CasualGamer
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Confessions of a casual gamer
I admit it, I am never going to raid Naxxramas. C'Thun? Broodlord? These are fights I doubt I will ever see. That's not to say that I don't play a lot, I do. I have 10 characters, ranging from 70 to 1, and I admit an addiction to character creation. But I am not a raider. My mage has average gear. When she stepped through the portal in January she had 4 pieces of Arcanist, all of which I have replaced with green or blue items. My entire goal with the expansion hasn't been to defeat Illidan, and I've had no burning desire to send Vashj back into that hole created by the destruction of the Well of Eternity. I just wanted to go to the Caverns of Time. It was a simple wish, but I somehow feel less of a gamer because I don't have the opportunity or the drive to push through to the raid content. I have the desire, I do, I just live in a small world, with a small guild of friends. I would love to experience all the game has to offer, that's why I've created as many characters as I have. If there were 20 character slots, I would still have them all filled. In addition to my desire, though, I also have a lot of unease. Am I too a gamer if I don't get the "uberest" of gear sets? Is it enough to play for the love of the game, or do I need to have 6 characters at 70 by the time the next expansion comes out? A lot of the content in the game requires 25-man or 40-man raids, and I don't know how likely it is I will be able to get into Kharazan, despite finishing the key. I am grateful for the 5-man content in Outland, but I wonder, is there room in Blizzard's heart for the casual gamer?
Guild size matters not, judge us by our size do you?
Our guild isn't large by any means. In fact, we're a tiny guild, although that's not for want of effort. The Rogue Knights has been around on Elune since beta, and has had a constant stream of very good players throughout our time on the realm. However, a while back a group of players decided to leave the guild, and since then we haven't quite recovered. How can a few simple people make the difference? Well, these players have gone on to form the core players in some of the largest guilds on the server, so you can see how that might affect our guild. Another reason we are still small is simple: we have standards. Not to say other guilds don't have standards, it's just that we are the sort of people that expect people to spell out their words in guild chat, to be kind and courteous to other players while in Azeroth, and expect them to help others whenever possible. These may sound like basic rules, but I have personally had to boot people from our guild for acts in instances or general chat that simply aren't nice. What this means is that the players that don't do these things, the gankers and the ninjas who happen to get invited to the guild, eventually these people leave the guild, either by themselves or by force. I see many of these players around the realm in my travels, and it is interesting how often they guild hop in their time in WoW. I think it comes down to expectations of players. Some guilds will accept players based on their class, gear, etc. Our guild, being the ultimate of casual groups, tends to focus on how the player interacts with others, in the guild and outside the guild. What this all means, really, is that in the end, there is room for everyone in WoW, but not everyone in a guild. While some guilds focus on player attendance, others focus on player interaction, and still others focus on nothing at all. What a wonderful virtual world, in which everyone is accepted, and all find a home. No, we can't all be in raiding guilds, but not all of us want to be in one.
Wii Warm Up: Conning and coaxing the one you love
A recent article in Women's Health apparently suggested that the ladies should join their fellas and pick up a controller, because that whole shared interests thing is really good for couples. We agree, though we think things tend to be easier if you're lucky enough to find a significant other who's already a gamer. Either way, the Wii offers a little something for almost any gamer, whether they're an old salty dog or total fresh meat, and that seems like it would be a great thing in enticing one's non-gaming significant other (of whatever gender) into trying something out, at least for a little while. Or if you're already coupled with a gamer who simply has different tastes, has the Wii helped you to find a happy medium? Valentine's Day is less than a month a way, so we want to start the romantic mood early with your lovelaced Wii stories.
XBLA boss gets casual
Don't miss Chris Grant's short but sweet GDC interview with Xbox Live Arcade "casual games" king Greg Canessa over at Joystiq. Thank God he hates crappy cell phone games as much as the rest of us. Sidenote: Is there really anything "casual" about Geometry Wars? Not at 4am.
