WRUP: End of file edition

It's funny, but as we're nearing the end of the entire world, I can't help but look back and think about certain choices I should have made differently. Buying Mayan calendar insurance was probably a bad move, for starters. Also, I could probably have spent less time investing in long-term stocks. On the other hand, getting a car warranty that runs out next year seems to have been a fine choice. Oh, well. Hindsight, am I right?

Anyway, as long as we're still here for the moment, let's remember the better times with this week's WRUP. Also, this week we're talking about our feelings regarding social media integration with MMOs, so that should help bide the time waiting for the cataclysmic destruction of everything we hold dear. So see what the staff is up to just after the break, and feel free to let us know what you'll be up to in the comments!

Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I'll be moving on to a bunch of shooters all week: Global Agenda, Planetside, Quake Live (not really an MMO) and World of Tanks. I had a rough week of migraines and technical issues, so I need to vent some steam by blowing things up.

I absolutely adore social media — it's just the next step in internet communications. People used to think email was annoying, too! Twitter has allowed me to essentially have a non-stop chat room conversation that is easily controllable and perfect for one-off messages. If a troll shows up, simply block him and you can't see each other. I love it. I think Twitter is literally one of the best inventions of the last decade or so.

Brendan Drain (@nyphur): I'm finally out of debt and can afford to buy a new game or two, so there's a pretty good chance I'll be getting my hands on Portal 2 this weekend! I'll probably also be playing a bit more EVE Online now that there's usually an incursion active in high-secuirty space practically all the time. It's unfortunate that CCP wasn't able to strike that balance earlier; a lot of the players I looked forward to running incursions with are no longer playing because of the wait.

I think the big success stories of social media in gaming have pushed a lot of companies to adopt the idea without fully understanding what it is and why it works. Social media tie-ins are a great way to cheaply show a game to a well-targeted audience, but most companies squander the opportunity by just spamming worthless crap through it. Nobody cares if someone reached level 10, killed a boss or fell off a building without dying; that does not belong on Twitter or Facebook. Things we'd genuinely be interested in doing from the game client include taking screenshots directly to Facebook, chatting with Facebook or Twitter friends, and inviting Facebook friends to a free trial with some kind of bonus reward for both parties.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): Hoping to be out enjoying the weather this weekend, but if the weather's crappy, I'll be in City of Heroes. Well, City of Villains, more likely. I always did like red-side.

I loathe Facebook, but Twitter has some good uses. Unfortunately, none of those uses includes annoying my non-gamer followers with game-related spam. I don't really want to know that someone I follow just dinged 20 in random_mmo_001, either. There are plenty of ways (forums, IRC, guildchat) to keep up on those kinds of events within the circle of guildies and friends who actually care about them. Bonus points to games (like EverQuest II) that put such announcements in guildchat where they belong and that make in-game guildchats available in-browser for guildies not logged into the game.

Eliot Lefebvre: I've had a really hard week, and I'm feeling the urge to largely unplug. Part of that will be achieved via a bunch of real-world events going on over the weekend, and part of that will be handled by dipping out of MMOs for a bit and into more single-player ventures for the next couple of days. (This of course means that I'll be back in Final Fantasy XIV before two hours are up.)

Social media integration is one of those things that I love in concept, but I can never find much practical use for it. Heck, I can barely find a practical use for Facebook. So I'm in favor of it, but my use of same is essentially non-existent.

Jef Reahard: LA Noire has summarily dismissed MMOs for the weekend, maybe longer.

Bonus round: I think I've used Twitter twice, and I don't see the fascination with Facebook and the whole everyone's-a-celebrity craze. So yeah, MMO social media stuff gets a gigantic /yawn from me.

Jeremy Stratton (@Jeremy_Stratton): More Runes of Magic for me. I'm ever so slowly building toward my ultimate set of armor that I'm sure Chapter 4 will make outdated.

