New Beginnings (or Back in the Saddle)

Categories:

d. Everything Else

May 27, 2010

by

Hello, loyal Readers!  My name is H00LiGAN (or Alex to my enemies…yeah I’m looking at you, Mom) and I will be one of your new Game by Night contributors!

You may also remember me (or not) from such blogs as Twist-it Logic (deleted), Kingdom of Snark (we broke up; it was very bitter), and IRuletehInternetz.com (ok…made that one up).

After having survived the latest wave of Life-beatdowns (aka toddler, pregnant wife, new baby), I had been thinking about a return to the blog-o-sphere.  When Chris sent out the call for new contributors, my decision was made, and I jumped at the chance. And so began the lengthy interview process: I asked ‘please?’ and he said ‘meh, i guess’.

So what do I do, you ask?  Wait, what? You didn’t ask? Eh, well tough nuggets, I’m going to tell you anyway.

In short, I am a mild-mannered QA Software tester by day, spectacular father/husband by evening, and very tired medium-core gamer by night (see what I did there?). Since y’all are here, I imagine you’re more interested in the gaming portion of what I do.  This is good, because I’m a lot better at gaming than testing and it’s a heck of a lot more interesting.

I am currently making my way back to World of Warcraft for the umpteenth time as well as dabbling in the Starcraft II beta; and by dabbling, I mean clicking on a few buildings and then watching someone blow them up.

I’m also finally catching up on my Xbox 360 back log. Ayup, soon enough the shrink-wrap will finally come off of Deadspace and Fifa 10!  Right now I’m working my way through Record of Agarest War (seriously not as dumb as it looks) and Borderlands.

I also have a Wii……um yeah, sooo that’s about all I can say about that.

And that’s the quick and short of it.  Check back soon to see if I’ve written anything interesting and in the mean time feel free to friend me on Xbox (wrathchi1d) or Raptr (H00LiGAN).

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Living In Azeroth vs. Azeroth Living Here.

Categories:

a. MMORPG

May 26, 2010

by

Hello Game By Night readers!

My name is Gavin or as most of my fellow adventurers know me, Yogi.  Let me start by throwing out a thank you to Chris for letting me have the chance to terrify and bore his reader base.  It’s not very often that someone is willing to let others play around with their prized blog, and I hope to leave it in shambl… erm the pristine condition I found it.  I spent most of my morning over a cup of coffee trying to decide whether to allocate my energy to a thoughtful well rounded post, or just to wake up.  Seeing as the former requires the later, you will be pleased to know that I am very much awake.  Still waiting on that thoughtful part, though.

I decided to start the process of posting by searching for material to talk about here on Game By Night.  I began rummaging through the dusty back logs of Chris’s posts, looking for a gem of motivation or some material that I could provide a nice counter rant to.  Alas, the guy seems to be too on top of his game and has left me with nothing but instinct to further humiliate myself with.  I hope to provide some intellectual content mixed with a little humor in the future. This first post, however,  is going to be less intelligent and more Yogi working out his caffeine buzz. That said, let’s get going!

A little under a week ago, Chris asked you all what MMO world you would like to live in?  I am still trying to answer this question myself.  With so many wonderful worlds to explore, I can’t decide between flying space ship, casting spells, or just having the opportunity to stand next to an elf babe hoping that she finds my ability to run in fear, cute and charming.

At first I started to agree with Chris. Azeroth sounds like a fun mystical world to live in.  With a variety of landscapes and interesting creatures to see, I think it would be an experience full of wonderment, until you looked around.  It may just be me, but have you ever considered how much killing is going on in the MMO world?  Slay these beasts, take these organs, destroy these pirates.  Hey pirates can be evil, but I know one of the hundreds killed daily has to have a family waiting back home for daddy Longshanks to bring home the booty.  If not sooner, when I was ‘level’ 65 ish and touring Nagrand elbow deep in Talbulk terd, the wonder would begin to fade.

