To Smooch (Not Smite): A Review/Analysis of Polygon’s PeaceCraft

All images in this post were captured from the PeaceCraft videos on Polygon's YouTube channel.

            Admittedly, I have had little previous experience with either World of Warcraft or the McElroy brothers and their various online ventures. While I have no plans to get into the former, I have started to get more familiar with the latter after listening to some episodes of the three brothers’ comedy advice podcast—My Brother, My Brother, And Me—and watching the web series of the same name developed by Seeso. The McElroys as a family just seem very funny, charming, and, above all, sweet. In a very shrill, angry, cynical world, there is something engaging about the general sense of sweetness and happiness the brothers seem to bring to their projects. Today I would like to focus on some of the work of the “sweet baby brother” Griffin McElroy, who, in addition to his work with the other brothers, also creates several video series for the site Polygon that deal with video games in some way. The first of these that I watched was Touch the Skyrim, a series in which Griffin attempts to essentially break the massively popular fantasy role-playing game by altering it with mods that co-host Nick Robinson must try to identify. Such modifications to the game have included: giant bears, the ability to stop time, “sexy” outfits, transforming the entire world into an undersea paradise, and adding the option to make any characters in the game kiss, which just gets even weirder when modded in characters like Sonic the Hedgehog get involved. Across the two “seasons” of the show so far, Griffin and Nick have built some loose narratives around their various mods, though the series is ultimately less about story and more about hijinks like humping Batman in a cavern filled with giant Sonics. The series I want to focus on here is a solo effort for Griffin that revolves around an attempted nonviolent run through the world of World of Warcraft using a gnome rogue named “Raandyy” (Both “Randy” and “Randyy” were already taken).

            The premise for this “PeaceCraft” series on the first episode on YouTube reads, “Join Griffin McElroy and Raandyy on an unforgettable journey through Azeroth in PeaceCraft, a new Polygon video series. Can sweet Raandyy find a way through the various checkpoints Griffin has arbitrary [sic] established for him in way-too-high-level zones without killing a single creature?” In essence, Griffin starts a new game on a PvP server with the intent to guide his rogue (so chosen for its learned stealth abilities) through various zones of the game without committing any violent acts. Griffin himself notes that pacifism in Warcraft is not new or entirely unsupported, so what makes this series special is that trademark McElroy sweetness and the way that his goals for Raandyy do not conform to those of the game. This is more of a cross-country marathon than it is a quest to save the realm, and with no attempt to make Raandyy appropriately-leveled for the challenges he faces (the goal is to cover distance, not grind out levels), the approach puts the character at a greater disadvantage than that faced by other characters with similar nonviolent intentions. The PvP elements in particular just makes the world even more dangerous for sweet Raandyy.  

  

            PeaceCraft is rife with comedy: Raandyy running around with no pants on, hiding behind trees to try to harvest plants when enemies’ backs are turned, running howling into a town with an enemy in tow to die while other players do not notice or refuse to intervene. And then there are moments that I found really affecting like when early in the game Raandyy ends up begging for in-game currency, again, from largely seemingly disinterested players. The tone is comedic, but the subtext is powerful because of the real world echoes of poverty and because the structure of the game is literally such that Raandyy cannot start to level up and progress without experience, which he cannot get without killing unless he has the money to pay to learn a trade. The hump is a real one imposed by both the game’s systems and by the limitations (no killing) Griffin has set on his own run. It is both funny but also very serious, and it makes for a more compelling narrative given how flush with currency Raandyy later becomes thanks to the contributions of his “fan-diies.”

Another source of comedy in PeaceCraft: the editing and the use of visuals and music beyond what is "native" to the game. Here we see Raandyy celebrating leveling up.

