Now What?

Well, I did something I never thought I would do. I cancelled my World of Warcraft account. Not sure why, but I just didn't see the sense in paying for a game that I was only playing maybe twice a month. Sure, I had lots of friends wanting me to hang with them and do stuff, but my heart just wasn't in it. I just couldn't see myself leveling up another 5 levels and then do dungeon after dungeon for gear only to turn around and start raiding for better gear again and again. The mechanic for end game just doesn't rock my boat, flip my pancakes, or launch my rocket anymore.

It bores me to grind, grind and grind some more only to find out that once I'm at the top, if I ever get there, its still not enough. Its just enough of an obstetrical till Blizzard decides to launch another update that includes another area that hasn't been unlocked with more grinding involved. I've done it, and I've done it for 5 years. I think the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Well, its insane for me to stay subscribed to WoW, because its going to be the same old thing.

Wanting to avoid more insanity, I've decided not to jump on the Rift band wagon. I've read about the end game there and its similar if not the same as any other end game. Do dungeons for gear, then do more dungeons, then raid and raid till you get to the penultimate raiding dungeon and defeat the bosses there. Sure, they will have different degrees of dungeons, different sizes of raids and different ways to defeat bosses that will make it different from WoW and other MMO's but not different enough to capture me. Besides, right now is the wrong time to join Rift. They are working out server loads, population caps and every day since head start people have been waiting in line to play with on their guild selected servers. Some guilds I'm sure have had to move because they can't get into the servers they wanted at launch and are scrambling to keep guildies together. Its a mad house but nothing the MMO community didn't expect with a brand new child. So, I'll wait a bit. See things calm down a bit. Wait for the tourist season to subside and then quietly slip in under the radar and play me a little Rift, probably in 2 or 3 months.

Not sure what I will be doing now. I've been playing some Oblivion on the Xbox and its fun. I can probably spend a lot of time there. I've also been invited to play a little Champions online with a few friends. Right now I'm only playing the free 2 play version but who knows, if things pick up I may had back there full time. But for now, I'm MMO-less and it feels good.

The Kindle

I have been thinking of picking up a Kindle. I have a vast book collection, mostly Scifi fantasy, which tends to be very heavy when traveling. But as I was reading my current book, Robert Jordan's "The Great Hunt" it occurred to me that one of things you can't get from an e-reader is a visual as to how far you have left in the book.

Looking at my book, I could easily see the thickness and how far I had left till I reached the end. Sure, if I got a Kindle I could do the math. I'm on page 200 of a 350 book, but being able to look at the thickness left on the other side of your thumb is something that you can't get from a Kindle or any other e-reader and I'm not exactly sure I want to give up that visual.

Just a quick observation.

How did I get here?

I seem to have become a very angry gamer and blogger. Oh, I've been known to rant from time to time about things that get under my skin, like ex WoW players who think Blizzard is the anti-Christ or crazy people that just lash out and offer comment without actually knowing what they are angry about or whom to focus their anger on. But lately, it seems that all my blogs have been unusually angry. I don't report anything interesting or having anything very interesting to say, I just attack and let the blood fly.

In my last post, I basically asked bloggers who participate in betas to stop pre-judge those games until they are released. I did this without actually forming any kind of theory as to the motivation they have for offering these opinions nor did I even ask them why they do it. I have since come to a conclusion that may explain the need that compels bloggers to chat up betas, specifically MMO betas, so much.

I know the community is hungry for information on the next possible WoW killer and when an MMO looks promising people in beta want to dish on all the info, good or bad. They want to be the ones that find the oasis in the desert and help guide gamers to it. People want to find that next gem in the rough and when its found, they want to be the first on board. The problem is, there have been more lumps of coal than actually gems of late and people are getting very annoyed with this trend. So, I really can't fault bloggers for wanting to find the promise land. How can I when even I'm looking for it.

The future of MMO gaming, as I see it, isn't very bright these days. We have WoW and we have a number of WoW clones. Which is great, if you like WoW, but not if you don't. For the record, I still like WoW, but even I want something new to play. On the horizon we have Rift and SWTOR. Both seem to have promise.

Rift has had several successful beta tests, the community is all a buzz with activity and the release date is very soon. Prognoses looks good that this could hold the attention of some for a few months maybe even longer. The game is different in some aspects to a WoW, but not too different to frighten away gamers. There is positive hope that this might put a good dent in WoWs armor for a while, at least long enough till SWTOR hits shelves in the fall.

By all accounts SWTOR could be a great hit. The IP is very strong and BioWare has been known to put out a few successful titles here and there, the Mass Effect Series comes to mind. A lot of detail has gone into the game, lots of lore and separate quest lines for each of the different characters which will all voice over. Could be very exciting or could be a complete disaster. Long decision quest trees and the long wait for quests to be read out loud to players might turn a lot of people off. Did I mention the game has a Smuggler, Bounty Hunter and Jedi class? So maybe it takes a little longer to get your quest.

