WRUP: Simon says edition

Simon says touch your nose. Simon says touch your nose again without the attitude. Simon says forgive him for being so pushy. Simon says to do the hokey pokey. Simon says that you did it wrong; you should have put the other foot in first. Simon says have an existential crisis. Simon says harness your latent telekinetic powers. Simon says to create a new religion based on Mountain Dew. Simon says touch the top of your head.

Simon says that it's time for this week's installment of WRUP. Simon says that the Massively staff members need to explain what they'll be doing over the weekend. Simon says the Massively staff members also need to talk about whether or not they hold grudges against games. Simon says to nod knowingly. Simon says jump past the break to see the Massively staff's answers. Simon says let us know what you'll be up to in the comments.

@Beau_Hindman: I'll be moving on to Ardwulf (finally) for another MUD for Rise and Shiny -- I look forward to it! I'm also checking out World of Warcraft for a comparison piece I'm working on that looks at different freemium games. I'll have to watch True Blood with the wife while I miss Girls and Game of Thrones, but I'll be working on a "cheap MMO" list, one that shows MMOs that work across most platforms.

I never hold a grudge. I mean, if a game changes and I am no longer interested in it, I drop it like I would any other product. I thought Avatar was horrible, so I won't go see Avatar II if it's ever made. It's not really a personal thing. MMOs are generally very cheap now, so it's no skin off of my back if I get burned a bit. Also, there are hundreds more. I would avoid an MMO more because of its system requirements than because of who made it.

@nbrianna: I'm sort of sitting here looking at my array of games and thinking... what can I accomplish before Guild Wars 2 hits? City of Heroes, RIFT, and Skyrim are floating to the top right now.

Not sure I'm ever going to forgive Lucasarts for dropping the Star Wars Galaxies license or pushing the NGE in the first place. There are a couple of other games that have rubbed me the wrong way, but only a few I'd boycott.

@Eliot_Lefebvre: I've got a busy weekend anyway, but what gaming time I can fit in will be eaten up by Final Fantasy XIV with Ms. Lady, TERA with one of my two Choose My Adventure characters, and some tabletop gaming. Other than that, it's just going to be helping a friend move and cleaning up after a disastrous week of desk assembly.

I don't hold many grudges against games; if I don't like a game, I stop playing and move on. It's more likely that I get bothered my some of the more reactionary parts of the MMO community as a whole.

@elixabethclaire: I'll be poking my nose into The Secret World once again. When I'm not unraveling the mysteries of zombies and every other fear in the 'verse, I'll play some Guild Wars (and help a friend grind his Lucky/Unlucky titles courtesy of the Dragon Festival), some Pocket Planes (I know there's no real reason to play it, but good Lord, it's bizarrely compelling), and I'm not quite sure what else. Journey, still?

No, I don't carry grudges. Even against MMOs. It's not my style.

I don't have a lot of game time this weekend, but what little of it there is will go toward The Secret World.

I wouldn't call it a grudge per se, but I'm less inclined to spend money on Lucasarts products after it saw fit to close the most feature-rich MMO ever made in favor of a gimmicky retread.

@Jeremy_Stratton: Beau piqued my interest in finding a MUD. I'm especially attracted to the ones that let me customize my UI windows, font size, and colors. I also finally downloaded Ryzom; I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy the prospecting and harvesting.

I really try not to hold a grudge. I mean, it's kind of pointless to me, but I'd be lying if I said I never succumbed to the bitter side. I get a bit frustrated, annoyed, or bothered when MMOs shut down or change in ways that I can't agree with. I just work on getting over it fast so I can enjoy games for what they are meant for: fun.

@Sypster: The question of what I'll be playing this weekend is harder than normal. On one hand, I very much want to keep enjoying the fruits of RIFT's 1.9 patch and Summerfest, but on the other hand, there's this Secret something or another game coming out.

Templars for life baby!

So I don't know.

@JayeRnH: I want to do some more battlegrounds in EverQuest II on the test server plus spend some more time with the new RIFT 1.9 Update. The kids, however, are nudging me to play more Free Realms with them, so I'll probably do that as well.

I don't hold a grudge against any game in particular, but lately I have been a little grumpy at the MMO genre on the whole. I feel like there needs to be a greater sense of urgency from the time a new title is announced until launch day because the ticking clock has been killing off titles I really wanted to see go live. There's that whole "time is money" thing...

I have three things on my radar this weekend: The Secret World, The Secret World, and then The Secret World. I will possibly squeeze in a little TSW, too. I hope to find time for things like dinner and even sleep once in a while.

As for grudges, I tend to be too forgiving. That doesn't mean I don't get disappointed, but I am a big believer in forgiveness and second chances (heaven knows I have needed my fair share of those!). If I don't play a game, it is because it doesn't interest me enough or my gaming plate is simply too full to add more without sacrificing the other important things in life.

@mackeypb: I'm going to be playing more League of Legends, although my girlfriend (we got back together, yay!) wants to play some Champions Online together, so we'll probably be doing a bit of that in the near future. In League, I've been mostly practicing carries and last-hitting to bolster my inept Summoners' Rift skills.

I hold a bit of a grudge against Ragnarok Online, which was one of the first MMOs I really put a lot of energy into, just because of the corporate decisions Gravity made regarding the game. I also despise Star Wars: The Old Republic for its horrible CS and shallow gameplay, and the SWG thing didn't help either. It's less of a grudge against BioWare, though, and more of a grudge against EA or SWTOR in general.

@terilynns: I will be back on the Tribble test server in Star Trek Online, feeling out more of the starbase defense missions and the fleet advancement system with my fleetmates. There were a lot of bugs the last time we jumped in, and I'd like to see what, if anything, has been addressed since then. I might also jump into Lord of the Rings Online and spend a quiet hour or two killing wights. They annoy me.

I'm not sure I actually hold a grudge against a game, but I definitely hold very palpable biases toward them. Those biases are what will keep me from actually trying the games. And don't give me any of that "if you haven't tried it, you can't be biased" nonsense either. I fell for that once and went hunting. Amazing mistake on my part. Not only did I find it as stupid as I thought, but it was boring and stupid. Trust me, I know why certain games repulse me; I don't need to prove to myself how repulsive.

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!