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The Soapbox: What you loved is still there
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. One of my greatest fears as I slouch toward 30 is that my tastes will become immutable in certain fields -- music, especially. The last thing I want to do is be the obnoxious guy listening to music that was popular when I was in high school complaining about how bad modern bands are. So I try to broaden my horizons because I know that everything I already like is still waiting for me. I want to create a broader range, not just stick within the familiar. It's probably for the best, then, that I don't share that worry about video games in general and MMOs in particular. I don't cry for a return to the MMOs I played in older days because in most cases they're still running. True, in many of them a great deal has changed to the point of unrecognizability, but I never ask what happened to the game I once loved. After all, just because I loved it doesn't mean that anyone else did.
The Soapbox: The inevitable Mass Effect MMO
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I don't know about you, but I've yet to play Mass Effect 3. This is not by choice, mind you, and now that I've returned from the wilds of last week's GDC, it's time to settle in for another 30-hour tour with Shepard and company. What does this have to do with MMOs? Well, nothing really, except that BioWare hasn't exactly closed the door on a Mass Effect title. On the contrary, the company's dynamic doctor duo have hinted at the fact that this, ahem, theoretical game would need to be somewhat different from the firm's maiden MMO voyage. At this point I think an ME MMO is inevitable, so join me after the cut to discuss whether BioWare can really break the mold with its second effort as well as what that effort could look like.
The Soapbox: That's the way it should be!
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Every fandom has it. In Transformers fandom, it's the segment of the population that insists the franchise peaked with the original G1 cartoon (and its numerous animation errors, bad scripting, and downright ridiculous plots). Star Trek fans will insist that the franchise should be more like the original series, where every plot revolved around Kirk's trying to bone someone or Spock's acting stoic. And then there are the tabletop gamers who miss the days of early Dungeons & Dragons, as if the books stopped working once the line stopped being active. Some fandoms have terms just for this crowd; some don't. But they're all in the same general group -- they're the One True Way crowd. They're fans who insist that one particular incarnation was the right way to go and everything afterward has been a poor imitation. The camp exists with MMOs, as well, and just as with any other franchise, it's arguably the most harmful portion of the fanbase.
Wings Over Atreia: Top 10 of '11
Where in the Seraphim Lords did the year go? Daevas aren't the only ones who fly; time certainly has one powerful set of wings (though I haven't quite determined whether they are light or dark)! It's a bit hard for me to believe that a full year has come and gone. Yet even as I doubt, a cursory glance back over the past 12 months shows me I didn't Rip Van Winkle the time away. In fact, much has transpired in Aion since 2011 rolled in. Between pining away for things to come and dreaming of things that may never be, chronicling the life and social scene of Atreia, offering guides and hints, and reporting on (sometimes surprise) announcements, Wings Over Atreia has covered a variety of topics over the past year. While each column is but one glimpse, together they show the evolution of our game. Traipse past the break and down memory lane with me as we reminisce about Aion in the time-honored Massively tradition of top-10 lists.
The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I'm going to start this with a strange admission: I love MMOs. I love them as a lumpy, imperfect collective; I love specific ones immensely, and I love being a fan of the genre. I feel that I have to clarify my stance when I sometimes -- often -- see people who apparently follow MMOs quite closely become a neverending fount of bile and venom toward these games. Apparently, not all MMO fans love MMOs, and that perplexes me. Odd as that may be, whatever, I can accept that we live in a topsy-turvy world. What I really don't get are the folks who hate specific games so greatly that their entire bodies and minds have been honed into a dedicated game-loathing entity. Mention that title anywhere on a forum, a blog, or in a post, and these people come out to scream through clenched teeth how this MMO sucks beyond the telling of it and that we are all fools, fools for getting anywhere near it. They aren't just content to say their piece and be done with it, oh no; their vitriol literally knows no end. They will rant, they will attack, they will laugh with derision, and above all else, they will root for the fail. Their greatest desire in life is for this specific game to die so that they can rend their clothes and let out a blood-curdling victory howl. And I don't get it. I feel like an alien in their presence, perplexed at their rage and fixation. Why do people root for MMOs to fail with such intensity? What motivates them and what do they hope to achieve?
Wings Over Atreia: What's in it for me?
