Real Life

Choices in MMOs

stargrace January 8, 2010 12Comments

I was running out of ideas on what to post this morning (it’s been “one of those” weeks) – and didn’t want to break the three year streak of posting on a daily basis, so thankfully Calthine over on twitter suggested I ‘blog about too many choices in MMOs’. Something I hadn’t really thought of a whole lot.

As much as I love to game (and trust me, I game a lot) there comes a time when I really don’t want to have to think. I don’t want a huge selection of choices on where to go and what to do. Some times I just want to pop into a game and simply play. MMOs are not exactly the type of games that offer this I’ve discovered. If I want that sort of game play (and it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen) I typically pick up a console game. RPGs offer a great selection of ‘follow the story’ where I feel as though I’m progressing, but I don’t have to worry about who I’m playing or what I’m doing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I want LESS choice in my MMOs, I certainly don’t. I’m just saying that some times, having that much choice simply doesn’t appeal to me. Some times I have no idea who I want to play. What server I want to play on, whether I want to quest, adventure, mentor, craft, collect shinies, or any other huge selection of things in EQ2. Some days even figuring out what game to play is a chore in itself. It’s nice that there are SO many games out there, and so much selection, but in times of confusion, or when all you want is something comforting, it can create a headache.

Am I the only person who gets like this? Do we develop gaming ‘habits’ where we log into our favorite MMO with no indication of what to do and simply sit around and log off a few hours later having done nothing ‘productive’ at all out of habit? If I logged into a PC game or a console game I know with a pretty clear mind what I’m going to be doing in any particular game. Again I’m not saying it’s bad, but it makes me think even more about the different types of gaming out there, and how a lot of us are simply not satisfied with one method.

I have no idea if this is what Calthine had in mind when she offered the suggestion, but at least I got a post out of it today (grins). Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, and I’ll see you in Norrath.

The Nomadic Gamer

stargrace December 29, 2009 10Comments

I believe it was Petter who first used the term (to me in chat) that I now see springing up in games everywhere, you can call it what you will, but we’ve all basically turned into ‘nomadic gamers’. To be more specific: “communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location” – in fact I think this would make a fantastic blog name, so I went and created a new site on wordpress in preparation for an idea I have for 2010.We’ll see how it goes, if it goes anywhere. I haven’t fleshed everything out quite yet.

Anyhow. There’s no denying that as we approach 2010 we’ve turned into nomadic gamers. I know VERY few people who play ONE game and ONLY one game these days. Sure maybe you only play one game at a time, but how long do you play for before you move on to something else? Are you constantly applying to betas and hoping to check out ‘the next big thing’? Maybe you enjoy free to play games which rarely hold your attention for any length of time. Or maybe, like me, you’re writing for work and it’s incredibly important to be up to date on everything that’s going on and to have a wide variety of game experiences under your belt.

When I was playing EverQuest I didn’t play anything else. I’m not sure why. Was it because I was content with the game, or maybe just because I didn’t know about any other games out there (remember, still relatively new to this whole scene). Was the MMO industry so small back then that there simply was no other choice (I know there were other choices, I’m just listing off potential reasons here).

So why is it that we’ve become SO intent on trying every single game out, and while we may return ‘home’ we spend a good portion of time trying out new things. I’m not bashing this method at all, I just find it very interesting.

One thing that really interests me is the fact that while we used to look for communities IN GAME we’ve taken to finding our gaming buddies elsewhere – perhaps in order to compensate for the lack of community we feel within the games themselves. With everyone playing everywhere, it can be hard to find that solid community of long time friends. I, for example, turned to twitter, where I can be friends with a whole slew of gamers no matter what game they’re playing in. Before that I used Xfire to connect to my friends who were all over the place, and Raptr, and other programs that are similar. It’s a method for me to still feel a part of the gaming community, even if I don’t actually have a ‘home’ within the games themselves any more, because I’m all over the place. It’s hard to make friends when you’re not sure if you’re playing a particular game for a week, a month, or maybe just that day.

No matter where you find yourself, the key of course is to have fun. If you’re not having fun doing what you’re doing, then don’t do it (unless of course it’s work related, we can’t ALL enjoy every aspect of work all the time, other wise they’d rename work into happy fun time or something similar). I’m still getting used to this nomadic life style of gaming, but it’s been enjoyable. I’m looking forward to what 2010 may bring, and I hope everyone has a great year, no matter what game they find themselves in.

My Game Year in Review

stargrace December 28, 2009 8Comments

It’s been a pretty good year as far as games go, of course I say that every year. I stuck with my basics.

On the MMO front:

EQ2: I played steady throughout 2009, I attempted some TSO raiding on Oasis but the hours were just too much for me and I resigned myself to the fact that I’m just not able to be a raider any more. I closed down my second account, but kept the 12 characters on my main account. For the first time this year I managed to get myself three mythical updates, and ‘complete’ a character before the next expansion comes out in February. New events were added, and I keep on blogging about EQ2 on a fairly frequent basis. I don’t see that changing over 2010, but I am eager for some new content.