Each and every one of these MMO worlds we participate in seems to be torn in some sort of chaotic war.  Sure it is pleasant from our cushy office chairs, but I dont think I could stand wandering into creepy dungeons with animated dead bodies as ‘friends.’   “What is that a dead slug?”  “Oooh, sorry bout that.” *replaces left ass cheek*

Perhaps I am taking too cynical of an approach on the fantasy of living in one of these games.   I guess it’s better than the ALTERNATIVE of trying to make these worlds exist in ours.  The Massively article (linked previously) talks about Game Nation is trying to build “the world’s first Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort. Visitors will become players as they step into a realistic re-creation of a world filled with myths, legends and arenas all crying out for their champion.”

0.o

To me this sounds like a fantastic and fun idea for exploration.  Although I doubt it will be an open world and progression will be as linear as a Resident Evil title.  I just cant seem to wrap my head around this idea catching on.  Sure I would love to be able to wear a flowing cloak.  Yes, I would love to sip down a pint with an orc or a gnome.  No, I don’t want some terrifying theme park mascot asking me if I would like to party with him through the blank gaze of a giant mask.   The most support for one of these theme parks would have to come from A) people who already dress in cosplay  and run around the woods throwing streamers for magic or B) children.   My imaginary role play will probably never get to the level of group A.  Ill stick with DnD where if an orc kills me, I can now go grab a soda rather than sit in the bushes hoping a priest trips on me.  As for group B, do you really want to wander around a world made for kids?  I mean Hello Kitty is awesome, but I dont want my theme park questing to be nostalgic of my middle school home ec. class.   I can’t help but feel sorry for any employees that would have to play roles within the park.  Sure it is nice to imagine they would all be working there because they love to RP. Realistically, most of the positions would be filled with people just wanting some work.  I just imagine these people having bad attitudes, and that is about as useful for my immersion as the 12 year old talking about women’s anatomy in trade channel while linking his Deep Wound skill.

So I guess I have come to the conclusion that at this point, I am happy just playing them as games.  All of the wonder and excitement with none of the realty.  Although if I absolutely had to choose one mmo world to live in I think I would go for EVE.  One of the few galaxies you can spend your time at the local space station drinking cocktails while your skills magically improve.

Thanks again to Chris, and thank you all for reading.

Yogi

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The Case for the Hero Class

Categories:

a. MMORPG

May 26, 2010

by

I’ve been gone from World of Warcraft for some time, but, since returning, I’ve found myself reminded why I fell in love with WoW: the dungeons. Tonight, it was Violet Hold. Though exceptionally quiet (not a word spoke until the final boss was downed), it was a good run; quick and easy. I was able to keep threat the whole time, and only stuttered when I accidentally alt+tabbed out of window meaning to hit my alt+1 skill. I don’t think anyone noticed, though, because we got through it, pew-pewing our way to glory, and had the good time only a smooth, uninhibited run can provide.

The Arch-Druid should be the next Hero Class

Yet, even though I enjoy playing my mage arguably just as much as my Death Knight, I haven’t played him for more than a few minutes at a time. Why? Because I’m perpetually stuck waiting 10 minutes or more fun a dungeon. That’s not to say that there’s nothing to do on him, I could always quest, after all, but these experiences have really evidenced one of the biggest remaining problems in World of Warcraft: the proliferation of DPS classes.

But, I have to ask, why is that a problem? DPS is fun to play and I blame no one for taking it up over tanking/healing. There’s no responsibility (usually), so every run turns into a minigame to see how high you can push Recount. Every dungeon is a chance to see how powerful you are. Does tanking and healing do the same thing? No. At least, not in a way that appeals to the majority of players. Tanking is pass/fail and failing results in embarrassment. Healing gives the numbers but relies on the player being more of a helper than an ass-kicker.

The tank shortage was largely addressed when Wrath came out. If you played during TBC, you know how bad it got. I remember sitting in groups, using the LFG channel, and waiting for hours for a tank to respond. And then, the group had to live up to their standards or else they’d move on. Tanks being commodities, back then.

