MoP - Trying too Hard to be Mature?

[Deleted]

What? 0.o Where do we find this out?

On page 2 of the shortstory, at least if you read it on the blizz webpage. No idea what page number it is in the pdf or other formats you can get it in.

It gets far worse, when you read what he used to make it too...

The final door was unlocked, and from the smell, Ten could tell that this was where Den Den lived. Den Den was the inn's hozen bartender. He was not a bad fellow as monkey folk went, and certainly a good deal more affable than his ladle-throwing cousin. But the room was a stinking den that looked more like a garbage heap than a domicile. Unwashed bedding, piles of seeds, a barrel filled with fruit rinds, and… what appeared to be a girl hozen dummy made from matted hair.

[Granyala]

I don't think they're overcompensating at all, in fact, the game has likely gotten somewhat softer. Though that's not a bad thing.

WoW has gotten a lot more lighthearted and bright than it was back in the day.
Same goes for Starcraft II and even Diablo III.

@OP: These Shado-Pan stories are pretty much the classical unrealistic super-samurai stories. If you tell Asians of how we think Samurai were trained they would just facepalm and laugh at us.

Yes thieves are whipped. It's pretty normal in most cultures to punish these, esp in Asian culture, which MoP is based on.

and… what appeared to be a girl hozen dummy made from matted hair.

I'd expect nothing less from a Ho'zen. Infact, I would be disappointed if there wasn't any porn involved, as Ho'zen are supposed to be teenagers in mind.

Sorry, I saw what you posted and just had to link this image. Be warned, its shocking ^^
http://i.imgur.com/BlRhl4K.jpg

Hehe I remember that one... my Draenei priestess, still pissed that he tried to kill her, gave him a few extra jolts. :<

Seriously, he should be glad. At least he survived without any permanent injury (see tooltip).
So whats a little pain, compared to his colleagues that now rot in the dirt huh?

People go RAAAWR just because we force one mob to speak, yet have no problem with killing 36546483672567 Mobs to level.
Stupid humans.

[Deleted]

MoP mature?
Seriously? half of jade forest horde quests are poop jokes .

[mosely]

I think you're reading too much into that story. The pandaren are just supposed to provide filler content to get you through to the next real expansion. You are meant to see them as 1 dimensional caricatures, a race of peaceful farmers and honorable warriors, nothing more. Their story ends when we leave Pandaria, so there's no sense getting too invested in their lore.

[Rhaktor]

Children having to perform feats of strength and endurance to join secret/martial societies is SUCH a common fantasy trope that I struggle to believe you were actually shocked or offended in any way by that story.

Nonetheless.. The Shado-Pan are literally the only force that has protected Pandaria for the last 10,000 years. It makes complete sense for them to be a stark contrast to the people they protect. They suffer and die so that the other Pandas can live their relaxed zen lifestyle, if they feel the need to have exacting trials to join their ranks its only because their general recruiting base has very little idea of what being a Shado-Pan means.

[Yogg-Saron, God of Death]

Rather, I think people are trying too hard to be too mature for MoP than vice versa.

[Zuben]

I get that the Shado Pan are supposed to be hard and accept no weakness in their ranks, but submitting children to such trials, where dying comes so easy, is overkill. Tbh, the initiate in Townlong Steppes, who lost his sword to a bunch of pranksters, doesn't come off as someone who has survived through these sorts of tests. Felt like a real dumbass to me. And what they threatened to do to Ten for his petty crime, the removal of fingers and all? Sounds like just an overblown threat for an effect, but looking how callous they are about their initiates makes me wonder.

So the Shado Pan are assholes, okay. But your ordinary pandaren citizen beating up a child for warming his paws for a moment? What?? Even if you don't want him to do that on your forge, then couldn't you just shoo him away? And yeah, like some have said, there's the deal with the Sha and you having to keep your shit together to avoid their corruption.

I also don't like how this short story and the game itself portray so different worlds. Ingame it really is just zen, often merrily drunk pandamen and their tougher but still reasonable sentinels. In the short story they are assholes, sadistically so in Shado pan's case. Feels inconsistent, and reminds me how differently Garrosh was portrayed here and there between different authors.

[Deleted]

That would make an awesome movie. All i can say

[Granyala]

Nonetheless.. The Shado-Pan are literally the only force that has protected Pandaria for the last 10,000 years. It makes complete sense for them to be a stark contrast to the people they protect. They suffer and die so that the other Pandas can live their relaxed zen lifestyle, if they feel the need to have exacting trials to join their ranks its only because their general recruiting base has very little idea of what being a Shado-Pan means.

