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WORLD OF WARCRAFTPurpose: to introduce the online world known as WoWContext: Fantasy, MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game)Audience: people with a rudimentary/light/moderate understanding of (or interest in) videogames or online communities.Genre: Evaluation/ReviewTopic: WOW is more than just an MMO. It has history, a future, and an entire world in constant motion.Angle: the complexity of the whole game rivals (and in many cases seems to outshine) any single persons perspective of their own real lives. As long as they are strong enough, anyone can go anywhere or do anything.A WORLD LITERALLY

The Vast OutdoorsThere are (technically) four continents which together contain about 60 clearly visible zones on the current WoW map. A larger zone is similar to a small country on a real-life globe. Each zone has its own political, cultural, and architectural anomalies based on the history of that area.

For Example: Redridge Mountains are a vassal state/colony of Stormwind, currently the greatest human city still standing. The town of Lakeshire is poorly stocked and in constant need but receives little help from Stormwind. Orcs have occupied an old sentry tower in the eastern parts of Redridge, but have not been able to take much else. Despite all their troubles, Lakeshire is a relatively peaceful and idyllic village.

LAKESHIREThis is just a few facts about one small secluded town in a quiet zone far from anything important. Other zones have much more active, intriguing, and complex histories. Literally thousands of towns, settlements, dungeons, arenas, cities, plains, forests, deserts, caves, mountains, lakes, rivers, and oceans blanket the map. Each one of these comes with its own story; some only a few sentences long while others need many pages, sometimes whole books, to tell.

Also, none of the races in either the Alliance or the Horde are fully represented. For example the trolls of the horde are only a small portion of a single tribe, the Darkspear. Dozens of other troll tribes and other separate troll cultures are spread across the map. Some are cannibals, some worship strange gods, others have formed pacts with various good or evil forces. Politics in WoW seem quite simple on the surface: five races are in an Alliance against another five, the Horde. Upon closer examination, however, these alliances are not all that they seem. The Alliance uses all of its resources abroad, and leaves its home turf in disarray. The Horde is not as firmly allied as the alliance, and some (such as the undead) hold no true loyalty to the Horde banner.ALLIANCEHORDENON-HORDE TROLLS

Commercial EnterprisingWhen millions of players buy, sell, gather, craft, win, loot, give, steal, conjure, destroy, and especially trade thousands of items whenever and however they see fit, a sharp eye coupled with an economically savvy mind can make a killing. It is easy to accomplish a good trade once or twice, but a few players have made an art of mastering the monetary aspect of the game. Prices rise and fall based on supply and demand.

Alternate Reality

The vastness and complexity of WoW allows for players to live an alternate life in another world. Some players make in-game friends who they will probably never meet in real life. They do not know each others real names or faces, but they have learned each others personalities, personal preferences, lifestyle, gaming techniques, and a great deal besides during countless hours of interaction through wow. In many cases players are closer to their in-game friends than the people they know in real life.

Here is a video clip that could probably do a better job of describing some of the warcraft aspects of

(Turn the volume up a little)

23 books on the history, dungeons, and legends of WoW have been published and are available to buy from the Blizzard Online Store.World of Warcraft also publishes its own magazine.Over 11 million people play WoW.The Game Manual was originally 208 pages long, but since then both a 28 page and a 33 page expansion manual have been added. The manual now has 269 pages.Since there are so many credit cards attached to WoW accounts to pay the monthly fee, hackers and keyloggers are all too common. The WoW Development team has invented its own hi-tech security features to prevent account theft. See link on Authenticators.

Web LinksFor a better understanding of the basics of Wow History, Mythology, Culture, Races, Lands, or peoples, see one of the following links.http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/story/index.html http://www.wowwiki.com/Portal:Main If you would like to try the game yourself (temporary free account), click the link below. Beware! WoW is dangerously addicting. It could affect your grades and social life if you let it drain all your time. But its still well worth it.https://us.battle.net/account/creation/wow/signup/

Artists can play videogames too.http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/community/fanart/http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/community/conceptart/

More video clips can be found here, or on Youtube.http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/downloads/movies.html The famous Blizzard Online Store.http://us.blizzard.com/store/

As promised, here is the link on account security and Blizzards Authenticator.http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20572&rhtml=true (Last slide, I promise)All information in this slide show comes directly from 3 sources: the WoW Game Manual, www.worldofwarcraft.com, and my own personal in-game experience. Pictures were either Googled or from www.worldofwarcraft.com . Video came from Youtube, but is also found on www.worldofwarcraft.com .