In between those titles we have Guild Wars 2 set to be pushed out onto shelves. I've only seen a few things, but it looks like devs have decided to move the game more towards the traditional MMO style this time around, which isn't winning over a lot of loyal GW players. Still, being a free to play model, they shouldn't have any problem getting players to populate servers. Success is pretty much a forgone conclusion. The MMO community will play it, but I'm sure they will be itching to pick up another pay to play game in between visits to GW2.

But to my knowledge, with the exception of a few smaller MMOs that tend to come out every year, most of them either going with a micro transaction model or are some version of a converted Asian MMO's the future of MMO gaming is pretty bleak. I mean, if neither of the above big titles captures the hearts and minds of WoW players, then Blizzard will remain king for another year. I'm not saying thats bad, but even I think its time to move forward and I love WoW.

Again, I understand the need for bloggers to talk about their beta experiences. They want to give hope to the masses that this will be the year of change in the MMO community. that a new champion will emerge from the dust and we will have something exciting to play again.

STFU

I've often blogged about the pitfalls of hype, especially when it's generated by those participating in betas. How irresponsible it is to express feelings, good or bad, be it through blogs or tweets about a product that clearly isn't ready for mass public consumption hence the title "Beta".

No matter how hard it is to resist, people still insist that telling the world about their experiences while playing an incomplete product is the best way to hype or destroy said product. It's the right thing to do, because we don't want those reading our RSS or twitter feed to misunderstand how this unfinished product has changed our view of gaming one way or the other. It would be a disservice to hold back how we really feel about the 10% of a under development game we've experienced. How the small or big tweaks they've made though the beta process have either wet our appetites or made us lose our collective lunches.

I just don't understand why so many judge something they've never actually played. It's like reviewing a movie when you've only seen the opening credits. Who wants those people to tell them what to buy a ticket for?

True, people go out of their way to explain that these are their feelings and they don't necessarily reflect the views of the community as a whole, but that's just crap. People tweet and blog so others will read their opinions. They want people to share in the experience and those that follow you do it because they empathize with what your feeling and saying. You have influence over others.

So do some of us a favor and stop spoiling the end to our gaming. I know you want to share but do it when your playing an actual released product not a "Beta".

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

Screw Gamers

I have met some pretty interesting and amazing people through the inter tubes as they say. I've met some cool bloggers, gamers and lots of people while playing WoW. But are Internet friends, real friends?

Now, I've had some pretty good conversations, interesting adventures and long drawn out arguments with people I have met in game. All of it to some degree has been entertaining and fun. But the thing that I always discover is that those relationships tend to fall apart or evaporate just as easily as they come together. The truth is that you don't know who is behind that cartoon character running with you to kill that elite mob. Sure you can hear their voice on vent but are they really vested in being your friend once their personal goal in game is met? You don't know their life story or what their financial situation is. You don't know where they live or what color their kitchen wall is. They are users of animated characters in a game that could close down tomorrow and then what would you have in common?

Real life friends are people you grew up with, who you've socialized with in college or at work. People who you have something other than a game in common with. They attend your wedding or come to your child's birthday party. They hang out during the super bowl or exchange gifts during xmas. You are to some degree, invested in their well being and they in yours. You actually care what they think about you and vice verse. Their is something more than a digital world between you. Even if you get pissed at each other in game, your still going to be friends because of your history together.

You don't have that with a stranger you meet in a game. They aren't invested in the relationship. There is nothing there to prevent them from logging off for good and never seeing you again. When their work is done in game, what is the motivation to keep in contact with you? I have had more people be my friend in WoW only to have them bail for greener and richer pastures. You just have no guarantee of their commitment or how long it will be there. It just seems to happen time after time, which is probably why people think those that play WoW are a bunch of asshats.

I'm not saying that I don't value the friendships I have met through games or the internet. I have. I have met lots of great people this way, but I don't really know them. We have gaming in common and maybe a few other things, but they don't know the real me and I don't know the real them. We are as different as an apple and a grape. I'm just saying that I've been burned too many times to think I'm the only one who hopes an in game friendship will last longer than one expansion or guild. I know lots of people meet their soul mate and marry, but those are exceptions to the rule. What rule is that? Digital friendships are just one key stroke way from being deleted all the time.

So what have I learned? Real life friends are friends you can depend on, because they value the friendship more. They are invested in being your pal. The other side of that is you can't depend on people you meet in game, not really, not to any amount of certainty. They consider you single serving friends. People you can play with and hang out with, but who are always on the look out for something better on the horizon. My advice? You just have to do your own thing and hope that someone will stay as long as you need to get what you want out of the relationship.

The circle is now complete and thus ends the lesson

More Apples

I criticized a fellow blogger for excluding me from his blog roll. Now, I'm not one to complain about not being on a blog roll per say but I felt slighted just a little and I'll tell you why.

