WRUP: Tentacles are evil edition

If there's one thing I love in my fiction other than giant robots, it would have to be sanity-blasting horrors from outside the realm of human perception. That means that I think the Old Gods of World of Warcraft are pretty neat. As the Old Gods corrupt people and things, more and more tentacles emerge. Therefor, ergo, and to wit, tentacles are the ultimate expression of evil in this world. That nautilus up there is horror personified. You can't argue with logic like that.

Fortunately, this week's WRUP features a distinct lack of any sanity-blasting horrors outside of that header image. In fact, it features a remarkably sedate group of responses talking not only about what your favorite Massively staff members will be doing for the weekend, but how much of our social lives come from the MMOs we talk about all day. So click on past the break for our answers, and let us know what you'll be playing this weekend in the comments!
Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I will be playing all sorts of stuff, but catching up with some games that have gone neglected like Mabinogi and it's one billionth update. I will be pounding on monsters in Iris Online, and fixing some fences in WURM. My next game for Rise and Shiny is coming up, but I'm still deciding!

My social life used to consist of playing with bands mainly. We would have a show, hang out with the people that came — it was like having a constant hang-out session in between gigs. It's been a while since I've played much, so gaming has slowly filled in some gaps. Are the relationships as valid as "real" ones? Of course, but they are different.

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): I've caught the plague (read: common cold) so I'll probably be in bed most of this weekend. I'd like to run some missions in EVE Online but playing while sick is probably a recipe for disaster. Bonus question: At the risk of sounding like a recluse, most of my social life centres on MMOs. For me, they're a way for me to stay in contact with friends despite their busy schedules.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I'm playing the real-world equivalent of Desert Bus for the weekend, I fear.

My guildies have been my most loyal (and portable!) friends over many years and several cross-country moves. The MMOs we stagger through (or not) are secondary to those friendships. Real-life meetups with them are a riot! So I guess for me the line has blurred... online friends became real ones.

Edward Marshall: I'll be playing Fallen Earth either on the live server or the test server. I'll be gearing up for the new PvP content set to go live next week.

Bonus question: Sadly, close to half of my social life comes from MMOs.

Eliot Lefebvre: While my love for Final Fantasy XIV has not been sated, this weekend might also see me taking the time to spend some quality time in City of Heroes and Guild Wars. Halloween events are my favorite seasonal gigs in pretty much every game I play. As for my social life, it's a pretty even mix — I spend a lot of time online with other Massively staff and people in-game, but it's nice to be able to log off and just hang out around the house with friends.

Greg Waller: I'll be face-deep in WAR this weekend; between play-testing Thanquol's Incursion and the Daemon Moon Rising live event, I expect I'll probably be pretty busy. As far as my social life is concerned, I think I would have to answer honestly and say that, although I meet and greet a great multitude of people online every day, my one real best friend is here at home with me. I love you, J.

Jef Reahard: Checking out AoC and EQII Halloween events, but mostly playing my new addiction (a.k.a Global Agenda). Will also be finding some time somewhere for Fallout: New Vegas. As for social life, a good portion of mine comes from online activities. That said, family, friends, and co-workers usually game with me, so there's not much distinction between the two spaces.

Jeremy Stratton (@Jeremy_Stratton): I'll be playing Runes of Magic and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. I know all the past stories about Vanguard, but those are in the past. So far, I haven't run into any reason from the past not to play it. I'm feverishly leveling another alt to use as a Massively-centric character. Future events? We'll see. When I moved, I left many close friends behind. I just started college again, but have yet to really start creating any friendships in my new home town. I go to school, talk on the phone with friends and then I game. So MMOs are a pretty big part of my social life right now.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): I'll be diligently checking LotRO's new Haunted Burrow for the skeleton horse... oh yes, it will be mine! IT WILL BE MINE! On top of that, my copies of Guild Wars: Factions and Eye of the North arrived in the mail (thanks Amazon!), so I'll be adding those to my "To Do" list.

As for my social life, I'd say that I probably get more of it from other online activities (like blogging and crashing at various Massively writer's homes) than in game, but it used to be a lot bigger part of my social life back before my marriage.

Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): I'll be finishing up my last week in Vanguard for Choose My Adventure. Beyond that, the show I'm stage managing just opened, so I'll also be spending a lot of time at the theater. If I get lucky I'm hoping to squeeze in some more time in an unnamed beta or two, and loading more MMOs on the drive for the next round of Choose My Adventure voting. (Suggestions welcome!)

As far as social life in MMOs, I've made several friends in-game who have become real-life friends. Due to playing many MMOs for work, I don't tend to see many of them in-game these days. Kind of a bummer, really — they're some of the most tactically gifted gamers I know, and beating challenges with them using oddball methods was always incredibly fun. (Love you guys!)

Larry Everett (@Shaddoe): I will be haunting Star Wars Galaxies's Galactic Moon Festival. Trick or treat. Trick or treat. Trick or treat. Trick or treat. Trick or treat. Trick or treat. Trick or treat. Don't judge. I need a skeleton costume!

Bonus question: Does the Massively staff count as "comes from MMOs"? Actually, a good chunk of my friends are now "online," but part of that is because I have lived all over the country. All my friends are very spread out, and the internet is the best way to keep in touch.

Ryan Greene (@ThatGayNerd): I don't have a lot of gaming planned, as usual. (I swear I USED to have time to play MMOs!) Instead, I'm heading to Saturday's Notre Dame game at Giants Stadium to watch my alma mater beat (I hope) Navy. Then I've got a big Halloween party Saturday night, so I expect to spend Sunday recovering, detagging photos on Facebook and maybe carving some pumpkins. As for the bonus question, I used to socialize in MMOs a lot more than I do now, but my real-life friends have mostly drifted away from online gaming. And funny, I JUST wrote a Captain's Log about socializing in Star Trek Online...