5 Things I Learned from World of Warcraft
It may sound silly, but this time-worn MMO has taught me quite a bit about dealing with people, good and bad. Anonymity breeds jackassery, and usually brings out the very worst, or very best in people. Call my cynical, but I’ve developed a general mistrust of most players, and an understanding and appreciation of others. I’ve learned that you need to be different to stand out, and that you can’t always rely on your tools.
People are not Dependable
Need that enchantment for your raid tonight? Too bad, because your friend is offline, and he’s not returning your calls. The same is true for any of us that rely on others for a project, if they don’t come through, you need to have a backup plan. One tip I picked up a long time ago was the set their deadlines a few days before your actual deadline, that way if things go awry, you have time to take care of it.
Things Change, or Break
What’s here today might be gone tomorrow. Your power might go out, perhaps a storm rolls in, or your car is totaled. In world of Warcraft, most players use Addons, which are essentially plug ins for the game UI. Many rely of them so heavily, a patch can make their characters unplayable in their eyes. If Photoshop starts acting up, can you make due with the most basic commands? If you’re sitting at another person’s computer, can you make due?
I’m often surprised at how much newer designers rely on automated tasks, with no idea how to handle the loss of said tasks. Sure, clicking “Drop Shadow” and configuring a few sliders is quick, but you should know how to make them by hand if need be as well.
I am not a Unique Snowflake
I know it hurts to hear, but unless you’re a AAA designer, clients can’t tell us apart. All they have to go on is what you show them, because chances are they don’t know much about you. On my server there’s a Tauren that dances in the same spot every night in a fancy hat. Everyone knows him (love or hate), because he found a way to stand out. I’m not saying you should show up to proposals dancing, but hey, maybe you can be “that dancing guy.”
Keybinds are Key
As I dove more heavily into Player VS Player content, I quickly learned that clicking wasn’t cutting it. The same is true for any software you use. Not all keyboard shortcuts are effective, and some may actually be slower than if you simply clickede, the trick is trying each of them out, and see which stick.
Oddly enough, my keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop are actually set up like my WoW keybinds. W and S are bound to Zoom in/out, F swaps my foreground and background colors, E and Q adjust my brush size, and R does a quick save. Is it drastically better than the default binds? No, but it’s what’s familiar to me, so I use them more effectively.
You Have Lost 250 Points of Reputation
The most valuable lesson WoW has taught me is this, people never forgive, and the internet never forgets. Steal that sweet mount? It’ll be all over the chat channels before you have a chance to get back to town. I personally know people that will follow (stalk) players that have wronged them for weeks, or even months. Change your name, server, or race? Too bad, they’ll notice you’re gone, check new players, and compare dates. No amount of obscurity will shake a scorned user.
The same is true for us, wrong a client, or fellow artist? It’ll be all over twitter in seconds. God forbid someone retweets it. Caches go way back, and Google will make sure any future searches carry your mistakes with them. Sure you can try to make amends, and perhaps gets things removed, but it will always be there in some format.
Your Turn
So what about you? Have you learned any valuable life lessons from a Video Game? Perhaps the value of trust in EVE, or pushing the bounds of originality in Champions Online? Let us know!
Brandon Diaz is the creator of The Corrupted Canvas. He's a web designer with a pretty severe caffeine addiction. He's avid about many things including web standards, web development, various teas, and game design. If you'd like to get in touch you can find him on Twitter.
