MMO and MMORPG players have a tendency to lose themselves in a blur between reality and fantasy, a phenomenon which is increased in the celebration of realm holidays, which more often than not coincide with real-world celebrations.
These realms do not simply take traditional holidays and use them as is – they generally create a holiday with strong parallels (like World of Warcraft’s Hallow’s End) to real-world celebrations and then spin them into something fits the lore of the game. City of Heroes is the exception in this, as its holidays and events are more closely based on actual holidays like Flag Day (among others). These holidays often feature unique events, prizes and powers that are unique to the particular holiday and last only for the duration of the celebration.
Halloween is a favorite holiday to be celebrated within the MMORPG realm – for games centered around becoming someone
else and following unique and creative missions, the gaming world really enjoys this special time of the event calendar when they get to become someone else and follow unique and creative missions. Regardless of the game, Halloween events are chock-full of the best parts of Halloween – Jack-o-Lanterns litter the pathways and towns, shop owners hand out candy that briefly buffs a character, and characters get to take part in specially-created quests and missions dressed in costumes.
In the City of Heroes 2008 Halloween Event, zombies rose from their graves and attacked anything that moved. For the Hallow’s End celebration in World of Warcraft, the Headless Horseman randomly attacks both Alliance and Horde villages and can be raised and defeated in a faction-neutral level 70 quest.
Hallow’s End also offers game players both costumes and masks to wear in spells that are won from innkeepers and turn characters into either a bat, a wisp, a ghost, a leper gnome, a ninja, a pirate or a skeleton.
Halloween events include a set of games and events that last (like the prizes one in said games and events) for the duration of the celebration. In World of Warcraft’s Hallow’s End, players can Trick or Treat or bob for apples at any inn – but be wary! Innkeepers hand out as many tricks as they do treats, so don’t be surprised if you’re temporarily turned into a kitten or a frog!
Costumes can also be obtained and worn during the Halloween Event for City of Heroes, and badges are awarded to those who collect the largest number of Classical Costumes.
While most MMORPGs have some sort of festival or small even that celebrates the harvest season (or what Americans call Thanksgiving), during World of Warcraft’s Harvest Festival, both factions celebrate the sacrifices made by those who came before, including the Horde hero Grom Hellscream and the Alliance hero Uther Lightbringer. Characters can show their respect for both of these lore-important characters by either lighting a candle in the Western Plaguelands (for Uther Lightbringer) or by leaving a bottle of booze at the Hellscream Memorial in Ashenvale. Celebrations on both sides are punctuated with large feasting tables meant for all to partake.
Grail-Day in Warhammer Online is celebrated around the same time and is more lighthearted, as (while originally intended as a solomn celebration of the Grail) it has become something of a drinker's holiday.