That does it. No more Ms. Nice Wings. This time I am just going to unleash! Let my rant all hang out. Admittedly, I am not normally one to complain; I can see the good in most every situation, and I can roll with the punches like it's an Olympic event. But even my feathers get ruffled sometimes. It's true! And sometimes you just can't bite your tongue anymore or all you will have is a very sore tongue. Now I know I am not a rant-master like Jef, but even fledgling ranters must begin somewhere. And this week, I found just such a place: immature, self-serving, can't-pull-their-thumbs-outta-their-ears-unless-there-is-something-in-it-for-them-gamers in Aion. You know the type -- those who think the world revolves around them. Those whose spoiled-rotten antics ruin groups and legions alike and who are the reason why many a block list is so full. They without whom drama would die a quick death and be a forgotten plague. They're the bane of chat channels everywhere -- they are the trolls. Throw yourself past the cut for a look at some recent Aion tantrums and sure-fire ways to minimize the effects of blatant immaturity. Careful, though -- I cannot be held responsible for any resemblance to gamers near you.
Storyboard: Finding what I'm looking for
Two weeks ago, I made something of an impassioned plea because, while I like to roleplay quite a bit and have had wonderful experiences doing so (even in World of Warcraft, which kind of got turned into the villain of the piece), roleplaying is essentially seen as a non-entity. It's unsupported and generally ignored by development teams, and part of that is our fault for not demanding that it be made more important. So this week I'm going to talk about some minimum and fairly reasonable baselines of roleplaying features, things that already exist in many games but aren't even close to being universal. In response to one of the frequent comments from both sides, it's worth noting that yes, roleplayers are a minority. But then, so are extremely hardcore PvP players, and the people who will rush through all available endgame content in less than a week, and players who can multi-box with five different characters, and so on. The difference is that those minorities stay and grow, because they're given the tools they need. Roleplayers aren't. Sometimes by not creating the market, you're denying an audience you don't know is there, an argument so simple that articles could be (and have been) written just on that principle.
GDC09: Highlights from the Game Critics Rant
Though it seems like game journalists have a fine platform on which to project their opinions, it's rare that they get to directly address the game developers they cover. Just such a chance was provided by this year's GDC rant session, which let game journalists talk about games and their own writing about them.Before we begin, keep in mind that we are cherry picking here, and there's a lot of context you miss out on by not being on site. Hopefully, we're at least able to give you a flavor of what was going on.
Waging the war against "lorelol"
So, as you might guess, knowing my previous background, I read WoW-related forums a lot. Old habits die hard, strapping young talbuks need to read a lot, and given that my career path is in Community at game companies, it pays to know what game communities (all of them) are saying. I obviously tend to gravitate toward games and topics that hold my interest (game design, indie games) or games for which I have a particular fondness (sup Aquaria, luv u baby gurl; yo Cave Story, holla back), but I'll read pretty much anything about a game as long as I can follow it.And I'm gonna be straight with you, WoW community. You guys are incredibly fickle when it comes to lore, and it breaks my two-sizes-too-big heart to read your ramblings about how Blizzard "doesn't care" about it.I examined the sitch in detail and I'm ready for you to apologize and mend the error of your ways once you've perused my summary of why you mean well, wrong though you are, when you use the phrase "lorelol". I've made charts and graphs that should finally make it clear--I've prepared a lecture.
Forum post of the day: Honor, glory, and coercion
This may come as a big surprise, but not everyone likes to do Arenas. Even some who very much enjoy Battleground play, are not enthralled with the small-scale and highly-competitive arena environment. I'm of the opinion that if you don't enjoy the arena, you probably shouldn't do it. Sasquach of Bahazzar is with me on this one. Like me, he enjoys arenas and is not partial to the PvE game. Sporting a 2300 rating for Season Three, he's looking forward to doing arena matches in wrath. The original poster vented his frustration that all PvP gear has an arena requirement on the test realm. Though Battlegrounds and Arenas are disparate systems with divergent goals and playstyle, Blizzard is putting rating requirements on all PvP gear. Even playing battleground after battleground, players will have to do arenas in order to don any PvP gear.
X3F rant: TF2 needs times limits, please!
We're not much for rants here at X3F, but every once in a while rants must be made. This rant is about the multiplayer FPS du jour, Team Fortress 2. This rant goes out to everyone who thinks it might be a good idea to set up a game of Team Fortress 2 with no time limit. For the sake of all that is good, do not do this. Please.
