Gaming dynamics

Imagine writing a comprehensive list of directions that encompass your day. Now write a corresponding list of Sights and Sounds. Next a description of reactions that will cover the bulk of your day.

This is an overwhelming task. The possible outcomes make it an impossible task (or at the least highly improbable). There is a significant chance your write-up will have major errors. Even if you dramatically limit the scope.

The above thought experiment is a fairly simplistic analogy of what the Computer Programmers at Blizzard have done in creating World of Warcraft (WoW), which is the most popular online game.

Every so often they change the content in what is known as a "patch." This is a re-writing of the code that is then carefully inserted into the game. Some Patches go smoother then others. There has never been a catastrophic patch that I know. They have a good testing procedure.

I have written some code and have a good understanding for how complex it can become in a short period of time. A program like WoW is overwhelming when you start considering its nature.

Still, when there is some small glitch in a patch, there are people who go out of there minds. They rant the "poor quality" and the "incompetence" of the programmers. I know it is human nature to want something to complain about, but these folks take it one step beyond.

I guess this is a rant for acceptance and civility. Accept that being outside of a process means you have a limited understanding of the same.