responsibilities
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The Soapbox: What it means to be a game journalist
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. Additionally, this article is written in contrast to Jef Reahard's Soapbox on how video game journalists are not real journalists; Massively's writers' opinions on the subject vary. People have, on a few occasions, asked me for advice on becoming a game journalist. My usual response, which is only half-joking, is, "Don't." In just a handful of months, I'll be hitting my three-year anniversary for working Massively. That means I've had one of the longest tenures at the site, which is kind of staggering in my mind. I still fundamentally think of myself as one of the new kids on the block. But for better or worse, I've been doing this for a while and have a pretty good grasp of what the job entails. Of course, that's still a subject of debate. As with a lot of topics, people as a whole can't even decide on what makes someone a game journalist instead of just an enthusiast with some advertising revenue. To some people, it's not even a real job, just a hobby. I'm one of those people who never like to pin down an exact definition of something that's ambiguous... but I can define what I see as my responsibilities in this job.
Behind the Curtain: On the edge
So, I finally hit level 80 with my Warrior. What should I be doing now? Hitting up Icecrown, working on getting those last few pieces of gear to hit the defence cap, then working on reputation, clear some Heroic runs for more gear. And maybe have some fun, chaotic Naxxramas runs with my guild where we lay bets on who can die in the most spectacular fashion. If, that is, I can get my dates right and sign up for the correct evenings. What am I doing instead? Farming Stratholme for the near-mythical undead mount of one Baron Rivendare.
Forum post of the day: No table for you!
There has been much debate over whether mages should always use their Ritual of Refreshment spell in battlegrounds. Shadowavatar of Boulderfist believes that this practice will become even less common because the cost of the spell is slated to increase from two arcane powder to five in Wrath of the Lich King. This brings the total cost of the spell to fifty silver per cast plus requires the use of additional bag space for mages who are not keen on restocking. Withunter of Arathor commented, "At least you know Blizzard is paying close attention to what players complain about. They identify problems with the game, and spare no effort to make them worse." While some posters see this change as a major disservice, some point out that the is really quite justifiable. Darkintent of Bleeding hollow noted that the inflated reagent cost is reflective of the greater benefit of the spell. Many responders indicated that this difference will be negligible due to gold inflation in the next expansion. The amount of space it will take to carry reagents is of a greater concern to many posters.
