What does "vanilla" mean in the context of gaming?

Consider this comment:

I've been playing WoW(an online multiplayer game) since vanilla. I'm an older white male, my first toon was female, created with my wife coaching me. We did it just for fun.

What does vanilla mean here?

Solution 1:

I've never encountered this use, but I'll hazard a guess.

"Vanilla" in the computer world means a basic version of something, without any special features or customisations (from its use for no-flavour ice cream).

I presume this means "since there was only one kind of WoW".

Solution 2:

In this specific case, vanilla stands for the base version of WoW, that is before the first expansion pack (World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade) was released.

sources:

• http://vanilla-wow.wikia.com/wiki/Vanilla_World_of_Warcraft
• http://www.wowwiki.com/World_of_Warcraft

Solution 3:

As Colin mentioned, "vanilla" generally means the original version of something, before extra features/complications were added.

I would just like to add that the usage is not just restricted to the computer world. For example, when speaking about financial derivatives you have options, binary options, exotic options, etc. and sometimes for disambiguation the normal options are referred to as vanilla options.

Solution 4:

I read somewhere several years ago that the term vanilla, in this usage, was coined after the release of the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, due to the colour of the original box. I now know this to be wrong*.

In searching for a viable reference to my theory, I discovered that the term was referenced in The New Hacker's Dictionary, first edition circa late 1996 (Oblivion was released in 2006). However, this usage of the word is possibly as old as 1975, as it is also referenced in the original jargon.txt file that forms the basis for Raymond's dictionary.

The earliest recorded version of jargon.txt is v1.0.3, which includes the following definition of vanilla:

VANILLA adj. Ordinary flavor, standard. See FLAVOR.

This is put into context by the accompanying definition of FLAVOR:

FLAVOR n. 1. Variety, type, kind. "DDT commands come in two flavors." 2. The attribute of causing something to be FLAVORFUL. "This convention yields additional flavor by allowing one to ..."

Hence vanilla software is the ordinary, standard version, or original version.

As mentioned by others, this translates as the version that precedes any expansion packs, or the base game without mods.

Although the OED does refer to the adjective "vanilla", below, there does not seem to be a reference to this usage in the online etymology dictionary etymonline.com, which further suggests that it's a recent development.

adjective informal: vanilla

1. having no special or extra features; ordinary or standard. "choosing plain vanilla technology wherever you can will save you money"

_{*I considered that it is possible that Oblivion box's colour choice of vanilla was, instead, influenced in some way by the term "vanilla" used as discussed, especially when considering the focus on mods and the free TES Construction Kit for the game. However, I was not able to find the original reference to this claim and must conclude that the colour of Oblivion's box is not related in any way.}