I've been really struggling to hash out content here on KeS, as evidenced by the lone post last week. Unless I'm on vacation, I've almost never posted so little. I've made a three post per week commitment to myself, and generally the problem is lack of time, not lack of ideas. As Cataclysm wanes, however, (and SWTOR starts) I find myself paralyzed by indecision. I feel a bit like the frogs in Frogger must feel right before hurling myself into oncoming traffic.
Okay, I'm not sure if that's an apt analogy, but we're pro-Frogger references here on the blog, and I wanted to have an excuse to go on record with that. It is primary season and all that stuff. Important issues are important.
Today, I'm going to touch on some disjointed ideas that, alone, I felt failed to merit their own post. They also may explain a bit why content has been hard for me. These ideas are ill-formed simply because there doesn't seem to be a lot to say. Still, it makes a good ADD Monday post, so here we go:
In WoW...
I'm wracking my brain... I'm pretty sure nothing at all happened for Affliction Warlocks since Cataclysm hit. We've really had no major changes, and nothing much to talk about. My playstyle has remained consistent, my spec and stats pretty solid, and damage competitive. Other 'lock bloggers probably feel me here: we've basically been given NOTHING to talk about this entire expansion. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I feel like Warlocks are in a good spot. Changes can be a mixed blessing even in the best of circumstances. Topics like: Shadowbolts, now with +10 cool, do not a full post make.
Frost DKs haven't been much crazier. There may have been a few more breadcrumbs on the DK side, but for a Frost PvP'er, I've not changed a whole lot. No posts here.
My casual raid schedule can't keep up with "easymode" raiding. Everyone seems to be blowing through content. We raid once a week, and even that's been a struggle for us the last few months. The result is that I'm just seeing bosses that everyone else is "over" months ago. I think before in ICC and such, it wasn't so drastic. Part of that is us, part of that is the game. Like my feelings about my 'lock... it is what it is.
While we're on that note, I may as well hit on the hot topic du jour: the upcoming raid nerfs. My stance is the same as it has been with every nerf this expansion (and obviously Blizz hasn't listened). Every time they do this, people complain. Every time, I think they could have avoided complaints by simply making the nerfs somehow toggle-able. I loved the ICC buff. I thought it was a great idea that didn't go abuse "one size fits all" development practices. There can be some downsides to it, but I guess I just feel that choice > no choice any day of the week. But this is nothing new to this set of bosses. They've set the course. It's tough to feel surprised or upset when they stay it.
Finally, on the WoW side, there's simply not as much content to talk about. We were promised smaller, quicker patches, and we got those. The problem is, we still got the same number of them. So we just got a smaller, quicker expansion. The end result is that it doesn't feel as epic, the story feels rushed, and the content thin. Is this a surprise to anyone? I still think that Blizz could make "smaller and quicker" work, but they'd have to do it by altering the practice of releasing an entire tier per patch. I'm not sure that this isn't based more on my own personal quirkiness. I would enjoy smaller slices of story, more quickly, that added up to a good big picture. Others that play more heavily might simply get bored faster. Consider this also ill-formed.
In short, I'm willing to see what Blizz has in store for Pandaria, but like many long time WoWers, they're on a bit of thin ice with me. I think most people would agree that Blizz needs to step up the game for Pandaria. A lot of us are willing to weather a sub-par expansion (and, to be fair, they weren't completely phoning it in... there were some good parts).
Shifting gears to SWTOR....
I'm almost to 50. I plan to do a spec post then. I should also be able to chat about one of the big topics of: "what then?" Until then, Fuu and I are simply duo'ing the game. It's fun and I love the stories. This is nothing new.
I'm also completely willing to be patient. I feel like the minority in this regard. I understand why: a lot of folks need to make the decision of what to pay for when this first free month runs out. Thus, they are really judging TOR with a fine-tooth comb to decide if it's worth their money. Call it responsible spending. I don't begrudge this of others. And, for my part, I don't really want to throw fuel on the flames of a game I'd really like to see succeed. I liked the sentiment expressed by Scary Worlds the other day: even if you don't like TOR, general gamers should hope for the game to succeed since, if Bioware can't make money on the Star Wars IP, what chance does anyone else have of creating a the "next" big MMO?
I, on the other hand, am pretty much an unabashed fanboy when it comes to Star Wars. So long as the game was moderately solid, I was going to like it, and they certainly delivered a moderately solid game. I have some complaints, but none that I'm up in arms about. There are a collection of minor things here and there, and I have confidence that they'll get around to fixing them eventually. Also, I suppose I've not experienced enough yet to really form proper opinions. And I'm not in a hurry. Messing around with lightsabers can keep me entertained for hours, and I find it worth my money.
Sealing the Tupperware...
So, basically, all of my posts would be boiled down to: I see where others are coming from but don't feel strongly myself. Which makes for very boring writing. A side note, one I haven't really mentioned on here, is that Fuu has had some health issues lately. It was scary for a bit, but doctors are no longer of the opinion that there is anything potentially life threatening. Still, such a scare tends to put things into perspective. Maybe I've just found it hard to write because I'm emotionally occupied elsewhere.
In any case, I guess I wanted to get all these brain leftovers out there. I'm still around. Still playing. And if my posting seems less frequent, it's simply because I don't want to bore you guys. Rest assured that I'll be watching the wires for my usual fare. If Blizz comes out with some major Affliction Warlock change tomorrow, I'll be writing about it. Once we get things ironed out with Fuu, I should have more emotion to spare for fiction and such, too. It's something I want to get back into, but I'm not going to force it either.
I suppose the best way to wrap up these disjointed musings is to offer gratitude for the folks still lurking around these parts. I appreciate my readers all the more when the going gets rough at home. I mean, I threw one raiding article up last week and got great responses on it. This is a great community to be a part of. And if you guys notice something I'm missing, feel free to shoot me and email and I can get on it. I'm certainly not above accepting writing prompts.
Showing posts with label MMOs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MMOs. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2012
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Using the Right Tools
Labels: MMOs 1 comments
It seems to me to be increasingly clear that the success of an MMO is not dictated by innovative gameplay, pretty graphics, or clever lore. It is not in how much you market the game, or to whom you cater the end game. It is not even how good your service is or your industry reputation. All those things contribute, of course, but it's impossible to hit all those nails on the head with one hammer.
No, what I believe to be the secret of WoW's success in the face of so many other failures (or mediocre successes) is that Blizzard knows very well how to use the right tool for the job. And make no mistake, there is a right tool for every job. Sometimes have a more specialized tool than others. Some could be done with multiple different tools. A screwdriver, however, will never substitute for a hacksaw if you need to cut through some pipe. Similarly, that hacksaw would have a tough time tightening that screw.
As a player base, I think we're pretty forgiving of things like "not getting the balancing right" or "having holes in the content". We'll hang around for months on the off chance that it might get fixed. What we cannot abide by, however, are poor executive decisions. When a company blatantly uses the wrong tool to respond to criticism, it just drives us further away.
Blizzard is not a perfect company. In fact, they have made quite a number of mistakes over the years. I think what sets them apart, though, is that they not only spend the time fixing the problem, they make sure to pick the best tool for the job.
That RealID announcement? I think we could agree it was pretty much a mistake. In that case, backing off and re-envisioning the addition was the proper tool. Backing off is not always the proper tool, and I think Blizzard has stuck to their guns in the right places too.
Some of it may be pure luck. Maybe Blizzard is just the luckiest company in the world when it comes to game design. However, I have to believe a large part of it stems from active decision making. They don't use duct tape for everything. They don't have one trusty multi-tool that they always turn to. They simply spend a small amount of time to choose which is best, and then get to work.
It's a simple philosophy when you think about it. Sure, use the correct tool. But how many other companies have failed in this department? How many MMO's have been killed not because they weren't good ideas, good games, or strong contenders, but because the parent company simply didn't dig deep enough in the tool box and took the easy road out?
Maybe I'm just being a fanboy and am totally out of touch with reality here. It's possible; I have been burning the candles at both ends recently (gets wax everywhere). It seems to me, as WoW continues to surpass expectations on longevity, to be a recurring theme. That is, I don't always agree with Blizzard's decisions or their visions, but I can rarely argue with their methods. They make a decision, and then implemented it with best and most applicable tools available to them. The end result may not please everyone, but at least it's of solid construction.
No, what I believe to be the secret of WoW's success in the face of so many other failures (or mediocre successes) is that Blizzard knows very well how to use the right tool for the job. And make no mistake, there is a right tool for every job. Sometimes have a more specialized tool than others. Some could be done with multiple different tools. A screwdriver, however, will never substitute for a hacksaw if you need to cut through some pipe. Similarly, that hacksaw would have a tough time tightening that screw.
As a player base, I think we're pretty forgiving of things like "not getting the balancing right" or "having holes in the content". We'll hang around for months on the off chance that it might get fixed. What we cannot abide by, however, are poor executive decisions. When a company blatantly uses the wrong tool to respond to criticism, it just drives us further away.
Blizzard is not a perfect company. In fact, they have made quite a number of mistakes over the years. I think what sets them apart, though, is that they not only spend the time fixing the problem, they make sure to pick the best tool for the job.
That RealID announcement? I think we could agree it was pretty much a mistake. In that case, backing off and re-envisioning the addition was the proper tool. Backing off is not always the proper tool, and I think Blizzard has stuck to their guns in the right places too.
Some of it may be pure luck. Maybe Blizzard is just the luckiest company in the world when it comes to game design. However, I have to believe a large part of it stems from active decision making. They don't use duct tape for everything. They don't have one trusty multi-tool that they always turn to. They simply spend a small amount of time to choose which is best, and then get to work.
It's a simple philosophy when you think about it. Sure, use the correct tool. But how many other companies have failed in this department? How many MMO's have been killed not because they weren't good ideas, good games, or strong contenders, but because the parent company simply didn't dig deep enough in the tool box and took the easy road out?
Maybe I'm just being a fanboy and am totally out of touch with reality here. It's possible; I have been burning the candles at both ends recently (gets wax everywhere). It seems to me, as WoW continues to surpass expectations on longevity, to be a recurring theme. That is, I don't always agree with Blizzard's decisions or their visions, but I can rarely argue with their methods. They make a decision, and then implemented it with best and most applicable tools available to them. The end result may not please everyone, but at least it's of solid construction.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Social Innovation and Alliances
Labels: General Gaming, MMOs, Officer Stuff 0 comments
Spinks wrote about Raid Alliances here. Check it out. My response is: Yes, Yes, emphatically YES! What Spinks is talking about is how guilds are often formed based on friendships or common views on things, while raiding groups are often based on compatibility of time schedules, desire, and skill level. History has shown us that finding a large group of people that share all of those things with you can be like Mankirk's Wife. Also, at times, the two group ideologies seem diametrically opposed. That is, your friends or people you get along with don't often have the same skill, schedule, or drive to raid that you do... but they're still your friends. You still would like to spend time with them.
What the current guild system does not take into account are the needs of a long-term, social environment. People's goals are going to change over time. It happens every day. This doesn't mean we want to have to sever ties with one group in order to join another. Additionally, people are members of multiple groups in RL all the time. You can have two groups of friends. Maybe one group is made up of friends that attend the same school as you and the other is a group of fellow hobbyists. They could not share a member and yet your allegiance to each is equally valid. That's how life works, but not WoW.
In WoW, we have to choose one group and only one group. Hope your needs don't change. Hope everyone sticks together, because all your souls are most assuredly in one shard. There isn't room for change.
I lived this problem along with several close friends of mine and a whole host of alliance-mates. We used to be officers in a casual, friendly guild. The guild used to be quite large, but has seen it's numbers dwindle as all the good players hit a point where they need to leave in order to secure a raid spot (me included). We love our guild, many of us still hang out on the same forum boards even though we're not official "members" any more. The guild did not raid. It just wasn't in the fabric of the membership. We had a lot of different people with a lot of different schedules. If we had ten people who wanted to raid, we could still only get 5 to show up on any given night. It wasn't because the people didn't want to raid together, it was just that our schedules were all so different. So, we left to pursue the interest that most required belonging to a guild. Not friendship... raiding.
For a while, we did the raiding alliance thing. It was great. We had a group of people we raided with, regular raids, and we still had our friendly guild. It was like having our cake and eating it too. Then, I'm not sure what happened. A group that started in late TBC found itself ripping apart at the seams mid-Wrath. I could point to several key issues, but the bottom line is as Spinks mentions: the marked lack of support of the alliance paradigm from Blizzard. It's not something they encourage. They want everyone in their neat, little guild boxes, as emphasized by their plans for Cataclysm.
Now, I am not against the guild leveling stuff promised in the pipeline. I think it'll probably be pretty cool and give some good incentive to stick with a group. I'm not saying it's a gross oversight or anything, because maybe there isn't a good way to encourage alliances. Maybe it wouldn't even work. I don't know. I can only say that by putting the emphasis on guilds so heavily, they're effectively debilitating any independent alliances. The lack of support made it difficult in the first place, but with what's been foreshadowed, it will soon become untenable. You will pretty much have to be in the guild where you're doing your raiding.
So where does that leave me now? I've stepped down as an officer in a guild I was quite fond of. It was heart wrenching, but I still have an alt there. Ya know, to keep in touch. I joined a small guild of ten awesome folks who are committed to the same schedule and raiding ideas. There are no thoughts or talk of any sort of future alliance, as it has mostly dissolved. People still stay in touch and ask for help for their guild runs, but, for the most part, we were forced to go our separate ways.
As an aside, I'm not knocking my current guild. I love these people; they've become some of my best friends not only in-game, but in RL too. We all sort of live in the same area, so we can meet up, help each other with RL problems as well as in-game ones. It's a great little guild. We have similar ideas and senses of humor. We're like any little clique you've ever known. We have our drama, we have our good times. It's rather awesome and I'm happy to be there.
My point is: why did I have to choose? Why couldn't my "main" be in two guilds, for instance? Maybe you could designate "social" guild and "raiding" guild? Maybe we could have had a supported alliance, with features to make it more palatable. Half of our current raid team is made up of folks who, like me, had to leave the old guild for the new. It just made sense. We got sick of kludging together random chat channels, separate banks, calendars, etc... it just didn't work. Raiding takes a lot of organization, and you really need to be in the same guild to capitalize on the tools that Blizz has given us.
We tried a big alliance, we tried a small alliance. In the end, the lack of support forced our hand. That seems to be what Blizzard wants, though I'm sure they wouldn't put it quite like that.