            Similar mixes of humor and genuine pathos arise thanks to Raandyy’s consistent characterization as both nonviolent and kind. He blows kisses to most of the people he meets; he refuses to kill (even by engaging in such an innocuous video game staple like fishing); he makes peace by laying out a blanket, umbrella, and picnic basket and encouraging other players to do the same; he tries to avoid being killed by other players by lying on the ground; he cheers on other players involved in fights even if he will not fight himself. The nonviolent premise of the show translates to character traits for Raandyy, and Griffin role-plays as him with consistency and some sincerity. This fundamental kindness is very “on brand” for the McElroys. The nonviolence of the run comes to head in the most recent (as of this writing) episode of the show when Raandyy and his followers go to a carnival and get into an arena. Although some players try to practice peace, others are killing. One in particular kills Raandyy multiple times, resulting in Griffin’s decision to have Raandyy “do a hit” on the person in question. Although some “fan-diies” try to hold Raandyy back verbally and by transforming him into animals, he eventually succeeds in attempting his hit… only to miss because the character is so under-leveled. A second attempt at a hit moments later produces the same results, and seeing the game’s own systems ultimately serve to further characterize Raandyy as someone who is not only opposed to violence but also incapable of inflicting it even when he tries only adds to the sense of him as a consistent character. It is funny but also actually makes sense within the narrative Griffin is building as the series goes on.

PeaceCraft is highly edited, both for time (since each episode is only about 20 minutes long) and for humorous effect.

            One of the things that makes PeaceCraft appealing to me in ways that Touch the Skyrim is not is the way that the former series does not so much attempt to break the game as it does try to examine the ways in which the game’s systems can be used in non-traditional ways. At its most simple it asks: How effectively can a person move through the game using only non-violent sources of experience and money? Of course, because this is an MMORPG, most sources of experience and money involve killing, either solo or as part of a team, so Raandyy’s adventure reveals how slim the pickings can be for players who might try to test those limits. The character is behind the progression curve at every turn since his primary sources of income and experience are picking flowers, harvesting minerals, and selling both. Consequently, Raandyy is under-leveled (usually dramatically so) for whatever zone he happens to be in, resulting in his being one- or two-shot by almost every enemy or hostile player he encounters. Again—This pushes the limits of the game’s systems. What was meant to be a straight-forward RPG where the player moves through an area mowing down enemies at or around their current level turns into a sort of stealth or puzzle game at times, where Griffin uses Raandyy’s rogue class power of cloaking (once he has earned it) and/or the environment itself to try to gather resources or just avoid enemies. In a forest filled with deadly spiders, for example, Raandyy takes to a nearby river to swim through the zone, only to discover that that is not a totally safe route either.

Each episode tracks Raandyy's progress along a certain "leg" of his journey.

            Oftentimes, progress through a region in PeaceCraft seems to slow to a crawl as, unable to avoid enemies entirely, Griffin instead has to resort to fudging his way through using the game’s respawn system. At times he can count the number of steps he takes forward from one death to another on one hand. No doubt this was arduous to record—especially since there is a cooldown on respawns—but it is highly engaging to watch: not only because of the humor of the action and that comes from Griffin’s running commentary, but also because it made me think about the nature of games. It was interesting to me because I thought about how video games like Warcraft are, to some extent, the extension of the imaginative play of children (which has few set rules) and the sort of traditional role-playing games that have rules but also allow for imaginative play when the GM is willing and the stats and roll of the dice allow for it. Warcraft, though ostensibly a “role-playing” game, only allows mechanical role-play within very strict limitations. Simply put: The game’s goal for the player, regardless of their imagined role, is levelling up (most often through killing), and the goal of peacefully maneuvering through the world on a cross-country trek is not as well-supported. Add to that that Griffin’s run ignores much of the “content” of the game—another goal of an RPG like this one: to complete as many quests as possible and to advance what story there is—in favor of a self-selected goal of simply reaching certain milestones on the map. PeaceCraft is less Warcraft than it is Forrest Gump—and that comparison becomes especially apt when you consider how the narrative of the series evolves once the fans get directly involved in Raandyy’s quest.

