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The Soapbox: Actually, that really isn't an MMO
In last week's edition of The Soapbox, Mike Foster argued that online gaming has evolved over the past few years and that the term MMO should be expanded to cover other online games like MOBAs. He examined the blurred dividing line between new online games and the classic MMOs of yesteryear, and he made the controversial argument that Call of Duty and League of Legends should now fall under the MMO umbrella. I found myself disagreeing with many of Mike's arguments and wanting to make additional points of my own, so this week I'd like to offer a few counter-points on the same topic for debate. The MMO market has certainly evolved since Massively was founded, with some pretty big innovations in gameplay and new ideas like the free-to-play business model taking hold. As much as people like to complain about a lack of innovation in the games industry, the same level of experimentation and evolution has hit industry-wide. Call of Duty has borrowed unlock and XP systems from the world of orcs and dragons, and League of Legends came from nowhere to be at the forefront of a global MOBA revolution, but neither of them is an MMO by any stretch of the imagination. In this in-depth opinion piece, I break down the definition arguments surrounding the term MMO, offer a reasoned view of where the line can and should be drawn, and look at why Massively covers games other than MMOs.
The Daily Grind: Are you an MMO stereotype?
While stereotypes can be both offensive and unfair, depending on the situation, they can also be spot-on accurate. After all, stereotypes come from somewhere, whether it's a good place or New Jersey. Gamers seem to accumulate a great deal of stereotypes, perhaps more than any other hobby out there. Enjoy the hyperbole sandwich, it's the chef's special. According to all reports, we are a legion of unwashed, relationship-phobic nerds living in our parents' basements who converse entirely in binary. And, according to most educated news reports, we're also one frustrating session of Call of Duty away from snapping and taking out a Wal-Mart with a heavily modified Nerf gatling gun. So here's where the painful admission begins and the healing can finally take place. Do you actually fit into a MMO gamer stereotype? Are you a poor typist who communicates in barely legible gibberish? Have you missed work and family outings to pull an eight-hour raid? Is your gaming space littered with cans of Red Bull and the greasy wrappings of Hot Pockets? Have you never spoken to a member of the opposite sex in real life who isn't a parent? Have you -- and this is vital to admit, people -- have you ever used MMO lingo in your daily conversations without even realizing it? Are you a MMO stereotype? It's okay. You're among friends who would never, ever point and laugh.
WoW Rookie: Essential WoW terminology in other languages
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. For links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's, visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide. Együtt szaladjunk vissza a temetötöl hogy ne vesszünk el. In the sprawling, global environment that is the World of Warcraft today, there's really no telling who you'll end up grouped with. Even on a white-bread American realm, I've met players whose primary language was not English. Gamers are everywhere now! In the spirit of international cooperation, WoW Rookie has crowdsourced a list of basic WoW terminology for PUGging. The next time you run into a situation where you need to communicate with someone who doesn't speak your language, reach for our translations in the Newbie Guide, linked under Guides in the drop-down menu at the top of the site. Kudos to the hundreds of readers who responded to our call for translations. Merci, gracias, tack, hvala! Let's crowdsource corrections, too -- if you spot anything incorrect, drop me a line at lisa (at) wow (dot) com. Oh, and "Együtt szaladjunk vissza a temetötöl hogy ne vesszünk el?" That's "Let's run back from the graveyard together so we don't get lost" ... in Hungarian.
WoW Rookie: What's "move out of the fire" in your language?
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. For links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's, visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide. If you use the Dungeon Finder with any regularity, you're likely to eventually find yourself grouped with a player who speaks a different language. World of Warcraft is localized (translated) to nearly a dozen different languages, including two versions of English (USA and EU), French, German, Spanish, Russian, Korean and two versions of Chinese. While U.S. and Oceanic players can generally count on groupmates to speak English, things can be quite different elsewhere in the world. Individual Latin American and EU realms tend to attract groups of players from particular areas -- Brazilians on one server, Hungarians gathered on another, Italians dominating still another. Many players welcome the language barrier as an opportunity to polish their language skills. Still, how do you coordinate your way through a tricky pull with someone who doesn't speak a word of your language? Let's crowdsource this issue. We've compiled a list of common terms you might use in a PUG. We'd like you to list your translations in the comments, if you are fluent in another language. We're not going to cover Russian, Korean or Chinese, since those players generally do not cross paths with Western players. Please keep your suggestions brief; simplicity trumps elegance. If you'd like to see phrases we didn't include, feel free to suggest them, but keep in mind we're sticking with the basics. We'll compile the list and create a starter guide in next week's Rookie column.
TEC's Lingo mouse touts itself as world's smallest, most likely to get lost in laptop bag
That Ulysses S. Grant greenback you were about to fork over to Thanko? Hold onto it for now, as TEC's Lingo mouse might be more tempting. While more traditional in function than the aforementioned deskless variant, its claim to fame is a self-appointed "smallest mouse" title. While we doubt that's really the case, at 27.5 x 60 x 19 mm and 0.8 ounces, it certainly makes a good argument. Since we know you're dying to hear the nitty-gritty details: 800 dpi, 2.4GHz with a range of up to 32.8 feet, and about 15 hours battery life with automatic shutoff if left dormant for five minutes. No indication of stateside release, but if you find somewhere to import it, at least shipping won't be too terrible, all things considered.[Thanks, Matt]
WoW Rookie: Gaming terminology 101
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.Probably one of the top requests WoW Rookie gets from new players is a plea for an explanation of WoW and gaming terminology. Even a casual skim of WoW Insider's front page can prove challenging to new gamers. Example: what to experienced players is a routine update on new PTR schedules can be an exercise in frustration for readers who are still sorting out WTT from WTF. ("PTR? WTF?!?") It's not just WoW-specific abbreviations and acronyms that puzzle new players. Add in gaming lingo and internet chat terms, and you have the recipe for a truly intimidating mix.
Pentagon presents hypothetical terrorist plot in WoW
A number of readers wrote in to tell us about a 'hypothetical WoW-hatched terror plot' from the Pentagon, which Wired posted just last night. The scenario detailed in the presentation given by Dr. Dwight V. Toavs is meant to display how terrorists could potentially use the pseudonymity of an MMO combined with the obscure gamer lingo to hide a terrorist plot within the massive, mostly unmonitored (by them) playerbase. This isn't the first time we've heard about the government looking to virtual worlds for potential terrorist hideouts, but it's the most ridiculous.The presented scenario is as follows (summarized; full version at Wired): Two WoW players, WAR_MONGER and TALON238 meet up to plot. WAR_MONGER lays out the plan: They will approach via the South East of the Zoram Strand, and assault the 'White Keep' using a 'Dragon Fire' spell in their inventory. They will kill all of the 'castle guards' and when they've entered the keep, they will acquire their treasure of 110 gold, 234 silver.Translation: These two terrorists will meet South East of the White House (the White Keep) and take out all of the security before sneaking a weapon of some sort through. The 'treasure' is the coordinates for their attack.
Kyocera Lingo clamshell comes to Cricket
Cricket customers can now pick up Kyocera's newest QWERTY-packin' clamshell for around $200, and aside from the slightly unattractive design, you will find quite a lot to keep your thumbs happy. Dubbed a "text messaging machine," the Lingo (also known as the M1000) boasts a standard numeric keypad on the outside and flips open to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. Furthermore, you'll get a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a Li-ion battery good for three hours of yappin' (or 200 hours in standby), voice recognition, dual color displays and a speakerphone to boot. If you're interested, it's available directly from Cricket as we speak.[Via PhoneScoop]
Breakfast Topic: What does that mean?
The people who play WoW share a common set of experiences and they naturally tend to talk a lot about these things in shortened language, using terms that most everyone in the game learns pretty quickly. In addition, WoW players are denizens of this larger group of people who just use the Internet and have developed many special ways of talking about that as well.But we often forget that some people coming newly to the game (or even the Internet) may have no idea what we're talking about. Also a lot of us learn the meanings of words like "pwnage" and "noob" without ever actually learning where these words come from.Are there any specialized words in the WoW community that, to this day, don't make any sense to you? Are there some words that you think you understand a little but not very much? Which words do you understand completely but wonder about how they came to be used this way?
