Absinthe
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2004
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(This is a repost something I typed up on the WoW forums and is really only applicable to those who play it. That said, if you're a fan of WC lore in general, you may find it of interest. Also, it's long.)
This topic contains spoilers, but I'd say the only things to be spoiled is disappointing character development. It's no more harmful than the decisions Blizzard has made in managing their lore.
Yes, this is another topic about how Blizzard is handling the lore in WoW. And yes, this is being written in light of the unveiling of Zul'Aman. So with that forewarning, I advise you to ignore and refrain from posting in this topic if you're sick of hearing about it (an understandable position). The same if you don't care about the lore. However, this is being written as a compendium of what I see as lore mismanagement and the way I see lore being treated in BC as a whole. So with that said...
It is inarguable that certain decisions regarding the development of characters in WoW have been controversial. Chief among these are the development of Kael'thas and Illidan, with both going insane and becoming raid bosses. The arguments tend to boil down into two opposing arguments: One being that significant characters need to die for the sake of story progression and that "immortal" characters are cheap. The other being that having these figures killed by 10/25-man raids is anticlimactic. I believe that this debate is misdirected, and it is not one I engage in. I find merit in both sides, but I believe they ultimately miss the point. Namely, the issue of whether or not it's done well.
I am not inherently opposed to being able to fight and even kill characters such as Kael'thas and Illidan. What I do expect is that their deaths be handled well. I believe that Blizzard has failed in that regard. Yes, the few tidbits of story you pick up in the game explaining their descents into insanity provide justification, but these feel tacked on. It's as if Blizzard decided to turn them into full-on villains through the arbitrary reasoning that it would just be cool to fight them. Hence the stale and tired "lol craziness" that both were infected with with nary the traits of compassion or humanity that they once exhibited. Illidan goes from being a troubled, misguided, scheming anti-hero or villain (whichever term you think applies more) and becomes a generic powermonger. Kael'thas - the soft-spoken, compassionate leader of the Blood Elves - becomes an insane addict brimming with pompousness and racial hatred. The middle area between their pre and post BC character states is so simple and cliched that it can be summed up in less than five words: "They went crazy."
I recognize that there's only so much narrative that can be put into a game like WoW, and maybe this is just an unavoidable disadvantage. But I personally feel that there wasn't even a heartfelt attempt at making such transitions satisfying. Such development is well within the realm of possibility. After all, life is full of people who undergo drastic personality changes. But this is not life. This is a story which makes heavy use of dramatic elements. For the sake of comparison, let's say something similar happened in Half-Life 3. Alyx, your companion throughout the previous game, comes back as a villain working for the Combine. You are told briefly in the beginning that she was brainwashed. You later kill her without remorse. Would you feel satisfied with that arc? I know I wouldn't. It may be plausible, but it's still shoddy story-telling.
I am glad that Kael'thas' life was spared, but only because I want to see his character and his reasoning fleshed out more (a fat chance it seems). Not because "he's too cool to die". Unfortunately, Illidan will apparently have no more chances unless Blizzard throws out another lame retcon or resurrection. Let me restate this: I am not opposed to Illidan dying in WoW. But for such a major character in WC3 and its expansion, as well as WC history, his demise can be classified as nothing but a disappointment. If there had been links to other, more meaningful characters like Tyrande or Malfurion, I'd feel differently. Tyrande in particular was a major force in shaping Illidan's actions, and their story of unrequited love could have come to a satisfactory conclusion. Instead we get the crazy, over-zealous she-bitch Maiev Shadowsong. A throwaway character that nobody liked and should have died in her futile hunt for Illidan in Outland. A character that actually did go crazy in front of the player's very eyes, who left Tyrande for dead and lied through her teeth about it. And now suddenly she is the hero? What kind of half-assed role reversal is this?
Which brings me to the latest entry in potential lore mismanagement: Zul'jin. The most important character in troll history; the one troll that managed to unify his race against the elves; the troll that is universally revered amongst the tribes... Is a boss? Are you serious? A piggy bank that players crack open for phat lewt? I recognize that there's a debate over whether he's evil or not. I personally think the elves are the real offenders in their particular long-standing racial clash. But whatever you think, he deserves better than this. He is spoken of with nothing but reverence in the game. The Revantusk tribe awaited his return. The Hakkari zealot on Yojamba Isle painted him as something as a missing savior to the volatile factions. Even little things like the "For Zul'jin!" troll emote got it into the player's head that should Zul'jin finally reappear, it would be a cause for celebration. He was one of the few figures in the race's history that transcended the divisions and unified the trolls under a common goal. Why is he reverting back to factionalism? I don't want to hear that he's killable due to the Horde's allegiance with the Blood Elves. If WC's lore can be twisted so that Orcs and Elves - two races that waged savage war on each other for years - can be buddies, then there's no excuse for this. And if Blizzard wheels out another recycled story of corruption to justify his death, then I'll be pissed.
Granted, this is assuming he actually does get killed off or mangled in some way. But in the absence of a positive track record on this kind of thing, I'm not holding out much hope. If Blizzard is going to kill off its characters in WoW, then it should be done in a meaningful way. There should be a climax, at least for the major ones (and I think Zul'jin is significant enough to qualify). Otherwise it's just cheap and even insulting to the fans who invested in their game because of a love for its world. I'm also miffed that it seems like every second or third instance involves you fighting more evil orcs and more trolls. Is the Alliance's backstory so boring and unimpressive that there's nobody worth killing?
