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The surprising similarity between LOST and World of Warcraft

defectiveyeti.com — The structure of the narrative reminds me, in many ways, of a computer roleplaying game. This is the LOST formula in a nutshell. During each show you gain a little experience in the form of new information: about the island, the characters, or both; every four episodes or so you level up, as some major piece of the overall puzzle falls into place.

Who dugg this? Made popular Apr 10, 2008

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  • gypsi, on 04/10/2008, -4/+37lost + wow + random ramblings = front page
  • kingUssop, on 04/10/2008, -5/+25Buried for seriously, how far can you reach for a topic?
  • p0nyboiiiiiii, on 04/10/2008, -3/+22I haven't seen Lost ruin someones social life yet....
  • CaptObvious, on 04/10/2008, -0/+12So does that mean that Michael=Leeroy Jenkins?
  • sroop, on 04/10/2008, -3/+13Two more weeks till the next episode... Two more weeks till the next episode... Two more weeks..
  • Laughto, on 04/10/2008, -2/+10i'd like to point out a vital difference between Lost and WoW.
    Lost = 1 hour/week
    WoW = living in fear of accidentally typing "/played"
  • inactive, on 04/10/2008, -3/+7http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing?lid=AB ...

    30 second commercials every 7 minutes, and the newest episode is always available the day after.
  • dezmo, on 04/10/2008, -0/+4you are not alone
  • dwninjungleland, on 04/10/2008, -1/+5You're stretchin' pretty far there, buddy.
    Keep dreaming up and elaborate ways and convincing yourself that completely separate, yet clearly central aspects of your life are 'suprisingly similar'. I'm sure that's really healthy.

    "OMG. COLLEGE is just like WOW!!! I learn something, and then it's like I 'level up!' When i buy food, because I'm hungry, it's like I'm using GOLD! Front page, here I come!!!"
  • tastypastry, on 04/10/2008, -10/+13***** you MrBabyMan!
  • sgtpppr, on 04/10/2008, -1/+4Did Lost and WoW double team your mom or something?
  • JavertHolmes, on 04/10/2008, -0/+3Your comment history reads like a broken record.
  • coolboy0286, on 04/10/2008, -4/+6TL:DR
  • crashingechelon, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2and don't forget it's submitted by MrBabyMan
  • Tyrghast, on 04/10/2008, -2/+41) they're stuck on an island
    2)
    Nice try moron.
  • Exhibitionist, on 04/10/2008, -0/+2"Leveling (as it is called) means that your abilities go up, you are able to buy and use better weapons, and can now go toe-to-toe with slightly more menacing creatures--giant ambulatory sentient coconuts, say." ROFL
  • samfishercell, on 04/10/2008, -1/+3No. Yes, right. Lost is over in 2010. The writers/producers have had a big overall picture of where they have been headed since the beginning, including the end. Also, before someone claims as such, they have promised it will not be an "OMG IT WAS ALL A DREAM!" ending of any sorts, the story has always been about "real" people in "real" locations and "real" consequences.
  • dshPls, on 04/10/2008, -1/+3"..in my opinion.(that isn't backed up by knowledge of either subject, either.)"
  • Rsam, on 04/10/2008, -1/+3At least WAAAALT has chicken.
  • VinnieDaMac, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1There's nothing similar between LOST and WoW other than they're both highly successful and the fact that they both never solve anything. In LOST, one question will lead to another. In WoW, one expansion will lead to another.
  • jackwa, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1There is a great website that describes how Lost is actually a video game not WOW. http://www.lostisagame.com goes into incredible detail about the rules, scoring and the roles the characters play. I spent several hours the other night reading it and I was amazed about some of the details they have discovered and how accurate their predictions are. Whoever is behind this site has cataloged all of the minor and major details of the show and has put together the most plausible explanation of the show I have seen yet.
  • shownoregrets, on 04/10/2008, -3/+4I have.
  • ramiro, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Very good and informative summary, Javert. I don't know why the heck you're being dugg down. People are just ignorant and prefer to stay that way, I guess.
  • CazMo, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Seriously, Author(MrBabyMan) plays WAYYY too much WoW. I have a feeling this wont be the first "How (variable) is just like WoW" article we see.
  • elenadragon, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Dugg for giant, ambulatory, sentient coconuts.
  • Wootstapler, on 04/10/2008, -0/+1"The surprising differences between LOST and World of Warcraft"
  • inactive, on 04/10/2008, -3/+4Seriously.. It's depressing how you can tell how narrow and limited the nerd world the writer lives in is. Lost and WoW ? Right on, buddy .. It's just sad.
  • firebirdx01, on 04/11/2008, -0/+1Lost IS also a video game. And it's nothing like WoW.

