May 21, 2012

It’s Never “Just A Game” #EQ2 #MMORPG

If you ever thought that video games were “just games” then you’ve never really been a part of a community like the ones I’ve been a part of over the last 10 years. A little while ago I heard about Ribbitribbitt – a 6 year old boy with cancer who was given 6-12 weeks to live. His mother put out a plea on the EQ2 forums to players, she wanted an amazing play ground that her little boy could run around in, since he was unable to do so in real life.

The players stepped forward with something that went well above and beyond what anyone could have predicted. The event was massive, and Zam.com has put together a wealth of videos, screen shots, and tributes.

It was with a heavy heart that we all learned that Ribbitribbitt passed away quietly in his sleep, May 20th. Players once more poured forth their condolences, although what the family is even going through I can’t begin to imagine, having never been there myself.

Video games are never ‘just’ games any more. As soon as you have interaction with another human being – even in a virtual world, you’re leaving some sort of foot print on their actual lives. Keep that in mind, next time you’re sitting down to play.

R.I.P. Ribbitribbitt. Thank you, for showing me what an amazing community of people is out there. I’m so sorry that it some times takes such a sad circumstance to shed so much light.

Spending a Weekend In The Mines #WurmOnline

I love boat caves. There are some pretty impressive ones I’ve seen over the last six months. My neighbor Yetian has been building one to house boats that come to visit him, and Hord has some of the most impressive boat tunnels I’ve ever seen before. It involves a lot of mining, and since mines are 2D and not 3D it makes for some interesting times.You can’t build mines directly on top of one another because it will create dangerous drop shafts (there’s no falling damage in mines, but you may find yourself stuck and surrounded by creatures who are eager to chew off your face).

This weekend I had to work on fixing my mine quite a bit due to some collapsing that happened. I actually didn’t mind as there was a large portion of my silver mine that was pretty much un-useable, the floors were all crooked and you had to climb up them to get out of the pit they were situated in. A few shaker orbs later, and things were looking much better. Added some reinforcement beams and they were looking nice and secure. I even had some time to work on my jewel crafting which has been sorely neglected these past few weeks while I worked on my weapon smithing.

It’s a holiday here in Canada, Victoria Day, so I’m enjoying one more game-filled day (it’s really warm out and me and the heat don’t get along that well) before getting back to the grind on Tuesday. I hope everyone has a fantastic time, no matter where you find yourself. Happy gaming!