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Drama Mamas: It's time to leave now
The Drama Mamas 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. How to handle that sticky situation? Ask the Drama Mamas at DramaMamas@wow.com. It's time to leave now. You know it. We know it. Your guildmates probably know it, too. But you just can't bring yourself to open that door. Leaving a guild is so uncomfortable, so guilt-inducing, so potentially dramatastic, so ... awkward. Is it any wonder that the best way to leave (disguised as "whether" to leave) a guild is one of the most popular questions to hit the Drama Mamas mailbox every week? Dear Drama Mamas: I have recently decided that it may be time for me to make a change from one guild to another; however, because I am an officer in my current guild, I feel rather guilty in doing so at this time. The raid times have become enough of an issue that they became a noticeable problem in real life, and I recently informed my guild that I would no longer be raiding with them. This past weekend, I ran into a former co-worker of mine who happen to be on the same server. One of them informed me that their guild is looking for my class, and their raid times coincide almost perfectly with my preferred playing times. Their guild is a bit more progressed than my current guild, which is rather appealing, as is the prospect of getting together with some real life-friends, but I feel like if I join their guild, I am bailing on my current guild. Do you have any suggestions on how to break the news to my current guild (or officers) that I am thinking about applying to another guild, or any suggestions on how to make a transition go smoothly? Thanks, Anonymous
Rob Griffiths leaves Mac OS X Hints
I have to admit that I don't always use them, but I do always enjoy reading the hints over at Mac OS X Hints -- there probably isn't a more eclectic or helpful mix of random hints about how to use your Mac or iPhone available on the Internet. So I was saddened to read today that editor Rob Griffiths (who always adds in his confirmations and other testing on the various hints posted) is leaving the editor's position. He's moving on to join Peter Maurer at Many Tricks, where he'll handle the business aspects of the company. He mentions that they're working on "some good stuff in the pipeline, especially for the upcoming iPad." As for Mac OS X Hints, the site is owned by Macworld, so it will continue to run under the oversight of a new editor, who will have the benefit of Griffiths around for training as long as necessary. But it will be a little bit of a disappointment to not see the little "robg" notes on the hints in the future. Good luck to Rob on his next venture, and here's hoping his successor keeps the site up as an endless fount of interesting tips and tidbits about all of these Apple products we use.
WoW Rookie: Oops GTG TTYL bye
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic."Oops GTG TTYL bye" – heard that one before, in the middle of an instance? You don't want to be that guy.Today's World of Warcraft is a far cry from Tomb Raider or Lego Indiana Jones, which can leave you writhing in your chair for what seems like an eternity before your next save point. For an MMO, WoW's gameplay has become reasonably bite-sized – so don't get caught virtually chewing with your mouth open by dropping out of groups early.True, many instances can be completed so quickly and many players are so experienced that dashing through a quick instance can seem almost trivial. But a group is a social creature, and accepting a group invitation means accepting a reasonable responsibility to treat the other players' time with respect.
HP exiting LCD TV biz, killing MediaSmart HDTV line?
Chalk this one up as rampant speculation for now, but word on the street has it that HP may be fixing to axe its LCD TV business and kill the MediaSmart HDTV while it's at it. In taking a step back, it's easy to see how logical this move seems -- HP has never been a giant in the LCD HDTV arena, and its MediaSmart line serves an even smaller niche. Couple those facts with plummeting LCD prices and diminishing margins, and you've got yourself a pretty strong case to hit the eject button. If all of this pans out, it'll surely hurt Microsoft's chances of getting even more TV manufacturers to sell sets with Media Center Extenders built in, but at least those still on the hunt for a MediaSmart HDTV on the cheap would have an opportunity to find just that.[Via ElectronicHouse]
The Daily Grind: Do you ever just think about quitting?
There's been a bit of talk about quitting MMOs these past days, including an interview discussing the fact that when many Age of Conan players quit, they didn't return to World of Warcraft or any other game -- that was it. They were done. No more MMOs.If you're satisfied with MMOs as they are, of course feel free to chime in as always, but today's Daily Grind is a special one -- we want to give a shout out to the folks who just don't think this genre is living up to its potential. Maybe you played older games and don't like current, post-EverQuest trends. Maybe you didn't play older games, but you have some idea in your head about how things could be done differently in the future. In either case, you're disenchanted -- so do you ever think about just quitting? Have you already quit? And what would it take to prevent you from leaving, or to get you back if you've already gone?
Forum post of the day: I'm just not that into you
Tymestryker of Aerie Peak is frustrated because players are leaving his guild. Despite his loyalty to the guild and the effort he's put into the guild, he's facing some significant churn. His guild, though apparently a friendly, social place lacks in endgame experience. He seems to be taking it personally that people are leaving for guilds in endgame progression. He feels that others should share his loyalty. Many responders pointed out that heart only goes so far in World of Warcraft, but there's a lot more to the game. Most successful guilds have a purpose, maybe doing regular raids or being the best they can be at PvP. Some suggested that the original poster chose not to take the situation personally.
Another blogger flees Age of Conan...