            Superficially, PeaceCraft reminds me of Forrest Gump because of its initial premise: Lovable Simpleton Runs Around The World. Like the sequence from the movie, however, what starts out as a solitary journey eventually turns into one filled with other hangers-on. I said before that PeaceCraft does not break the game like Touch the Skyrim does (with mods), but once Raandyy starts getting generous care packages from his “fan-diies,” he begins to acquire copious amounts of gold and other items (like armor sets) that he otherwise would likely never have acquired on his own during the run, thus bending, if not breaking, the game to some extent. He is able to use the gold, for example, to buy up a bunch of items from a vendor, who then, after sufficient patronage, offers Raandyy a cool motorcycle mount. The mount ends up not moving significantly faster through the world than Raandyy could have on foot—particularly with his new impressive stash of swiftness potions courtesy of his fans—but it is glamorous, and its easy acquisition stands out in stark contrast to the early moments of the series when Griffin was forced to beg for money and sell Raandyy’s pants to make ends meet. The involvement of the “fan-diies” fundamentally changes the limitations and tone of run, and the way that they steadily play bigger roles in the series adds to the narrative appeal.

Raandyy checks the mail from his "fan-diies."

            The “fan-diies’” involvement begins small—with some fan letters and donations and the creation of characters that riff on the name “Raandyy”—but slowly expands to include multiple player factions that in some way use Raandyy’s name (Some are evil, of course), an inbox that takes increasingly long periods of time to empty during each episode, and a physical presence that enables Raandyy to accomplish what is arguably his most daring feat of the series so far, which is to infiltrate the hostile Horde capital and “smooch” their ruler. The entire sequence, which at one point involves Raandyy climbing onto a follower’s mount and then parachuting onto the roof of the capitol, plays so well mechanically and narratively when you consider that this dynamic with the fans began with a few letters and some reluctant interaction with one or two people in the wilderness.

Raandyy dropping in for a smooch through the power of teamwork.

            The whole story arc of the series first takes a turn, though, when a small group of “fan-diies” blocks for Raandyy as he tries to evade a hostile and make his next checkpoint on his journey in a town called Booty Bay. While the other players draw off the opposition, Griffin is able to race Raandyy into the town. In the episodes following this team-up, the “fan-diies” have only grown in number and in their significance to the narrative. There is the aforementioned gentle assault on the Horde, followed by an episode that is roughly the equivalent of the beach/hot spring episodes of an anime series, where Raandyy and friends simply go to a carnival and pal around. At this point, the future goals for the series seem to have shifted. Raandyy made his way across an entire continent on foot and mostly unaided, but the move to another continent and the carnival sequence have all been “fan-diies”-focused. The question becomes whether Raandyy will resume running around the world and, if so, what role his followers will play. Like any series, however, more escalation moving further away from the initial premise seems likely since Griffin noted after pulling off the smooch raid against the Horde that this was actually a little easier than he thought. With the help of the “fan-diies,” he has a lot of resources available to consider other self-selected goalposts for Raandyy to reach. One man’s quest to simply circumnavigate the world of Warcraft peacefully has evolved, even if the core values—of peace and kindness—have largely remained unchanged despite the more ambiguous “peaceful" characteristic becoming a bit more concrete with the decision to make Raandyy a vegan.

            Finally, I would like to say that one reason PeaceCraft and its creative use of existing game systems to accomplish imaginative, player-created goals appeals to me so much is that it reminds me of my childhood—when I knew that I wanted to make games but did not have the know-how or software. What I did instead was to sometimes create new narratives inside existing games like The Legend of Zelda and Spyro, sometimes for my younger brother and sometimes just for myself. What is really affecting to me about my experience as a child and about watching PeaceCraft is the way that videogames, which present limiting imaginative experiences with set parameters, can still be bent to some extent to the imagination of players in a manner reminiscent of the most basic state of “play,” where the only true limit is the player’s (or players’) imagination and where things like narrative and the goals for the game are not imposed but changeable. There is just something childlike and fun (albeit with a lot more swearing) to be found in PeaceCraft, which seems to find genuine elements of play in the process of playing a game with clear and obvious expectations for an entirely different sort of interaction with its world and systems. I do not think any substantial knowledge of World of Warcraft is necessary to enjoy the show either, so I would not worry too much about the MMORPG angle if you, like me, do not know much of anything about it. I started watching the series on a lark and ended up catching up on all six existing episodes in a single sitting. If you are at all into this sort of content (people talking over videogames on the internet), PeaceCraft is absolutely worth checking out. It is immensely charming, sweet, and features a fun narrative developing in real-time.

Link to the first episode of PeaceCraft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqEGdSEOAis