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BigBearButt on finding your WoW cheese
John "BigBearButt" Patricelli is one of the writers on this fine blog, gracing us with the Shifting Perspectives column, and appearing on our podcast whenever he can. But has also has his own blog at TheBigBearButt.com, and just recently he put up a very nice post about "finding your cheese" in the World of Warcraft. And he doesn't mean Alterac Swiss."Who Moved My Cheese," as he says, is one of those corporate management books that's a little trite for anyone but executives to actually read seriously -- it's got a fable about two mice who find a chunk of cheese, and then have to deal with what happens when change hits them and that cheese runs out. And BBB then takes that into the act of playing WoW: right now, this game is giving us plenty of cheese, and when the expansion drops, things will be even better. But at the same time, there's no reason to stick with the game if it isn't giving you what you want, and as we've said before, if you're not interested in the game, feel free to go find something else.BBB's post is a great read, and it's refreshing to hear an honest take on what it might mean to finally end a career in WoW (not that BBB is doing that yet). There's a lot of stuff left to do in Azeroth (and there'll be more to do in Northrend). But at the same time, there's nothing wrong with making your own path and going off to find yourself some fresh cheese.
WoW Insider Show Episode 25: Craziness on the PTR
We reached our 25th episode of the podcast this last Saturday, and it's all up right now for you to listen to over on WoW Radio's site. Turpster (who, I hear, has posted something on Massively today), Matthew Rossi, and I all sat down to talk about all the biggest stories in World of Warcraft over the past week, including, but not limited to: That wily companion cube (I promise, this is the last time we'll mention it) The lunacy on the PTR: not only the pilgrimage of level ones, but also the chaos caused by a tameable Brutallus Whether more dailies are good or bad How M'uru went missing And we answered a bunch of reader mail, including who our pick to direct the upcoming WoW movie would be, now that the writer's strike is settled. I'll give you a hint: it's not Uwe Boll. Listen in to the podcast every Saturday afternoon starting at 3:30pm EST on WoW Radio, and hear intelligent er, interesting, um, audible commentary like this every single week! And in the meantime, if you have something want to share with us, feel free to drop an email to theshow@wow.com, and you may hear us talk about it on the next show.Enjoy this week's podcast, and we'll see you next week.
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Super Villains 5 commentary
Ian Beckman (whom we interviewed a while back) recently released a DVD-style commentary video about his latest machinima, Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 5. In the video, Ian, and guest star Michael DeCamp, discuss the making of ASV5, as well as reveal some surprising facts about the film. At almost 11 minutes, it's quite informative.For example, they point out the guest appearance by Drewbie, the disastrous Blackbird contest, and many of the special references that they made about real life events. They even briefly mention how they filmed scenes in the movie! Most of the content will spoil the film for you, so if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest watching Episode 5 first.Previously on Moviewatch ...
The intersection of Spore and MMOs
Will Wright's surely-a-masterpiece Spore got a date earlier this week, and just last night the floodgates opened on press coverage of it, so we've got lots of new info to drool over in the weeks to come. But Mike, you say to me, Spore isn't an MMO-- why are you talking about it here on Massively?You're right-- it's not an MMO, but it does have MMO qualities: creatures you create in Spore will show up on others' screens and vice versa, via the game's constant online connection. You'll never play a game against someone else, but your game will live in a huge, persistent online world, and your content will become others' as well. We're talking about Spore because it will intersect a lot with the MMO industry this year-- and even more than you may think.
TR mission designer elucidates Fault Lever instance
Ever wish you could pick the brain of the guy who developed your favorite instance? Whether you hate his work or you love it, sometimes the rationale that goes into a level on the developer side is just completely lost on players. In the case of Tabula Rasa's new end-game instance Fault Lever, this is not a concern players will have to ponder for long. RPG Vault has a guide to the as-yet-unreleased instance replete with commentary by David Fargo, the World Builder who brought the whole kit and caboodle together. (What a cool job title, by the way. What does your boyfriend do? Oh, he builds worlds.) After reading the thing over, it really seems like David had a good idea. He explains how the "story" of the instance is primarily in the details, and those are the things he likes to expound upon the most. In the case of Fault Lever, it's a Bane encampment under siege by the ground-dwelling Atta. The premise is that this base houses some of the Bane upper brass, in deeply hostile territory, only managing to keep the Atta at bay by blasting the ground with gigantic hammers. The player's role is to destroy the generators powering these hammers, and in so doing seal the fate of the Bane enemies within. While I like the idea of an instance where your primary goal is to turn two of your enemies against each other, I can't help but cringe at the thought of another underground instance. Is it really too much to have more instances where I can see the bloody sky? I already miss out on it in real life because I'm at work all day, do I really want to come home and go spelunking in my fantasy worlds too?