I don't want to sound too ranty though, because it still has worked out rather well for me. I'm excited about the guild leveling, and generally happy where I am now. I know that Blizzard can't do it all. I chalk it up to a "personal decision" that was difficult, but the right one for the direction our gaming has taken us. However, Spinks's post, aptly titled "What Could Have Been", made me really think about, ya know, what could have been. Maybe it would have been possible to have our cake and eat it too in some crazy parallel universe of online gaming.
As MMO's gain longevity, we will inevitably need to see innovation in the social aspect of the genre. The concept of a "guild" has been around for quite some time, and perhaps we're seeing that it's becoming outdated. As social gaming becomes more main stream, we'll have to find better ways to accommodate the "human factor". That is, we need to allow for change, because that's sort of what we humans do over time. We learn, we grow, we alter our perceptions. I, for one, would pay a lot of money for a game that finds a way to embrace our fickleness without short-changing the relationships. Seems like a pretty tall order though.
What the current guild system does not take into account are the needs of a long-term, social environment. People's goals are going to change over time. It happens every day. This doesn't mean we want to have to sever ties with one group in order to join another. Additionally, people are members of multiple groups in RL all the time. You can have two groups of friends. Maybe one group is made up of friends that attend the same school as you and the other is a group of fellow hobbyists. They could not share a member and yet your allegiance to each is equally valid. That's how life works, but not WoW.
In WoW, we have to choose one group and only one group. Hope your needs don't change. Hope everyone sticks together, because all your souls are most assuredly in one shard. There isn't room for change.
I lived this problem along with several close friends of mine and a whole host of alliance-mates. We used to be officers in a casual, friendly guild. The guild used to be quite large, but has seen it's numbers dwindle as all the good players hit a point where they need to leave in order to secure a raid spot (me included). We love our guild, many of us still hang out on the same forum boards even though we're not official "members" any more. The guild did not raid. It just wasn't in the fabric of the membership. We had a lot of different people with a lot of different schedules. If we had ten people who wanted to raid, we could still only get 5 to show up on any given night. It wasn't because the people didn't want to raid together, it was just that our schedules were all so different. So, we left to pursue the interest that most required belonging to a guild. Not friendship... raiding.
For a while, we did the raiding alliance thing. It was great. We had a group of people we raided with, regular raids, and we still had our friendly guild. It was like having our cake and eating it too. Then, I'm not sure what happened. A group that started in late TBC found itself ripping apart at the seams mid-Wrath. I could point to several key issues, but the bottom line is as Spinks mentions: the marked lack of support of the alliance paradigm from Blizzard. It's not something they encourage. They want everyone in their neat, little guild boxes, as emphasized by their plans for Cataclysm.
Now, I am not against the guild leveling stuff promised in the pipeline. I think it'll probably be pretty cool and give some good incentive to stick with a group. I'm not saying it's a gross oversight or anything, because maybe there isn't a good way to encourage alliances. Maybe it wouldn't even work. I don't know. I can only say that by putting the emphasis on guilds so heavily, they're effectively debilitating any independent alliances. The lack of support made it difficult in the first place, but with what's been foreshadowed, it will soon become untenable. You will pretty much have to be in the guild where you're doing your raiding.
So where does that leave me now? I've stepped down as an officer in a guild I was quite fond of. It was heart wrenching, but I still have an alt there. Ya know, to keep in touch. I joined a small guild of ten awesome folks who are committed to the same schedule and raiding ideas. There are no thoughts or talk of any sort of future alliance, as it has mostly dissolved. People still stay in touch and ask for help for their guild runs, but, for the most part, we were forced to go our separate ways.
As an aside, I'm not knocking my current guild. I love these people; they've become some of my best friends not only in-game, but in RL too. We all sort of live in the same area, so we can meet up, help each other with RL problems as well as in-game ones. It's a great little guild. We have similar ideas and senses of humor. We're like any little clique you've ever known. We have our drama, we have our good times. It's rather awesome and I'm happy to be there.
My point is: why did I have to choose? Why couldn't my "main" be in two guilds, for instance? Maybe you could designate "social" guild and "raiding" guild? Maybe we could have had a supported alliance, with features to make it more palatable. Half of our current raid team is made up of folks who, like me, had to leave the old guild for the new. It just made sense. We got sick of kludging together random chat channels, separate banks, calendars, etc... it just didn't work. Raiding takes a lot of organization, and you really need to be in the same guild to capitalize on the tools that Blizz has given us.
We tried a big alliance, we tried a small alliance. In the end, the lack of support forced our hand. That seems to be what Blizzard wants, though I'm sure they wouldn't put it quite like that.
I don't want to sound too ranty though, because it still has worked out rather well for me. I'm excited about the guild leveling, and generally happy where I am now. I know that Blizzard can't do it all. I chalk it up to a "personal decision" that was difficult, but the right one for the direction our gaming has taken us. However, Spinks's post, aptly titled "What Could Have Been", made me really think about, ya know, what could have been. Maybe it would have been possible to have our cake and eat it too in some crazy parallel universe of online gaming.
As MMO's gain longevity, we will inevitably need to see innovation in the social aspect of the genre. The concept of a "guild" has been around for quite some time, and perhaps we're seeing that it's becoming outdated. As social gaming becomes more main stream, we'll have to find better ways to accommodate the "human factor". That is, we need to allow for change, because that's sort of what we humans do over time. We learn, we grow, we alter our perceptions. I, for one, would pay a lot of money for a game that finds a way to embrace our fickleness without short-changing the relationships. Seems like a pretty tall order though.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Is Viewable Gear Ruining Our Attitudes?
Labels: Gear, General Gaming, MMOs, Rant 7 comments
I recently had a rather long and involved conversation with my co-raiders regarding gear. In fact, we often discuss gear. It goes well with strat and a side of comparing calendars. I would even go so far as to say gear discussions are a WoW staple food group. I mean, how much time and effort has gone into the armory for Lightssake, and it's whole purpose is pretty much to facilitate gear conversations.
Through the course of the the group musings, it began to dawn on me just how much time, energy, and emotion we waste on gearing. Gear lists are big biz in blogging. Simple suggestions about gear can easily degenerate into rage-quit inducing fights. There's a whole closet full of addons designed to help you analyze gear. "Best in Slot" might as well elevate a simple collection of pixels to Arthurian glory.
Has anyone ever stopped to ask themselves if this is a good thing? Is this what we want to have such a large impact on our gaming experience?
Think about it. We use gear as an almost exclusive scale of judgment. The first thing most people do upon meeting a new player is to either visit the armory or /inspect them. I suppose it's sort of like in real life, when you are forming your first impression of someone, the clothes have a big impact on that. It's the same in WoW with gear. Initial impressions are often dictated by what we're wearing, or at least steered in a certain direction. We're in the habit of judging a book by it's cover.
I understand there are a lot of positives that can come out of being so gear-centric. I count myself among many who have consulted the gear of another character before in order to better my own character. I've been guilty of not grouping with someone because I could tell at first glance that they would be useless where I'm going (we don't need roads, Marty). I've been privy and party to many a conversation where a guild member's or a raider's gear was put to the question without their express written consent.
Is this good social behavior? Are we fostering a positive gaming environment? Being helpful is all well and good, but with Blizz really opening their programming playbook in an effort to give maximum gaming flexibility, I feel I have to make a simple suggestion: Why not make gear "hideable"?
Think about all the problems that we've discussed ad nauseum in blogs and in game that might be solved by the concept that you can't see everyone's gear. How many times have you been the victim of unsolicited advice? How many potential friendships have been missed out because people were relying on an addon to tell them who to invite instead of a conversation? How many asshats might have been thwarted by not being able to size you up at a glance and spit you back out?
Again, I reiterate my question: Why not hideable gear?
I'm not saying we should hide all gear all the time. I'm just asking for a choice where, if I want to, I would be able to be selective about who views my gear. Now, it's like having a facebook page without any privacy settings. People can size me up and pass judgment on me without even taking a millisecond to say so much as "hi". Is this the direction we want for our online games?
My proposal is simple: implement a system where privacy is valued and supported. Make it a true, two-way friend list system. Right now you can add anyone, even if you don't know the person. Friendship is a two way street. How hard could it be to make the system shoot a confirmation to the other party, so that person can say that they are, indeed, friends. Once you fix the friend list, then you can make gear only viewable to those on your friend list, thus controlling your own privacy. You don't have to be naked in front of everyone all the time. You can hold something back.
If someone wants to set up a PuG, they'll have to (*gasp*) actually converse with people and trust that they're not being lied to. They'd have to take those first baby steps in developing a relationship. Sure there would be people that would take advantage, but it would certainly encourage people to form a solid list of friends and guildies. As things stand now, I feel like we're trending away from social networking in MMOs to a random queue system where you don't even need to know anyone. There's nothing social about the trend, but I guess it's "massive". It's all about being simple, cold, distant, and big. Is that really what we want? Queue up for an event, it'll check your gear score and flop you all together and off you go. Great, right? Working as intended: no ties, no problems.
Has this really made the game better? People bitch day in and day out about being the victim of a spontaneous gear check. About being left out because their clothes weren't nice enough. Gone are the days when we judge by performance, but shouldn't that be the only measuring stick? Shouldn't we be choosing our friends and raid members based on how it actually feels to group with them and not some arbitrary rating system?
But that would require time and interaction! We want instant gratification! So the masses cry.
And that's what we'll get if we're not careful: a virtual world where everything is at our fingertips... except for meaningful relationships formed with once complete strangers.
Okay, okay. I'm catastrophizing. There will always be people who look deeper than gear. It's just that I hear a lot of my good friends judging other good friends based solely on gear. Never once is performance brought up. I mean, if someone is getting their job done in a group, who cares what they're wearing! Why do we all think we have some sort of obligation to inform someone how they're "doing it wrong". Like we all have to become professors of theorycraft when we see someone gemmed inappropriately. Doing this in real life nets you an achievement that comes with a title: "the Asshole". It's their toon and their game. Who the hell are we to tell them how to play it as long as it's not negatively affecting our game? Where did common courtesy go?
I'm not talking about bleeding edge raiding here. I get it, those guys need to min/max. It's what their groups exist for, but you are the one signing up. It's a choice to throw yourself in that mix. What about the rest of us? The casuals. The ones who don't always want to spend the time and effort to collect best in slot equipment, but can still preform just fine in end game raids. Yeah, we're not going for any world firsts or speed records. We're just playing the game. Our way.
Why should any of us have to put up with the judging that runs rampant in our game? Why do we have to throw it all out there?
Now I understand that even if we made gear selectively viewable to a custom audience, others would still be able to tell by the actual skin of the thing. I mean who can't pick out tier x shoulders at a glance? Still, it wouldn't tell the whole story. You wouldn't be able to see how they're enchanted and gemmed, and that's really none of your business unless the person asks for your advice and help. It's like in WoW we're allowed to come up and give other toons everything short of a colonic to find out what they're made of without even having to ask "was it good for you?" Shouldn't there be some sort of "personal bubble"? You know, that space that we all have and need in public settings and if someone comes inside of it they might get punched in the face on a Monday.
People might actually have to converse again. They might actually worry about things like their reputation and who their friends are, and what sort of burned bridges they're leaving behind. It might be more like actual social interaction as opposed to some wonky anonymous, faceless, speed dating service.
Then again, maybe I'm alone in this. Maybe it's what the masses want. Maybe we want speed sexting relationships. It certainly works for some. I guess I just have to openly wonder if this is the correct direction for massive online games. Do we want to the quick and easy, the "known at first glace"? Or do we want to have an element of the unknown? I think sometimes you have to ask yourself: what is the cost of convenience? What is the cost of simplicity?
Is selective viewing of gear a panacea? No. Might it help correct some of the negative directions we've seen the game taking with increased emphasis on gear and random queues? You decide. If nothing else, it's something to think about next time you're offering unsolicited advice. Gear is but one piece of the bigger performance picture. We'd do well to remember that.
Through the course of the the group musings, it began to dawn on me just how much time, energy, and emotion we waste on gearing. Gear lists are big biz in blogging. Simple suggestions about gear can easily degenerate into rage-quit inducing fights. There's a whole closet full of addons designed to help you analyze gear. "Best in Slot" might as well elevate a simple collection of pixels to Arthurian glory.
Has anyone ever stopped to ask themselves if this is a good thing? Is this what we want to have such a large impact on our gaming experience?
Think about it. We use gear as an almost exclusive scale of judgment. The first thing most people do upon meeting a new player is to either visit the armory or /inspect them. I suppose it's sort of like in real life, when you are forming your first impression of someone, the clothes have a big impact on that. It's the same in WoW with gear. Initial impressions are often dictated by what we're wearing, or at least steered in a certain direction. We're in the habit of judging a book by it's cover.
I understand there are a lot of positives that can come out of being so gear-centric. I count myself among many who have consulted the gear of another character before in order to better my own character. I've been guilty of not grouping with someone because I could tell at first glance that they would be useless where I'm going (we don't need roads, Marty). I've been privy and party to many a conversation where a guild member's or a raider's gear was put to the question without their express written consent.
Is this good social behavior? Are we fostering a positive gaming environment? Being helpful is all well and good, but with Blizz really opening their programming playbook in an effort to give maximum gaming flexibility, I feel I have to make a simple suggestion: Why not make gear "hideable"?
Think about all the problems that we've discussed ad nauseum in blogs and in game that might be solved by the concept that you can't see everyone's gear. How many times have you been the victim of unsolicited advice? How many potential friendships have been missed out because people were relying on an addon to tell them who to invite instead of a conversation? How many asshats might have been thwarted by not being able to size you up at a glance and spit you back out?
Again, I reiterate my question: Why not hideable gear?
I'm not saying we should hide all gear all the time. I'm just asking for a choice where, if I want to, I would be able to be selective about who views my gear. Now, it's like having a facebook page without any privacy settings. People can size me up and pass judgment on me without even taking a millisecond to say so much as "hi". Is this the direction we want for our online games?
My proposal is simple: implement a system where privacy is valued and supported. Make it a true, two-way friend list system. Right now you can add anyone, even if you don't know the person. Friendship is a two way street. How hard could it be to make the system shoot a confirmation to the other party, so that person can say that they are, indeed, friends. Once you fix the friend list, then you can make gear only viewable to those on your friend list, thus controlling your own privacy. You don't have to be naked in front of everyone all the time. You can hold something back.
If someone wants to set up a PuG, they'll have to (*gasp*) actually converse with people and trust that they're not being lied to. They'd have to take those first baby steps in developing a relationship. Sure there would be people that would take advantage, but it would certainly encourage people to form a solid list of friends and guildies. As things stand now, I feel like we're trending away from social networking in MMOs to a random queue system where you don't even need to know anyone. There's nothing social about the trend, but I guess it's "massive". It's all about being simple, cold, distant, and big. Is that really what we want? Queue up for an event, it'll check your gear score and flop you all together and off you go. Great, right? Working as intended: no ties, no problems.