WoW’s first Hero Class made tanking easy and fun. Granted, the numbers game still isn’t as satisfying, since no one is competing with you, but the ease with which threat is kept emulates a great sense of power. DK numbers spiked initially and have since leveled out. We’re no longer in a situation where every dungeon would net you a DK tank, but it’s not uncommon, and the addition of more tanks into the pool help keep groups supplied.

And yet, here we are, almost two years out of the gate, looking down the aisle at Cataclysm, and there’s no additional Hero Class on the horizon. Why? Certainly, the great success of the Death Knight should have sent the message that we enjoy the additional options HCs provide.

The way I see it, there are a few possible reasons.

  • They don’t want players skipping New Azeroth; or,
  • They don’t mind DPSers waiting 15 minutes for dungeons; or,
  • They’re holding it for future expansions.

Death Knight in a cow suit! Wait...

Out of the three, I’d put my money on a combination of 2 and 3. It doesn’t make much sense to avoid a new class to keep people in Azeroth when thousands of players will go right into the 80+ content anyways.

We also can’t forget that, though she’s aging gracefully, WoW is getting pretty old. There’s still a lot of life left in the ol’ gal, but, let’s face it, the game hasn’t shown much growth in the last two years. Players are shifting in and out, and I’m sure it’ll spike with the expansion, but if Blizzard hopes to continue pulling old players back, they need to keep having exciting additions to offer. A new Hero Class certainly falls under that heading, and will be well received in the expansion after Cataclysm. As I mentioned before, I don’t think Cataclysm is going to last as long as Wrath. Blizzard will have a harder time pulling players back the more time goes on, this might be an ace they’re keeping in the hole.

Yet, I can’t help feeling we’re missing out on a good opportunity by not making new Hero Classes a standard expansion feature. I mean, let’s get the tank and healing classes out of the way first, and then bring in the more fun and creative ones. They’re giving all of the old world an overhaul, providing HC versions of existing classes would be like applying the same philosophy to every role. It’s an area of the game full of potential for exciting new ideas.

I’m not expecting any word on a new Hero Class anytime soon, so maybe this is all just a lot of wash. Still, it’s fun to think about what the future might hold. What about you, does WoW need more HCs, and healers at that?

Anyhow, I’m off to teach fourth grade. Happy Hump Day, folks!


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The Multiverse – Episode #18: “You are my Cold Sore (featuring Syp)”

Categories:

a. MMORPG, d. Everything Else

May 25, 2010

by

Welcome back, everybody, to another episode of The Multiverse. We were happy to be joined by a surprise guest this week, Syp from Bio Break and his new digs at Massively! We covered the week’s news (which lead to some extensive and great conversation), what Syp’s been up to for Massively, and entered into Blog-o-Whirl #2. The topics we pulled are:

My blog of the week this week is the Nomadic Gamer. Keep up the great work guys!

Vagary Homepage
Subscribe to the Show
iTunes Feed
Download/Listen Here: [audio:http://vagary.tv/multiverse/episodes/multiverse18.mp3]

On a side note, I apologize for the lack of updates recently. I just got a new computer and have been working hard to get it “game ready,” and it hasn’t left me with much free time to keep track of the news/blogs/games I like to. I should be about done today, though, so we should be back to normal soon. As always, thanks for stopping by!

– Chris

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Don’t Blame Blizzard for a Stagnant Industry

Categories:

a. MMORPG

May 23, 2010

by

Is this the state of the MMO industry?

In one of the most poignant and well written posts on the topic I’ve seen, Wolfshead blames Blizzard for the stagnation that’s he sees as plaguing the MMO industry. He has a lot of good reasons why he feels this way, not the least of which being that they’ve done very little to advance the genre beyond making soloing a viable option. He also places the sorry state of much of the game’s community at the feet of this very innovation, moving what was once a bristling and aspiring community into one that solely wants more of the same.

But, I don’t think it’s fair to blame Blizzard here. Their key innovation, that soloability, is probably the single most meaningful paradigm shift since these games went graphical. Their subscription numbers bear it out: people like what WoW is offering. Is it Blizzard’s responsibility to advance and progress the genre, or is it their imperative to iterate and refine? Their track record shows more of the latter and much less of the former.

If there is anyone to blame for the crop of similarly featured MMOs to come out in the last five years, it’s the businessmen that prefer to capitalize on the WoW model rather than develop something new and innovative for themselves. Innovation is risky and these guys simply don’t want to do it. The fact is, it’s a much safer proposition to put their own coat of paint on the design that made WoW famous, add a couple of minor features that come with the times (ie, flight), and call it a day. The lack of innovation and resulting stagnation is a byproduct of fear and laziness.

You can’t blame Blizzard for sticking with what worked for them. They’re not doing anything wrong and they have no responsibility to anyone other than their playerbase, to which they’ve consistently delivered a “WoW experience.” We have to ask, do we blame the people who came up with a new idea and built their success upon it, or the people who shamelessly seek to thrive off of the rehashed ideas of others, while offering very few of their own. We the players have honored Blizzard’s refinement and rejected much of what has sought to capitalize on their core offerings.

All that being said, I do wish WoW would innovate more. They hold more sway in this industry than any other studio could ever hope to attain. When they move, people notice. But that’s not how Blizzard works. They’re not holding anyone back. The suits deciding the prerogatives for each new AAA model are. You could sum up every major release since WoW came out with the simple phrase “11 million people can’t be wrong” and you’d have a viable explanation for the resulting games.

Icarus is indie: they listen, they respond, they take risks

Which is why, perhaps, we’ve seen more indie games being reported on by sites like Massively. The way I see it, MMO releases are now split into two trees: AAA and indie. Any new AAA title will follow the basic principles that made WoW popular; that’s the market they’re trying to tap into. Otherwise, the sad truth is, the game would probably never have seen the light of day due to their difficulty in getting people to invest the massive amounts of money it would require.

So, I agree and empathize with much of what Wolfshead says, but, on this core topic, I think we need to expand our focus a little bit. Regardless, it’s an interesting read and I thank him for writing it. Yet, you can’t blame Blizzard for sticking to what made them successful. It’s like trying to hold celebrities to a higher standard because they’re in the public eye. It’d be nice if they all wore underwear and kept off of Oprah’s couch, but I’m not expecting it.

Blizzard, like those celebrities, is its own entity. We shouldn’t demand change from them, we should demand change from the games that want to dethrone World of Warcraft. If we truly do not want more of the same, then eventually even the most devout WoW fan will come up for air and aid in that decision. If we don’t want WoW, the game to defeat WoW will offer something new and exciting. Better yet, it will take what works with WoW and make it their own.

That is what these studios need to be copying.

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11 comments

Some Assembly Required: The $25 Article

Categories:

a. MMORPG, d. Everything Else

May 22, 2010

by

Hey Guys,

I’m 8 minutes late in letting you know! Sorry about that. My latest article is up at Lagwar and in it I discuss the $25 CashCat SOE just dropped on their player base. I have a question for you guys, too. Why was everyone up in arms at Blizzard and so few EQ2 bloggers seem to mind the cat? These are the questions that plague us MMO sociologists. Yes, I just turned being a blogger into an academic discipline. */_/ <— Mortarboard.

Anyways, let’s talk about it. Enjoy!

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1 comment

/LFM!

Categories:

d. Everything Else

May 22, 2010

by

Hey Guys,

Here’s a fun fact I don’t think I’ve mentioned before: Game by Night was never meant to be a solo project. Actually, when I bought the domain and set it up, I invited a couple of friends to help in the task. Ryan comes by from time to time, but I think it’s about time I open the door and give an official invitation for you to join my blog.

To ask a reader to become a regular contributor is a big thing. So, this is a no pressure deal. I’m happy writing here with Ryan and others popping in from time to time. There are even a couple of familiar faces waiting in the wings to post here. Still, I’ve never officially put out the word that we’re looking for new members to join the team. So, here’s the word!

If you’re interested, please send an email to admin@gamebynight.com and we can talk. The only pre-requisite I’d ask for is the ability to proofread your work, since I can’t guarantee to act as an editor on every post that gets submitted. Also, to get this out there, this is a write what you want, when you want, type deal.

