Tuesday, December 1, 2009

One bridge too far

I pity the fool... who thought that was actually a good idea. Now let me start by saying I don't have any issues with Mr.T.
In fact when I was 8 years old I watched A-team on a regular basis and remember enjoying it quite a bit; But when it comes to MMORPGs you have to be careful not to rip the fabric of spacetime.

And by that I mean, you simply need to take care that whatever you introduce into the world is in some way shape or form related to the world's lore or people therein. If it's not, and you're suddenly presented with something that is so obviously not of 'this world' it is simply put the end of immersion.

Here you are fresh out of the starter zone ready to take on the world and you run into a guy trying to pawn some grenades off on you that have no purpose other than make everyone around you look twice as ugly as they did before. Not to mention the fact that if you're horde that particular night elf will look horribly out of place despite his obvious non-wow demeanor.

I say nay, if you are to introduce a quasi celebrity into a virtual environment it has to fit. I could've seen ozzy as a warlock leading a small army against the lich king and thought to myself 'sure, why not' but to have 'Mr. T's' alter ego standing at the exit of the starter zone just makes me wonder why.

Why are you standing there? What is your purpose?
Why are you handing out grenades instead of grills?
Why would I want to look like you?
Are they going to make the next class a 'mohawk'?

I like frilly things. I love giants that fart big green bubbles and pop them with their finger, I tremendously enjoy thrall and all the other characters that show up repeatedly throughout the game. I even like haris pilton and other introductions of semi famous people in interesting ways and even Ozzy's short introduction to wow was worth some giggles.

But Mr.T the night elf mohawk computer hacker that hands out cosmetic surgery grenades to anyone 'who believes'?

I'd rather french kiss a kodo.

Theres a lot of room in this world for fantasy and fun and there's nothing as funny as a well placed 'real life' reference... but if it's not done right it just ends up being a clear break from immersion, a reminder of what is going on out in the real world that we tried to get away from by playing in the first place, in short: one bridge too far.

16 comments:

LarĂ­sa said...

/agree.

I'm afraid we're in a minority though. When wowinsider linked to my anti-mr-t-post, I got a ton of criticism, being accused of lacking any sense of humor. "Make us a favor and stop playing" was one of the comments.

Now there's two of us at least.

Joar said...

You can add me to the list of people that think the Mr. T thing is ridiculous. William Shatner standing in Gadgetzan trying to get the goblins to build him a starship - that I could have handled. Even Sylvester Stallone standing in Gurubashi arena screaming "Adrian...". Fine. Makes sense. But Mr T? I don't get it.

Fish said...

Its a MOHAWK GRENADE FOOOO! Honestly, I thought it was hilarious. Along the lines of Harris Pilton or any number of pop culture referrences.

Its not for everyone, but I think putting him in the starter zones means most people who have been playing for a while can easily avoid him, and you can click on it to remove it. Is it as bad as the turkey? I think not. I got mohawked last night and left it, I think its pretty funny.

Captain The First said...

@Fish:

Personally I think it's more of a matter of workmanship in this particular case. For example. putting MrT next to a goblin flyer and having him say 'I ain't flyin foo', making a quest to feed him drugged milk to get him to fly is at least an effort. Tossing him in next to the starter area where he's horribly out of place is a bit sad... and frankly if I were mr T despite being pleased to be displayed in wow would've appreciated a little more thought.

But in the end it is what it is, I am saddened that much like with ozzy it could've been so much more but ended up being so little but I am always happy something's happening.

Zaph said...

I agree with you as well. There is absolutely no connection between WoW's lore, atmosphere, or anything and Mr. T except advertising spokesperson. Next thing you know we'll get a quest from Cill Blinton having us collect blue dresses and cigars.

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