Founding an old MMO on new ideas
Rock Paper Shotgun has posted an interesting thought experiment: what if you took two of the world's biggest MMOs, EVE Online and World of Warcraft, and combined their best features into some kind of super, Frankenstein, monster MMO? I'm actually really interested in this, because I've been playing WoW for a long time, and have only recently come around to playing EVE. So what would World of EVECraft look like?First of all, I completely agree with RPS-- the best new MMO feature in both games is EVE's skill system. Instead of killing X rats (rats both in the old standby MMO monsters, and in EVE's jargon for "Pirates") to level, you simply level. That's it. Choose a level, wait a certain amount of time (from a few minutes to a few days), and at the end of that time, even if you've logged out in between, you get that level. It is the perfect system for MMOs, because it really does make your character persistent-- they're leveling even when you're not.And as RPS points out, it does away with the basic idea of "levels" anyway-- no longer must you wait until your friend reaches your level to join you, and no longer does a foe simply become insurmountable based on a number. The skilling idea also helps in PvP as well-- no matter what your skills are or how good you are, you'll get better over time.So what can we take from World of Warcraft?
Stratics Chat: Live with the Devs
As promised, I'll be reporting on anything and everything going on in the Stratics chat. I'm hopeful that the devs will pick some of the truly tasty questions that have been offered up to answer. For those who want to join us on IRC for this, you can get all the pertinent information here. For those of you who are unable to get on IRC but still wanting to keep up with the action, just refresh this post periodically. I'll add my running commentary here via edits as the chat progresses. (Please note that all timestamps are EST.) Pre-show: Had a lovely chat with TotalBiscuit from WoWRadio and caught some of his Devchat pre-show while waiting. Great guy -- and a great site. If you haven't checked them out, be sure to do so! 5:45 pm: Drink? Check. Snack? Oh man. I knew I forgot something...5:50 pm: Wow, this channel is packed. There are easily several hundred in here. Of course, considering the guests of honor, that's really no surprise.6:00 pm: Brannoc has said they'll begin shortly. So far, so good. Eyonix, Drysc, Neth are here as well as Kalgan and Tigole. More official people seem to be joining.6:07 pm: They're going through the introductions now. -- Ah, first question. Wants to know when Azeroth will begin getting a significant revamp as it's a ghost town now.6:09 pm: Tigole says that they're looking at revamping some older zones at some point. Also planning future expansions, mentions Karazhan and CoT as examples of future content plans. (The rest lives behind the jump)
Why a Mac tablet from Apple doesn't make sense
Laurie posted OWC's announcement of their upcoming ModBook Mac tablet just as I began rounding up commentary from some Mac notables as to why a tablet from Apple simply doesn't make sense. OWC's announcement indeed makes things a bit more interesting, but I think some of these thoughts from Steven Frank (of Panic, Inc. fame) and David Sobotta, one of Apple's own former sales managers, can shed some light on why Apple is likely to stay away from this market. Mr. Sobotta tells a longer story over at The Guardian of his 20 years of experience at Apple, and Steven Frank more or less rounds up the bullet points in a Macworld rumor call-out post. To sum things up: the idea of a tablet Mac is cool - really cool - but the fact of the matter is that the tablet PC market sucks. And by 'sucks' I mean "it's downright horrendously dismal." Steven also reminds us that Apple hasn't really been making products for unidentified markets for about a decade now. Sure, there are a big handful of Mac Photoshoppers that would love to be able to craft their next Fark submission with a Mac tablet on the couch, but the unfortunate reality is that Apple - already a niche company - would need a *lot* more interest in an über-niche product like this to make it profitable. To make matters worse, already established industries (like the medical field) *still* aren't touching the tablet PC products that have been on the market for over two years now. Steven lists a lot of other good obstacles that simply don't seem ripe for Apple to tackle anytime soon, and Mr. Sobotta certainly offers some commentary from behind Apple's well-guarded veil as well. Which brings me back to the intriguing ModBook announcement from OWC. Apple hasn't made the idea of a tablet Mac work just yet (though who knows: maybe next week could prove everyone wrong), but OWC apparently has. Next week should be a very interesting one, to say the least.
