Brandon Sanderson has a lot to say about video games, and he’s got a particularly interesting opinion about one wildly popular RPG,World of Warcraft. When it comes to MMOs, Sanderson’s trade doesn’t really allow for the time investment you’d need for games likeWoW, and it’s probably a good thing for his career overall that he’s avoided the genre.
However, Sanderson’s avoidance ofWoWisn’t a reflection on the game’s quality or the largerWarcraftIP in general. In a discussion with esports gaming icon Travis Gafford, Sanderson divulged his love for the originalWarcraftgames and why he never got intoWorld of Warcraft,citing the fact thatWoWcan be quite a time-consuming distraction.
Sanderson Loves Warcraft, But Not World Of Warcraft
MMOs In General Aren’t A Great Fit For Authors
There’s no shortage of gaming IPs that Sanderson enjoys, ranging fromgames likeDark SoulstoHalo 2,which he argues has some of thebest writing in video games. Sanderson’s gaming archive extends deeper than this. As Gafford reveals onBrandon Sanderson’s YouTube channel thatWoWis one of his top picks forbest world-building in a video game, Sanderson highlights his previousWarcraftexperience.
“I played Warcraft 1, 2, and then 3, [but] never played WoW,“Sanderson says in response to Gafford’s “opposite” experience, who playedWarcraft 3and got deep intoWoWbecause of itsintricate world and lore-building."[Warcraft 3] is really where it started to have its own cool lore … heroes, things like that,“he continues, pointing out that it was theWarcrafthe played the most.
“And when WoW came out, and I’m like, ‘I am not touching that,'“he says,“no MMOs for me!I need to write books.“Sanderson has"never sat down to play a minute of World of Warcraft,“in case it wasn’t clear already.
It’s Probably A Good Thing Sanderson Stayed Away From WoW
World Of Warcraft Can Definitely Be A Distraction
As an author, Sanderson is probably better offavoiding MMOs entirely,as we might never see another book from him again if he got too deep into one. Nonetheless, Sanderson’s refusal to playWoWhasnothing to do with the quality of the gameor its world-building ability, and it might even be a testament to how good the game is.
World of Warcraftis addictive because it’s so immersive, and players have been coming back to the game for years thanks to its truly unique and entertaining experience. That’sexactly why the game can consume peopleand become an unhealthy distraction from other responsibilities, in Sanderson’s case, writing.
Sanderson seems to know himself well, and he clearly knows that he would not be able to stop himself from getting absorbed in MMOs likeWorld of Warcraft. Sanderson’s livelihood and prolific output simply don’t allow him to spend hours in the game, and he’s right to avoid it, despite knowing it would be a ton of fun.
