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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Braid creator rips on WoW, talks artificial rewards and social gaming]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game)"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/09/braidlogo_425.jpg" /></a></div>
In <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20213">an interview with Gamasutra</a>, game designer Jon Blow (who created the critically acclaimed <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/livearcadexbox360/default.htm">Xbox Live Arcade</a> game <a href="http://braid-game.com/"><em>Braid</em></a>) had a few things to say about <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com"><em>World of Warcraft</em>.</a> His criticisms could be just as easily leveled against any Diku-based, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft"><em>WoW</em></a>-like MMO.<br /><br />He began by saying that <em>WoW</em> employs "artificial rewards" as opposed to "natural rewards." In other words, players play <em>WoW </em>for achievements like leveling up that have little real meaning, and they'll sit through a lot of boredom to reach those goals. That's not an unfair analysis; leveling up is a very empty and artificial kind of catharsis. Perhaps the most controversial statements he made were related to the social aspect of the game.<br /><hr />
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            <td><em>One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft">World of Warcraft</a>, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for <a href="http://www.wowinsider.com/wrath-of-the-lich-king/">all your Lich King needs!</a></em> </td>
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</table><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Braid creator rips on WoW, talks artificial rewards and social gaming</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/">Braid creator rips on WoW, talks artificial rewards and social gaming</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20213>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1313047/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/13/braid-creator-rips-on-wow-talks-artificial-rewards-and-social-g/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>artificial-rewards</category><category>blizzard</category><category>braid</category><category>community</category><category>design</category><category>designer</category><category>gamasutra</category><category>interaction</category><category>interview</category><category>jon-blow</category><category>microsoft-game-studios</category><category>natural-rewards</category><category>number-none</category><category>relationships</category><category>rewards</category><category>social</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category><category>wow</category><category>xbox-live-marketplace</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Samuel Axon]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
