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Much of the appeal of WoW Classic, and of much nostalgia-catered media in general, shares many of the same motivations and drives as the fantasy of isekai.
A desire to return to the past with knowledge from the future in order to establish your own influence and power.
A desire to return to the past with knowledge from the future in order to establish your own influence and power.
In essence, the ability to write or rewrite history, in order to return to an established narrative of the "golden era."
But weirdly, that's not even the crux of the matter, as it turns out.
But weirdly, that's not even the crux of the matter, as it turns out.
Interestingly, the anecdotes I've gathered from friends of mine that continue to play it cite the social aspect of the game as the defining appeal of the game.
Which... is also a large part of isekai fiction! Alienated young men are sent to another world in which their
Which... is also a large part of isekai fiction! Alienated young men are sent to another world in which their
particular skills and talents are valued and appreciated.
WoW Classic encourages sociability to an almost detrimental degree, making the game difficult to progress through for new players due to the lack of other new players to play level appropriate content with.
WoW Classic encourages sociability to an almost detrimental degree, making the game difficult to progress through for new players due to the lack of other new players to play level appropriate content with.
In contrast, retail makes it incredibly easy to group up and progress through content with features like the raid finder, which don't exist in classic.
So while it certainly eases the convenience of the play experience, and almost certainly led to higher player retention,
So while it certainly eases the convenience of the play experience, and almost certainly led to higher player retention,
it means the game focus shifts a lot from being forced to court people to running content with you to one where you can essentially "one-night stand" with a party with ease.
This isn't to say one or the other is *necessarily* better, but to say that the old experience is what
This isn't to say one or the other is *necessarily* better, but to say that the old experience is what
many veterans crave. But that's kind of the conundrum of designing an mmo, isn't it?
It's difficult to make a game that continues to cater to a small but dedicated core of people when the reality of game dev under capitalism means you have to keep attracting new players.
It's difficult to make a game that continues to cater to a small but dedicated core of people when the reality of game dev under capitalism means you have to keep attracting new players.
But what is a central pillar of isekai if not a wistful attachment to a dying space, and the desire to breathe new life back into it.
And we get to a point where we realize just why so many isekai are about going into mmos, many of which are defunct, shut down, or unplayed.
And we get to a point where we realize just why so many isekai are about going into mmos, many of which are defunct, shut down, or unplayed.