Has this really made the game better? People bitch day in and day out about being the victim of a spontaneous gear check. About being left out because their clothes weren't nice enough. Gone are the days when we judge by performance, but shouldn't that be the only measuring stick? Shouldn't we be choosing our friends and raid members based on how it actually feels to group with them and not some arbitrary rating system?
But that would require time and interaction! We want instant gratification! So the masses cry.
And that's what we'll get if we're not careful: a virtual world where everything is at our fingertips... except for meaningful relationships formed with once complete strangers.
Okay, okay. I'm catastrophizing. There will always be people who look deeper than gear. It's just that I hear a lot of my good friends judging other good friends based solely on gear. Never once is performance brought up. I mean, if someone is getting their job done in a group, who cares what they're wearing! Why do we all think we have some sort of obligation to inform someone how they're "doing it wrong". Like we all have to become professors of theorycraft when we see someone gemmed inappropriately. Doing this in real life nets you an achievement that comes with a title: "the Asshole". It's their toon and their game. Who the hell are we to tell them how to play it as long as it's not negatively affecting our game? Where did common courtesy go?
I'm not talking about bleeding edge raiding here. I get it, those guys need to min/max. It's what their groups exist for, but you are the one signing up. It's a choice to throw yourself in that mix. What about the rest of us? The casuals. The ones who don't always want to spend the time and effort to collect best in slot equipment, but can still preform just fine in end game raids. Yeah, we're not going for any world firsts or speed records. We're just playing the game. Our way.
Why should any of us have to put up with the judging that runs rampant in our game? Why do we have to throw it all out there?
Now I understand that even if we made gear selectively viewable to a custom audience, others would still be able to tell by the actual skin of the thing. I mean who can't pick out tier x shoulders at a glance? Still, it wouldn't tell the whole story. You wouldn't be able to see how they're enchanted and gemmed, and that's really none of your business unless the person asks for your advice and help. It's like in WoW we're allowed to come up and give other toons everything short of a colonic to find out what they're made of without even having to ask "was it good for you?" Shouldn't there be some sort of "personal bubble"? You know, that space that we all have and need in public settings and if someone comes inside of it they might get punched in the face on a Monday.
People might actually have to converse again. They might actually worry about things like their reputation and who their friends are, and what sort of burned bridges they're leaving behind. It might be more like actual social interaction as opposed to some wonky anonymous, faceless, speed dating service.
Then again, maybe I'm alone in this. Maybe it's what the masses want. Maybe we want speed sexting relationships. It certainly works for some. I guess I just have to openly wonder if this is the correct direction for massive online games. Do we want to the quick and easy, the "known at first glace"? Or do we want to have an element of the unknown? I think sometimes you have to ask yourself: what is the cost of convenience? What is the cost of simplicity?
Is selective viewing of gear a panacea? No. Might it help correct some of the negative directions we've seen the game taking with increased emphasis on gear and random queues? You decide. If nothing else, it's something to think about next time you're offering unsolicited advice. Gear is but one piece of the bigger performance picture. We'd do well to remember that.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Pumpkins and Word Vomit.. the usual
Labels: MMOs, Rant, Shout Out 3 comments
Hey Gang!
So I've been going back and listening to some of the old Twistednether blogcasts. I wanted to listen to some of the older interviews and see what changes and topics were hot over a year ago. It's truly a flash back for people who've been playing the game for some time. Not sure if you are like me, but I like to try and answer some of the questions that are asked during the podcast.
It really got me thinking about a few things.
One question that the Twisted nether folks always ask is, "What is your favorite part of the game?" Most people usually answer with one or two separate aspects (pvp, twinking, AH, leveling, Raiding, etc.) I understand that not everyone likes everything about the World of Warcraft but my "favorite" parts of the game sure do fluctuate. One week, I only want to do Raiding with my friends. Everything else seems boring to me. Another week, I'll feel the urge to make some gold so I hit up the AH. Each week, hell, each day could bring something new & exciting for me to enjoy.
I've enjoyed the leveling grind which is why I roll alts. I've experimented with twinking a shaman and it is really fun, even though I completely suck at it. I've had the urge to just do something on my own away from others so I do something in outlands that I didn't get a chance to see before.
I never have a chance to be bored in this game.
Even when I'm unable to play WoW, I still have a chance to learn about it and join in with the community of people who share my passion for the game (even from work shhhhh). What other game has such a thing?
So here's the thing, today, we have this game that has endless side tasks and immersive lore to keep any ADD human being busy for years (which is an incredible Feat of Strength on its own I might add). When did it start to be like this?
I still know many people who played from Alpha testing but I still can't fathom how this game evolved. I've been playing since May of '08 and I feel that the game is almost nothing like it used to be. What kept those Alpha & Beta players here for so long? Has Blizzard just been so perfect with adding new content and sprouting the community in such a way that it's impossible not to love it?
I doubt it really. Blizzard is fallible like every other game maker but sometimes things just seem to work out for them. I believe that it's both Talent & Luck that allowed this game to flourish into what it is today.
Now, let’s talking about "Wow Killers." Every time a decently advertised MMO hits the market, everyone speaks of how it's going to bring WoW to its knees.
Every time this new and "improved" MMO starts off, people leave WoW to try out the new features and see if it fulfills all of their dreams that Blizzard "blatantly" ignored for so long. They roll a new toon and have high hopes. A few months pass by and the majority of people start to drop off complaining that it isn't everything they wished for and quit the game. Most of the time, come back to WoW or they even find that neither of the games intrigue them anymore quitting all together.
Why do these new games fail in comparison to WoW? Is WoW just that much better? Is there nothing that could take over the monster that is Blizzard?
Obviously, this is highly discussed topic that many have pondered for centuries. Even Scholars have debated over who would be the next WoW killer.
My understanding is that it won’t be a new MMO that will kill WoW, it will be Blizzard and WoW itself that does it. Commit suicide I guess. I hope it's Samurai Style because that's pretty cool.
Why? Because of people like me of course. People who change their mind about thirty million times on what they actually enjoy doing in the game. If you started off playing a game for the pvp aspect of it, and the pvp was really good in your game, you would be happy to stay. What if you decide that you want to try something new? Well, you're sorta screwed if that's all that's offered. WoW has been able to implement so many different paths for players like me to keep us interested even when new things aren't really coming out fast enough. Did WoW start off like this? No. It did have crafting, it did have leveling, pvp, end-game raiding, etc. but they didn't have the stuff that we know now. Blizzard was given time to bloom without much interruption.
Here's an analogy that I feel best describes what we're seeing now:
Imagine an empty garden. Let’s say this garden is the gaming market for MMOs. Blizzard came in, tilled the land, fertilized it, and planted a pumpkin seed. The seed was largely undisturbed with the occasional seed planted and forgotten. This seed grew into a very large pumpkin over the past 5 years. It has dominated the patch and over shadowed anything that was new & needed sun. People would observe the patch and see the cute little saplings next to the huge mature pumpkin and unfairly compare them.
What these games suffer from is that they are new. They have few options for people like me who enjoy dipping our feet into fresh waters. When Blizzard launched its new MMO, there was nothing on the market that could even remotely compete with it. If you liked MMOs, you had one option. Today, you have a multitude of options, Warhammer Online, Eve, Aion, the super villain one can't remember the name..., and some random others that you can enjoy.
Where this all started from was me being really unhappy with Aion as of late. I'm just not feeling the urge to log in. There is no draw for me there but why? It's a good game and really reminds me of my very first MMO, Final Fantasy XI. I love anime and I love Asian art and culture. Aion is such a beautiful and intriguing game. I even believe that the PvP aspect is hands down better than it is in WoW. The Abyss is like a large populated Wintergrasp where there are quests to do and NPCs to kill but a random group of Elyos could gank your ass so quick it would make your head spin. They've balanced classes around pvp not pve like WoW. Each class has abilities to dominate others or escape if it gets heated. Players skill is rewarded rather than leet purps (gear does help a bunch though).
Then it hit me like a sack of potatoes, THE COMMUNITY! *facepalm* That's what WoW has that no new game could EVER have. We have blogs who blog about information and blogs who blog about blogs. WoW resources are what make this game so awesome! We have a massive group of people in all walks of life that share our passions for this game like nothing before. Yeah Blizzard could nerf your class to all hell but you'll keep coming back because of the people!
Wow... this post was a whole lotta word vomit.
Note: So, after I posted this, Fulguralis emailed me and pointed out that BBB has discussed this EXACT SAME TOPIC *facepalm* Apparently great minds think a like :) His is a really great read and I suggest if this topic is of any interest to you, head over there and check it out.
<3 Fuu
It really got me thinking about a few things.
One question that the Twisted nether folks always ask is, "What is your favorite part of the game?" Most people usually answer with one or two separate aspects (pvp, twinking, AH, leveling, Raiding, etc.) I understand that not everyone likes everything about the World of Warcraft but my "favorite" parts of the game sure do fluctuate. One week, I only want to do Raiding with my friends. Everything else seems boring to me. Another week, I'll feel the urge to make some gold so I hit up the AH. Each week, hell, each day could bring something new & exciting for me to enjoy.
I've enjoyed the leveling grind which is why I roll alts. I've experimented with twinking a shaman and it is really fun, even though I completely suck at it. I've had the urge to just do something on my own away from others so I do something in outlands that I didn't get a chance to see before.
I never have a chance to be bored in this game.
Even when I'm unable to play WoW, I still have a chance to learn about it and join in with the community of people who share my passion for the game (even from work shhhhh). What other game has such a thing?
So here's the thing, today, we have this game that has endless side tasks and immersive lore to keep any ADD human being busy for years (which is an incredible Feat of Strength on its own I might add). When did it start to be like this?
I still know many people who played from Alpha testing but I still can't fathom how this game evolved. I've been playing since May of '08 and I feel that the game is almost nothing like it used to be. What kept those Alpha & Beta players here for so long? Has Blizzard just been so perfect with adding new content and sprouting the community in such a way that it's impossible not to love it?
I doubt it really. Blizzard is fallible like every other game maker but sometimes things just seem to work out for them. I believe that it's both Talent & Luck that allowed this game to flourish into what it is today.
Now, let’s talking about "Wow Killers." Every time a decently advertised MMO hits the market, everyone speaks of how it's going to bring WoW to its knees.
Every time this new and "improved" MMO starts off, people leave WoW to try out the new features and see if it fulfills all of their dreams that Blizzard "blatantly" ignored for so long. They roll a new toon and have high hopes. A few months pass by and the majority of people start to drop off complaining that it isn't everything they wished for and quit the game. Most of the time, come back to WoW or they even find that neither of the games intrigue them anymore quitting all together.
Why do these new games fail in comparison to WoW? Is WoW just that much better? Is there nothing that could take over the monster that is Blizzard?
Obviously, this is highly discussed topic that many have pondered for centuries. Even Scholars have debated over who would be the next WoW killer.
My understanding is that it won’t be a new MMO that will kill WoW, it will be Blizzard and WoW itself that does it. Commit suicide I guess. I hope it's Samurai Style because that's pretty cool.
Why? Because of people like me of course. People who change their mind about thirty million times on what they actually enjoy doing in the game. If you started off playing a game for the pvp aspect of it, and the pvp was really good in your game, you would be happy to stay. What if you decide that you want to try something new? Well, you're sorta screwed if that's all that's offered. WoW has been able to implement so many different paths for players like me to keep us interested even when new things aren't really coming out fast enough. Did WoW start off like this? No. It did have crafting, it did have leveling, pvp, end-game raiding, etc. but they didn't have the stuff that we know now. Blizzard was given time to bloom without much interruption.
Here's an analogy that I feel best describes what we're seeing now:
Imagine an empty garden. Let’s say this garden is the gaming market for MMOs. Blizzard came in, tilled the land, fertilized it, and planted a pumpkin seed. The seed was largely undisturbed with the occasional seed planted and forgotten. This seed grew into a very large pumpkin over the past 5 years. It has dominated the patch and over shadowed anything that was new & needed sun. People would observe the patch and see the cute little saplings next to the huge mature pumpkin and unfairly compare them.
What these games suffer from is that they are new. They have few options for people like me who enjoy dipping our feet into fresh waters. When Blizzard launched its new MMO, there was nothing on the market that could even remotely compete with it. If you liked MMOs, you had one option. Today, you have a multitude of options, Warhammer Online, Eve, Aion, the super villain one can't remember the name..., and some random others that you can enjoy.
Where this all started from was me being really unhappy with Aion as of late. I'm just not feeling the urge to log in. There is no draw for me there but why? It's a good game and really reminds me of my very first MMO, Final Fantasy XI. I love anime and I love Asian art and culture. Aion is such a beautiful and intriguing game. I even believe that the PvP aspect is hands down better than it is in WoW. The Abyss is like a large populated Wintergrasp where there are quests to do and NPCs to kill but a random group of Elyos could gank your ass so quick it would make your head spin. They've balanced classes around pvp not pve like WoW. Each class has abilities to dominate others or escape if it gets heated. Players skill is rewarded rather than leet purps (gear does help a bunch though).
Then it hit me like a sack of potatoes, THE COMMUNITY! *facepalm* That's what WoW has that no new game could EVER have. We have blogs who blog about information and blogs who blog about blogs. WoW resources are what make this game so awesome! We have a massive group of people in all walks of life that share our passions for this game like nothing before. Yeah Blizzard could nerf your class to all hell but you'll keep coming back because of the people!
Wow... this post was a whole lotta word vomit.
Note: So, after I posted this, Fulguralis emailed me and pointed out that BBB has discussed this EXACT SAME TOPIC *facepalm* Apparently great minds think a like :) His is a really great read and I suggest if this topic is of any interest to you, head over there and check it out.
<3 Fuu
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Do You Have A Dynamic Duo?
Labels: General Gaming, MMOs 6 comments
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Bloggers love email. Still, many of us don't seem to get a whole lot. Perhaps it's because our emails are conveniently hidden in the scary and un-entertaining "about" page (up over there on the right side, if you're curious). In any case, the few emails I do get usually contain very good questions. Often, they inspire a blog post of their own. Such is the case today.
It was several weeks ago that I got an email from Deidra. Here's how it reads:
I have been in a few relationships where I have played WoW with my partner in crime at the time and I have had medium success playing with them and their different classes. However, my hubby now and I have a dynamic that is out of this world! I am an affliction 'lock and he is a fury warrior, do you suppose that the combo works because we work so well together IRL or just that the warrior/warlock combo just works? What has been your experience partying up as a warlock/pally team?
