how long is too long?

since this week we talked about RPG's and MMORPG's and the upcoming reading reaction has a World of Warcraft theme i think it wouldbe appropriate to directly address concepts in our lectures. the lectures last week were particularly interesting to me as i am playing WoW for this class. in the lecture, the difference between virtual worlds like second life or river city and Virtual world RPG's is discussed. it is mentioned that in games like WoW you can theoretically continue to play forever by design. my question is whether or not this is a bad quality to a game? in my opinion, the longer that you play a game, the more one can potentially learn from that game.

a particular part of WoW that i really like is the fact that it covers both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. the game is quite challenging at some points and the gamer is able to explore every aspect of the game at their own will, giving complete control. at the same time, the game incorporates a large amount of reward and incentive within and outside the game experience. inside the game each player complete quests and defeats their foes in an attempt to get better gear and experience. also from the game you can develop your people skills and understand how to work at maximum efficiency.

in a way, WoW is exactly like a second life or river city and there are many people that actually do use WoW for that purpose. it is different, however, because it offers a bit more with the experience and most likely appeals to a slightly different crowd. i think that one of the best aspects of WoW is its ability to attract so many different types of people and gamers for several different reasons.

i am very excited to discuss my game as well as other games that are similar in class this week. i have found great joy in playing WoW and i hope that others can learn from and experience WoW just as i have.