Why fanboys make for poor marketers
There are plenty of signs that indicate when a letter has been thoughtlessly composed by a fanboy and the latest one to violate our inboxes boasts nearly all of them. Punctuation and grammar are horrifying and alien concepts, logic is tossed away like an explosive javelin and any semblance of coherence is dangerously teetering on the edge of a dark abyss. In other words, it usually elicits a few good laughs. We present to you the unedited letter we received from a fanboy urging us to purchase a PS3 (hint: it's a very powerful super computer). Sony PS3 is not a games console its actually a very powerful super computer because you can't have a games console which costs £425 people wouldn't buy it my PS3 magazine said that almost 50 percent of us say its better priced and some of us agreed that it was to expensive or cheap the main problem with PS3 is not the price at all its how many you are getting in the UK for last I heard they said there were going to be 4 million consoles shipped next year in March 2007 but you people have really got to respect Sony you can't say buy a 360 or Nintendo just because you can't afford the price on it its not Sony's fault and it isn't Kutaragi's either there is no point sitting on a sofa all day and night waiting for the PS3 to come out on launch day November 17th here is a list what you can do to wait for PS31. Enjoy what's on your PS2 collection at the moment2. Just don't buy anymore games for PS2 wait until the new PS3 comes out3. Get a Job earn money you need £425 so you can work hard for it but save it for PS3.4. Watch your DVDs more and enjoy your collection and get all the new releases on DVD complete all PS1 and PS2 games5. Don't waste money on 360 and Wii get a PS3 on launch day to get one you might have to pre - order it but you need to do that otherwise you won't get one you can get a good offer from GAME.
Life on the test realm
Insults flying, duels at twenty paces and "your mom" jokes filling up the LookingForGroup channel. Welcome to the Test Server.After queueing for over three hours, I popped on to the US Test Server yesterday to see if I could get a glimpse of Naxxramas. There are a few improvements over previous test experiences -- actually having flight paths is a nice touch. However, some of the fellow inhabitants leave a lot to be desired.I understand that it's very appealing to want to try out a new level 60 character, but the general level of competence was frighteningly low -- both in PvP and an instance group. Multiple wipes on trash mobs led me to much despair, with little strategy or organisation. Add to that the fact that almost everyone is playing sexy classes such as rogues, and it's hard to even get a full instance group together. Players in my group kept switching characters, as if playing another class ham-fistedly would help with our wiping problem.The Test Server is a fun place to mess about and try things out, but the immense amount of lag and lack of co-ordination drive me to despair. If only the serious players could be separated out from the less serious, then some actual 'testing' might happen. For now, it's waiting in a queue of thousands to see players with names like Omgwtfpwnbbq raiding Crossroads.
New Weekly WoW Rant
VideoGameGeneration.com has launched anew feature called Weekly World of Warcraft, which takes a slightly diff'rent perspective from most of your other WoW sites; WWW is devoted exclusively to rants & raves about the player's frustrations with WoW & the things that need review; or at the very least, some acknowledgment.This weeks edition, the 3rd so far, mainly deals with the implementations of the new dungeons in 1.11. The author has some opinions I don't necessarily agree with, but he makes some very interesting points & it's a good, informative read. Check it out over at their homepage.
Breakfast Topic: Weekend Rantings
It's Monday morning and you're back in the real world after a hard weekend of raiding, questing and PvPing. What better way to spend your time at work than by ranting about your weekend? Whether you spent the entire weekend repeatedly wiping on the same instance, you didn't make your goal of level 40 thanks to being ganked, or you couldn't play WoW at all, let's let it all out.Personally, I was playing some low-level battlegrounds and it was a really frustrating experience. The team was filled with players who had rolled Horde "because Horde always wins BGs", not realising that players still have to work for the win. After playing a couple of matches and logging off in frustration, I came back later only to find people who were even worse. No amount of helpful explanation or guidance worked, and the Alliance must have been laughing their heads off.
Mail annoyances
Dave at The Consultant has written a short rant regarding what he calls "minor annoyances" in Apple's Mail. First, he misses being able to page down from message to message with the space bar, Eudora-style. He also complains about Mail not warning him of invalid addresses prior to sending.I'll add my own. I've only got two, and they are in fact minor, but they still irk me every time I use Mail. For some inexplicable reason, Command-O will not open a message. Also, I cannot use the arrow keys on my keyboard to move from mailbox to mailbox. It's the little things that drive a person crazy.
