A world cannot exist without rules, and
especially not a world designed by human beings. World of Warcraft is Massively
Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game developed by Blizzard entertainment, set
in a lush living world, filled with fantastical monsters and magic. Yet for as
alive as it feels, World of Warcraft was designed, and in particular, the laws
of physics within that world are specifically crafted to be different from the
physical reality. This was done meticulously and thoughtfully in order to
create a better gameplay experience, both in the realm of storytelling and the
life of the game, but also so the that the mechanical controls of the game
could function without becoming overly complex.
In
order for World of Warcraft and other games to be playable and entertaining,
the laws understood in the physical universe must be broken. Clearly understood
gameplay mechanics and controls sit centrally to many instances of the laws of
physics being broken. One of the more poignant instances of physics being
broken, or in this case simplified, can be seen with character and non-player
character (from this point on referred to as NPC) movement. Within World of
Warcraft characters can be controlled through movement commands via keyboard
input. The actual movement in the game is where the laws of physics break down.
When moving, characters do not physically accelerate or decelerate in a
physically accurate manner, instead they begin and end movement in a linear,
constant fashion. In moving this way, the law of inertia breaks during all character
movement. This concept also appears with the rideable mounts that player can
acquire. These mounts, while ranging greatly in aesthetics and visuals, all
serve the same mechanical function, they increase the rate that the player can
move. It also illustrates the lack of inertia as some of these mounts are large
elephants or dragons the size of large cars, yet require the same amount of
distance to reach maximum speed, as well as stop, as an unmounted player. While
this change seems unnecessary and vaguely arbitrary, it serves the important
function of allowing for more control of the character at any given time,
without seemingly random or overly difficult mental prediction of how far a
character will move. While one could argue it removes from the immersion of the
game, it allows to player to focus on their actions and adventures more than
how far they will keep running if they don’t stop soon enough.
While
World of Warcraft obvious breaks of the laws of physics provide an important
function for playability, they also provide important cinematic and world
building elements. Some of the most important creatures in the universe of World
of Warcraft come in conflict with biological physics, particularly where the
size of creatures is concerned. Within the game there are dragons that exceed
the size of small buildings and ships, all while having the ability to fly and
move with surprising agility. Where these creatures come into conflict with the
physical world has to do with the square-cube law. The square-cube law is a mathematical
that states as by increasing the surface area of a shape, its volume increases
at a greater rate than the surface area. When applied to biomechanics, past a
certain size the cubic increase to the mass of any particular creature would
simply overstrain the muscle of that creature, which only experiences a squared
increase of overall available muscle. The rapidly increasing volume would also
overstrain the bones of those creatures on land, while flying creatures would
experience an increase in wing load in order to achieve lift. Despite that,
within World of Warcraft, massive creatures exist and thrive. While this could
be explained in the game by magic, the design choice to ignore these physical
limits allows the developers and designers to create creatures and monsters
that surpass the physical limits of this world, and thus help surpass
imagination. These fantastical creatures also help reinforce the world that is
being built within World of Warcraft: that the world the player explores is
greater and more fantastic than the physical world outside them. This adds to
the immersion while not adding any unnecessary difficulty to the gameplay or
mechanics.
In
some cases the need to ignore or bend the laws of physics in a game encompasses
both the need for better storytelling and a gameplay need. The spellcasting
effects of many of the player classes showcase this idea with great detail.
While the world contains fantastic enemies and creatures, the players of World of
Warcraft are also capable of great feats of strength or magic, so the graphics
and effects must show exactly what the player is doing, or what spell they are
casting. Particularly in the instances of the spells cast by the mage and
warlock classes, if the spell effects were present in the physical universe,
the spellcasters would incur major damage to their own limbs, due to many
spells include summon fire or lightning with their bare hands with no protection.
The bending of physical laws goes a step further as once the spell is cast, as
the fire that does not damage the caster damages the target of the spell. While
it cannot be explained by the rules of physics, World of Warcraft bends them to
its own form in order to allow players to live out fantasies of power and otherworldly
adventures.
While
these are not all the changes to the rules of physics, nor are they minor
changes, World of Warcraft takes great care in weaving the breaking of physics
into the game. The bending always takes place when there is a need for a
suspension of disbelief and is done in a way that serves one or both of two
main purposes, to either create storytelling and world building, or to allow
for a greater range of gameplay opportunity. World of Warcraft stands as an
excellent example of how one can break and bend the laws of physics with a game
or film, without seeming arbitrary or meaningless. Ever instance it breaks what
is known about reality, it does so with great reason, and thought.