  • Tyrghast, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Good observation....
  • habenneas, on 04/16/2008, -0/+1Fast, text-only mirror: http://www.lynxcache.org/usr/1/defective_yeti_The_ ...
  • yaosio, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2I did not know LOST shows the same episode for 10 hours everyday.
  • TheKappa, on 04/14/2008, -0/+1Goddamn, I love Lost...
  • rankftw, on 04/10/2008, -3/+4I live in the basement, watch lost, have a neck beard and wear a suit to work kapow.
  • samfishercell, on 04/10/2008, -1/+2Hmm... Lost has a firm ending date in place and takes an hour of my time each week, and WoW wants to take hours from every day until infinity, and charge me $15 a month until then.

    At least it will be funny watching ignorant people leave comments about how "there are no answers on Lost" and "the writers have no clue where they're going!"
  • kindrobot, on 04/10/2008, -1/+1We tried. Aspergers. Can't hold it against them, but it can be frustrating.
  • Strongo, on 04/10/2008, -2/+2this is a real stretch. I could say LOST is like a walk in the park, you know, every step you get further into the park, but at the same time you are walking towards another exit in the park.
  • Laughto, on 04/10/2008, -2/+2half way through season 3? he's about to get hit by a crapton of awesome
  • jdizzle88, on 04/10/2008, -1/+1Spot on.
  • dstz, on 04/10/2008, -1/+1Not sure why you're dugg down. I played WoW a few months with friends: 4 couples, one half of a couple, a few singles. Some worked, some didn't, some had babies, some hadn't... there was ONE common point in between all of them: only LOST made them all stop playing at once. I kidded about it, not being a lost fan (ahah.) Well, that's it!
  • kindrobot, on 04/10/2008, -1/+1WHOOOSH!
  • ShagratOfMordor, on 04/10/2008, -2/+2Well played Sir!!!!
  • sgtpppr, on 04/10/2008, -2/+2It's the carrot on a stick method of keeping people interested. It's the same way drug addiction works. You put in a little time and get a little reward, but you never really reach the 'end' or ultimate goal. It's finding that perfect reward size to ensure you can keep people hooked without providing too little and leaving them bored. Of course, the big difference is Lost is on once a week for an hour and you can't get 'more reward' by spending more time watching/playing like you can with WoW.
  • roopamapco, on 11/01/2008, -0/+0rsbombard Drug addiction issue has penetrated the interiors of every town in the world. Unfortunately enough, some places which were once considered as safe for the overall development of students and teenagers have become a breeding spot for the activities such as drug...
    -----------------------------------
    Dhananjay

    http://www.wow-gold-price-list.com
  • wootup, on 04/10/2008, -4/+4. . . but you DO reside in your mother's basement?
  • trampbot, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0For World of Warcraft cheats World of Warcraft hacks and wow gold guides go to http://www.exploitsrus.com/wow.html
  • crashdvis, on 04/10/2008, -2/+1I know...many people keep saying that same stuff about digg nuts...could it be b/c its true?
  • themastersb, on 04/10/2008, -5/+4Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltttttttttttttttt! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllltttttttttt!
    Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllttttttttttttttttttt!
  • jdizzle88, on 04/10/2008, -1/+0Buried for being too long.
  • AmICoolNow, on 04/10/2008, -3/+2And when you put things in perspective both things seem completely ridiculous, but you can't stop.
  • JavertHolmes, on 04/10/2008, -4/+3For any Lost fans who haven't played World of Warcraft, there are only 10 things 99.99% of the people do in this game:

    A) In order to reach level 70:

    1) Kill monsters directly (for experience).
    2) Kill X monsters for a quest (for experience).
    3) Kill X monsters for Y loot and return it to the quest giver (for experience).
    4) Escort a person from A to B (for experience).
    5) Find X objects on the ground and return them to the quest giver (for experience).

    B) Things that become a larger factor as you approach/reach the level ceiling:

    6) Harvest resources either via killing monsters or right-clicking nodes on the screen (for money, weapon/armor upgrades, profession upgrades/harvesting).
    7) PvP (for better weapons/armor, or to celebrate the weapons/armor you've spent hundreds of hours obtaining)
    8) Repeatedly attempt a difficult dungeon with your guild, hoping to upgrade their weapons/armor each week you visit. Repeat 6, 7, and 8 in a certain ratio as needed until everyone in your guild is equipped to end the next dungeon.
    9) Socialize.
    10) Play around in an auction house buying/selling goods.

    There are some exceptions such as people who run around exploring the whole map and experiment playing as pacifists, but they are rare. What the above 10 activities have to do with Lost, I'm not sure. As far as the trickling-in of lore goes, most people don't even read the backstory into quests (or the general backstory of the game for that matter). The lore is background noise compared to people's desire to be the greatest rogue, warrior, etc. in the game.
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