EQ: I went back a few times over the year, did some old school raids and even did some videos. My main (necromancer) is 82, and since the latest expansion did not raise the level cap, there’s a chance that in 2010 I may actually manage to get there (there being level 85). I went on an Underfoot tour for work which was a lot of fun, and was reminded once more why I love the communities in games more then anything else.

Vanguard: I didn’t play nearly as much as I wanted to, but I did play every so often, leveling up my blood mage as well as my smaller characters. The level cap went up to 55 and a lot of free content was added. Of course then that very ‘down’ post showed up on the forums and now everyone is doubting the future of Vanguard. Personally, I think it will keep on through 2010 even though players are quite disappointed by the key features that have been shelved.

Aion: Playing this game specifically for work, it’s beautiful but every single aspect is a grind, from leveling to crafting to harvesting. Thankfully having someone to play with makes these tasks far more bearable. I don’t regret playing, there’s still some fun to be found, but it reminded me about how completely different people can be with their play styles. Of course the future was revealed for Aion in a video and we’re all eagerly wondering when and if any of those features will come true. Me? Looking forward to seeing some housing, but I’m not holding my breath.

Champions Online: I was given a 3 month trial of the game for free (due to work) but barely played. Through no fault of the game, I’m just not the super hero type it appears. I did love the character creation process, it was detailed  and I absolutely loved the customization options. Once I got past that there was nothing to keep pulling me in to play.

Wizard 101: I played this game off and on all of 2009 and loved it just as much as ever. It feels like I’ve been stuck in Krokotopia forever, and I’m looking forward to moving on to the next world. The problem is finding the time to actually sit down and play. I also started up a second account so that I could box my characters together, hoping to make some of the fights easier. Since I play mostly for work related articles, I tend to play during the day time when the population has decreased because everyone is at work and school. School specific houses came out, and they’re absolutely incredible. Housing has always been a big pull for me, and it’s great to see some of my favorite games still dedicating themselves towards creating content for that.

Age of Conan: I got two weeks of free play time, and I think I logged in once or twice. It just doesn’t appeal to me, too many other games I play offer the exact same things (and nudity / gore are not things that appeal to me at all).

Warhammer Online: Another one of those ‘if I only had the time’ games, I did sneak in here and there. I’ve always enjoyed WAR, and just wished more people would play. I can’t play this game constantly, because I don’t enjoy PvP constantly. I felt the PvE was lacking, but there have been some amazing revamps and things have changed a little. My account is currently open until the 25th of January, and I’m going to try to squeeze in some more time where I can. We’ll see how that goes.

The Lord of the Rings Online: My little Minstrel is climbing up the levels. This game is just so beautiful to me, and I love the gameplay – not to mention the crafting. I debated whether or not to pick up the life time membership when it dropped back down to $199, but decided to just stick with a three month plan (which also happened to get me Mirkwood for free, when I purchased the $20 adventure pack). I don’t imagine I’ll be giving this game up any time soon, I love the PvE, and I have a lot of friends currently playing, which just makes it a huge bonus.

Fallen Earth: I played the trial to this game, twice. While the genre was not something I typically am interested in (that whole post apocalyptic feeling) the game is a lot of fun. I had a huge learning curve to try to master in a short amount of time, as the game combines FPS and melee combat, crafting is some of the most involved I’ve seen. The graphics are incredible. I’ve been debating whether or not to purchase the full version, especially this holiday season because steam has it on sale for half price. My problem is whether or not I’ll actually be able to make use of the 1 month of play time before it expires, simply due to time limits. In the mean time I’ll keep thinking about it.

World of Warcraft: I didn’t play much WoW over the year, but I kept my account active simply because. It’s one of those games I play for a short while and bore of it before moving on to something else. On the plus side, I did recently manage to make it to level 56 on my main, which allowed me to promptly make a Death Knight who surpassed my four year old character in three hours, reaching level 58. Ouch.

This year is the first year I’ve actually played numerous non-mmo games, and it was great. I purchased an XBox to go along with the PS3 and Wii that are already in the house, and played some fun mario games as well as a lot of Fable II. I bought Torchlight which I love, and Dragon Age when that came out. Sims 3 came out with an expansion and I spent lots of hours lost in both.

I still keep meaning to pop into DDO more often since it’s gone free to play, but again making time is never easy. I also still have EVE sitting on my steam account unactivated because I simply don’t have the time right now to get over that huge learning curve. Then there’s also Guild Wars that I’ve got on the computer, and haven’t played in quite some time. I DO plan on playing all three a lot more in 2010, but when I can’t be certain. Speaking of steam, have you seen all of the amazing deals? It’s a wonder I have time to play anything at all when they keep putting some classics there for sale. I can’t even remember what it was I picked up but I keep telling myself I’ll get to it, eventually.

I hope everyone else had an amazing year, and I hope 2010 brings great things to all of my family and friends. Many hugs!

Acts of Gamer Kindness

stargrace December 19, 2009 0Comment

This year I got it into my mind that I would run a 2009 Gamers Secret Santa, asking anyone who was interested in games in any aspect to participate if they wished. I drew names to match people with their gift receivers, and kept the pricing low. I kept myself out of the draw because I didn’t think it would be fair to know who had me, and just ran it for those who decided to participate. It was a small turn out, but still enough interest to make it worth while for next year (and hopefully more will decide to partake next year, we’ll just have to see).

Anyhow. I had a few reasons for running this which I mentioned before, first and foremost simply because I wanted to bring the community together a bit. Sure, we all play video games – but behind all of those pixelated characters we’re actually people, just doing our thing. We may not be particularly interested in learning more about one another but that’s one of the main aspects to why I game. I love meeting new people, learning about them. Their life, their culture. Differences in opinion. Sharing experiences. All of that keeps me coming back for more. I wanted something simple that would be able to open up that door a bit.

As a thank you yesterday I received the items pictured above in the mail, a thank you for running the 2009 Gamers Secret Santa, and a request to “keep spreading the goodwill”. I was so incredibly touched and happy for the remainder of the day. When Spyderbite posted on twitter that people should ‘pay it forward‘ I couldn’t agree more.

Some times we forget that we have an influence over whether or not someone has a better day then they’re already having, by doing some really simple things. Scarybooster for example has been posting some ‘getting to know‘ posts on his web site, bringing awareness to other writers. I think this is wonderful, and I bet it cheered some people up immensely.

With the new year coming up, I think we should all be a little more aware of our personal random acts of kindness in the gaming world. Giving away gear for free, sending a friend something just because. Not spouting off that rude comment to someone who may actually deserve it. There are so many small things that we can do to make the gaming experience better for someone else without expecting something in return.

To all those who have demonstrated random acts of kindness to me over 2009, thank you. So much. It’s these things I remember and I take with me when I go through difficult times, and it’s made all the difference in the world.

Back to our regular scheduled blog posts! I think I’ve got enough syrup for my pancakes now..

Redemption Mud – Where I came From

stargrace December 3, 2009 2Comments

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m still pretty new to MMOs and gaming in general. I grew up with two brothers who always wanted to play the games, but myself I was involved in other things. It wasn’t until 2001 when I started playing games, and at the time I was playing muds. One specific mud that had a large population of people playing from here in Ottawa. We had mud meets, and I met a lot of really great people who eventually became close real life friends. The mud was called Redemption – and is still running fairly well today for such a local game. I decided to log in last night and wander around, after not playing for a good 7 years.

I used to code for the mud, back when I was an immortal, and designed a zone that revolved around Gulliver’s travels. I also designed a second zone that was themed around gnomes building a theme park that was falling apart, with a house of mirrors that had all the text written backwards. It was a lot of fun. It was also a long time ago.

I logged in and there were 13 others on at the time, which is pretty neat to see. The mud has been around for a very long time, and a lot of love went into building it. I spent hours playing this game at one point in time, eagerly leveling up my characters. The game has three levels of game play. You can be a NC – non-clanner which means no player killing (and also means you can’t be killed and looted), a PK’er (player killer) where you can participate in killing others and there is limited looting, or, ravager (which is new to me) which is full on PK complete with full looting. There are four clans, one was Seeker, which disliked PK (even though they could still be PK’d) and would not initiate fights with anyone, but could defend themselves if wanted. They tried to get along with all of the clans. Kindred were the ‘big bad scary’ clan, they would kill anything that moved. Then there was also Kenshi and Venari.

The whole reason I even mention this game is because as I was cleaning out my desk I came across a notebook filled with directions and it just brought back a flood of memories. I used to have a non-clanner named aimee, and she would write an article twice a week called the NCN – Non clanner news. All of my notes for these articles are stored in this tiny notebook I have, and some are quite amusing.

• Deck clan halls with lowbie corpses Fa La La La La, La La, La La
• T’is the season for full looting Fa La La La La, La La, La La
• Kindred’s coming, time to flee now
• Fa La La, La La La, La La La
• Joining Seeker, Can’t catch me now
• Fa La La La La, La La, La La.

It was little silly things like those articles that kept me entertained and still playing the game. I did interviews with IMs and Clanners, and generally just had a good time. I was pleased to see that the game still runs and not a whole lot has changed. The clans are all still there, commands are basically the same. I completely forgot how to set up my prompt to display things I actually wanted shown, in colours so I’d pay attention. I know everyone is always saying you can never go back, but honestly, I’ve been back to EQ and WoW and Redemption and have enjoyed every moment of it. The games have evolved but not changed from when I played. They’re still fun – I spent over an hour in Redemption last night, a welcomed break from my regular MMO gaming. Of course it also means I slacked on work, but hey that’s what Thursdays are for, right?

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself. If you happen to find yourself in an older game then by all means write about it and let me know!