I tried to shoot her a response right away, but I wanted to expand on what I sent today as well as open the topic for other opinions/experiences in the comments. Here's what I wrote back:
Coupled gaming is really one of my favorite topics. We're lucky to know a few couples in-game and have compared notes, finding similar experiences. The common baselines tend to be complimentary roles and good gaming communication. The roles may not be tank/dps; it could be tank/heals or dps/heals. The point is that each member of the couple takes on a responsibility and you work as a team. The game is built around the concept of teamwork, so that this leads to success shouldn't come as a surprise.
Also, communication may not mean that you guys talk well IRL, but it usually means that even without vent, you're probably hollering across the room at each other or communicating in some other way (Maybe not always pleasantly either. Learning how to fight is a big step for any relationship). A lot of times this is as simple as knowing the other person. You don't even have to be a couple to be a good duo, as plenty of close friends can probably attest to. It all comes back to complimenting each other and communicating, but isn't that the foundation of any good relationship?
I'm always excited when one of my gaming friends finds him/herself dating another gamer. I mean you always want to try to share some interests with your significant other, but gaming can be one of the sticking points in a relationship when it's not shared. It goes back to what I was saying the other day about the similarities with Sports and Gaming. Sports is mostly understood, though we still hear all the time about wives complaining about a husband's laziness when the big game is on or what have you. Gaming isn't much different, except it's less understood. Whenever you're spending significant time apart, with something else, the natural question is going to be "why". When it's something that's not understood, it'll probably lead to friction. Thus, when you find someone that shares your passion, or at least understands it, things usually turn out better. (You don't have to force your spouse into playing, but you will need to help him/her understand what you're doing and why you enjoy it if you want to avoid friction, IMO.)
And when date night can also consist of raiding ICC, listening to TNB, and popping open a case of Coronas (while sporting your #iblamesyrana t-shirts, of course)... well, then you know you have a "keeper".
It was several weeks ago that I got an email from Deidra. Here's how it reads:
I have been in a few relationships where I have played WoW with my partner in crime at the time and I have had medium success playing with them and their different classes. However, my hubby now and I have a dynamic that is out of this world! I am an affliction 'lock and he is a fury warrior, do you suppose that the combo works because we work so well together IRL or just that the warrior/warlock combo just works? What has been your experience partying up as a warlock/pally team?
I tried to shoot her a response right away, but I wanted to expand on what I sent today as well as open the topic for other opinions/experiences in the comments. Here's what I wrote back:
I think Warlock with any sort of tanking class is going to be stellar. Fuu and I are now playing Aion (another MMO) together as well. We're both pure DPS classes there and it just doesn't seem to have the same synergy. Our classes don't map directly to roles. Even if you aren't specced into it, a tanking class with a 'lock will lend itself well to duo'ing roles.
Warlocks have a unique abilty to basically heal themselves through damage while also having a pet and doing great damage. Thus, I can pretty much take care of myself, which frees up my partner in crime to do her own thing. As a pally tank this means she could just basically heal herself when needed and keep threat. I'd bet it's similar with a warrior in that he can focus more heavily on the defensive side of things and let you pew pew. In fact, probably any plate wearer would work for questing. In Aion she's a leather wearer and I'm cloth, so that probably makes things a bit more difficult as neither of us can take much of a beating.
Apart from class roles, communication is the key to any good relationship and gaming together is a great exercise in communicating. While the classes themselves may contain certain innate synergies, it is the communication that will take you to that next level. Even with classes with non-synergistic relationships in Aion, Fuu and I can talk through an encounter and end up doing some really cool and crazy things to snatch a victory.
I would guess if you feel that you're having a lot of success with your current duo, it's both because of having complimentary roles and also being able to communicate well. I've known plenty of couples that aren't necessarily the greatest communicators and yet still have a good relationship, however I think the strongest couples are the ones that can talk it out, whether that be facing down an elite monster or the laundry boss
Thanks for the email and don't be surprised if this pops up on the blog in the next few days. I think it's a great topic that a lot of couples can relate to. Also, don't feel disheartened if gaming together leads to some fights too. I know Fuu and I spend a lot of time arguing over strategies and approaches. Not all discussions are going to be sunshine and rainbows, especially not with at warlock! The good part is that you can speak the same "language".
Pleasant 'Locking,
-Ful
Also, communication may not mean that you guys talk well IRL, but it usually means that even without vent, you're probably hollering across the room at each other or communicating in some other way (Maybe not always pleasantly either. Learning how to fight is a big step for any relationship). A lot of times this is as simple as knowing the other person. You don't even have to be a couple to be a good duo, as plenty of close friends can probably attest to. It all comes back to complimenting each other and communicating, but isn't that the foundation of any good relationship?
I'm always excited when one of my gaming friends finds him/herself dating another gamer. I mean you always want to try to share some interests with your significant other, but gaming can be one of the sticking points in a relationship when it's not shared. It goes back to what I was saying the other day about the similarities with Sports and Gaming. Sports is mostly understood, though we still hear all the time about wives complaining about a husband's laziness when the big game is on or what have you. Gaming isn't much different, except it's less understood. Whenever you're spending significant time apart, with something else, the natural question is going to be "why". When it's something that's not understood, it'll probably lead to friction. Thus, when you find someone that shares your passion, or at least understands it, things usually turn out better. (You don't have to force your spouse into playing, but you will need to help him/her understand what you're doing and why you enjoy it if you want to avoid friction, IMO.)
And when date night can also consist of raiding ICC, listening to TNB, and popping open a case of Coronas (while sporting your #iblamesyrana t-shirts, of course)... well, then you know you have a "keeper".
Monday, February 8, 2010
Hope Is Hope, No Matter Where It Comes From
Labels: Hope, MMOs 5 comments
I'm going to step outside the realm of MMO's for a day here. I promise I'll try to tie it all in, but it's going to be a loose tie at best.
I'm sure some of you watched the Super Bowl last night, and, if you did, I'm sure that the significance was similarly beat into your hear. I'm going to go on record with a few things here. First, I'm a Colts fan. I live just north of Indy, so it makes sense. I actually grew up a Bears fan, and am still very much a fan of all things Chicago, but it's hard not to like the Colts. They have a very classy program, filled with classy players who, for the most part, keep their noses clean and play football. That's more than a lot of NFL franchises can say nowadays.
I'm also a Boilermaker. I went to Purdue. I lived and died with Drew Brees in the Rose Bowl. He's another classy individual that does it "right". Class shows.
Furthermore, I don't live under a rock. I know that something happened down in New Orleans that had something to do with a real bitch named Katrina. I might be fuzzy on the details, but apparently she really tore the place up. (I'm not trying to make light of a tragedy, which it certainly is, but my point here is that while I wasn't directly affected by the storm, you don't have to go very far to have the effects broadcast into your home in full, stunning HD. If you're human, on some level you're going to be effected, and I deal with tragedy via humor. It's called a coping mechanism). Having been to Bourbon Street, I'm not going to call New Orleans "classy" (I kid), but it is a city with a lot of soul. It has history, tradition, and pride, like many cities. Moreover, it's filled with people. Living, breathing, hoping, dreaming people. I may not speak a lick of Creole, but I can relate to people. Especially people who have faced adversity.
So last night I watched a football game where one of my favorite teams went up against one of my favorite players, and then a couple tons of emotion were heaped on top by disaster cut scenes and the like, as the media loves to do. I have to say, the only time I've felt more torn during a football game was when the Colts went up against the Bears a few years back, and every bar from Indy to Chi-town exploded with fights. Who do you cheer for? As a life-long Cubs fan, you have to feel a bit for the underdog-Saints. As a human, how do you not enjoy the story of New Orleans? As a Colts fan, you can appreciate the fact that Peyton Manning has strong ties to the city himself. If the Colts weren't the other team in the Bowl, you'd better believe the lot of us would probably be crying "who dat" along with the rest of y'all. Especially if it had been the Patriots. Don't even get me started there (sorry New England).
The long and the short of it here is that after the final second ticked off that clock and the party started down in the French Quarter, I thought to myself "well, losing this one wasn't so bad." Losing still sucks, don't get me wrong. No one likes to lose. But if you lose to another classy group of folks with a great story to boot, it makes it a lot easier to swallow. And the Saints are a team it's easy to be happy for. Like the Colts, they do it right. Class shows. Even for the ultra-competitive person, like me, sometimes losing isn't all that bad.
So what's the tie-in here, however loose it may be? Well, as gamers and patrons of MMORPGs, we love a good story, and this was a great story. And it was sports. There's one thing I find myself saying to a lot of friends who don't understand gaming: "It's not all that different from sports".
I'm a sports nerd, and I'm a video game nerd. Those cultures generally don't mix. I coach football and I lead raids. On the surface, those would seem so different, but they're really not. Raiding is a team sport just as much as football is. Hardcore gamers spend hours upon hours researching stats and strategies, so do hardcore sports folks. Sports are socially acceptable to waste time on, yet games are still struggling to gain that main stream acceptance. Tell someone you spent a few hours in a fantasy draft last night and they'll probably ask you who you picked without blinking. Tell them you spent a couple hours raiding last night and they'll wonder if they shouldn't be thinking about an intervention. Yet the cultures really aren't that different.
As such, I find that a lot of the same feelings translate easily into both realms. The feeling of victory when downing a difficult boss is the same high as taking the field on Friday night and outplaying a tough opponent. The feeling of disappointment and loss when someone in your guild leaves isn't all that dissimilar from watching you favorite player get traded away, or a kid on the team you coach deciding the team isn't for him. Sometimes we have more control, sometimes we have less, but the feelings are the same. They're human.
As I was returning home from the Super Bowl party I attended last night, thinking "losing this one wasn't so bad", it actually brought to mind a bunch of other times I'd lost in my life. I mean, isn't that how it always works? We remember the tough loses more clearly than the wins? Failures more poignant than successes? I was surprised, then, to dwell not only on my numerous personal sports memories, but also memories of gaming. They were all intertwined in me, having the same base feelings.
There's a loose tie there, but it's a tie nonetheless. Feelings are feelings, and taking hope from a football team winning the Super Bowl is no sillier than getting the same hope from running in a huge, pixelated group to a rooftop in Booty Bay. Raiding for the Cure might not be the WoW equivalent of the Super Bowl, but the feelings of hope we get from our time spent together in game are real just the same. Football is "just a game" too. Good stories are good stories.
Next time someone criticizes your gaming habits, wondering why you are willing to set time aside for something as silly as gaming, ask them if they watched the Super Bowl. Gamers and Jocks aren't all that different after all. We're all human, and at the very base of both MMOs and Sports is the human factor. Sports are games too, just played with a different controller.
Congratulations to the City of New Orleans and Saints fans everywhere on a well-earned victory. Speaking as a Colts fan and an avid gamer: GG.
I'm sure some of you watched the Super Bowl last night, and, if you did, I'm sure that the significance was similarly beat into your hear. I'm going to go on record with a few things here. First, I'm a Colts fan. I live just north of Indy, so it makes sense. I actually grew up a Bears fan, and am still very much a fan of all things Chicago, but it's hard not to like the Colts. They have a very classy program, filled with classy players who, for the most part, keep their noses clean and play football. That's more than a lot of NFL franchises can say nowadays.
I'm also a Boilermaker. I went to Purdue. I lived and died with Drew Brees in the Rose Bowl. He's another classy individual that does it "right". Class shows.
Furthermore, I don't live under a rock. I know that something happened down in New Orleans that had something to do with a real bitch named Katrina. I might be fuzzy on the details, but apparently she really tore the place up. (I'm not trying to make light of a tragedy, which it certainly is, but my point here is that while I wasn't directly affected by the storm, you don't have to go very far to have the effects broadcast into your home in full, stunning HD. If you're human, on some level you're going to be effected, and I deal with tragedy via humor. It's called a coping mechanism). Having been to Bourbon Street, I'm not going to call New Orleans "classy" (I kid), but it is a city with a lot of soul. It has history, tradition, and pride, like many cities. Moreover, it's filled with people. Living, breathing, hoping, dreaming people. I may not speak a lick of Creole, but I can relate to people. Especially people who have faced adversity.
So last night I watched a football game where one of my favorite teams went up against one of my favorite players, and then a couple tons of emotion were heaped on top by disaster cut scenes and the like, as the media loves to do. I have to say, the only time I've felt more torn during a football game was when the Colts went up against the Bears a few years back, and every bar from Indy to Chi-town exploded with fights. Who do you cheer for? As a life-long Cubs fan, you have to feel a bit for the underdog-Saints. As a human, how do you not enjoy the story of New Orleans? As a Colts fan, you can appreciate the fact that Peyton Manning has strong ties to the city himself. If the Colts weren't the other team in the Bowl, you'd better believe the lot of us would probably be crying "who dat" along with the rest of y'all. Especially if it had been the Patriots. Don't even get me started there (sorry New England).
The long and the short of it here is that after the final second ticked off that clock and the party started down in the French Quarter, I thought to myself "well, losing this one wasn't so bad." Losing still sucks, don't get me wrong. No one likes to lose. But if you lose to another classy group of folks with a great story to boot, it makes it a lot easier to swallow. And the Saints are a team it's easy to be happy for. Like the Colts, they do it right. Class shows. Even for the ultra-competitive person, like me, sometimes losing isn't all that bad.
So what's the tie-in here, however loose it may be? Well, as gamers and patrons of MMORPGs, we love a good story, and this was a great story. And it was sports. There's one thing I find myself saying to a lot of friends who don't understand gaming: "It's not all that different from sports".
I'm a sports nerd, and I'm a video game nerd. Those cultures generally don't mix. I coach football and I lead raids. On the surface, those would seem so different, but they're really not. Raiding is a team sport just as much as football is. Hardcore gamers spend hours upon hours researching stats and strategies, so do hardcore sports folks. Sports are socially acceptable to waste time on, yet games are still struggling to gain that main stream acceptance. Tell someone you spent a few hours in a fantasy draft last night and they'll probably ask you who you picked without blinking. Tell them you spent a couple hours raiding last night and they'll wonder if they shouldn't be thinking about an intervention. Yet the cultures really aren't that different.
As such, I find that a lot of the same feelings translate easily into both realms. The feeling of victory when downing a difficult boss is the same high as taking the field on Friday night and outplaying a tough opponent. The feeling of disappointment and loss when someone in your guild leaves isn't all that dissimilar from watching you favorite player get traded away, or a kid on the team you coach deciding the team isn't for him. Sometimes we have more control, sometimes we have less, but the feelings are the same. They're human.