You see me and this other blogger have grown very close over the past few months. I thought we had something special. We would exchange tweets and reminisce about farts, bowl movements and his lack of a decent sex life. I had grown very fond of this person, so I decided very early on in our relationship that I would do him homage by placing him on my blog roll. Now, I'm not one to blow my own horn, but I think my blog is pretty darn good, I mean, Kotaku even quoted me recently and I do know a few movers and shakers in the gaming industry, none that would actually come forward at the time of this writing to admit such a relationship even existed but still I know of them. I also feel that being placed on my blog roll is a landmark for any blogger and its a prized position. Your either interesting as a writer or you not on my blog roll. But I'm feel I'm losing you as a reader so I will continue with the true story.

So, I decided recently to check out the blog of my precious and what did I find? I had been omitted from his blog. I quickly brought the vacancy of my name on his roll to his attention, because I have no shame and any traffic is always good traffic. However, in rectifying this slight, I may have under estimated my own true value to this other blogger, my precious, my fart buddy. Apparently, my name is now on his blog roll, but with the added title of "Large Drunk Penis". I wanted to say, I almost weeped with joy when I read it. I never knew he felt that way about me, and therefore, I...

OMG.. really? Am I going to write an entire blog about Scary calling me a Large Drunk Penis? No not really. I was hoping that by rambling, as Scary often does at the beginning of his blogs, that I might come to some type of epiphany by the end of mine. One that I could wrap up into some kind of gaming MMO blog post or metaphor, but I'm really not all that creative.

Well, I could start off by saying that Rift is an interesting game. I've actually chosen not to play in the 5th beta this week because, well, I'm just not sure its the game for me. True as Scary says, apples are all different with different sizes, tastes and even different looks, but in the end no matter what else, they are still apples. But I already have a favorite apple WoW and I actually like it just fine enjoying it. Sure, I know that I'll get tired of playing it when I reach end game and I've gone through all the raid instances with friends, but that really doesn't diminish the enjoyment I get out of the game now. Those that have reached end game since Cataclysm was released are spouting that its the worst expansion Blizzard has ever released and yet, they were the first online to get it and the first to consume all of its content, so its a win win for Blizzard even if those people bail to try out Rift. But I like WoW just fine and I see no need to replace something that works with something thats a big question mark.

Will Rift hurt World of Warcraft? No more than Lotro or WAR did when they got released. A few will play Rift to level cap then wonder, what next? They will start to yearn for WoW. It always happens. People will want the familiar surroundings of Azeroth. Blizzard will drop in some new free content in a few months, about the time people realize that Rift is after all, just like all the other apples in the barrel. Will it sustain a good following to keep it up? Sure. I predict that those playing Lotro, EQ2 or WAR will easily jump over to Rift. A few with be WoW players, but not as many as some predict.

I'm just realistic not pessimistic. I've seen it all before, Tabula Rasa, Champions, Age of Conan and WAR. Enough hype to power a rocket to the moon, but not enough for the return trip. People go because they want to taste the fresh water, but they don't want to stay there. Eventually, Rift will start to merge servers after 9 maybe 10 months and in a year and a half it will be a F2P model. That's just the future. Besides, people forget that SWTOR is right around the corner and I'm sure BioWare has no intentions of letting Rift beat them. Especially with such a valued IP in their hot little hands. No, Rift will go strong for a while, but people will flock back to WoW eventually.

So says the Large Drunk Penis.

I am a blog!

I am a blog, but what is my true purpose?

Am I just ramblings on a web page or do I have meaning to others? Do readers find me informative or do they point and laugh and discuss how much little thought was put into my construction?

Is it my "job" to report the news or just be abusive and criticize others for their failings and lack of insight? Do I provoke thoughtful discussion among peers or gather frothing fanboys to me?

These questions and others are often asked by most people when deciding whether or not to create a blog, especially a gaming blog.

Do I report how I feel about a game or report what the general population feels? Should I be brutally honest or fudge a little so as to not incur the wraiths of fellow bloggers or fanboys? Will I be a propaganda machine for my favorite games or just report the news and remove any emotional hype?

It's hard to be a blogger. If your popular and your opinion is viewed and respected then any misstep can cause people to pound your site with unwanted comments. Worse, you can be the ire of fellow bloggers not because they want to oppose you but so they can pull hits from your misstep onto their site and I'm sure this happens more than people will admit.

Blogging is a lot if fun, but it can be as pulse pounding as getting ganked over and over and just as frustrating if you let it be. The trick is to remember that blogging is for your personal enjoyment. I have said this before and I will say it again, I blog for me, not for you!!.

If you like it or hate it, leave a comment or add me to your reader, but if not that's cool too. I'm gonna do my thing whether I get 1 or 1,000,000 views a day and fellow bloggers and readers should understand that there is no wrong or right blog just the fun of blogging.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod