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Ultima Online producer's letter promises revitalization of classic content
Did you wonder who was captaining Ultima Online since Calvin "Uriah" Crowner left his role as producer earlier this fall? Apparently, it's been none other than Jeff Skalski, who recently penned a producer's letter to introduce himself to the UO-faithful. In it, he explains that his goals for the grand-daddy of MMOs include heavily increasing the team's interaction with the community, implementing weekly Q&A sessions, squashing bugs, and "breathing life back into areas that have long been forgotten," i.e., revamping older content. In fact, some of that older content -- Shame, one of the original and iconic anti-virtue dungeons in classic Britannia -- is due for its revamp sooner rather than later. Publish 73, now on the test server, retools Shame with a truly massive itemization overhaul and difficulty scaling as players descend the dungeon's depths.
Breakfast Topic: Care to share any recent embarrassing moments?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. It was my first run through regular Grim Batol. I was in a guild group made up of the movers and shakers, including the guild leader. I was still a fairly new member of the guild and had never actually run anything with the leader in tow, so I was feeling on my guard. This was the first time in GB for several of us, so things were getting spelled out as we went. The bombing run went adequately, and so did General Umbriss. I'd managed to dodge the worst of it so far, and my DPS was holding up all right, so I was beginning to puff out my chest and not feel like a total failure. We crept around the corner and the tank began pulling the trash leading up to Forgemaster Throngus. I peeked my head around the corner to see what was going on ... and my water elemental promptly pulled Throngus and everything else in the entryway. We all fought valiantly but suffered the inevitable wipe. Fortunately, everyone was in good spirits about it and laughed. It's become a bit of a guild joke, and I now get told when I should stay put, but I was completely mortified and wanted to slink out the back door with my draenei tail between my legs. What moment has made you want to log off in shame and never return?
Spike VGAs 2010: The liveblog
God, are we really doing this again? OK, fine. For the fourth (yes, fourth) year running, my brother (and fellow Joystiq editor) Griffin McElroy and I are going to watch the VGAs so you don't have to. Traditionally, we make fun of them in the cruelest and most profanity-laden way possible, but maybe they'll, you know, be really great this year? Like, super duper classy? ... Maybe? Bookmark this page and let's find out together after the break at 8 p.m. EST. %Gallery-110364%
The Daily Grind: Are you ashamed of being a gamer?
This past week, blogger Tobold dusted off the issue of gamer pride -- and more specifically, gamer shame. While we have strong affection for our beloved hobby, gaming has a stigma that's yet to completely wear off, even though our ranks swell every month. It's a frustrating double standard when friends openly chat about sports, movies and TV, and yet give you an odd look when you gush about your favorite game. While I'm not shy about being a gamer, I don't exactly go about broadcasting it, either. For one thing, a lot of people still associate video games with either mindless violence or childish play. For another, it's simply hard to explain the attraction of games to those who have limited or zero experience with them. As a result of this stigma, there's a temptation to keep your gaming persona on the down-low, or "DL" as kids a decade ago put it. Do you hide your identity as a gamer from friends, loved ones and co-workers? Are you cautious about bringing it up in conversation until you know you're among like minds?
Lenovo ThinkPad X300 series to be phased out, replaced by T400 this year
We're not sure what tea they're being served in the Far East these days, but the peeps at Lenovo have somehow convinced themselves to let go of the legendary 13-inch ThinkPad X301 and replace it with the 14-inch T410s by the end of the year. Ouch. While you mop up the tears pooling around your boots, here's Marketing Director Wang Lipin's reasoning: with the T400 series capable of offering more powerful CPU and GPU at a similar portability but much lower price (we're talking about a $980 difference between the T410s and X301 base models, at the time of writing), the X300 series has since lost its special place in the ultraportable category. It's tough to argue with figures like that, and hey, at least that's one less temptation for the sake of your piggy bank. Or so we're left to tell ourselves.
Breakfast Topic: Shame
I am not ashamed to be a World of Warcraft player. I spend on average about two hours a day playing the game. That takes into account the weekends when I overindulge and the weekdays when I may log in for a few arenas, if at all. I have accomplishments in-game that I'm proud of, and I find it really thrilling to share my thoughts and experiences with the readers of WoW Insider. I proudly wear geeky, WoW-oriented shirts, and proclaim myself as a gamer. Every once in a while I think to myself that I should do something different with my time. But then I remember that it's some good clean (not to mention cheap) fun that I can share with my friends and family. On top of that, I really enjoy my play time. For an extra-added benefit, I can't remember the last time I was actually bored, with the game or anything else. An interesting news article hit my inbox today. Dr. Jerald Block is a psychiatrist who specializes in treating pathological computer use. His most stunning statement was that many of his clients were more ashamed of their World of Warcraft addictions than obsessions with internet porn. I can't quite wrap my brain around that. Dr. Block also believes that previous studies of gaming addiction have been focused on the wrong group. He claims that adults, rather than teens, obsess over online gaming. He is probably right on both accounts. This may lead to a paradigm shift in gaming research. Do you ever find yourself ashamed of playing WoW? [Via Boston.com]
Behind the Curtain: Don't be ashamed
Picture the scene – you're at a family gathering, or maybe you're meeting your significant other's friends and family for the first time, and the conversation turns interrogative. Questions are asked about your hobbies; what you do to relax and how you spend your spare time. What do you do? When put on the spot like that, it's natural for gamers to feel trapped, to feel like admitting to playing MMOs would be tantamount to admitting to a rather kinky fetish or confessing that you've got a rather embarrassing disease – it might not be catching, but there's a chance that you'll get some funny looks, and you may just lose some credibility points. What about job interviews and applications? These invariably have a point where questions are asked about you hobbies and leisure time. While there are good arguments that putting down strong examples of guild leadership might work in your favour – owning up to the fact that you play an MMO upwards of 15 hours a week might not be the smartest thing career-wise. Don't get me wrong – I am proud and happy to be a geek and a gamer, and I've never wanted to be anything else; the wall above my desk sports a rare Akira poster I picked up on holiday France a while back; I own the complete boxed set of the original Transformers series; and much of my wardrobe consists of t-shirts from ThinkGeek and the Penny Arcade store. People ask me what I do in my spare time, and I look them straight in the eye and tell them that I'm a gamer, and while I'm not ashamed of it, I can't help but wince a little when I see most people's reaction to it.
