The "L" Effect

Most of you are probably confused with me already. What the hell is the "'L' Effect" and who is that strange looking man up there?

Stick with me people, this is going to be a long one.

So as many of you know, Wrath's story has pretty much been wrapped up. I won't spoil anything for those that don't want to be spoiled, but it's a pretty interesting ending, although one that's not entirely surprising. For those of you who do wish to be spoiled, you can find the .avi video in your WoW folder and watch it in high quality (the same video that's played should you actually kill the Lich King in game), or you can be lazy and click this link. Sufficiently spoiled yet? Go on, I'll wait.

Pretty cool huh? A nice and tidy way to wrap things up, sort of, if you disregard the fact that almost everything we've worked toward this whole expansion is tidily wrapped up in a manner leaning dangerously close to deus ex machina. Well, yes and no. I mostly wanted to say "deus ex machina." Sue me. However, I don't plan to talk about the actual ending of the story to Wrath here, for I have a grander scheme in mind. I plan on discussing the end of Wrath in much broader terms, and what it means as a whole for Warcraft and its audience.

But before I do that, I plan on talking to you about something completely different!

See that man at the top of the post with the white shirt, blue jeans, and horrible posture? He goes by several names, but is most commonly known simply as L. Actually, he's mostly known as L, but in a fancy sort of script, instead of boring old Times New Whatever or something. He is a character from the popular anime and manga series Death Note. Death Note is a very interesting and somewhat heady show (I didn't read the manga, I just watched the series on Hulu) about a murderer going by the name Kira killing criminals, and the task force attempting to catch him. L is the "gifted" detective heading the task force, and pretty much the only one capable of catching Kira. He's working to preserve society and bring Kira to justice.

And part of what makes this show so interesting is that L is actually the antagonist for the first season.

The show primarily follows the inner workings and machinations of Light Yagami, also known as the serial killer Kira. That's right, the protagonist who's morality and standing on the good versus evil scale is questionable is named Light. "Clever" naming schemes aside, the show is actually rather captivating and interesting and really makes you think. I actually had to step back for a moment when I was relieved that Light managed to kill the woman who almost caught him. Of course she couldn't have actually caught Light that early in the series, but it's still a little weird to think of you cheering for someone who's so blatantly a murderer. 

Nerdy praise for the show aside, the writers managed to create such an interesting interaction between the "good" antagonist L and the "evil" protagonist Light. You didn't know who really was the bad guy or the good guy in this, and the way they wrested for control over their situation, back and forth proved fascinating to watch. So fascinating, in fact, that when Light ultimately won and L was out of the picture, you actually lost interest in the show. The second season more or less blew from the start, and why was that? Because L wasn't there anymore.

Now then, I told you that story so I could tell you this one!

A lot of people were introduced to the real lore and story of the Warcraft Universe with Warcraft III and it's expansion pack The Frozen Throne, due in part because of the revamped graphics and promise of two new races over the familiar Orcs and Humans. Many people who were completely unfamiliar to Warcraft were drawn in to this new and shiny game, and then interest in the lore followed soon after. And of course, the shining character behind these two games was none other than Arthas; paladin, death knight, Lich King. 

Naturally, this interest would continue with those players into WoW, and they waited patiently for the Northrend expansion, which finally arrived just over a year ago. Most of the big stories developed in Warcraft III had already been resolved by this point, and then all that was left was Arthas. And even now, that story has reached its conclusion. 

And now, finally, here's the question this was all leading up to: How many people are still going to be interested in Warcraft lore now that Arthas is dead and gone?

While my hand may be high in the air, I don't believe that everyone's will be. I've read into the lore and the stories behind Warcraft extensively, and I can't wait to see what happens next. However, it's easy to understand why many might not be so excited. Blizzard did such a good job developing the story of Arthas and Wrath of the Lich King that people may simply lose interest in the story as a whole now that their favorite chapter is over. This is what I've come to think of as "The 'L' Effect."

The "L" Effect is a problem that plagues many long running shows, animes, games, etc. One particular enemy is developed so well and worked on so extensively that, once they are inevitably defeated, one simply loses interest in the story as a whole. You don't want to know what happens beyond that one last huge conflict, because in your mind nothing else can compare to it. In some cases this ends up being true, as the writers sadly fail to deliver anything that tops themselves.

This idea isn't even limited to just visual mediums either. This happens all the time with almost every art and entertainment form. Writers, musicians, painters, all can hit a peak at one point in their career, and can only ever aspire to reach that pinnacle again. However, when I talk about The "L" Effect, it isn't simply that the rest of the work isn't as good; it's just that the work isn't given equal treatment due to preconceived notions. There's a difference between work that truly doesn't measure up and work that is good but just isn't given a fair chance.

All that being said, I fear that a large portion of the WoW population just won't have anymore interest in the story, and to them the game simply will be about getting that next purp. Arthas was the only story element they were here for, and now that he's played out his part they simply won't care what happens storywise anymore. This isn't to say that there won't be anyone at all interested, but I don't think the player attention will be as much there as it used to be, potentially even to the point of declining subscriptions. 

I personally have no fears about Blizzard delivering a new and interesting experience in Cataclysm, as well as fleshing out some story points on a character that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention in a long time. It will definitely be interesting to see how the end of the Lich King's era affects the playerbase as a whole, however.