Vivendi

Jean-Philippe Agati, Managing Director, Europe, Blizzard Entertainment (ASDR 2009)

The Rest System in World of Warcraft

«World of Warcraft’s Rest System rewards players when they take breaks and are offline for a period of time. This comes in the form of a boost to their character’s rate of advancement in the game. When the players return, their characters progress faster thanks to this “rested bonus.” Once the bonus runs out, a message informs the player that the character is no longer rested and thus no longer gaining any advantage. As a result, the player may feel this is a good time to take a break from the game in order to regain rested status. While this system was created to enhance the game’s fantasy atmosphere by encouraging heroes to retire in an inn after the day’s adventures, it is also ultimately a feature that helps players manage their game time. Another such feature is the design of the game’s quests, many of which can be done in 30 minutes or less. Also the dungeons, where players can collaborate to take on the game’s toughest challenges, are mostly designed to be completed in under an hour, with many broken into wings that can be explored in separate play sessions. Beyond this, the game’s interface supports play-time management with a built-in alarm clock that players can set for themselves.»