As I was returning home from the Super Bowl party I attended last night, thinking "losing this one wasn't so bad", it actually brought to mind a bunch of other times I'd lost in my life. I mean, isn't that how it always works? We remember the tough loses more clearly than the wins? Failures more poignant than successes? I was surprised, then, to dwell not only on my numerous personal sports memories, but also memories of gaming. They were all intertwined in me, having the same base feelings.
There's a loose tie there, but it's a tie nonetheless. Feelings are feelings, and taking hope from a football team winning the Super Bowl is no sillier than getting the same hope from running in a huge, pixelated group to a rooftop in Booty Bay. Raiding for the Cure might not be the WoW equivalent of the Super Bowl, but the feelings of hope we get from our time spent together in game are real just the same. Football is "just a game" too. Good stories are good stories.
Next time someone criticizes your gaming habits, wondering why you are willing to set time aside for something as silly as gaming, ask them if they watched the Super Bowl. Gamers and Jocks aren't all that different after all. We're all human, and at the very base of both MMOs and Sports is the human factor. Sports are games too, just played with a different controller.
Congratulations to the City of New Orleans and Saints fans everywhere on a well-earned victory. Speaking as a Colts fan and an avid gamer: GG.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Cross-Genre Skill Ups
Labels: Fun, General Gaming, MMOs 0 comments
Lately, I've been playing a lot of massive multiplayer online first person shooters (MMOFPS, or specifically: Modern Warfare 2). If you've ever seen The Guild, then you may know that there is definitely a difference between the MMOFPS player and the MMORPG (you should know this acronym by now) player. Yet, as I've been playing, I've been wondering just how different those players really are.
In The Guild, Riley (the FPS player) and our red-headed heroine (Felicia Day aka Codex) are portrayed as having almost nothing in common (except maybe Zaboo, but this isn't a gossip blog, now is it?). Personally, I've always been a fan of both styles of games. Ever since grabbing three of your friends for a night of Goldeneye on the N64 became socially acceptable, and yes, even popular (dare I say it), the FPS genre has been a staple in my gaming diet. In fact, I'd almost say I'm more social about FPS games than I am about RPG games. I mean, FPS games are a blast to play with friends and often dull on the one-player side, whereas RPG games are usually quite stellar as a one-player but can lose some of the epic-ness as a multiplayer game. Not that I don't love myself some MMORPGs, but the truth of it is that some of the story is lost in the process of making it an MMO. And story, while pretty much optional in an FPS, is quite necessary in an RPG.
In any case, my polygamerous (#iblamesyrana) nature led me to question the accuracy of the portrayal in The Guild. Now, I love the show and so I have to point out that the relationship wouldn't be nearly as funny or entertaining without the extreme characterizations. After all, that's sort of why we all watch it, right? Not because we actually identify with any of the characters. Oh no, never that. We're all quite healthy and balanced individuals.
However, despite the publicized differences between the two gamer sub-types, I believe they actually have several things in common, especially when you look at PvP players within the RPG world. I would even go so far as to say that there are skills that are transferable across the different genres. Unlike the timid Codex, many of us are quite comfortable with a controller in our hands. It may even be that controllers were your first introduction to gaming and the keyboard/mouse combination came later in your gaming life. For me, I think they sort of came in at the same time: I played on battle.net just as much as I coerced gaming-newbs to let me ricochet grenades off three planar surfaces around a blind corner only to explode at their feet. All while running around as the diminutive Oddjob (or the second moonraker person. Not the first mind you, the second FFS), taking golden gun potshots at your waist-region.
So what are these transferable skills? Let's take a look at my top-ten:
At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
In The Guild, Riley (the FPS player) and our red-headed heroine (Felicia Day aka Codex) are portrayed as having almost nothing in common (except maybe Zaboo, but this isn't a gossip blog, now is it?). Personally, I've always been a fan of both styles of games. Ever since grabbing three of your friends for a night of Goldeneye on the N64 became socially acceptable, and yes, even popular (dare I say it), the FPS genre has been a staple in my gaming diet. In fact, I'd almost say I'm more social about FPS games than I am about RPG games. I mean, FPS games are a blast to play with friends and often dull on the one-player side, whereas RPG games are usually quite stellar as a one-player but can lose some of the epic-ness as a multiplayer game. Not that I don't love myself some MMORPGs, but the truth of it is that some of the story is lost in the process of making it an MMO. And story, while pretty much optional in an FPS, is quite necessary in an RPG.
In any case, my polygamerous (#iblamesyrana) nature led me to question the accuracy of the portrayal in The Guild. Now, I love the show and so I have to point out that the relationship wouldn't be nearly as funny or entertaining without the extreme characterizations. After all, that's sort of why we all watch it, right? Not because we actually identify with any of the characters. Oh no, never that. We're all quite healthy and balanced individuals.
However, despite the publicized differences between the two gamer sub-types, I believe they actually have several things in common, especially when you look at PvP players within the RPG world. I would even go so far as to say that there are skills that are transferable across the different genres. Unlike the timid Codex, many of us are quite comfortable with a controller in our hands. It may even be that controllers were your first introduction to gaming and the keyboard/mouse combination came later in your gaming life. For me, I think they sort of came in at the same time: I played on battle.net just as much as I coerced gaming-newbs to let me ricochet grenades off three planar surfaces around a blind corner only to explode at their feet. All while running around as the diminutive Oddjob (or the second moonraker person. Not the first mind you, the second FFS), taking golden gun potshots at your waist-region.
So what are these transferable skills? Let's take a look at my top-ten:
- Situational Awareness - Topping the list, this is a highly sought after skill for any game type. If you know what's going on around you, you're gonna live longer, and aren't all these games really about trying *not* to die?
- On-The-Fly Thinking - Or OTFT as I call it. In a good FPS, you're required to adapt to changing situations and make the best of what's presented to you. This is great for an RPG raider, even better for a PvP'er.
- Snap Decision-making - This goes hand-in-hand with #2. What do you do when there isn't a clear-cut "right" decision? It's one thing to just be able to judge on the fly. Here I'm talking about being given a 50-50 choice and having to choose one. After all, as Rush says: If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. Fail at this in an FPS and you're done for, with someone tea-bagging your dead body. Fail at this as a raid leader and you may cause a wipe. Fail at this as a PvP'er and you're getting "kek'ed".
- Honed Reactions - Or practice-makes-perfect. Any good FPS player can tell you how hard it is to switch FPS games. Go from say Resistance 2 to MW 2 and you know what I'm talking about. I pwn'ed ass on R2, but I can't freaking target people in MW 2 before I'm face down. Targeting is ever so slightly different between games and when you pick up a new one, you realize you're going to have to train your fingers a bit before you can get back to doling out dirt naps. I think a lot of RPG'ers really downplay the value of trained fingers. If you have 2 and 3, but not trained fingers, you're going to be throwing your keyboard at a wall (or the infamous controller through the big screen).
- Learning The Maps - One of the earliest complaints you'll hear during a LAN party: "But you know this map!" An excuse used to explain why you just got pwned by your little brother, there is some validity to it. It won't restore your tea-soaked pride, but it will inspire you to learn the maps yourself. Any good PvP player can pick out the newbs from this alone. This is also the ability that will help you set up ambushes and net easy HKs. It doesn't hurt in PvE either, as it can really help you plan your pulls or retreat to fight another day.
- Teamwork Prospers - God I'd hate playing those clans with their snazzy [TAGS] and team headsets. You'd kill one of 'em and have three more hunting you down. Free-for-all is one thing, but if you can get a group of similarly skilled friends together, you'll roll roughshod over the general FPS populace. FFA/PuG teams just don't know how to work together. It's sort of like the despair you might feel when someone calls out "premade" five seconds into your favorite BG. The bottom line here is that these games are designed for you to work as a team. The sooner everyone figures this out, the better.
- Death Defying - You learn real quick in an online FPS that dying is No Big Deal. Sometimes you just have to run in, guns blazing, and kill three to your one. After all, that's a small victory right? Plus, maybe you're breaking up their Maginot Line for your team's blitzkrieg. Sure you could flank it, but subtlety costs time and time is something you don't always have. This doesn't translate well to PvE, but PvP could definitely demonstrate this one. Sometimes you just have to be okay with dying. A lot.
- Patience Under Pressure - It's easy to lose your head when you've just been knifed from behind twice in a row only to spawn looking a Harrier strike in the face. It's easy to then not notice the convenient nearby doorway you could duck into and avoid the barrage. It's easy to become a free kill for someone. If you keep your head under pressure, however, you can greatly extend your life in any game. Clutch players aren't born, they've just seen a lot more action than you have. Michael Jordan was special, sure, but without having experienced some tense situations early on in his career, he might not have become so great later. You learn from having "been there". You get confidence from facing challenges. Success breeds success.
- Game Format Familiarity - Capture the flag is capture the flag, no matter how you dress it up. Maybe you're playing PvP, maybe you're in an FPS, maybe you're running through the neighborhood with paint guns and bandannas. It's tough to play a game well if you don't know the rules. However, if you've played any capture the flag before, you can probably wing it. Same with other types of games, if you've seen 'em before, you're probably going to be a little better. Not to mention being able to adapt strategies to different genres of the same game.
- Language Insulation - I'm not sure if this last one is a skill. Is "selective hearing" a skill? Is it an art form? If you've ever thought Barrens or Trade chat was bad, get on any FPS and hook up your headset. Not for the faint of heart. WoW is like family programming when compared with MW2's Howard Stern wannabes. Sometimes you just have to block it all out and play. After all, someone can only insult your entire family so many ways before it just gets repetitive. It's not like any of these folks are all that imaginative anyways. What I wouldn't give to hear a new "your momma" joke... At least I might get a good chuckle of that instead of twenty-seven-different-ways-to-say-the-F-word-so-I-can-prove-I-know-how.
At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
AI: Trailer Thoughts
Labels: Aion, MMOs 0 comments
Today's going to be a short Aionic post. First of all, there's a new trailer out on YouTube here. Totally worth a watch, even if just for the fun of the cinematic. Some things to remember: It's a trailer that advertises the ideas that NCSoft has for the direction of the game. We've seen similar things with WoW and other games. It doesn't mean it'll all come to fruition. However, a lot of the stuff is pretty neat looking and if just one or two ideas make it to the game, they'd be good adds. Also, recall that good MMOs take a lot of time to create. WoW was fraught with problems upon its inception, and now it's arguably one of the most polished and deep games on the market (duh). That didn't happen over night. In fact, I would say they're still learning new things today and we're 5 years into the game.
In any case, Fuu and I are still enjoying our time in-game. I've stated before that we're moving very slowly due to WoW, Assassin's Creed 2, Thanksgiving, and various other important things that get in the way. I don't think slow is a bad thing. We still play at least once a week and, when we do, it's fun. Being "behind" is sort of a double edged blade. On one hand, you're not on that "cusp" of newness where everyone hasn't been there before. On the other hand, everywhere you go is populated and active. In fact, I'm not sure that we're all that far behind a vast majority of the game's populace. I wonder if where you're at with respect to everyone else has an impact on your in-game satisfaction. Maybe patience pays off in the MMO world?
Well, to wrap up this short update: a pic. Fuu and I were trolling around the Abyss picking fights when we got the message that the Dredgion showed up and it scared the bejebus out of us. Luckily it was all the way on the other side of the map, great visual though...
In any case, Fuu and I are still enjoying our time in-game. I've stated before that we're moving very slowly due to WoW, Assassin's Creed 2, Thanksgiving, and various other important things that get in the way. I don't think slow is a bad thing. We still play at least once a week and, when we do, it's fun. Being "behind" is sort of a double edged blade. On one hand, you're not on that "cusp" of newness where everyone hasn't been there before. On the other hand, everywhere you go is populated and active. In fact, I'm not sure that we're all that far behind a vast majority of the game's populace. I wonder if where you're at with respect to everyone else has an impact on your in-game satisfaction. Maybe patience pays off in the MMO world?
Well, to wrap up this short update: a pic. Fuu and I were trolling around the Abyss picking fights when we got the message that the Dredgion showed up and it scared the bejebus out of us. Luckily it was all the way on the other side of the map, great visual though...
Only a Shadow of Death
Monday, November 23, 2009
Trophy vs. Upgrade Gamers: A Scientific Study
Labels: Fun, General Gaming, MMOs 7 comments
Last Thursday I posted a bit about console games and had a like question area at the bottom. I'm going to take it a step further and make a bit of a conjecture about gaming habits and how they apply to WoW. It would be great to get some feedback on this one, so I'll try to phrase this "study" into a multiple choice question that you can answer in my comment. Then I'll tally up the results and we can see what we have. Oh yes, and for fun, I'm going to revive the old (or new, depending on who you are) scientific method that comes straight out of grade-school science texts. Not that what I'm doing is an exact science, but that it'll be a fun structure for the engineer in me.
Observations
Based on my last article I observed that there are two distinctly different camps of game ownership. On one side, we have the gamers who buy games and keep them ad infinitum as a sort of "trophy" of their kill. On the flip side, we have the gamers that will beat a game and then subsequently trade it in, "upgrading" for a newer title. For the sake of discussion in this article, we'll call the first type Trophy Gamers and the second type Upgrade Gamers.
With the relatively recent (with respect to gaming) introduction of trophies and achievements built into games and networks (such as in WoW, Playstation Network, XBox Live, etc...), I have also observed that this split in game buying approach seems to be a relatively new one. That is to say, several years ago, I don't think either extreme was as prevalent. For one thing, game trade-ins weren't always offerred. My other point of reference here is just that game developers have certainly noticed a desire in gamers to generally want to benchmark and compare their gaming feats, and are delivering new and diverse ways of accomplishing that goal. As gaming culture becomes more mainstream, I believe we'll also see a natural diversity of different benchmarks that individuals take pride in. This diversity may affect the two type of gamers in question differently.
My final observation should lead into the hypthesis. Very simply, it is the observation that within the WoW community, there exists a very diverse gamer culture making it an ideal place to seek knowledge from the gamers themselves. In other words, it may be that the WoW populace is (or is not) representative of the larger gamer community that encompasses it. In any case, it is a large subset that is a good place to start any sort of gamer psychological study. WoW has acheivements. WoW has both Trophy and Upgrade gamers. The question then is how each type handles achievements.
The Hypothesis
If you are an Upgrade gamer outside of WoW, then inside of WoW you are an achievement completionist. Conversely, if you are a Trophy gamer outside of WoW, then inside of WoW you are NOT an achiement completionist.