More in-game commentary coming next-gen?
MTV News takes a look at one of Half-Life 2: Episode One's best secrets: the in-game commentary track. Much like the DVD format's popular director's commentary feature, Valve stuck in audio commentary from the game's developers. Hit the little floating text bubble and be treated to commentary on everything from design conceits (like apologizing for artificial barriers) to eye-candy techniques (yup, that's HDR lighting).The problem is, according to Valve's own statistics, only 15% of the gamers who've played Episode One have activated the feature. Regardless of its popularity, Valve project manager Erik Johnson says, "There isn't really any chance of us leaving it out in our future titles." That's good news for those of us interested in the commentary feature. Unfortunately, not every game developer is going to keep it in, even if they got there first.Factor 5 included developer commentary on their Star Wars: Battle for Naboo title on the N64, an impressive feat for a cartridge system. They've included commentary on every title since then, so a commentary track on the PlayStation 3's Lair (with its copious amounts of Blu-ray space) would seem to be a perfect touch. Insomniac Games has commentary plans for their next game (following PS3 launch title Resistance), but that 15% number may make them nervous. Insomniac's Ted Price said, "If gamers want audio commentary, they have to let it be known." Okay, Ted. So, gamers, were you amongst Valve's 15% and if not, why?
Paramount officially announces M:i:III simultaneous Blu-ray, HD DVD & DVD release
We may be able to forgive Paramount for the relatively small number of high-def discs they plan to release this year as they have announced what appears to be only the second tri-format day-and-date release on Blu-ray, HD DVD & DVD, after The Lake House. Mission: Impossible III will come on HD DVD with all the special features we told you about on the same day as the standard-def DVD release, but it will also come out on Blu-ray complete with high-def extras, DD+ soundtracks and all...except for the HD DVD-exclusive picture-in-picture enhanced commentary from star Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams. The MSRP is set at $19.99 for the standard DVD, $24.99 for the collectors edition, and $29.99 for both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Blu-ray fans finally have a blockbuster to look forward to this winter, unfortunately they're still coming up short on the extras, we have to wonder if the home release of Superman Returns will suffer the same cuts.
European game addiction clinic opens next month
Smith & Jones, addiction consultants, have latched on to a goldmine -- an obsessive type of behaviour that has few treatment options, save their soon-to-be-opened treatment centre in the Netherlands. The behaviour? Gaming, of course.Their target is the gamer stereotype -- a socially awkward adolescent boy who spends 18 hours a day locked in his room pretending to shoot people. Their treatment? Get out more."You can't do a urine test to see that they're not still gaming. And if a coke addict said they wanted to go out to a club or to see people, we'd be worried about whether they'd meet a dealer. But if a gamer said he wanted to go out for the night and meet people we'd throw a party."Whether there are sufficient game addicts in Europe with the funds for expensive private treatment, we don't know. However, for those who are addicted to games, in whatever form, a new form of treatment may well be welcomed.