I guess I have a bit of an attention-seeker in me, but I'm not sure how often I'd use the social integration. It's one of those things I really like on paper, but in practice it's kind of "meh." Still, if Runes of Magic ever came out with Twitter integration, I'd be the first one bombarding my feed calling out how many stacks of zinc ore I have, that I've gotten a new title, or when I hear NoM NoM NoM in world chat.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): As I've got company and graduation to contend with, I'm not planning on much gaming this weekend. Still, if time permits, I wouldn't say no to Lord of the Rings Online and RIFT... and perhaps some Guild Wars.

Karen Bryan (@JayeRnH): I'll be playing a little Pirates of the Burning Sea, a little EverQuest II and a little RIFT.

As for social media and MMOs, I've never been able to get into the Facebook or Twitter thing, so I personally don't find them useful. I do like the ability to upload video to YouTubem though. When I'm looking for information on a particular boss fight or combat mechanics, I much prefer to see a video of it than read a post. So for me, it's a helpful resource.

Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): DC Universe Online is back online, so I'm back in and looking for a particularly villainous league to cause mayhem with! Aside from that, I got an invite back to Age of Conan and World of Warcraft. I've been wanting to get back into Age of Conan, so that's definitely the one I'll be pursuing for now. Beyond gaming, I've been tapped to Stage Manage a production of Taming of the Shrew, so I'm stocking up on chocolate-covered espresso beans!

As for social media tie ins, that depends on how it is handled. I love things like Xfire, Raptr, and Steam since I can look around and see whether anyone else is playing a particular game I want to play. That said, I want to choke the person responsible for starting the "let's post updates for every single miniscule thing players do in game to Twitter" trend. Without fail, every time a new game comes out with that functionality, my Twitter feed turns into a frustrating mess of spammy updates. At least with Facebook I can use Facebook Purity to block them. Remember devs: With great power comes great responsibility.

Matt Daniel (@mvmatt): Like Jef, LA Noire is going to take the majority of my gaming time. I'm usually really, really awful about single-player games. I'll play them obsessively for a week or two and then never touch them again, so I'm trying to make it through all three discs of LA Noir in a timely fashion if only to say I completed it. Plus, the story is amazing.

For the bonus, I'm with Bree. I use Facebook largely to keep in touch with RL friends, and while many of them are gamers, most of them aren't really into MMOs, and even if they were they probably wouldn't care about all the random things that get auto-posted from RIFT. I do have a separate Twitter account that's set up to receive those updates so that I can have the screenshots for my own posterity, but it's just for me.

MJ Guthrie: I am hoping to try out this new game I have heard so much about — sleep! Should be quite the experience. Also, gonna toss in as much Besh Temple as I can get in Aion during the supposed "increased drop rates" as well as sink deep into EQII. Not enough time for more... though I hope to get past the rest of the newbie missions in EVE Online. OK, I lied — I may not get to try out that new game after all!

As for social media tie- ins... well, I personally have no interest in or use for the social media, so I couldn't care less about them in MMOs. As long as they don't clutter up my UI or interfere with my game any, I will simply ignore them. Yes, folks, I am Twitter- and Facebook-free and plan to stay that way! I like being an odd duck.

Patrick Mackey (@mackeypb): Hmm... well of course, Champions Online, right? But as far as other stuff, I've been playing some random single-player stuff (Arma 2, Darksiders, Majesty 2). I am always disappointed in my friends' Hisoutensoku practice, so I have again ascended far past them in my overall power level there.

Social media integration is kind of cool, mostly because I can /tweet ingame if I think of something interesting random to say without alt-tabbing. The random announcing of game achievements is kinda lame.

Rubi Bayer (@Rubi_): A little bit of Guild Wars, a little bit of RIFT, a lot of outside time — the local weather is finally warming up. Hallelujah!

I'm on the fence about social media integration. The achievement announcements via Twitter and Facebook are almost universally disliked, I think. However, I think cool little Twitter contests and Facebook games and scavenger hunts are a fun part of integration, because it's almost like optional extra content. I know not everyone cares for social media, but for those who do there's a fun little something for them.

At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!