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The Daily Grind: Why do you love your favorite game?
Yes, we know what's coming. But we don't want the next few days to be a cavalcade of sorrow because this is a site and a community built around our shared love of MMOs. So let's spread some cheer today. Why do you love your favorite game? I make no secret about my affection for Final Fantasy XIV, obviously. It's a great game that fuses progress organically with stuff that you'd have fun doing anyway and gives you no shortage of freedom in what you want to do in the game. It's a great time. But my favorite game might not be yours. So let's share. No bashing, no whining, no complaining; let's make this a positive time for everyone. Why do you love your favorite game, be it a critical darling or a title you feel doesn't get nearly enough love? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Storyboard: Are we still having fun?
Roleplaying events, like any other sort of roleplaying, require a bit of give and take. The person organizing the event puts in a lot of work coming up with a plan and being ready to adapt to changing circumstances, sometimes to great effect and sometimes to... less great effect. But it's not all down to the organizer. If you're actively participating in the event, you have a certain level of obligation, just like you have an obligation to actively participate in a tabletop game. Nobody likes the guy who isn't paying attention and groans with exhausted relief when you finally get to the part that he was waiting for. Organizers are supposed to make sure that the road to the fireworks factory is neat, but what can you do as a participant to make sure that your interest stays up, even during the parts that drag before you get to the fireworks factory? As you've probably, guessed, I have several suggestions.
The Soapbox: Can we reward fun over persistence?
MMOs are games of repetition. Advancing past a certain point is always a matter of doing the same thing over and over, whether it's repeating raids in World of Warcraft, playing the market in EVE Online, or taking part in the same event to clear daily achievements in Guild Wars 2. Whether or not you enjoy these repeat performances can make the difference between the grind from hell and a pleasant upward climb, but it's still a game of repetition. It's not exactly the ideal state of being. Nearly every new game seems to recognize this and advertise itself as free from grinding, which at best is true in a very narrow sense. You won't be grinding daily quests, but you'll be grinding events or PvP maps or dungeons. So why don't we have a game out there that rewards fun instead of persistence? Is it possible to create a game that's free of repetition and focused on enjoyable experiences?
The Soapbox: Diagnosing and understanding Girlfriend Syndrome
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. You see them more often than you probably want to admit. They're remarkably easy to spot, most often lower-level characters dressed in the best possible equipment, limply following behind higher-level characters like some sort of ersatz satellite. When you talk to them, they give short answers before the higher-level characters answer everything. You see them trudging along, going through the motions, but not showing any signs of interest. You've witnesses someone suffering from Girlfriend Syndrome. Girlfriend Syndrome is a disease that affects any number of people worldwide, and it is thankfully wholly curable. But in order to cure this debilitating ailment, you have to understand why people suffer from it, what can be done for them, and whether or not in-game euthanasia is really the best option. Girlfriend Syndrome, you see, is not airborne; it's transmitted, willingly, by someone who already has the gaming bug.
The Daily Grind: What little events do you celebrate?
It's Saint Patrick's Day, and if you're in the US that means a celebration of Irish culture... or at least, it means a celebration of wearing green clothing and drinking an exceptional amount for the middle of the week. And while it's not the biggest holiday, some people look forward to it as much or more than major seasonal events. A few games even celebrate the event, such as Fallen Earth with a pub crawl and Everquest II with its Brewday celebrations. It's a holiday with no real overarching purpose except enjoyment, and that's hardly a bad goal. Every game has little events that keep running long after they're no longer hugely pertinent. Every gamer has anniversaries or dates they remember, or holidays that they feel are important even if the game doesn't have a holiday event. So what small holidays or events do you observe in your favorite games? Do you make a point of memorizing important in-game lore dates and celebrating their anniversaries? Do you take part in no-longer-vital elements, such as the Elemental Invasions in World of Warcraft? Or do you just take the opportunity on days like today to outfit your Star Trek Online crew in green uniforms and hang around drunk?
Anti-Aliased: Why play a game when I can pay someone to play it for me
Great news, everyone! I'm launching my own line of Sera (TM) Branded Merchandise! I was so happy about this new line that I just had to talk about it in Anti-Aliased this week. I'm sorry if you were expecting some hard hitting piece of satire that would flummox even the staunchest defender of gold buying -- we're gonna have to save that one for next week's piece. Anyway, I'm sorry about getting off topic. Let's get back to the situation at hand -- the new merchandise. I'm proud to announce that in a short period of time, you too will be able to participate in a revolutionary new way to interact with entertainment media. My brand new Sera Shoppe (TM), a fine retail establishment that already sells the patented Sera Anti-Whine Earmuffs, will be selling you ways to save time while still enjoying your favorite media. By purchasing pre-made packs of SeraPhoints (starting at the low price of 500 Phoints for 10 bucks) you too can get in on the ground floor of this brand new medium inspired by power leveling services and real money trade operations. Interested? You should be! Follow me after the break and let me introduce you to my brand new services!
