One of the most anticipated games of the past few years is about to enter the open beta phase. I am sooooo keyed up for this one. Blizzard announced that beta signups for World of Warcraft will open tomorrow (January 28th) at 8pm CST. The signups will last a week and are NOT first-come, first-served. So everyone who signs up has an "equal" chance at getting in.
There's no word yet on how many testers Blizzard will accept for WoW, but one can safely assume that it should be their largest beta test ever considering that it's their first MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). As some food for thought, consider that the beta test for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne exceeded 30,000 people. The last large MMORPG that had an open beta was the disappointing Star Wars Galaxies. Sony/Verant claims that stage 3 of the beta contained more than 50,000 people. There's no word yet either on how the beta will be conducted (e.g. in stages or not). WoW has been in the "Friends & Family" alpha stage for a while now. I haven't seen any numbers on how many people this includes, but reading the variety of hands-on previews that have popped up lately would lead me to believe that it's somewhere in the 200-500 range.
Sadly, I fear that my luck with Blizzard beta tests has already been drained. I was selected for the Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction beta test, much to my surprise when the CD arrived to my apartment one afternoon. In some kind of sick twist of fate, the beta test took place over the final week of a trimester in college, which left me little time to test the game after studying for and completing end of trimester tests and exams. I was able to partake in a little bit of WarCraft III beta testing through a bit of sheer luck as well, although I wasn't selected as a tester for that one.
Throughout the years, I've participated in a huge selection of massive online games. The first for me was Ultima Online. I was 17 at the time and had to give my Mom the money to write a check to cover the cost of printing and shipping of the beta CD. My love affair with beta testing massive online games continued from there. I never partook in the phenomenom that is EverCrack....eerrr, EverQuest, although from what I can tell, I don't know that I would have enjoyed it much. The recent popularity of MMORPG games has given me plenty of games to test ranging from EVE Online and Savage: The Battle for Newerth to The Sims Online and Star Wars Galaxies. EVE Online was the most boring for me, but SWG was by far the most disappointing. None of the games has attracted my interest enough to get a monthly check from me, but I have my own jaded opinions on the economics of MMORPG's that will have to wait for another post.
World of Warcraft is bucking the trend of MMORPG's in many ways and I like that. A lot of previews of the game point out that Blizzard is creating content and purpose for the game and its players rather than just creating a virtual sandbox in which everyone will have to create their own experiences and purpose. I like that. I think MMORPG's could be successful as a virtual sandbox style of play, but not until one is created that gives players enough control and tools in which they can actually the experience they want. The Sims Online came close, but the fact that it's a virtual chatroom hindered its ability to fulfill this objective. SWG is still too restrictive to even come close. Thus, we have Blizzard going in a direction that is all of their own creation.
Can you tell I'm excited? Here's some great WoW information for those thirsting for more: