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The Soapbox: MMO 'nostalgia' isn't nostalgia
Here's the Merriam-Webster online dictionary definition of the word nostalgia. nos·tal·gia noun \nä-ˈstal-jə, nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl-\ : pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again 1 : the state of being homesick : homesickness 2 : a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition; also : something that evokes nostalgia And here's where I tell you that nostalgia is the most misused, overused, and overly simplistic word in modern MMO discourse.
Age of Wushu fans can find balance in the Wudang School
You've seen the ninjas, the show-offs, and even the panhandlers, but nothing really fit with your ideals of inner harmony. If that's the case, then Age of Wushu's fourth school, the Wudang, may be more your style when the martial arts sandbox opens its doors! Known universally as Shaolin Monks, this school focuses on balance of the mind and body and redirects energy used against them to throw enemies off balance. The Wudang favor swords, using them as an extension of themselves in battle. If you want to see the breeze sword, the yin yang sword, and the taiji sword skill sets in action, check out the three videos after the break.
Age of Wushu highlights a third school: Wanderer's Valley
Just as players would expect of a sandbox, Age of Wushu is offering a variety of classes for folks to play the game how they want. Previous spotlights introduced fans to the Beggars and the Tangmen. Now Snail Games is showing off the evil side of life in ancient China; Wanderer's Valley is a darker school that welcomes notoriety for its nefarious actions. Created by a man embittered by his own short life-span and led by fallen members of other sects, the sect is full of adherents who practice a live-in-the-moment attitude with little care for the consequences of their actions. Skills available to this school include the use of pressure points to poison energy and dual blades to slice through opponents. You can even use insects to slowly eat away at enemies. If the prevailing motto of "eat, drink, and torture others, for tomorrow we die" sounds right up your dark alley, then Wanderer's Valley is the school for you!
Some Assembly Required: The newer-is-better fallacy
There's this idea that old-school MMO players don't know what they want. I've an inkling that the folks espousing this idea have little experience with the old-school games they purport to be evolving beyond. This doesn't stop them from claiming that old-schoolers are in love with a time period instead of a game, though, which in turn intimates that old-schoolers' minds are too muddled to know exactly what they do and do not prefer. Regardless of how you feel about old vs. new, sandbox vs. themepark, or world vs. game, it's easy to see that conflating someone's personal preference with nostalgia results in a perspective that's of limited usefulness at best.