It's not just that. They have to conquer their emotions or they risk falling victim to Sha possession. The shadow pan in Kun'lai even explicitly states: "I should feel pride in what you accomplished, but I'm not allowed to feel anything right now."

They need people with exceptional resolve and they test them to the extreme. Fighting Sha is no childs play, why should Shadow Pan training be? If you can't survive a bath in a frozen lake, you can't survive an encounter with Sha either.

It's comparable to the Vulcan Kolinahr rite.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Kolinahr

But your ordinary pandaren citizen beating up a child for warming his paws for a moment? What??

You never watched Anime, did you? Moments like these are really common in them. Maybe that Panda was just an asshole too. They can't all be nice, you know?

[invader]

I think you're reading too much into that story. The pandaren are just supposed to provide filler content to get you through to the next real expansion. You are meant to see them as 1 dimensional caricatures, a race of peaceful farmers and honorable warriors, nothing more. Their story ends when we leave Pandaria, so there's no sense getting too invested in their lore.

this sums it up for me im sitting out MoP so the sooner the next xpac comes the sooner i/we/some of us/ can forget all aboot pandland
nice dude...

and NO, you cant shut me up ;p i gets infracted now n then but i is INVADER. i invade....

[Granyala]

and NO, you cant shut me up ;p i gets infracted now n then but i is INVADER. i invade....

Eek a bug! You no invade my home!
*rolls up newspaper and starts beating the crap out of it*

[invader]

;p you loves me really bryn hehe

[Deleted]

Sorry, I saw what you posted and just had to link this image. Be warned, its shocking ^^
http://i.imgur.com/BlRhl4K.jpg

One of the most enjoyable quests in the game, my Undead Warlock stood there for 1 hour straight and had his fun. 10/10 would shock again.

On the story I guess the Shado Pan are exceptions, but anyways even before that I thought they are douchebags, atleast the leaders. They are pretty much the opposite to the normals farmer people.

[lakhesis]

Not a bad story.

Very medieval. It reminded me of the Hobbes quote on war:

"Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man ... In such condition there is no place for industry, and consequently no culture of the earth, ... no arts, no letters, no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

I don't think it's particularly trying to be mature per se, I think the perception of 'maturity' is a side effect of its topic. It's trying to paint an impression and it does quite a decent job. The impression it's trying to paint isn't cuddly & arguably is inherently "mature", but that's total war for you.

(As something of an aside: I'd actually argue that total war by definition isn't mature because it involves no restraint, therefore it's the most childishly destructive approach, but it probably still counts as 'mature content' in a literary sense even if it is just unbounded childhood feuding in a social sense)

[Yig]

I think you're reading too much into that story. The pandaren are just supposed to provide filler content to get you through to the next real expansion. You are meant to see them as 1 dimensional caricatures, a race of peaceful farmers and honorable warriors, nothing more. Their story ends when we leave Pandaria, so there's no sense getting too invested in their lore.

Oh bullshit, Blizzard and fans of the game have wanted Pandaren for years, and they got an exponentially more complex amount of lore and important story than most people ever would have imagined they'd get. Every race in this game is based on being a recognizably larger than life caricature of human cultures, this expansion was a MUCH needed breath of fresh air for the creative team and artists at Blizzard. They were getting burned out doing nothing but lava and evil spikes and chains, which is what ended up in some part with why Cataclysm ended up being so forgettable and generic. MOP was just what they needed to clear the cobwebs out of their skulls and do something creative. The Pandaren will have a time and a place in the future just as much as any other race.

[Granyala]

I'd actually argue that total war by definition isn't mature because it involves no restraint, therefore it's the most childishly destructive approach

Excellently put. I wholeheartedly agree.

[Yig]

I
You never watched Anime, did you? Moments like these are really common in them. Maybe that Panda was just an asshole too. They can't all be nice, you know?

There's no reason to invoke the stigma that the word "anime" evokes in so many people. Asian mythology itself is full of these kinds of stories, far before animated cartoons came along.

[Granyala]

There's no reason to invoke the stigma that the word "anime" evokes in so many people. Asian mythology itself is full of these kinds of stories, far before animated cartoons came along.

You may laugh at me, but: what stigma is attached to the term "anime"? oO
To clarify: I'm not exactly a fan of the genre, even if I do enjoy the art style in certain movies/pictures.

[zenyatta]

That's the thing that everyone has totally missed about MoP. Everyone is so busy comparing it to Kung Fu Panda that they miss all the dark story lines... And there are plenty.

[mosely]

You may laugh at me, but: what stigma is attached to the term "anime"? oO

Basically the same stigma that's associated with WoW. To someone on the outside looking in, they might as well be the same thing.