The original Night Elves, were supposed to be murderous, barbarous, feral killers rivaling that of the Orcs- link below, notice the female is drinking blood.
http://theothertale.com/prologue/index.php?/topic/1917-night-elf-concept-art/
I believe that's either Chris Metzen's or Samwise Didier's art work, in the original I saw there was a signature, however this particular one it got cropped off. They maintained a lot of this idea through most of Warcraft 3, learning more towards druidism than barbarism. However they decided what most companies go with when making a game or movie. "Sex sells." Hence why we have the hyper-masculine looking male Night Elves, and the very overtly sexually dolled up females.
The original High Elves, had very little in their Lore pertaining to magic or an addiction to same. The only allusion to magic was the Rune Stone which protected them from the Orc's demon magiks (is was spelled that way in the manual!). The original Elves (not High, Blood, or Night) as they were called in Warcraft II were very similar to J.R.R Tolkien's elves; rangers, who fought with ornate weapons or elegant craftsmanship, and distrusting of other races. Once again, the desire for a sexual-esque race on the Horde side lead them to where they are now.
Neither are really "Gay", or "Hippies" no more than say the Tauren. The lore and and marketing strategies just changed to suit their environment, a video game for 12-34 (average) year olds.
Gott gesegnet tag,
Der Baron Mueller
