The Warcraft III Adventure
June 7, 2013

PROLOGUE: The Adventure Begins

When this homework was assigned last Saturday, I knew then that this was going to be an adventure.

I have never played Warcraft-DOTA before but, I am aware that it is an addictive game. I know this because my 20-year old nephew, still a third year industrial engineering student up to this day, was an excessively avid player. Two years of his college life were wasted because of his addiction with the game. He could have been graduating this year if not for the addiction. Thus, when I heard from Professor Nicart that the game has been lauded by no less than The Harvard School of Business because of its contribution in developing management skills, I was intrigued. Then, she said we have to play the game at least 30 minutes a day for the next 5 to 6 days, I was amused and thought to myself that my nephew would have a blast when he hears about this. Hence, the adventure for me began even before I would play the game.

CHAPTER ONE: Acquiring The Warcraft-DOTA File

I had a very busy schedule ahead of me this week. I thought that in order to have this homework done, I had to finish it as soon as possible. So, as soon as I got back home last Saturday, which was about 7:30 PM because electricity in our area only came back around that time, I immediately searched if the “Warcraft-DOTA” file was installed in our computer. It was not. I also searched the other laptops we had at home and I didn’t find one. I went online to search a downloadable program file for free but, I only found files for demo purposes.

I had no plans of asking my nephew for help but, I had no other choice, I had to ask him for a copy of the program file. So, I sent him a message saying I need it asap. He replied, “Hahaha. Wala na po ako installer nun. Lumang game na po kc ‘yun. Wala na ata naglalaro nun. Hahaha.” That didn’t work out so well.

It was already late in the evening then so I didn’t dare bother anybody else.

Early the next day, I sent messages to several OB classmates asking for a “Warcraft-DOTA” file. The first reply came from Grace saying, “La p po ko kopya. Magppdownload ako sa IT namin, send ko po sa iyo ‘pag meron na.”. An hour later, Randy texted back, “Ok mya send q s dropbox.” And, just before lunch a dropbox invitation from Randy came. I was thrilled. I opened the file. It was empty. I immediately told him so. He said, “Ang laki kc ng file eh, bka di kinaya. Try q ulit mya.” I thought, that could be too late already, I had to leave for a four-day out-of-town trip by 3 PM that afternoon. But, seconds later, a message from Loreto came, “ Meron na ako ng frozen throne, 1 GB sya. Wala akong access sa group file sharing sa schoology, may alam ka pa ba ibang way?” I asked him to send it through dropbox. “Sige share ko maya.” There was still some hope.

It was ten minutes before 11 that evening when the dropbox file from Loreto came. I was already out-of-town . I informed him that I received the file he sent and thanked him. He replied, “Welcome. Pro di pa kumpleto ung file, tomorrow mo na lang i-copy. D pa sync ung folder.” I said, “K. Tnx.”. I didn’t have time to do it right there and then anyway, I would have the chance only when I get back home Wednesday evening.

Randy’s second dropbox invite arrived lunchtime Tuesday. I was sure it had the necessary program file this time. By then, I was confident that I would be able to play the game when I got back home, I already had two copies of the game file. Then, thirty minutes after Randy’s invite, I received a text message from Pao asking if the homework from Professor Nicart has a standard format. I told him that I don’t think so and that I actually haven’t started my paper because I haven’t had the chance to play the game yet. He texted back, “ A ok. Sige pala. Maglaro ka muna. Try mo nlang sa internet café.”. I said to myself, “That’s another idea.”. But, I decided against it.

The next day, I was in the Greenhills, San Juan area, I thought: “Just to be really safe and since I’m in Greenhills anyway, might as well buy an installer program file of the game…”. The first store I went to was selling a copy for just P100. I thought that that was a bargain.

10 PM Wednesday evening, I arrived home two hours earlier. Everything was set, I was rested and I was ready to play the game.

