was stricken with cancer and made a dying wish to visit the Blizzard offices in Irvine, California. "With all the mess that is going on in the world, it’s nice to hear that there are still people who think about doing something for others."
Lovemymonkey, a soldier deployed to Iraq in February discovered World of Warcraft while at war and looks forward to using the game to keep up with old friends. "We are ending our deployment and soon will be back in the States, where we don’t have to worry about much anymore," he says. Under normal circumstances his support group would now all go their separate ways. "But because of this game we now have a way that we plan to get together at least once a week to support each other in getting used to being safe again, with no bulletproof vests or bombs going off."
The stories are filtered through Blizzard, so we won't see any tales critical of World of Warcraft. The rest of the Internet has that covered.
Image courtesy Blizzard
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