When I heard that a feature-length documentary on World of Warcraft was being produced. I was very intrigued. Last summer, I watched a documentary called “The Dungeon Masters” which chronicled the lives of several Dungeons and Dragons players in a year following Gen Con, one of the largest gaming conventions in the world. In the documentary, we met the players and learned about their lives inside and out including how they started gaming and why, what obstacles they have overcome in their lives related to gaming, and so on. I was very impressed. So, when I set out to watch The Raid, I was expecting something comparable. I feel that while there many positive things about The Raid, there were several points which detracted from the film.
The documentary premiered on Gamebreaker.tv in conjunction with Typefrag and Curse Gaming. Over 19,000 viewers experienced the premiere along with Gary Gannon, Mike B aka Fony and the creator of the film Kevin Michael Johnson. The opening sequence features several people who are leaving their day-to-day lives to come home and get on their computers. From that, the documentary jumps right in to explanation of what World of Warcraft is and why many people participate in it. The viewer is introduced to three figures: Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, Edward Castronova, Professor of Telecommunications, Indiana University, and Bonnie Nardi, Anthropologist and author of "My Life as a Night Elf Priest". Their comments provide context and enhance the discussion.