I first opened the file sent by Loreto. I double-clicked the “exe” file for Warcraft III but, nothing happened. Then, I tried the Frozen Throne “exe” file. Still, nothing happened. I thought, nothing to worry about, I still have Randy’s file. I then opened the file sent by Randy. I double-clicked the “exe” file for Warcraft III but, again, nothing happened. Then, I tried the Frozen Throne “exe” file. Still, nothing happened. I mused to myself, still nothing to worry about, I still have the installer CD from Greenhills. So, I loaded the CD and the WARCRAFTDOTA file folder appeared. I yelled, “Yes!”. I believed then that everything would be okay. I double-clicked the folder and a whole lot of other folders appeared. I found an install file so, I double-clicked it. The Install Warcraft III page appeared. I double-clicked the “Install Warcraft III” part then, the dreaded “Warcraft III CD key” page came out. It was asking for a 26 character CD key which it said could be found at the cover of the CD case. I searched and I searched, the was no 26 character CD key to be found on the case. I went back to the original file and found the Frozen Throne folder. I opened it and double-clicked the install file. The same thing happened, after clicking “Install”, a CD key page was again asking for another 26 character CD key which should also be found on the cover case.

After that, I didn’t know what else to do. I said to myself, now is the right time to worry a bit. I was running out of time. I had to play the game that night or I won’t have any more chance before the Friday deadline.

But, I remained calm. I went back to the original folder. I was staring at the monitor, trying to figure out where I could find these 26-character keys and then, it hit me. After a few minutes of staring at the monitor, I found this document file staring back at me. The title was, “INSTALLATION GUIDE. READ PLS!”. It had the step-by step guide on how to install the program and it read as follows:

1. First install Warcraft III Reign Of Chaos (Use the keygen inside CRACK folder)
2. Install Frozen throne (Use keygen on the CRACK folder)
3. Apply War3TFT_120a_english patch from PATCHES folder first
4. Copy war3.exe & war3.org on CRACK folder to C:\Program Files\Warcraft III folder
5. Copy All DotA Maps located in Latest Maps to C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Maps folder

Enjoy! Decipher!!!! :)

And so, my Warcraft III adventure continued.

It was my first time to crack a file. It was educational.

It took awhile but at around 130 AM Thursday morning, I had successfully installed a working Warcraft III program. I can finally start playing the game.

CHAPTER TWO: Playing The Game

The first part of the game was titled “Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos”. The cinematic introduction basically told the game’s plot. The game takes place in a fictional world of Azeroth. The remnants of the past wars scarred the lands, which is besieged once again by conflicts. Heroes arise to challenge fate and lead their brethren to battle. Until a new breed of enemy will arrive and the time has come for the reign of chaos.

In the Prologue Campaign called Exodus of the Horde, cinematics of The Prophecy and Thrall’s, the orc leader, vision were shown.

Chapter 1: Chasing Visions. In the first scene, a prophet appeared before Thrall in a form of a crow asking him to follow so that it would reveal what the future holds for him.

And then, the next part was sort of a tutorial on how to play the game; how to move a character, how to move a group of characters and how to attack the enemies. It was revealed here that after a certain number of battles, points were given to heroes in order to advance in level and abilities; some enemies drop treasure after their defeat and only heroes could get these treasures which could help heroes upgrade their skills. After all of these, it was revealed to Thrall that the demons were coming back and he was being instructed to lead his people to another land.

Chapter 2: Departures. In this scene, Thrall gave instructions to prepare the camp with food and shelter for the incoming clan.

It was made known here that for every chapter, quests would be given and the main quests should be completed in order to advance to the next chapter. These quests could be found in the quest button at the upper left-hand corner of the game screen. In this chapter, the main quest given was to establish a base. In doing so, two vital resources had to be gathered, gold and lumber. Thus, the tutorial continued: how to harvest gold and lumber, how to train various characters such as peon (basic worker), grunt (warrior) and spellmaster, how to build different structures meant for specific purposes such as war mills, lumber mills, burrows and barracks and how to repair damaged structures. After the base had been established, as such, the main quest was completed, another main quest may be given. In this case, the additional main quest was to rescue another orc named Grom. Accompanied by grunts and spellmasters, Thrall fought off the human enemies to rescue Grom. At the last scene, the orcs used the human’s ships to flee to another land.

The next part was The Human Campaign, The Scourge of Lordaeron.

This started with the cinematic dubbed “The Warning.”, wherein the same prophet that appeared before Thrall, also appeared before the humans, advising them to go west. The humans didn’t listen. The prophet left with parting words to the humans that the warning had been given and that their fate was now their own.

