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The Daily Grind: Do you feel guilty for not playing an MMO?
As a fan of much of the MMO field, I often feel torn, stretched, and downright guilty that I'm not playing more than I am. The allure of a familiar berth is often much more preferable than trying out a new game and having to fuss around with learning all of these unknown systems. Then there's the guilt that comes when I'm going through a low point with one of my staples. When I'm not "feeling it," I don't log on much and then I realize that it's been weeks since I've really played. Then a tear trickles down my cheeks as I wonder if the game and my guild feels abandoned from my stellar presence. It's horrible, I tells ya. So do you ever feel guilty for not playing an MMO? Is this a completely weird emotion for me to have? 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!
Drama Mamas: The case of the PvE wife and PvP husband
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Next week will be another results edition of Drama Mamas. But there is still time to email us. If you have written the Drama Mamas and we have answered you in print, please send us an update at robin@wowinsider.com. We would love to know how your WoW dilemma worked out! Dear Drama mamas, I've been a longtime wow player and I almost exclusively pve, while my husband only enjoys pvp. I've tried without success to get him to try raiding, and have given up on that. Instead I found an awesome guild and I love raiding with them a couple nights a week.
Former Apple employee admits he sold confidential info, cost the company in excess of $2 million
Paul Devine, the man who last August collected a pretty lengthy list of charges against his name from the FBI and IRS -- which collectively amounted to an accusation of "screwing Apple" -- has now admitted his guilt. Specifically, Devine has fessed up to wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, in which he engaged while exchanging confidential information about upcoming Apple products for cold hard cash from interested parts suppliers. He's now having to forfeit $2.28 million in money and property that resulted from his nefarious exploits, with sentencing scheduled for June 6th. Devine's lawyer is quoted as saying he's a "good man who made a mistake, and now he's trying to make amends." Indeed, the mistake of getting caught and the amends of trying not to go to prison. Jump past the break for a full statement on the matter from the US Department of Justice.
Breakfast Topic: Dodging guilt
I'm hardly a PvP fanatic. Occasionally I'll run into a battleground when I have extra time on my hands, usually after getting my two frost emblems for the day and wrapping up some daily quests. But often, I'll duck into a battleground and realize that there is no way we'll win; commonly, this is either Eye of the Storm or Isle of Conquest. There's no cooperation, one-quarter of the Alliance is doing just enough to avoid an AFK report, and the Horde seems to run with a Navy SEALS level of coordination. It would be perfectly justifiable to drop out and go do a few quick daily quests while I wait for the deserter debuff to go away. My mouse hovers over the "leave battleground" button. I want to click it. I don't. There's something about the Deserter debuff that just gets under my skin. I can't help but picture someone clicking my 'toon and seeing "Deserter" attached to my name. They think, "Well, now, that there's a coward!" Inside, I know that it's just as reasonable as dropping from a bad dungeon PUG (even more so, if I drop from a turtled AV). But then I think, "I'd be a deserter." I'd end up spending the next 15 minutes wandering around Netherstorm or Silithus, keeping clear of other players, contemplating rolling a warlock and other self-hating activities. So I stay and rack up another "L" on my personal record. But it brings up the question: what do you put yourself through to avoid guilt in World of WarCraft? This article has been brought to you by Seed, Aol's guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. Watch for the next call for submissions and a chance to submit your own article. The next new byline you see here may be yours!
Drama Mamas: We're going on a guilt trip
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com. So all your friends play WoW, but do you play WoW with all your friends? Even though you have this interest in common, you may find that in-game your ideas of fun vary drastically. You may all start out with the same plan, but after a while, you may find that your friends have changed their minds. Or maybe you have. What do you do if time, drama, game changes, etc. make you want to explore a different part of the game than your friends are ready for? Do you stick it out and remain loyal? This week, WantingMore tells us the story of him and his circle of gamer friends.
Behind the Curtain: The guilt of an MMO gamer
I haven't been playing World of Warcraft as much as I should have this week, and I feel bad about it. Last week, my Warrior hit the Defence cap, I got my first 25 Emblems of Heroism, and I tanked Archavon on 10-man. This week though, I've hardly even logged on. I have instead spent most of the week playing Mario Kart Wii, honing my skills so that I can crush my 7-year old nephew utterly when next we meet. There are lessons we all need to learn early in life. Chief among them being never, ever, horse your Uncle Craig at Mario Kart. He'll thank me for it in time. I also had some problems with my internet connection, thanks to the UK's seeming inability to cope with heavy snow. Then again, it is January, so I can see why we were taken by surprise. That was sarcasm, by the way. I have felt guilty about my lack of WoW time though. I've been neglecting my characters in favour of other games, and I feel bad about it. I've felt this way before, on the occasion that I've taken a break from WoW, for example, to spend some time with EVE Online or Star Wars Galaxies.
Learning to pull the trigger in EVE Online
Not a day goes by without someone in EVE Online being cut down by the guns, lasers, missiles or drones of another player, given how PvP-centric the game is. Only in EVE, you don't just respawn and all's well. There's often more... drama... involved. A ship lost, implants obliterated, screams of it being unfair or "Whyyyy?!" echo in Local or on the forums. This can be a brutal game at times, and most every player in EVE learns their lessons the hard way. Much of what's said on this is typically from the perspective of the victim. But what about the person behind those guns? Is it always easy for them to pull the trigger? EVE Online blogger Black Claw addresses that sense of regret that carebears go through when turning towards piracy in "Feeling guilty?" After all, many pirates were once the 'innocent' victims of someone else when they were starting out. Black Claw writes about what it's like to make the transition from a PvP victim to a killer.
Breakfast Topic: The charity friend
Much as I love gaming, I have an eerie habit of choosing games that involve guilt. From my Harvest Moon days ("no, I can't come to dinner yet; my chickens are angry!") to my time in World of Warcraft, thar be guilt-trips afoot. In fact, I have a friend who fell asleep once while tanking, because it can be difficult to say no. Many players even report feeling obligated to do their dailies, and guilty for skipping them, even though they hate them; and after all, who exactly would we be offending if we skipped them once in awhile?Enter the charity friend. This is often a person that you coerced into playing in the first place, and is likely to be a close friend or, if you're lucky, romantic partner. Unfortunately, you spend about four times this person's /played each week, and they've fallen behind you, even though you started an alt specifically to rendezvous with your bud. It happens; you enjoyed the character and you just had to participate in Brewfest, and one time you saw an LFM on LFG that was tempting and you switched over.... When your charity friend actually comes online for some play-time, you feel obligated to drop whatever you were doing, and go play too. You may also be struck with the urge to help finance this player's endeavors, run this player through content for gear, teach this player some tricks, and let the loot fall to them, whether they need it or not. Every mount that you have saved up for may have been delayed because of your desire to help and accompany this person. As a fellow sufferer of the charity friend phenomenon, I recommend some /time spent IRL. You just mailed them those BOE epic bracers (ahem; or maybe that was me). The least they could do is buy you a coffee! Alternatively, if they happen to be your wife/boyfriend/etc, I submit that they owe you more than caffeine. Do you ever feel guilt-ridden by, or obligated to, something, or someone, in WoW? Do you ever find cause to laugh at yourself when you realize that just what it is you're feeling guilty over? Do you have trouble saying no, even in the virtual world?