Predictions
Based on my past experiences and questioning some of my WoW-playing friends, I believe the hypothesis will be supported by any findings herein. Thus, Upgrade gamers will correlate directly with being a completionist when it comes to achievements in WoW. I believe this is because, for Upgrade gamers, they see these "electronic trophies" as being their benchmark for success or failure in a game. They don't need a physical representation of their past, since it is all laid out and described very nicely in an easy to view electronic format. I think these gamers tend to be younger and may not be as diverse of a gamer outside of WoW (these extra hypothesises, yes it's a word, won't be tested here, but I wanted to point them out since they're interesting correlations as well).
In addition, Trophy gamers will correlate with not being completionists. I believe this is because Trophy gamers tend to place their pride on a tangible, out of game item that can be prominently displayed (in a dusty case?). Similar to the college kid that lines the top of his cabinetry with empty alcohol containers as a show of conquest (which I still am know to do with "pretty" bottles even though I've been out of college for almost three years now), the Trophy gamer likes to have that physical representation of their past. Electronic copies are all well and good, but they can't quite replace the old school, physical method. I think this will be the trend among older, more diverse gamers.
It would also be my guess that the line between "old" and "young" would be drawn somewhere in the 20-24 age range. Since those terms are heavily referential in society, I thought it important to throw the "gray" range out there with respect to my side musings. Apologies if I offend anyone by calling them old, but yes, some of you are damn near ancient in gaming years. However, I applaud that... adult gamers are awesome! And stuff. (Plus it's something that's becoming more and more common, though perhaps 5 to 10 years ago people would look at you funny. Maybe they still do, but for every 5 that look at you funny, there's probably one that wants to sit down and chat about the SNES days or something).
Experimentation
Like a threesome but not as wild and crazy, here is my multiple choice "test" of the hypothesis. I'd be delighted if you guys could respond in comments and feel free to mention the other side notes such as your age or any other thoughts you may have. I'm not testing those here, but I think it's certainly interesting.
First, classify yourself as one of the following:
So, very simply, you can respond as a 1A, 1B, 2A, or 2B. Like I said, feel free to add more, but I'd be happy if I can get some of those answers from people. I'm sure the response won't be as crazy a "non-meme" healer questionnaire, but it might be fun if we get a decent number of people. If I get enough, I'll try to cook up an excel bar graph or something for reporting these results in a subsequent post (oooh, excel bar graph, exciting).
Since this is entirely based on self-reporting, I totally expect for there to be a bias and/or a skew in the results since if you're reading here you probably don't represent a healthy slice of the gaming community at large along with the problems with self-reporting serveys. Not to say we're not healthy here, what with our sporks and fire, but more to say that I recognize this isn't nearly as scientifc as I'm pretending. At the very least, I hope this rez of the old school scientific method has brought back deep seated, conflicted memories of your grade school days. WTB old year book? Can haz fire?
Observations
Based on my last article I observed that there are two distinctly different camps of game ownership. On one side, we have the gamers who buy games and keep them ad infinitum as a sort of "trophy" of their kill. On the flip side, we have the gamers that will beat a game and then subsequently trade it in, "upgrading" for a newer title. For the sake of discussion in this article, we'll call the first type Trophy Gamers and the second type Upgrade Gamers.
With the relatively recent (with respect to gaming) introduction of trophies and achievements built into games and networks (such as in WoW, Playstation Network, XBox Live, etc...), I have also observed that this split in game buying approach seems to be a relatively new one. That is to say, several years ago, I don't think either extreme was as prevalent. For one thing, game trade-ins weren't always offerred. My other point of reference here is just that game developers have certainly noticed a desire in gamers to generally want to benchmark and compare their gaming feats, and are delivering new and diverse ways of accomplishing that goal. As gaming culture becomes more mainstream, I believe we'll also see a natural diversity of different benchmarks that individuals take pride in. This diversity may affect the two type of gamers in question differently.
My final observation should lead into the hypthesis. Very simply, it is the observation that within the WoW community, there exists a very diverse gamer culture making it an ideal place to seek knowledge from the gamers themselves. In other words, it may be that the WoW populace is (or is not) representative of the larger gamer community that encompasses it. In any case, it is a large subset that is a good place to start any sort of gamer psychological study. WoW has acheivements. WoW has both Trophy and Upgrade gamers. The question then is how each type handles achievements.
The Hypothesis
If you are an Upgrade gamer outside of WoW, then inside of WoW you are an achievement completionist. Conversely, if you are a Trophy gamer outside of WoW, then inside of WoW you are NOT an achiement completionist.
Predictions
Based on my past experiences and questioning some of my WoW-playing friends, I believe the hypothesis will be supported by any findings herein. Thus, Upgrade gamers will correlate directly with being a completionist when it comes to achievements in WoW. I believe this is because, for Upgrade gamers, they see these "electronic trophies" as being their benchmark for success or failure in a game. They don't need a physical representation of their past, since it is all laid out and described very nicely in an easy to view electronic format. I think these gamers tend to be younger and may not be as diverse of a gamer outside of WoW (these extra hypothesises, yes it's a word, won't be tested here, but I wanted to point them out since they're interesting correlations as well).
In addition, Trophy gamers will correlate with not being completionists. I believe this is because Trophy gamers tend to place their pride on a tangible, out of game item that can be prominently displayed (in a dusty case?). Similar to the college kid that lines the top of his cabinetry with empty alcohol containers as a show of conquest (which I still am know to do with "pretty" bottles even though I've been out of college for almost three years now), the Trophy gamer likes to have that physical representation of their past. Electronic copies are all well and good, but they can't quite replace the old school, physical method. I think this will be the trend among older, more diverse gamers.
It would also be my guess that the line between "old" and "young" would be drawn somewhere in the 20-24 age range. Since those terms are heavily referential in society, I thought it important to throw the "gray" range out there with respect to my side musings. Apologies if I offend anyone by calling them old, but yes, some of you are damn near ancient in gaming years. However, I applaud that... adult gamers are awesome! And stuff. (Plus it's something that's becoming more and more common, though perhaps 5 to 10 years ago people would look at you funny. Maybe they still do, but for every 5 that look at you funny, there's probably one that wants to sit down and chat about the SNES days or something).
Experimentation
Like a threesome but not as wild and crazy, here is my multiple choice "test" of the hypothesis. I'd be delighted if you guys could respond in comments and feel free to mention the other side notes such as your age or any other thoughts you may have. I'm not testing those here, but I think it's certainly interesting.
First, classify yourself as one of the following:
- Trophy Gamer - A person who hangs on to old game copies for various nostalgic reasons.
- Upgrade Gamer - A person who wants to get rid of old games in order to hasten the arrival of new games, even if just to free up space on the DVD rack.
- A - achievement completionist. I feel a deep seated desire to collect them all and take pride in what the achievement panel shows I've done. If a friend were to come over an ask about what I've done in WoW, showing them a list of achievements would be a good way to accomplish this task.
- B - non-completionist. I don't feel a desire to neccessarily collect achievements. They're nice when they come, but I don't really look at the panel. If a friend were to come over and ask about what I've done in WoW, achievements would probably not be mentioned or, even then, only in passing as part of a broader picture.
So, very simply, you can respond as a 1A, 1B, 2A, or 2B. Like I said, feel free to add more, but I'd be happy if I can get some of those answers from people. I'm sure the response won't be as crazy a "non-meme" healer questionnaire, but it might be fun if we get a decent number of people. If I get enough, I'll try to cook up an excel bar graph or something for reporting these results in a subsequent post (oooh, excel bar graph, exciting).
Since this is entirely based on self-reporting, I totally expect for there to be a bias and/or a skew in the results since if you're reading here you probably don't represent a healthy slice of the gaming community at large along with the problems with self-reporting serveys. Not to say we're not healthy here, what with our sporks and fire, but more to say that I recognize this isn't nearly as scientifc as I'm pretending. At the very least, I hope this rez of the old school scientific method has brought back deep seated, conflicted memories of your grade school days. WTB old year book? Can haz fire?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Leveling Grind and Why We try to Rush it
Labels: Aion, MMOs, Quests 2 comments
May 6th 2008
A couple sat on their big comfy couches next to one another with their laptops spread across their laps in eager anticipation. Feet reclined and ready for anything. These two adventurers have just installed one of the most talked about MMORPGs in the world.
They are about to enter... The TWILIGHT ZONE! du du du du!
Ummm no, actually I was talking about the game we all know & love (well, love could also be ad libbed for any number of words here "Hate" "Despise" "Makes me want to punch a puppy""Throw someone onto a bed of sporks" you get the idea)
They are about to enter... The World of Warcraft!
Loading screens were up, both were nervous about what character to choose. They know that they want to go Alliance on Lothar because of a friend, but those are the only expectations given at the moment. Should they roll Night Elfs for their long ears & bouncy nature? Dwarves for their stout stature and drinking problems? How 'bout a Gnome for their... nah, there's no good reason for that race. Ok, how about Humans! Bingo.
Now, what about classes?
The boy always likes the pew pew of it all and something sort of ummm, evil?
A Human Warlock! Perfect!
The girl likes to be helpful. Her previous toon on FFXI was a healer but she wanted something different. She enjoyed the flexibility of healing, DPS, & tanking all rolled into one. That leaves a Druid or a Paladin. She's played a paladin before and really enjoyed it.
A Human Paladin! Perfect!
These two wide-eyed adventurers watch the intro scene and enter Elwyn Forest not quite knowing what would happen. Their friend invited them into his guild to meet the people he talked about so much. Generations was his home and wanted to welcome them into this warm & inviting place.
Generations wasn't a hardcore guild nor really ever raided very much but when they did, the Guild Chat would light up like a Christmas Tree with cheers & excitement of dropping their first Boss or someone finally getting that epic to drop. The adventurers felt so far off from ever participating with these mighty fighters. 70 levels just seems so forever away.
"Ding"s were excitedly written in the Guild Chat box. Anyone who was on, would cheer with excitement and shock at how fast they were appearing. Some felt that they were leveling at a Top Rate of Speed and it was "Frightening".
Conquered lands lay in shambles behind these two admirable foes. The forest didn't even see it coming, nor did Westfall. Gear was quickly replaced from grey, to white, to green.
The two adventures felt that this was where they should be. They would try their best to get to the highest level to be with their friends. What a game!
September 20th 2009
A new MMO has just been launched onto the scene. These two adventurers are anxious to begin. The loading screens are up. What character to choose? Will they feel the way they did before?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the past few nights, something went wrong. I was angry. Was it my class? I ended up rolling something that I've never rolled before because I wanted to try something completely new. I rolled an Assassin (something similar to a Rogue in WoW). Did I just not like the play style? This game is awesome, why can't I enjoy something new and challenging?
Then I realized, I had been cursed. (Not by Fulguralis if that's what you're thinking). I was cursed by another game.
The leveling process in the World of Warcraft forces you to believe that the leveling process is just something in the way, some obstacle to block the road before end game. Blizzard is basically telling you that you have so many levels that will teach you your class before you hit level cap. Over time, they have made it easier and easier for the new player to enter the game, and fly past zones & levels and never really enjoy them. Yes, I know that some say that leveling is a major focus of the game. I would have to disagree with you. What can a level 25 anything do in the game? A few instances and if they feel up to it, a Warsong Gulch? WoW, that's cool :P
Let me tell you what a level 25 anything can do in Aion:
-Craft extremely useful items
-Level in many different zones and areas through out the world
-Fly
-Enter Rifts to other worlds/ enemy factions land
-Enter the Abyss and join in on Epic battles for Honor and experience
These are just to name a few.
I was so frustrated because I looked at my low number of 25 and felt we had such a long way to go to get to the awesome stuff. Low and behold, I already had the ability to enjoy them.
Now, is this shining WoW in a bad light?
Not necessarily. I believe that WoW has put a ton of focus on their development into their end game. So much so, that they want more players to experience it. During the Sunwell patch in TBC, the Devs felt that they had put so much work into that instance and so few got to actually experience & enjoy it, that they would change the expectations of their players in end game raiding in WotLK. With each additional patch comes easier leveling, smaller learning curves, and more experience with every zone.
The World of Warcraft is an endgame focused Raiding game. The journey to level cap is not the adventure but the beginning of Raiding. I believe that this attitude has followed its way over to Aion. I feel like I should be easily flying through levels so that I can enjoy the end game. The thing is, Aion isn't built that way. They want the leveling experience to be... an EXPERIENCE! So, comparing these two games is totally an Apples to Oranges kinda thing. There are a few things that they have in common but that's it. When people compare the games, they are setting one of the games to fail. I love both games equally for very different reasons and I will continue to play both with very different expectations.
As for readers out there struggling to let go of these comparisons, enjoy those levels because they wont come easily or quickly but there will be more than enough to keep you happy.
~Fuu /Awrath
Monday, October 12, 2009
Getting Attuned in MMOs, Love it or Hate it?
Labels: MMOs 9 comments
Over the weekend in Aion, Fuu and I got attuned to the Abyss. (Before the WoW folks run away screaming, bear with me, this is not necessarily an Aion centric post.) In NCSoft's game, when you hit 25, you open up a quest line that gets you into the major PvP zone. The quest chain is pretty long, probably spanning at least a few hours of work, but once completed, you can zone into the Abyss at will.
The chain includes various "tests". These tests are based on lore knowledge, combat, and flight skill. In my opinion, it's very well done, really focusing you on different facets of the game in an entertaining manner. First, you have to visit the library and take three multiple choice quizzes that test your knowledge of some of the very basic lore. Then, you choose one of three combat quests (we did the arena one right there in town) that see if you can blow stuff up (it was pretty easy). Finally, you have to fly through a grouping of rings in order in a certain amount of time as a flight skills test. After completing all of these, you are admitted to the Abyss where your orientation continues in the form of video cut scenes explaining some of the fortress aspects of the game. All in all, it's a very epic quest chain.
Both Fuu and I really enjoyed getting attuned. The quests lent an air of excitement to the process, and we took it pretty seriously. While it would be easy to just breeze through stuff like this, if you enjoy the ride I think you get more out of it. Which got me to thinking: wait, didn't WoW have stuff like this at one time?
Being TBC babies, we were coming into the game as Blizz was taking the need to get attuned to things out. Keys were a big part of "vanilla" WoW that we missed. From what I understand, these quests lent the same epic sense to some of what you were doing. It was really an achievement to get attuned, and people often looked to these as benchmarks for your progress in the game. Not the kind you get points for either. An achievement for achievement's sake.