12-hour Oblivion marathon starts on Monday
It looks like GameSpot's taking a page from Joystiq's gaming book by trying a 12-hour marathon with a retail copy of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the 360 this Monday.There will even be a live video feed of executive editor Greg Kasavin "driving" the game, but that will only be available to GameSpot subscribers. (Booo!) The event's currently scheduled for Monday, March 20, 6:00 PM-Tuesday, March 21, 6:00 AM PT.Greg'll be "offering commentary about the experience as it transpires" via the picture-in-picture feed, but he won't be taking part in the concurrent subscriber chat room planned so as "to avoid any outside influences on his time spent evaluating the game." Well, good luck, Greg, and make sure to stay hydrated... 'cuz it's gonna be a long night.See also: Oblivion release imminent -- March 20 (it's official) 48-hour Xbox 360 marathon begins… now! Super-frustrating boss fight in Kameo Joystiq's massive Xbox 360 launch weekend blowout: the aftermath
International co-operation
The recent news of a Spanish localisation didn't surprise me too much; WoW has been spreading like wildfire across Europe, and a key way to capture territories outside the UK is to offer a native-language version. However, in my travels across a number of European servers, I've seen very few Spanish players.However, there seems to be a preponderance of Nordic gamers, and I've also encountered several Dutch speakers in my travels. With the lack of specific-language servers (let alone a client version), these players often post messages in general chat searching for fellow countrymen--on some servers, any foreign language is met with venom, but on others players are very helpful. Having observed this on several servers now, it seems that PvP and RP-PvP server residents are most hostile towards any non-English speakers, although that's something of a generalisation. Perhaps it's due to the frustration of having to type names like Bjørn.Playing in Europe is a great way to get an international flavour to your gameplay, although it's sometimes surprising to find out someone is from Holland or Belgium when they have been speaking better English than the UK-based players for weeks.
Eidos' comeback carried on Lara's shoulders
Lara Croft seems to be on the up; despite the declining quality and popularity of Tomb Raider titles, suddenly everyone's going mad for Tomb Raider: Legend. It looks to be the title that will make or break Eidos, and with hype-inducing tidbits released one at a time, so far it's looking good. Also, as Next Generation's interview with Eidos' Bob Lindsey reveals, the delay in releasing Legend may have a silver lining, as it ensures a captive audience during the low spring season. We'll see come April if their high hopes come true.
Alcohol and micropayments mix all too well
Micropayments are already flowing freely on Xbox Live and are becoming increasingly popular in MMO circles. However, Opposable Thumbs points out an unfortunate problem with any micropayment-based system that stores your payment details--it's all too easy to buy things when intoxicated.Of course, this problem extends beyond the realm of gaming, to websites and even real-world transactions. However, the nature of gaming as an entertainment activity means that perhaps enforced self-controls may help those of us whose wallets get looser with liquid.
Changing "games"
There's food for thought on the table over at Game Politics--is it time to say goodbye to "games" and rebrand the entertainment form that we know and love? The word "game" has been used for decades, but its connotations are perhaps too ingrained for today's market, as GP's commentary says:When video games came along a quarter-century ago, even their creators saw them as children's entertainment. They were marketed to kids in retail toy stores - still are, in fact. Such critics will always equate "games" with "toys" - and thus with children. Despite the fact that many games aren't kid-friendly, much of the controversy surrounding video games centres on the relationship between children and the mature content found in certain games. Is it time to give games a new name? GP argues that such a step could help differentiate adult-oriented titles and those meant for children.It could also help to legitimise our hobby--"interactive entertainment" has a more grown-up ring to it than "games", although any mention of the word "adult" turns it into a risqué euphemism for pornography. This isn't the first time this concept has been discussed--Frontier's David Braben brought up the idea last year. However, the sticking point seems to be coming up with a term that has the universal appeal of "game". Many people are attached to the labels "game" and "gamer", and changing the terminology we use every day is not an easy task.
Cookie-Cutter Hero School
Why are bad guys far more interesting than good guys? Despite games technology advancing by leaps and bounds every year, we're often left with the same tired plot concept: you are the unstoppable hero, traumatised by your recent past, with only a machine gun and conveniently-placed health powerups to speed you towards your Destiny.As Shannon Drake asks in the latest Escapist, "If we can make world-class boob jiggle physics, someone out there can write a compelling, interesting good guy who's as interesting as the bad guys we know and love." Good guys exist for us to project ourselves on to, but bland, cardboard cut-out heroes are still unappealing. In MMOs this is still the case--we can shape our characters in almost any way we choose, but fundamentally we'll still end up bashing at the same monsters as everyone else, with little care for why we're doing so in the first place.Some games have attempted to put more depth into the player-to-protagonist experience--Fable, Jade Empire and Black and White all encouraged you, the player, to shape your character and the world. However, that's only a step in the right direction. Believable enemies and sidekicks may require intense AI, but writing a good story with complex characters isn't impossible.