Chapter 1: The Defense of Strahnbrad. In this scene, Prince Arthas was sent to Uther the Lightbringer, a high-ranking Paladin commander. It was reported that the orcs were establishing a base and attacking human villages. Uther decided to address the orc base and he sent Prince Arthas with several soldiers to defend the village of Strahnbrad.

On their way to the village, Arthas’ group helped a villager get back his stolen ledger. This was an example of an optional quest which may be given at any point of the game. In the completion of this optional quest, a reward was usually given to the hero.

When Arthas’ group reached the village, it was already under attack. Arthas fought and defeated the enemies.

Chapter 2: Blackrock and Roll. In this scene, Arthas was so enraged of what the orcs had done to the villages and he wanted to attack the enemies right away. Uther cautioned him to not let passion rule over him and that they should carefully plan their next moves.

The main quest that was given here was for Arthas to build a base and defend it against enemy attacks. Building a base was the same as in Chapter 2 of the Prologue campaign with the orcs. Various characters were trained to gather resources, build structures and defend the base. After completing this, the next main quest was to defeat the Blademaster, a powerful orc hero.

After the Blademaster was defeated, the next scene was Jaina the sorceress introduced.

Chapter 3: Ravages of the Plague. In this scene, Jaina met with Arthas.

The main quest given here was to investigate the villages about the rapidly spreading plague while keeping Arthas and Jaina alive. New characters were introduced here like the priest who can cast spells and heal wounds, the mortar team with long-range siege weaponry as well as the necromancer who has the power to command various types of Undead and even spread the foul undead plague. Another main quest was to destroy the grain warehouse. The grains were being used to spread the plague.

Chapter 4: The Cult of the Damned. In this scene, Arthas and Jaina attacked a group of cultists who were doing something with a goldmine. They decided to establish a camp around the goldmine so as to guard it against the cultists.

The main quest was to investigate and explore the village Andorhal, which was the source of the diseased grains.

Before exploring Andorhal, it was prudent to fortify base defenses in order to ward off enemies especially since the heroes would not be around to defend.

As Arthas and Jaina reached the village the first quest was completed but then the village was already ablaze. Here, Kel’Thuzad was introduced as a high-ranking necromancer who was behind the undead carnage, serving the Dreadlord Mal’Ganis. The next main quest was to confront and destroy Kel’Thuzad. As this quest was completed, Kel’Thuzad would declare that his death meant nothing as the scourging of the land has already been set by Mal’Ganis.

Chapter 5: March of the Scourge. In this scene, Arthas and Jaina continued to march on and investigate ruined villages. The next village was Hearthglen. When they arrived, they found out the infected grains had already been distributed to and consumed by the villagers turning them to undead. Jaina was immediately sent off to get Uther and his men.

The main quest was to defend Hearthglen and survive for 30 minutes with the optional quest of destroying the grain caravan before it got to the last village. In order to complete the task, again, it was best to fortify base defenses especially with towers with peons on standby to repair damages to the towers. Then, for 30 minutes, a barrage of enemy attacks would be directed to the camp. These attacks would intensify in the last 10 minutes. And, on the final assault, it would seem that the number of enemies attacking was overwhelming, then, Uther would arrive with reinforcements to defeat the enemies.

Next scene would show Prince Arthas meeting the prophet. He would advise Arthas to flee to the west. Arthas replied that nothing could make him abandon his homeland.

Chapter 6: The Culling. In this scene, Prince Arthas and Uther would have a confrontation. Arthos would order Uther to purge the village of the villagers who turned into the undead. Uther would question his order and refused to follow. Arthos would then relieve Uther of his command. Jaina would leave with Uther, refusing to be a part or even witness the purging. Thus, Arthas was left alone to do the job.

The main quests here were to destroy plagued villager houses, kill 100 zombies and stop Mal'Ganis from claiming 100 zombies.

A new unit was introduced here, the knight, a powerful mounted warrior. Together with some knights and other soldiers, Arthas would destroy plagued villager houses and kill zombies while Mal’Ganis would appear to claim zombies. Arthas would declare that it was better that the people die by his hands than serve as Mal’Ganis’ slaves in death.

At the end, as the quests were completed, Arthas would come face to face with Mal’Ganis. Arthas would challenge Mal’Ganis to end the fight right there and then. Mal’Ganis said that it wouldn’t end there, that Arthas’ journey had just begun. He taunted Arthas to meet him at the arctic land of Northrend so that they may finish their battle. Arthas promised to follow him even to the ends of the world.

