According to the current Warcraft Realms Census for players at level 80, Trolls are the least played class at %4, Then you have Dwarves and Gnomes at 5% and Orcs at 6% -
Maybe this will even out with some with the Race/Class changes so I will assume that some of the racial choices are affected by class choices available, however in the interim I pose the question -
How much did the leveling environment colors affect the choice to continue leveling?
So I decided to have a look at some Color Psychology
We learnt all about Warm and Cool colors in Highschool Art class. I remember doing two self portraits in warm colors that included the reds, oranges, and yellows, and the cool colors blues, purples, and greens, I’m pretty sure my paintings turned out horrible, but we were encouraged to consider how each of the colors made us feel, and what we associated the colors with,
There are also studies which indicate that some colours have Physical effects on the body. Eg as per this Pychology site says that Reds “Increase blood pressure and stimulate adrenal glands” , Orange is supposed to be beneficial to the digestive system, and the immune system. Yellow, stimulates the brain making you ” more alert and decisive.
Green “Is good for your heart” “Relaxes muscles and helps us breath deeper and slower” Blue “Lowers blood pressure, and has a “cooling and soothing effect” Purple suppresses hunger and balances the body’s metabolism
Another site “How Colors Affect Emotional & Physical Health in an interview with Elizabeth Harper a Cromatherapist says that Edwin Babbit stated “thermal or warm colors of red, orange and yellow are stimulating, raise blood pressure, strengthen, and tonify” and “Electrical or cool colors of blue, indigo and violet sedate, calm, ease inflammation, and lower blood pressure. Green in the center of the spectrum has a stabilizing effect on the human system as a whole” *
If you look at the Troll and Orc Starting Areas, its all rock, a harsh environment red oranges and yellow tones aplenty,
In comparison the Night Elf, Human, Draeni, Bloodelf, Tauren are all greens, green grass, plenty of trees, blue and purple tones.
Then at the Dwarven and Gnome starting areas the Whites and greys can give us feelings of “Peace and comfort” but too much white causes feelings of “cold and isolation”
Even the undead starting area while has more grey buildings and muted tones, there is still lots of green. ( though olive greens are supposed to remind us of Decay and death) They with the Taurens are currently 10% of the races, as are the Draeni, but their races have both have been around longer then the ‘squids’
So in theory – Leveling an Orc or a troll could make you constantly angry and anxious, A Dwarf and a gnome, cold and Isolated, an Undead sick, and everyone else calm and balanced. ( or lazy )
There is a point that people get tired of a character, and stop playing/leveling it. ” I was so sick of leveling… “ Leveling was too hard..” I thought that four of the oldest races in World of Warcraft were so under represented that I went looking for a reason why people didn’t level them, beyond the attractiveness of the race, and the classes available.
So thinking about it, could the desire to stop playing a character be caused because of not only the colors of the environment that you started questing in, but any other environment you quest in later. I love Stranglethorn vale. I also love Ungo’o, Loch Modan, and the wetlands, I hate the Blasted lands, Tanaris, and Desolace, and the Barrens, I had never thought about it in terms of colors before, but it make sense. You may not even be consciously aware of it, but does your heart beat faster when your in the Blasted Lands? Do you feel calm and lazy when traveling through Ashenvale?
You can also think about colors in a cultural sence, Red is also life, apparently brides in China wear red wedding dresses, its also the colour symbolic of Love, and red roses, so are Orcs and Trolls more romantic? If the theory about red making you hungry was right would I want to eat more while leveling in those areas? Does your culture affect your desire to play in a different place because of the color association? Could this also be applied to other games? Color is important in advertising, so why not a virtual environment where you spend considerable time.
*Take with a grain of Salt. Reputable sources on these sorts of studies are mainly text book based or cost money to read the Pych Journal online, and On the internet when an article says She said that he said.. really makes referencing hard.
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