The main reason it was a benchmark, obviously, is because you couldn't get into the important places without having the key. This usually held you back as far as content went, and you usually missed out if you didn't complete the quest chains. In a way, it was a big step for a player. Even today in WoW, it lends you a certain amount of street cred to talk about how you were keyed for such and such back in the day. It certainly doesn't mean what it used to, but I think we recognize it was something special. Something extra.
So why take them away? At first, I didn't care because, hey, being a late-comer, it would have been really hard to go back and catch up to the crap that people had already spent two years on. How was I ever going to catch up and contribute to my guild? Yet now, after realizing what I missed out on, I can't help but feeling I was a little bit gypped. I mean, getting attuned in Aion was epic. It was special, and I'm sure WoW was the same way... but I'll never get to know. Nor will any of the Wrath kids. Heck, if you look at it, they have even less to "get access to", since things like the druid flight quest or the warlock mount quest were taken away. Those were epic too, and very similar to getting attuned in their own rights. Yet they were all given the axe. Why?
I suppose it has to do with making the game accessible to a large number of new people. A loft goal, but at what cost? Are we removing the epic-ness of the game in favor of accessibility? By arguing against the process of keying, are we, in effect blanding down the game for everyone? I guess it depends on if you enjoy the long, involved quest chains that it took to get "caught up". It may also have something to do with the quality of help available to you to get up to speed.
For me, having loved both the warlock mount chains in WoW and now the Abyss key chain in Aion, I have to say that I've experienced a renewed sadness at the loss of those quest chains in WoW. I understand the "why", but I don't really like it. I'm not even sure there is a good answer for keeping epic keying quest chains while keeping the game accessible over the course of years. I don't think Aion will need to remove theirs, as it operates more as a tutorial than a keying, and the learning I think is necessary. However, if Aion enjoys a lifespan like WoWs, then I could see them adding a "skip" function or something to appease the masses when they get sick of having to go through it again and again with alts. It may be a necessary evil, but it may also serve to send the wrong message to the MMO industry in general.
I mean, don't we want "epic"? Isn't part of why we play RPG's to feel that sense of special, which is so, so difficult to attain in an MMO? I know it is for me, and so part of me mourns this directive of the player base. It's not the first such thing we've clamored for that is probably counterproductive to the genre, and it won't be the last. If you're at all a fan of the larger picture (and not just someone who enjoys the small parts of the greater sum), I hope you celebrate the keying quests for what the bring/brought to the game, and next time some asshat QQ's about having to "go through this again", tell them to bugger off because that's the game YOU want to play. Don't let the squeaky wheels keep ruining it for the rest of us. If not just for you, then for all the future players that will miss out as well.
The chain includes various "tests". These tests are based on lore knowledge, combat, and flight skill. In my opinion, it's very well done, really focusing you on different facets of the game in an entertaining manner. First, you have to visit the library and take three multiple choice quizzes that test your knowledge of some of the very basic lore. Then, you choose one of three combat quests (we did the arena one right there in town) that see if you can blow stuff up (it was pretty easy). Finally, you have to fly through a grouping of rings in order in a certain amount of time as a flight skills test. After completing all of these, you are admitted to the Abyss where your orientation continues in the form of video cut scenes explaining some of the fortress aspects of the game. All in all, it's a very epic quest chain.
Both Fuu and I really enjoyed getting attuned. The quests lent an air of excitement to the process, and we took it pretty seriously. While it would be easy to just breeze through stuff like this, if you enjoy the ride I think you get more out of it. Which got me to thinking: wait, didn't WoW have stuff like this at one time?
Being TBC babies, we were coming into the game as Blizz was taking the need to get attuned to things out. Keys were a big part of "vanilla" WoW that we missed. From what I understand, these quests lent the same epic sense to some of what you were doing. It was really an achievement to get attuned, and people often looked to these as benchmarks for your progress in the game. Not the kind you get points for either. An achievement for achievement's sake.
The main reason it was a benchmark, obviously, is because you couldn't get into the important places without having the key. This usually held you back as far as content went, and you usually missed out if you didn't complete the quest chains. In a way, it was a big step for a player. Even today in WoW, it lends you a certain amount of street cred to talk about how you were keyed for such and such back in the day. It certainly doesn't mean what it used to, but I think we recognize it was something special. Something extra.
So why take them away? At first, I didn't care because, hey, being a late-comer, it would have been really hard to go back and catch up to the crap that people had already spent two years on. How was I ever going to catch up and contribute to my guild? Yet now, after realizing what I missed out on, I can't help but feeling I was a little bit gypped. I mean, getting attuned in Aion was epic. It was special, and I'm sure WoW was the same way... but I'll never get to know. Nor will any of the Wrath kids. Heck, if you look at it, they have even less to "get access to", since things like the druid flight quest or the warlock mount quest were taken away. Those were epic too, and very similar to getting attuned in their own rights. Yet they were all given the axe. Why?
I suppose it has to do with making the game accessible to a large number of new people. A loft goal, but at what cost? Are we removing the epic-ness of the game in favor of accessibility? By arguing against the process of keying, are we, in effect blanding down the game for everyone? I guess it depends on if you enjoy the long, involved quest chains that it took to get "caught up". It may also have something to do with the quality of help available to you to get up to speed.
For me, having loved both the warlock mount chains in WoW and now the Abyss key chain in Aion, I have to say that I've experienced a renewed sadness at the loss of those quest chains in WoW. I understand the "why", but I don't really like it. I'm not even sure there is a good answer for keeping epic keying quest chains while keeping the game accessible over the course of years. I don't think Aion will need to remove theirs, as it operates more as a tutorial than a keying, and the learning I think is necessary. However, if Aion enjoys a lifespan like WoWs, then I could see them adding a "skip" function or something to appease the masses when they get sick of having to go through it again and again with alts. It may be a necessary evil, but it may also serve to send the wrong message to the MMO industry in general.
I mean, don't we want "epic"? Isn't part of why we play RPG's to feel that sense of special, which is so, so difficult to attain in an MMO? I know it is for me, and so part of me mourns this directive of the player base. It's not the first such thing we've clamored for that is probably counterproductive to the genre, and it won't be the last. If you're at all a fan of the larger picture (and not just someone who enjoys the small parts of the greater sum), I hope you celebrate the keying quests for what the bring/brought to the game, and next time some asshat QQ's about having to "go through this again", tell them to bugger off because that's the game YOU want to play. Don't let the squeaky wheels keep ruining it for the rest of us. If not just for you, then for all the future players that will miss out as well.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
About Real Money Trading
Labels: Aion, MMOs, Rant 9 comments
If you've been playing Aion lately, you know that the hot-button topic right now is real money traders. Gold spammers. Shitheads. Whatever you want to call them. "Aww, but those poor Indonesian children are just trying to earn a meal," you may say. "Bullshit," I reply. They're working their poor little fingers off so that some fat cat can sit back and live an average lifestyle for little or no work.
That's right, if you're buying gold, kinah, experience, kidneys... online, then you're totally slaying small Indonesian children. Slaying them from the fingers down.
Maybe that's a little extreme, but if you are purchasing in-game benefits for real life cash, you're certainly enabling the practice. For my part, I'd like to yell at you, "CUT IT OUT!".
There is nothing good or glorious about RMT'ing. You cannot justify it. It is bad for the industry, bad for the players, and bad for the developers. Right now, NCSoft is, I'm sure, wasting a whole bunch of time and energy on solving the "gold spamming" issue instead of developing. I'm sure Blizzard has put some time and money into the issue as well. In fact, name your game, and if it's at all popular, it's probably had to be regulated against RMT'ing in some way. Unless that's part of the game I guess. Still, how do games deal with the spam?
Spooner over at Spooncraft.com does a wonderful job of keeping us up to date. I'll link over to him for the latest communications from NCSoft regarding gold spamming. Read it if you'd like, but it's not necessary for this small rant. It's just the current problem.
The rant is nothing new, however. Even back in my days of FFXI, RMT'ing was a very real problem. It's been around since MMOs have gained popularity. How do we, as gamers, deal with it? How should developers deal with it?
I'd love to have your thoughts on perhaps some clever ways of dealing with it, because while we know what developers have done in the past, I'm sure there have to be some better ways. I know, I know, for Aion's part they just need to make it a bit easier to report these buggers, and have done well making blocking easy, but they could do more. Blocking and reporting are really the two tried and true methods. I think we'd all like to see something more...automated?
My suggestion is to put something in place sort of like Gmail's spam filter. Basically, let a user "block" another user as a "RMT" (a different designation from a normal block). When a certain number of users do this, it confirms a RMT identity and will be automatically blocked from everyone else. Each user could then go in and disable their RMT scanner, or even "unblock" individuals that they claim not to be RMTs. This could be highly automated, and if someone gets mistakenly RMT'ed (which would have to have been done by like 100 peopleganging up on them, which might mean they should be blocked for all anyways), they could simply send a personal email to a GM or an in-game ticket, explaining what's going on. RMTs don't contact GM's, so that would be simple as well. Periodically, the devs could even go in and ban accounts that have been caught by the "spam filter". Gmail can do it, why not an MMO?
That may or may not be possible, but from the perspective of the gamers, though, I have two suggestions:
Don't buy it, just block it. Words to play by.
That's right, if you're buying gold, kinah, experience, kidneys... online, then you're totally slaying small Indonesian children. Slaying them from the fingers down.
Maybe that's a little extreme, but if you are purchasing in-game benefits for real life cash, you're certainly enabling the practice. For my part, I'd like to yell at you, "CUT IT OUT!".
There is nothing good or glorious about RMT'ing. You cannot justify it. It is bad for the industry, bad for the players, and bad for the developers. Right now, NCSoft is, I'm sure, wasting a whole bunch of time and energy on solving the "gold spamming" issue instead of developing. I'm sure Blizzard has put some time and money into the issue as well. In fact, name your game, and if it's at all popular, it's probably had to be regulated against RMT'ing in some way. Unless that's part of the game I guess. Still, how do games deal with the spam?
Spooner over at Spooncraft.com does a wonderful job of keeping us up to date. I'll link over to him for the latest communications from NCSoft regarding gold spamming. Read it if you'd like, but it's not necessary for this small rant. It's just the current problem.
The rant is nothing new, however. Even back in my days of FFXI, RMT'ing was a very real problem. It's been around since MMOs have gained popularity. How do we, as gamers, deal with it? How should developers deal with it?
I'd love to have your thoughts on perhaps some clever ways of dealing with it, because while we know what developers have done in the past, I'm sure there have to be some better ways. I know, I know, for Aion's part they just need to make it a bit easier to report these buggers, and have done well making blocking easy, but they could do more. Blocking and reporting are really the two tried and true methods. I think we'd all like to see something more...automated?
My suggestion is to put something in place sort of like Gmail's spam filter. Basically, let a user "block" another user as a "RMT" (a different designation from a normal block). When a certain number of users do this, it confirms a RMT identity and will be automatically blocked from everyone else. Each user could then go in and disable their RMT scanner, or even "unblock" individuals that they claim not to be RMTs. This could be highly automated, and if someone gets mistakenly RMT'ed (which would have to have been done by like 100 peopleganging up on them, which might mean they should be blocked for all anyways), they could simply send a personal email to a GM or an in-game ticket, explaining what's going on. RMTs don't contact GM's, so that would be simple as well. Periodically, the devs could even go in and ban accounts that have been caught by the "spam filter". Gmail can do it, why not an MMO?
That may or may not be possible, but from the perspective of the gamers, though, I have two suggestions:
- Don't buy it! - I don't care what "it" is, if you are giving money to anyone, you are encouraging and basically "voting for" their behavior. You are an enabler at that point. In a capitalist market, you money is your vote.
- Just block it! - Stop carrying on for 20 minutes in general chat about it, just hit the block button and get on with life. By complaining in-game for hours on end, you're giving these people even MORE air time. You're not really helping the issue unless you're trying to help others learn how to use the block feature. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Don't buy it, just block it. Words to play by.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Quick State-of-the-Blog
Labels: Autobio, MMOs 3 comments
This post is more to assuage my guilt, but also to try and let you, the reader, know a bit what's going on "behind the scenes", so to speak.
I've felt a bit guilty that I've been neglecting WoW lately both in posting and in playtime. (Usually they go hand-in-hand). It's true, since the start of Aion, I've been pretty focused over there, spending my already fall football-choked time in the land of Atreia. There really are multiple reasons for this. First, my alliance was on a week long break from raiding. Second, Aion is brand-new and I think there are a lot of us out there that really enjoy the challenge of being a "newb" again.
However, I have missed raiding and my friends over there. I have NOT missed the drama. Also, there's not a whole lot going on in the land of Azeroth right now. Warlocks haven't seen any changes. I haven't had the time to try out my DK musings. I've never been a holiday guy. I just want to see the new content, which means raiding right now. And raiding is on hold.
I'd also love to get in on some Onyxia action and even down that stupid DIAF-Keralon. I feel behind on those. However, the raid group is mired in Ulduar and every time I try to PuG any of those fights, it goes horribly. I suppose I've always had bad PuG luck. Couple that with the fact that everyone I know is also currently time-starved, so I can't really put a random group together either. (QQ moar, right?). The point here is just that WoW has been frustrating me through no fault of it's own, but there are definitely still things I want to do in the game. I'm not abandoning it by any means. I'm also anxiously watching the wire for any and all news that pertains to me and my chosen classes. We get some new news, I'll write about it. /Promise.
Until then, there's plenty of "new" in Aion that I need to touch base on. If it seems like I'm Aion heavy right now, it's because I am in playtime as well. I expect that to balance back out eventually. Also, I'm always open to suggestions. Feel free to shoot me an email with something you're confused about in-game (either game) and I'll try my best to answer it. Sometimes those even turn into good posts. Chances are if you have a question, we all have a question.
Anyways, I hope that explains the article spread somewhat. A side note to all of this is that I feel the need to shake things up around here a bit. Maybe change the layout, get some new graphics to reflect the new found dual nature of the blog. Some people (Abi, I'm looking at you, you, and you) like to create a new blog for each topic the write about, others like to start fresh (Samo, your turn), and then there are those of us that like where we are, but just want to tweak it a bit (I would think Sideshow and Syrana are in the same boat here). Point being, I'm of the third crew. Just feel free to let me know if there's anything I can do for you guys to make it easier to discern between topics (if that's even a problem), or if there's something you'd like to see.