End rant, I guess. I think I've been reasonable and I'm certainly willing to hear other opposing points of view, so I'd appreciate it if responses were kept civil.
This topic contains spoilers, but I'd say the only things to be spoiled is disappointing character development. It's no more harmful than the decisions Blizzard has made in managing their lore.
Yes, this is another topic about how Blizzard is handling the lore in WoW. And yes, this is being written in light of the unveiling of Zul'Aman. So with that forewarning, I advise you to ignore and refrain from posting in this topic if you're sick of hearing about it (an understandable position). The same if you don't care about the lore. However, this is being written as a compendium of what I see as lore mismanagement and the way I see lore being treated in BC as a whole. So with that said...
It is inarguable that certain decisions regarding the development of characters in WoW have been controversial. Chief among these are the development of Kael'thas and Illidan, with both going insane and becoming raid bosses. The arguments tend to boil down into two opposing arguments: One being that significant characters need to die for the sake of story progression and that "immortal" characters are cheap. The other being that having these figures killed by 10/25-man raids is anticlimactic. I believe that this debate is misdirected, and it is not one I engage in. I find merit in both sides, but I believe they ultimately miss the point. Namely, the issue of whether or not it's done well.
I am not inherently opposed to being able to fight and even kill characters such as Kael'thas and Illidan. What I do expect is that their deaths be handled well. I believe that Blizzard has failed in that regard. Yes, the few tidbits of story you pick up in the game explaining their descents into insanity provide justification, but these feel tacked on. It's as if Blizzard decided to turn them into full-on villains through the arbitrary reasoning that it would just be cool to fight them. Hence the stale and tired "lol craziness" that both were infected with with nary the traits of compassion or humanity that they once exhibited. Illidan goes from being a troubled, misguided, scheming anti-hero or villain (whichever term you think applies more) and becomes a generic powermonger. Kael'thas - the soft-spoken, compassionate leader of the Blood Elves - becomes an insane addict brimming with pompousness and racial hatred. The middle area between their pre and post BC character states is so simple and cliched that it can be summed up in less than five words: "They went crazy."
I recognize that there's only so much narrative that can be put into a game like WoW, and maybe this is just an unavoidable disadvantage. But I personally feel that there wasn't even a heartfelt attempt at making such transitions satisfying. Such development is well within the realm of possibility. After all, life is full of people who undergo drastic personality changes. But this is not life. This is a story which makes heavy use of dramatic elements. For the sake of comparison, let's say something similar happened in Half-Life 3. Alyx, your companion throughout the previous game, comes back as a villain working for the Combine. You are told briefly in the beginning that she was brainwashed. You later kill her without remorse. Would you feel satisfied with that arc? I know I wouldn't. It may be plausible, but it's still shoddy story-telling.
I am glad that Kael'thas' life was spared, but only because I want to see his character and his reasoning fleshed out more (a fat chance it seems). Not because "he's too cool to die". Unfortunately, Illidan will apparently have no more chances unless Blizzard throws out another lame retcon or resurrection. Let me restate this: I am not opposed to Illidan dying in WoW. But for such a major character in WC3 and its expansion, as well as WC history, his demise can be classified as nothing but a disappointment. If there had been links to other, more meaningful characters like Tyrande or Malfurion, I'd feel differently. Tyrande in particular was a major force in shaping Illidan's actions, and their story of unrequited love could have come to a satisfactory conclusion. Instead we get the crazy, over-zealous she-bitch Maiev Shadowsong. A throwaway character that nobody liked and should have died in her futile hunt for Illidan in Outland. A character that actually did go crazy in front of the player's very eyes, who left Tyrande for dead and lied through her teeth about it. And now suddenly she is the hero? What kind of half-assed role reversal is this?
Which brings me to the latest entry in potential lore mismanagement: Zul'jin. The most important character in troll history; the one troll that managed to unify his race against the elves; the troll that is universally revered amongst the tribes... Is a boss? Are you serious? A piggy bank that players crack open for phat lewt? I recognize that there's a debate over whether he's evil or not. I personally think the elves are the real offenders in their particular long-standing racial clash. But whatever you think, he deserves better than this. He is spoken of with nothing but reverence in the game. The Revantusk tribe awaited his return. The Hakkari zealot on Yojamba Isle painted him as something as a missing savior to the volatile factions. Even little things like the "For Zul'jin!" troll emote got it into the player's head that should Zul'jin finally reappear, it would be a cause for celebration. He was one of the few figures in the race's history that transcended the divisions and unified the trolls under a common goal. Why is he reverting back to factionalism? I don't want to hear that he's killable due to the Horde's allegiance with the Blood Elves. If WC's lore can be twisted so that Orcs and Elves - two races that waged savage war on each other for years - can be buddies, then there's no excuse for this. And if Blizzard wheels out another recycled story of corruption to justify his death, then I'll be pissed.
Granted, this is assuming he actually does get killed off or mangled in some way. But in the absence of a positive track record on this kind of thing, I'm not holding out much hope. If Blizzard is going to kill off its characters in WoW, then it should be done in a meaningful way. There should be a climax, at least for the major ones (and I think Zul'jin is significant enough to qualify). Otherwise it's just cheap and even insulting to the fans who invested in their game because of a love for its world. I'm also miffed that it seems like every second or third instance involves you fighting more evil orcs and more trolls. Is the Alliance's backstory so boring and unimpressive that there's nobody worth killing?
End rant, I guess. I think I've been reasonable and I'm certainly willing to hear other opposing points of view, so I'd appreciate it if responses were kept civil.