...and this time it's Peter Smith of the Dragonchasers blog.Citing a waning ability to have fun with the game, item statistics that really don't help with anything, and a lack of variance in armor and items, Smith is calling it quits with Age of Conan. His comments seem to mirror the comments of many others, but one particular subject stands out in his blog from the others: the much touted and praised player vs. player endgame.Smith brings up the point that he feels like "another cog in the wheel" of his large guild. In order to see the content of the endgame cities and city sieges, he joined a very large guild and is expected to provide materials to help with the construction of the guild city. But, without player housing, any type of city mini-games, and lack of bonuses offered by the city itself, he just feels like another faceless voice instead of a heroic city builder.His article touches on the ability to stand out inside of a game where a person may not be able to stand out in the world itself and how it links back to his decision to cancel the game. If you're interested, be sure to drop over by to the Dragonchasers blog and check it out for yourself.
Motorola's treasurer, EMEA chief of mobile devices replaced
Merely days after Stu Reed racked up as he waltzed out of Motorola's doors for the final time, and nary a fortnight after the same firm's chief marketing officer did the same, along comes word that two more bigwigs have now left the building. Effective immediately, Larry R. Raymond has replaced Steve Strobel as treasurer, while Stephen Nolan "is taking over as the head of mobile devices in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)" -- a position that was held by Mike Fenger just last week. According to a company spokeswoman, the "leadership changes are part of an overall plan to swiftly transform the senior executive team." Hey, if it's lookin' for turnover, it's certainly doing something right. [Warning: Read link requires subscription] [Via PhoneScoop]
Motorola's president of Mobile Devices business peaces out
Is that an exodus we smell, or what? Nary 24 hours after Motorola's chief marketing officer decided to start his weekend early by parting ways with the company, along comes word that the (now-former) president of Motorola's Mobile Devices business is doing the same. According to a breaking release from Moto, Stu Reed's departure is "effective immediately," and Greg Brown, company president and CEO, made mention that the outfit "appreciates [his] many contributions and wishes him the best in the future." As of now, there's no word on who's lined up fill Mr. Reed's shoes, but it seems the pool of choices could be dwindling.
Heading for greener pastures in 2008?
It's the first month of a new year, and you know what that means: predictions aplenty. Across the MMOscape over at Massively, almost everyone is predicting that WoW is going to suffer-- there's no question that there's a long line of MMOs just waiting in the wings to snatch you players away from Azeroth-- from Warhammer Online to Age of Conan, there are supposed to be some terrific MMOs released this year.So who better to ask if you're moving to greener pastures than you yourselves? You're not supposed to ask whether players are leaving for Warhammer on the forums, but we've got no such compunctions: are you planning on leaving for Warhammer or any other new games in 2008? Are you just keeping time in WoW until the game you really want to play releases later this year?Rest assured, die-hard WoW fans, that we're not going to become "WAR Insider" anytime soon (we've already got it over at Massively anyway)-- I love World of Warcraft, and while I'm definitely excited to see what Mythic and Funcom have in store for us this year, I'm also (along with all of our writers here) in Azeroth for the long run-- at least until I get to see what the Maelstrom's deal is and what's happening in the Emerald Dream.
"AFK neighbor just bit my dog"
There's a running joke in my guild that whenever anyone has to leave an instance for a little while, everyone says "AFK to wash face." Apparently someone actually used that AFK excuse at one point, and it's been funny ever since. Most of the AFK's I've seen have been pretty tame, although I have had a few people leave instance runs fast because their kids have demolished their house in some way ("chocolate syrup all over kitchen floor, afk a sec"), and once because "afk 2 mins, cops at door." We didn't hear from that guy for the rest of the night.But there's lots of better AFK excuses than even that. "g2g guys, there's smoke coming out of my computer..""afk my brother has a knife""Guys I have to go there's a car that crashed into my house""guys i got to go, dog just died"" I have to go AFK for a bit guys, my son just told me he's gay.""brb internet just went out""afk wife giving birth"Ok, so those last two are excuses given, not received. But I've never heard anything this crazy-- I must be grouping with the wrong people. Or maybe the right ones...What's the craziest AFK excuse you've actually heard in game? And (because most of these are probably fake anyway) what's the craziest one you've ever given to get out of a bad PUG?
Rumor: Yuji Naka set to leave Sega
Yuji Naka, the original programmer behind Sonic the Hedgehog and arguably the most influential man at Sega (next to Yu Suzuki, of course), is rumored to be leaving Sega.Citing sources "close to Sega," Next Generation claims that the influential leader "is planning to set up his own studio." If true, this action would mirror those of other game industry greats such as Tetsuya Mizuguchi (who founded Q Entertainment) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (who started Mistwalker).Unfortunately, this kind of rumor is difficult to confirm as you don't know for sure whether someone's leaving a developer until he's actually gone. With all the organizational changes at the company, however (especially since Sammy bought Sega), such a move wouldn't be too surprising. We just hope the next-gen sequels to Sonic are in good hands.See also: Next-gen Sonic to be "re-invented" for PS3 and Xbox 360 Rumor: Sonic coming to Revolution DS: Sakaguchi & Co. working on new RPG Lumines sales top gold status