I do this because I enjoy writing, I love the communities in the games I play, and I like to think I can be mildly entertaining. At the very least, I've met some great people through this (see links above) and that alone is worth it. I would encourage anyone who is entertaining thoughts of writing on their own to take the plunge and do it. Today. Whether you're a once a day writer or once a month, it's rewarding. The more you put into it, the more you can get out of it. Besides, while it's not something I'd bring right up in a job interview, communication skills (read: the ability to write coherently and relate thoughts clearly) are valued in just about any occupation. You may not say "hey, I do a gaming blog", but you can confidently say "I write a lot in my free time, just for fun and to hone my communication skills." Some HR dude will eat that right up. With a ladle.
Well, that's enough from me today. I'm sure you've looked at your *free* backstage pass right now and contemplated flinging it back at the stage manager saying "where the hell are the groupies and wild parties, this behind-the-scenes sucks." It's okay, I'm not a rock star (/tear). However, I do have some beer in the fridge. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right? *Cheers*
I've felt a bit guilty that I've been neglecting WoW lately both in posting and in playtime. (Usually they go hand-in-hand). It's true, since the start of Aion, I've been pretty focused over there, spending my already fall football-choked time in the land of Atreia. There really are multiple reasons for this. First, my alliance was on a week long break from raiding. Second, Aion is brand-new and I think there are a lot of us out there that really enjoy the challenge of being a "newb" again.
However, I have missed raiding and my friends over there. I have NOT missed the drama. Also, there's not a whole lot going on in the land of Azeroth right now. Warlocks haven't seen any changes. I haven't had the time to try out my DK musings. I've never been a holiday guy. I just want to see the new content, which means raiding right now. And raiding is on hold.
I'd also love to get in on some Onyxia action and even down that stupid DIAF-Keralon. I feel behind on those. However, the raid group is mired in Ulduar and every time I try to PuG any of those fights, it goes horribly. I suppose I've always had bad PuG luck. Couple that with the fact that everyone I know is also currently time-starved, so I can't really put a random group together either. (QQ moar, right?). The point here is just that WoW has been frustrating me through no fault of it's own, but there are definitely still things I want to do in the game. I'm not abandoning it by any means. I'm also anxiously watching the wire for any and all news that pertains to me and my chosen classes. We get some new news, I'll write about it. /Promise.
Until then, there's plenty of "new" in Aion that I need to touch base on. If it seems like I'm Aion heavy right now, it's because I am in playtime as well. I expect that to balance back out eventually. Also, I'm always open to suggestions. Feel free to shoot me an email with something you're confused about in-game (either game) and I'll try my best to answer it. Sometimes those even turn into good posts. Chances are if you have a question, we all have a question.
Anyways, I hope that explains the article spread somewhat. A side note to all of this is that I feel the need to shake things up around here a bit. Maybe change the layout, get some new graphics to reflect the new found dual nature of the blog. Some people (Abi, I'm looking at you, you, and you) like to create a new blog for each topic the write about, others like to start fresh (Samo, your turn), and then there are those of us that like where we are, but just want to tweak it a bit (I would think Sideshow and Syrana are in the same boat here). Point being, I'm of the third crew. Just feel free to let me know if there's anything I can do for you guys to make it easier to discern between topics (if that's even a problem), or if there's something you'd like to see.
I do this because I enjoy writing, I love the communities in the games I play, and I like to think I can be mildly entertaining. At the very least, I've met some great people through this (see links above) and that alone is worth it. I would encourage anyone who is entertaining thoughts of writing on their own to take the plunge and do it. Today. Whether you're a once a day writer or once a month, it's rewarding. The more you put into it, the more you can get out of it. Besides, while it's not something I'd bring right up in a job interview, communication skills (read: the ability to write coherently and relate thoughts clearly) are valued in just about any occupation. You may not say "hey, I do a gaming blog", but you can confidently say "I write a lot in my free time, just for fun and to hone my communication skills." Some HR dude will eat that right up. With a ladle.
Well, that's enough from me today. I'm sure you've looked at your *free* backstage pass right now and contemplated flinging it back at the stage manager saying "where the hell are the groupies and wild parties, this behind-the-scenes sucks." It's okay, I'm not a rock star (/tear). However, I do have some beer in the fridge. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right? *Cheers*
Thursday, September 24, 2009
AI: Sweet Sixteen
Labels: Aion, MMOs 1 comments
Billy Idol or Hillary Duff... you pick. I think Hillary's talks more about wings, but I'm more of a rock guy myself.
As you may have guessed, I hit 16 as a Spiritmaster last night on Aion. Fun times. The queue was non-existent at 6pm, but I think it ramped up as the night went on. At one point, we were disconnected and logged back in to see the number around 800 people in the queue. Luckily, the server still remembered me and zipped me right back into the game. So, still a queue, but it seems to be shrinking.
There are still tons of "shop afkers" as we're calling it. I have to say, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. On one hand, when I run by a store where someone is selling a single piece of Azpha for one billion dollars (*pinky to mouth*), I just get angry. It's not like they're even being sneaky about it or anything; their message clearly says: "Afk". C'mon now, you're not even trying. I'd rather see the default message than that crap.
At one point, I did have to go afk for about 15 minutes to grab some food and such, and then it was nice to have the shop and know you weren't going to get logged out and have to face the dreaded queue. In my defense, apart from it only being 15 minutes, I actually put some stuff up at a reasonable price and sat just inside the doorway to the alchemy area. Being an alchemist, I knew that Kandula is a key ingredient in some of the early potion recipes, namely the lesser mana variety. I go through these pretty rapidly when questing, so it was a good bet that I wasn't the only one who needed to make more.
I advertised simply "Kandula" and by the time I'd returned I was sold out of the 20 or so I had. For something you gather for free, it was nice to make money off of it. It's all about location. Of course, Kandula isn't going to sell right next to a Kandula plant, but in the middle of Pande? Fo'sho. That's what the private store is for, after all... not afks.
Perhaps the best "fix" I've heard is to limit the afk store to one hour if there is a queue. Putting on my Software Engineer hat for a moment, I don't think such a limit would be too hard to set up. You could have the SW check to see if there is a queue for the server (which it should already know), and then start a timer on any store. After an hour, it will close your store, requiring you to either be there to re-open it, or effectively logging you off.
I figure, if someone wants to avoid a queue so bad that they're popping in at least once an hour to check their store (something you should probably do anyways if you're running a real store), then at least they're putting in the effort. It also doesn't defeat the store purpose and allows you short afks. It's the people who leave it up overnight for like 12+ hours that bother me. In China, they have to pay by the hour, so it's not a problem there. Here, however, we don't give a shit things like wasting copious amounts of electricity and the other negative side-effects of leaving your crap on and running over night. I'm not a "green" person by any means, but it just seems so wasteful and selfish to do the over night thing. Especially if you're not even going to try to offer a half-ass store. At least put in a witty phrase or something that makes me giggle!
Like I said, my feelings are mixed because I like the idea of a private store and if there were NO queues, there wouldn't be this problem. So "fixing" the afk store is sort of like putting a band-aid on. It'll stop the bleeding for a bit, maybe allow some healing to occur, but is NOT permanent. The only permanent solution is for NCSoft to continue ramping up support and capacity (all while remaining balanced mind you), so that they are eventually able to support their entire player base. I'll be the first to admit that this is no easy task, and I applaud NCSoft's efforts so far. They haven't been perfect, but I think, in the industry, they've proven to be one of the best at handling what appears to be a common issue (we can argue until we're blue in the face about whether or not it should be an issue in the first place).
In other news, and more of what I had in mind for this post (before sidetracking myself on a mini-rant), when you hit 16 as a Spiritmaster, you start to switch up your rotation a bit. Recall on Tuesday I'd mention that around level 10, I was using something like this:
Ice Chain (1 and the bonus if it's up) > Erosion > Fire Chain (same thing here, if the extra spell is up, of course I'm going to use it!) (rooting when needed, and just sending my pet in)
By the time you hit 16, you've picked up a couple more spells. One is sort of a "pet taunt" in that it is an ability that can have "high emnity" (emnity = aggro for WoW people). Also, it becomes clear that the fire spirit is a far better tank than your wind spirit. The tooltip for your "pet taunt" spell confirms this, since, for the wind spirit, it is classified as a "weak" taunt.
You also pick up a spell that causes two orbs of fire to fly at your target and bombard it with... themselves. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I think watching a spiritmaster in action can be sort of awe-inspiring. I mean, when gladiators do their crazy-jumpy-flippy attack, it's pretty cool, but a SM in full DPS mode will have a spirit on a target, two electrified, fiery orbs bashing into the target, all the while hurtling spells from a comfortable distance away. There's just a lot going on. Here's sort of how I roll now:
Send pet in > Pet taunt > Summon Orb thingies > Erosion > Ice Chain (1+1) > Fire Chain (1+1) > Root if it's running at me (which it should be by now) > Fire Chain again (just the first part) until death.
Sometimes I may have to run a bit to give myself room. I may also refresh Erosion if it looks to live longer, but most stuff is dead by the end of the rotation. You also pick up an Earth slowing attack (sorry I'm horrible with spell names right now) which is instant cast, this can come in handy for those spontaneous aggros. Keep in mind, though, that it shards a cooldown with your ice chain. The knockback/stun on the ice chain makes it a better choice if you have room and time. If not, run around slowing and hitting erosion while your pet/orbs beat on the dude. This has saved my butt a couple times. You can always root too.
So far, loving the class... even with being underrepresented and all. I'm sure the whole grounded pet thing will become a problem in the not too distant future, but I'm going to stick it out (especially knowing they're planning to change that). How's your Aion going? What's your fave class so far?
As you may have guessed, I hit 16 as a Spiritmaster last night on Aion. Fun times. The queue was non-existent at 6pm, but I think it ramped up as the night went on. At one point, we were disconnected and logged back in to see the number around 800 people in the queue. Luckily, the server still remembered me and zipped me right back into the game. So, still a queue, but it seems to be shrinking.
There are still tons of "shop afkers" as we're calling it. I have to say, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. On one hand, when I run by a store where someone is selling a single piece of Azpha for one billion dollars (*pinky to mouth*), I just get angry. It's not like they're even being sneaky about it or anything; their message clearly says: "Afk". C'mon now, you're not even trying. I'd rather see the default message than that crap.
At one point, I did have to go afk for about 15 minutes to grab some food and such, and then it was nice to have the shop and know you weren't going to get logged out and have to face the dreaded queue. In my defense, apart from it only being 15 minutes, I actually put some stuff up at a reasonable price and sat just inside the doorway to the alchemy area. Being an alchemist, I knew that Kandula is a key ingredient in some of the early potion recipes, namely the lesser mana variety. I go through these pretty rapidly when questing, so it was a good bet that I wasn't the only one who needed to make more.
I advertised simply "Kandula" and by the time I'd returned I was sold out of the 20 or so I had. For something you gather for free, it was nice to make money off of it. It's all about location. Of course, Kandula isn't going to sell right next to a Kandula plant, but in the middle of Pande? Fo'sho. That's what the private store is for, after all... not afks.
Perhaps the best "fix" I've heard is to limit the afk store to one hour if there is a queue. Putting on my Software Engineer hat for a moment, I don't think such a limit would be too hard to set up. You could have the SW check to see if there is a queue for the server (which it should already know), and then start a timer on any store. After an hour, it will close your store, requiring you to either be there to re-open it, or effectively logging you off.
I figure, if someone wants to avoid a queue so bad that they're popping in at least once an hour to check their store (something you should probably do anyways if you're running a real store), then at least they're putting in the effort. It also doesn't defeat the store purpose and allows you short afks. It's the people who leave it up overnight for like 12+ hours that bother me. In China, they have to pay by the hour, so it's not a problem there. Here, however, we don't give a shit things like wasting copious amounts of electricity and the other negative side-effects of leaving your crap on and running over night. I'm not a "green" person by any means, but it just seems so wasteful and selfish to do the over night thing. Especially if you're not even going to try to offer a half-ass store. At least put in a witty phrase or something that makes me giggle!
Like I said, my feelings are mixed because I like the idea of a private store and if there were NO queues, there wouldn't be this problem. So "fixing" the afk store is sort of like putting a band-aid on. It'll stop the bleeding for a bit, maybe allow some healing to occur, but is NOT permanent. The only permanent solution is for NCSoft to continue ramping up support and capacity (all while remaining balanced mind you), so that they are eventually able to support their entire player base. I'll be the first to admit that this is no easy task, and I applaud NCSoft's efforts so far. They haven't been perfect, but I think, in the industry, they've proven to be one of the best at handling what appears to be a common issue (we can argue until we're blue in the face about whether or not it should be an issue in the first place).
In other news, and more of what I had in mind for this post (before sidetracking myself on a mini-rant), when you hit 16 as a Spiritmaster, you start to switch up your rotation a bit. Recall on Tuesday I'd mention that around level 10, I was using something like this:
Ice Chain (1 and the bonus if it's up) > Erosion > Fire Chain (same thing here, if the extra spell is up, of course I'm going to use it!) (rooting when needed, and just sending my pet in)
By the time you hit 16, you've picked up a couple more spells. One is sort of a "pet taunt" in that it is an ability that can have "high emnity" (emnity = aggro for WoW people). Also, it becomes clear that the fire spirit is a far better tank than your wind spirit. The tooltip for your "pet taunt" spell confirms this, since, for the wind spirit, it is classified as a "weak" taunt.
You also pick up a spell that causes two orbs of fire to fly at your target and bombard it with... themselves. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I think watching a spiritmaster in action can be sort of awe-inspiring. I mean, when gladiators do their crazy-jumpy-flippy attack, it's pretty cool, but a SM in full DPS mode will have a spirit on a target, two electrified, fiery orbs bashing into the target, all the while hurtling spells from a comfortable distance away. There's just a lot going on. Here's sort of how I roll now:
Send pet in > Pet taunt > Summon Orb thingies > Erosion > Ice Chain (1+1) > Fire Chain (1+1) > Root if it's running at me (which it should be by now) > Fire Chain again (just the first part) until death.
Sometimes I may have to run a bit to give myself room. I may also refresh Erosion if it looks to live longer, but most stuff is dead by the end of the rotation. You also pick up an Earth slowing attack (sorry I'm horrible with spell names right now) which is instant cast, this can come in handy for those spontaneous aggros. Keep in mind, though, that it shards a cooldown with your ice chain. The knockback/stun on the ice chain makes it a better choice if you have room and time. If not, run around slowing and hitting erosion while your pet/orbs beat on the dude. This has saved my butt a couple times. You can always root too.
So far, loving the class... even with being underrepresented and all. I'm sure the whole grounded pet thing will become a problem in the not too distant future, but I'm going to stick it out (especially knowing they're planning to change that). How's your Aion going? What's your fave class so far?
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