Pop Culture and World of Warcraft Achievements
by JR Cook - 11 years ago show comments
Gamers who play World of Warcraft claim to do so for a variety of reasons. Many players obsessively burn the midnight oil to progress in the latest raids, while others get their kicks from kicking the crap out of the opposite faction in battlegrounds, arenas and even the open world. You will even find a group of industrious individuals out there who claim that manipulating the auction house to make absurd amounts of gold ignites their ongoing passion for the game. At the end of the day, no matter what the primary focus is during play, it is likely that we all agree to a common denominator which also spurs on our play: the all consuming need to grind achievement points. These ‘nerd points’ have been around since the final hours of Burning Crusade and have encouraged the community to get out into the world and experience old content, raise reputations, and even chase turkeys around.
What makes the act of farming achievement points so addictive? I’m sure psychologists have legitimate notions on that front, but I like to think that a lot of it has to do with the frequently over the top, comical names Blizzard has given some achievements. While a fair percentage of them feature straightforward names, something along the lines of ‘Kill <boss name here>’, a good deal more draw their inspiration from music, television, movies and a great deal of other pop culture sources. In this article, BlizzPro looks at some of the best and most clever achievements in the game and explains their origins.
My Girl Loves to Skadi All The Time
Eddie Murphy’s brief journey into music proved to be disastrous to the point of comedy. The single Party All The Time has been heralded by many as one of the ten worst songs of all time. Still, it’s one of those songs that’s so bad, it’s good. Blizzard apparently also saw the value of the song and made an allusion to it in Heroic: Utgarde Pinnacle. Utilizing spears, players have the chance to bring Skadi the Ruthless’ dragon Grauf from 100% to dead in one pass. Completing that objective awards players the achievement My Girl Loves to Skadi All The Time, ten achievement points and a reasonable excuse to pop open YouTube and search for Eddie Murphy’s Party All The Time.
You Are Not Your $#*@! Legplates/The First Rule of Ring of Blood is You Don’t Talk About Ring of Blood
Blizzard makes more than one reference to the cult classic Fight Club in World of Warcraft. Admittedly, it’s not much of a leap to equate the Ring of Blood or the Brawler’s Guild to the film, yet they’re still enjoyable inclusions. What’s more, Undercity’s War Quarter actually features NPCs made in the image of the main characters. It’s clear that Blizzard thinks you are not your gear score, you are not your mount and you are also not your $#*@! Legplates.
Every day I’m Pand-a-ren
Those unfortunate enough to own a radio, attend a basketball game, go outside, turn on the television .. basically everyone had to suffer through LMFAO’s Party Rock. It’s only fair in that respect that Blizzard not allow their player base to escape the wrath of the overplayed electronic pop song. What’s more, this achievement was thrust upon characters who had already suffered through 25 daily quests in Pandaria. It was like a double punishment. Did you suffer through fifteen Golden Lotus quests? Maybe you did the Tillers to? Midway through Isle of Thunder, Party Rock’s stuck in your head.
Eldorian Edit: Not only that, but we also have the male Pandaren dance which is totally a rip off from the song!
Make Love, Not Warcraft
South Park’s ‘Make Love, Not Warcraft’ episode remains one of the most hilarious the show has boasted thus far. It is undoubtedly responsible for a number of gamers giving the title a shot, having witnessed the zany antics of Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Kenny and that one guy who ‘pwned noobs’. The episode assisted in bringing World of Warcraft to the mainstream and is fondly remembered in an achievement awarded for hugging a dead player before he or she can release spirit.
You made me bleed my own blood!
Devoted Simpsons fans will no doubt recall the moment in the episode Bart the General when Bart stands up to longtime bully Nelson, prompting his nose to begin bleeding. The iconic line that follows, ‘You made me bleed my own blood!’ would be referenced not just by Blizzard, but also by the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. In World of Warcraft, players are awarded this achievement by slaying Fleshcrafter Hoku on the Isle of Thunder without slaying any possessed blood.
