OnlyFangs Has Made 'World of Warcraft' Into Twitch's Best Soap Opera (rollingstone.com) 11
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Rolling Stone: Sun pours through the lush foliage of a jungle, bleaching the pale limestone as a rotting man stands in the center of an otherwise empty arena, his yellow eyes leering from beneath a fringe of limp, blonde hair. Positioned around the edge are a hundred bodies, Orcs and Trolls and bipedal oxen shouting, demanding, the death of the dishonorable. Their voices swell into a cacophony of noise before one rings out above the rest, howling, 'Kill the cheater and you'll get 20 gold!' There is silence, and then another frenzy. As I watch, eyes fixed on the dim glow of a laptop screen, I think of the colosseum in Rome -- sweat running down the muscled arms of battle-tested gladiators, the crowd cheering for blood.
This might sound like a moment pulled from a high fantasy drama made for prestige TV, but this is World of Warcraft, a now 20-year old online RPG. Instead of actors parading in front of green screens, this story's cast are streamers that occupy a virtual world. Tensions are high not because they're scripted, but because in World of Warcraft's Hardcore mode, death is permanent. Dejected, though acknowledging the transgression made, Sequisha -- the streamer who was promptly executed for cheating -- sighs, and goes back to the character select screen. He creates a new avatar; it's time to start the game all over again.
Sequisha's execution and subsequent reincarnation is just one of hundreds of stories playing out everyday in World of Warcraft as streamers have flocked to the massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG) to play together. Through their strife, and a commitment to staying in-character via roleplay, groups like the guild OnlyFangs have turned World of Warcraft into an RPG within an RPG, playing out improvisational personal drama where the stakes are high. In Hardcore mode, World of Warcraft has become the best soap opera on the internet, all playing out across over dozens of OnlyFangs creator streams every day. The new "Classic" and "Hardcore" servers were launched in celebration of World of Warcraft's 20th anniversary, helping to reignite interest in the game and increase viewership on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. The Hardcore server, where character death is permanent, attracted top streamers, leading to the formation of guilds like OnlyFangs.
After a successful first season, OnlyFangs reshuffled its roster, embracing a more immersive roleplaying approach in its second season. "What they didn't know was their experiment in World of Warcraft roleplay would inadvertently create one of the best emergent dramas on the internet," reports Rolling Stone.
This might sound like a moment pulled from a high fantasy drama made for prestige TV, but this is World of Warcraft, a now 20-year old online RPG. Instead of actors parading in front of green screens, this story's cast are streamers that occupy a virtual world. Tensions are high not because they're scripted, but because in World of Warcraft's Hardcore mode, death is permanent. Dejected, though acknowledging the transgression made, Sequisha -- the streamer who was promptly executed for cheating -- sighs, and goes back to the character select screen. He creates a new avatar; it's time to start the game all over again.
Sequisha's execution and subsequent reincarnation is just one of hundreds of stories playing out everyday in World of Warcraft as streamers have flocked to the massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG) to play together. Through their strife, and a commitment to staying in-character via roleplay, groups like the guild OnlyFangs have turned World of Warcraft into an RPG within an RPG, playing out improvisational personal drama where the stakes are high. In Hardcore mode, World of Warcraft has become the best soap opera on the internet, all playing out across over dozens of OnlyFangs creator streams every day. The new "Classic" and "Hardcore" servers were launched in celebration of World of Warcraft's 20th anniversary, helping to reignite interest in the game and increase viewership on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. The Hardcore server, where character death is permanent, attracted top streamers, leading to the formation of guilds like OnlyFangs.
After a successful first season, OnlyFangs reshuffled its roster, embracing a more immersive roleplaying approach in its second season. "What they didn't know was their experiment in World of Warcraft roleplay would inadvertently create one of the best emergent dramas on the internet," reports Rolling Stone.
"Cheated" how? (Score:2)
I assume not something Blizzard would care about either way.
Re:"Cheated" how? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
inb4 /. tracking cookies
"I see that you have been reading Reddit. It would be a shame if something were to happen to your /. account ..."
Lip sync for spoken chat? (Score:3)
This makes me wonder if the lips move correctly for the words spoken. Not impossible to do after the fact I assume, but could be neat to see in game that they try to somewhat match the movement of our words.
Though in WoW you have the added "people speaking a different language than the race speaks in game" issue. Could be neat to see a newer game with more language nerd stuff. Like the scenes from Arrival (Sci-Fi movie about aliens just arriving here) where they're trying to understand each other. Might offer some interesting data too (not sure which scientist would want to know most about how humans try to communicate with an alien, but anthropology maybe?).
"Prestige TV"? Seriously? (Score:4, Insightful)
"I think of the colosseum in Rome"... what is this blogger smoking, and where can I get some?
Re: (Score:1)
Or you make a cost free test account and go into an Arena in Azeroth?
Obligatory⦠(Score:3)