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The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Mordesh of WildStar
No single race in WildStar has less to lose than the Mordesh. And no one has more to lose, at that. The simplest way of explaining the Mordesh is that they are the dirty little secret of the Exiles as a whole. They're the assassins, the pressure, the people who don't worry about doing something awful when it absolutely needs to be done. For all that the Exiles want to think of themselves as the good guys unfairly set upon by the Dominion, the Mordesh are the subtle reminder that there are no good guys -- there are just people. But that's not the whole of it. Unlike when I discussed the Granok, the Mordesh aren't just in this to bloody the Dominion's nose as much as possible. No, they've got all of their chips in this part of the game. And to understand why, we're going to need to zoom out a little bit and take a look at what got the Mordesh to their current position first.
Wings Over Atreia: Is the dark side stronger?
"Is the dark side stronger?" "No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive." "But how am I to know the good side from the bad?" "You will know...when you are calm, at peace, passive." - Luke Skywalker and Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back, 1980 While diminutive Jedi Masters seem pretty sure that the dark side isn't any stronger than the light, I on the other hand, am unconvinced. People have always been obsessed with the dark, whether its gothic architecture, horror films, death metal, or any number of other subcultures that glorify life in the shadows. Hell, even the old cliche about women preferring bad boys is a cliche for a reason. Looking at online gaming, you can find more evidence of this, whether it's the fact that Warhammer Online's population skewed heavily in favor of the Destruction faction on many servers, or that the scuttlebutt around many The Old Republic fan forums centers on how frakking awesome it will be to dress in black and brandish a red Sith-flavored lightsaber. Join me after the jump, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete.
Point of View debuts ExpressCard-accommodating Mobii PC netbook
It's apparently been taking a wait and see approach until now, but Netherlands-based manufacturer Point of View has finally jumped into the netbook waters and, as you can see, it's blended right in. That sameness, as you might have guessed, extends right down to the specs as well, including a 10.2-inch display, a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows XP or LInpus Linux for an OS and, somewhat more uniquely, an ExpressCard slot, which will hopefully become an increasingly standard option in the year ahead. No word on a release 'round here, expectedly, but folks in Europe can apparently pick one up now for a reasonable €280, or just under $400.[Via Fudzilla]
Native iPhone app controls Packbot via WiFi, delivers streaming POV video
Sure, you love your iPhone, but did you ever feel like there was just one application missing from the home screen... besides MMS, IM, or a video recorder? If you're like us, that missing application was a full-featured Packbot control program replete with streaming POV video and a standalone, direct WiFi connection that doesn't require a proxy machine to pass along commands. Rodrigo Guiterrez and Jeff Craighead -- the brains behind this operation -- claim that next up they plan to utilize the phone's accelerometers and a fullscreen video display to deliver a "you are there" experience for bot-steering. Engadget and its team of armed Packbots can hardly wait. Check the video after the break to see it in action.
All the World's a Stage: Writing what you know
All the World's a Stage is a source for roleplaying ideas, commentary, and discussions. It is published every Sunday evening.Many people don't realize it, but every time you put your fingers to the keyboard to spell out some words, that's the same writing skill that authors and poets take years and years to practice and master. Of course there's a big difference between a simple text message and an epic fantasy novel, but any form of writing shares many of the same the fundamental skills - skills which one must then adapt to suit the particular medium you are using to communicate.As a roleplayer, in particular, one can benefit a great deal from many of the basic principles any writer uses when putting their ideas down on paper, especially principles of good communication within a storytelling medium.Today, we'll explore a particular aspect of the writing craft as applied in roleplaying: Writing what you know vs. writing what seems cool.
The DS Life: First-person gaming
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.We're breaking away from our usual routine this week -- instead of fawning over touching scenes of handheld gamers, we'll look through ten pictures taken from the gamers's point of view. These photographs can reveal a lot about the shutterbugs who took them! You know, besides what game they were playing at the time.
My Secret Life as a Mage
I've become increasingly bored with grinding on my main character, so it's time for another alt to feel the love. As I play late at night, it makes sense to level an alt while the BGs are out of action and the LFG channel is quiet, though this does make levelling a lonely pursuit.Having grouped with the entire spectrum of mages in the past -- from the extremely incompetent to high-damage-dealers with a deathwish -- it's been interesting to actually get inside the class a bit more. Initially, it was one of the classes I couldn't stomach by the time I hit level 8; seeing their fearsome power at level 60 has possibly changed my mind. (After all, who doesn't want to be their own vending machine?)