My Warcraft III campaign ended her e. I have played the game for five hours straight. And, my time ran out.

CHAPTER THREE: The Analysis

The main thrust of this homework is to explore the correlations between this game and the theories of management, OB in particular.

Following are the more salient analogies I could identify:

1. The cinematic introduction that explains the plot of the game is like the business plan of an organization where the summary of the business is laid out.
2. The Prophecy and Thrall’s Vision are like the mission and the vision of an organization which serve as a road map for its business endeavor. The vision is what an organization sees in its future. A mission statement explains the business purpose and philosophy.
3. The Prologue Campaign is like the start up of a new company where new ideas are introduced like what kind of business an organization is in and what business structure is most appropriate to this organization.
4. The tutorials are like the trainings needed by employees as they join the organization.
5. The introduction of the heroes and villains would be like the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the organization. How the heroes are used in the game would be the same as using a company’s strengths to its best advantage and how villains are confronted and defeated in the game is like what an organization would do develop its areas of weaknesses.
6. The given quests/tasks are like the organizational goals such as the sales targets and the objective market shares that must be achieved by the company.
7. The various characters in the game are the different employees and positions within an organization in order to keep it running smoothly.
8. The different building structures are like the different business units or functional units that make up the company.
9. The specific jobs of characters and structures are like the division of labor in the organization.
10. The campaigns represent the business strategies of an organization while the different races represent competing companies in the business.
11. Heroes are like top-level managers. Prince Arthas would be like an up and coming manager who is filled with energy and enthusiasm in performing his job while Uther would be like an elderly manager who have been in the industry for so long that he knows the ins and outs of the business like the palm of his hand. Prince Arthas would also represent passion and inexperience of a youthful manager and Uther would represent a manager who remains calm and unruffled even during crises.
12. Enemy characters such as Thrall and Mal’Ganis are like the top-level managers of competitor companies. They will do everything within their power and authority to destroy the competition and further advance their own business agenda.
13. Defeating the enemies would be analogous to having the biggest market share or having the largest profit.
14. Hero points that upgrade the hero level are like motivators (e.g. challenging work, recognition and responsibility) that give positive job satisfaction while rewards and treasures are like hygiene factors (e.g. salary, fringe benefits and work conditions) that do not give positive satisfaction although their absence could result to job dissatisfaction.
15. The plagues are like threats/external factors the organization faces that could cause trouble for the business. These may include technological change, legislation and market changes.
16. The inherent and unique abilities of the different characters of a race may be correlated to the competitive advantages of an organization against its competitors.
17. Establishing additional camps by exploiting other goldmines are like expanding the business and tapping other markets.
18. Collapse of a goldmine is like exhausting everything a market could offer.
19. Fortifying camp defenses could represent instilling the business principles of the organization to each and every employee in order strengthen their resolve in achieving organizational goals and so that they would not go astray of these principles.
20. The actual playing of the game is like managing a company and performing the basic functions of management: Planning the completion of the given quests - deciding what needs to happen in the business and generating plans for action; Organizing the base camp, gathering of resources, training of characters, building of structures, fortifying of base defense - job analysis, recruitment and hiring of employees for appropriate jobs, identification of organizational functions and optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans of the business; Leading the troops to battles and quests - determining what must be done in various situations and getting people to do it; Controlling the progress of the game - checking progress of the business against set plans.
These are only a few of the parallelisms that may be attributed to this game and to the real management world. It largely depends on the perspective of the person making the evaluation. In this regard, the analogies could be limitless.
FINALE: Personal Impact
The adventure of playing Warcraft III does not end here for me. I would definitely continue playing it when I have spare time. It has opened my eyes on viewing the game in a totally different perspective. I view the game now as a manager would view his organization. Playing the game has made me think more carefully about resource management, competitive strategies, job analysis, employee relationships, rewards and incentives, planning, organizing, leading and controlling. This is definitely a positive influence for me. I would be sharing these realizations with my employees and most especially with my favorite nephew. I would like to know how they view this game. More importantly, I would like to know if this would have a positive effect on them, too.
Thus, the adventure continues.