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The Perfect Ten: MMO forum terms beaten to death
If there's one aspect of MMO culture that I have difficulty saying anything positive about, it would have to be the official forum. No matter how well-moderated and well-intentioned studio forums may be, they're essentially giant signs broadcasting "COME WHINE HERE!" When you witness a 500-page thread that's responding to a badly spelled rant about a nerf we'll all forget about in a month's time, it's hard not to break down and weep at the time and energy lost to such trivial stupidity. And with the forums -- and to a lesser extent, comments on blogs, Twitter, and telegraphs -- comes a shocking array of linguistic conformity. You see, when people are upset or eager to prove a point, they have no time to sit down and calmly think of a way to fully communicate their perspectives. No time! Instead, they reach deep into the well of the same overused words and phrases, give them a hearty kick in the direction of their post, and feel as though they've conjured up a masterful work of literature. So today I'm going to exorcise 10 of the most overused, abused, and tired forum terms seen daily in your local MMO forum. Then I will move on with my life and suggest you do the same.
The Daily Grind: Do cinematics make you want to play?
The Massively chat room, as well as the rest of the nerdosphere, was all abuzz this past Monday morning as some kind soul leaked the new Star Wars: The Old Republic cinematic that BioWare had been saving for this week's E3 reveal. Despite a quick retraction of the offending YouTube link, the clip remained viewable for some time prior to its official release, and frankly we all watched it. Leaving aside the ethical question of leaks (and wink/nudge "leaks"), the thought occurred to me that while the video is a marvel of CGI artistry and admittedly feeds the inner fanboi fire, it also bears absolutely no resemblance to what the actual game it is advertising will look or play like. So I ask you, Massively readers, do cinematics like this inspire you to play the game, or do you simply acknowledge them for the technical tour-de-force that they are and seek out definitive gameplay details before making a purchase decision?
