昨天公布的2006年度TIME 100中赫然出现了WoW的终极大神，主设计师Rob Pardo。这位Blizzard的副总裁作为WoW——这个有史以来最成功的在线游戏——的主宰，操纵着全球600万玩家居住的世界。介绍中甚至开玩笑说：如果WoW继续这样发展下去，(这个虚拟的过度)也许会在联合国取得一席之地。也提到了沉迷的问题，”If anything, he’s almost too good: some players have a tendency to confuse their virtual lives with their real ones. “看来反沉迷的任务并不是我国专利，只不过我国富有想象力的主管部门给出的这个solution太。。。别致了些。
Rob Pardo
Architect of Virtual Worlds
By LEV GROSSMAN
Posted Sunday, Apr. 30, 2006
There’s a country of 6 million people that’s not on any map. It’s called World of Warcraft, and it’s a virtual country, a computer-generated fantasy environment that you can access, for a monthly subscription fee, via the Internet. It’s also one of the most immersive and successful video games ever created, and it could be the future of electronic entertainment. Rob Pardo, 35, vice president of game design for Blizzard Entertainment (although minor deity would also be an applicable title), led the team that designed World of Warcraft, which involved generating from scratch history, geography, anthropology and ecology of a fully realized fantasy world spread over two continents. The game’s 6 million fee-paying players can slay monsters, go on quests and even perform everyday tasks like fishing, cooking and tailoring. If World of Warcraft—aficionados call it just WoW—gets any more popular, it may be up for a seat in the U.N.
Pardo didn’t invent this kind of game (which enthusiasts refer to as “massively multiplayer”); he merely perfected it. It takes an obsessive mind to make sure there’s something interesting going on everywhere in an entire world, all the time, for both newbies and veteran players. If anything, he’s almost too good: some players have a tendency to confuse their virtual lives with their real ones. WoW is so addictive that among gamers, it’s known by the nickname Warcrack.