To our regular readers, no worries; nothing will change here. This is pretty much just an announcement of what should have been announced months ago 🙂

– Chris

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What MMO World Would You Live In?

Categories:

a. MMORPG

May 21, 2010

by

A personal space in Playstation Home

The topic on my mind this morning is a pretty simple one: from among all of the different MMORPGs you’ve played or been interested in, which one would you choose to live in if given the chance? I’ve asked myself this many times in the last few years, and I think it’s pretty telling about the kind of games that might be a good fit for you.

For me, the answer would be WoW’s Azeroth, hands down. It’s not realistic at all, but, in fact, the stylization makes it much more appealing to me as a virtual home. This fact has come as a little bit of a shock to me. I love realistic graphics and I really feel like they help me become more immersed in the game world. WoW’s art style hits a special spot for me, though, so it lends itself to immersion in a totally different way than, say, LotRO.

Before writing this post, I mentally tallied up the different games I’ve played over the years. There’s a lot, and I’ve had fun in almost all of them. And yet, still, when I ask myself what worlds (not necessarily game) resonated the best with me, it was always the stylized.

You see, I think stylized graphics win out in one key way: they’re non-threatening. From childhood, we’re taught that feeling safe is one of the single most important factors in life. Stylizard, or cartoony, graphics can present the fantastic, even the horrible, while remaining safe. Animals and monsters might seem scary, but they’re really not; they’re all part of this whimsical theme encapsulated by the game. It’s fantastic in a fun way, rather than a drab way.

A neighborhood in LotRO

Maybe it’s better if we look at it from the other side. Realistic graphics don’t temper the desperation most MMO settings present. Take Age of Conan. I would never want to live in that world because, frankly, it’s no place for heroes. It’s a place where people get their heads cut off in HD. The bleakness of the world, of the people, isn’t held back for the sake of the theme.

LotRO is another example. While I enjoy the game immensely and often stand in awe at the graphics, I wouldn’t want to live there because, really, it’d be pretty boring. Very pretty, some neat architecture, but boring nonetheless. Living in Middle-Earth would be like living in Scotland or a remote area of Europe, plus a few trolls.

Stylized games don’t compare with pre-exisiting standards we’ve developed from the wonders of the true world. They relish in their over-saturated, many colored, artwork. Since they don’t compare with anything other than games sharing their art style, it’s much easier to sink in and accept them independent of other comparison points.

So, I’d live in Azeroth. After a while, the world starts to become very familiar. To be honest, I oftentimes don’t even notice that it’s starting to look a bit dated. I like that sunsets are fantastic splendors of color and cloud. I like that mountains are rounded and that tree limbs are spindles of twisting and turning wood. I even like the ground textures, layered with detail, all the while flat.

What about you, what world would you choose to live in if given the choice?

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Why WoW is like an old Shoe

Categories:

a. MMORPG

May 19, 2010

by

That might sound derogatory, but I promise it’s not. As I mentioned a while back, I re-upped my subscription to WoW for this month. My re-entry into the game has been a bit hap-hazard, I’m afriad. My original plan was to work on my Death Knight and pull him the rest of the way to 80 (he’s 75 now). Yet, on that first night, I was bombarded with error messages and a UI gone bonkers from not having played in six months. I blame Curse; no better than a common peddler, I tell ya. So, I got annoyed for an evening, distracted for the couple days that followed and came crawling back to the Curse Client for my fix of fresh addons.

But, once I got in is when the real fun started. I have a problem. I always feel like I know exactly what I want to do until I get the chance to do it, then I get the urge to start on something else. So, when I came to the character select screen, I threw caution to the wind and changed realms away from my DK. No, it was a night for my mage to melt face. Except, when the time came for face melting fun, I was immediately ganked before the zone loading bar even finished for me. But, hey, I had a plan and I was going to stick to it. I flew back to my corpse (having died in Icecrown), rezzed, and queued up for a random dungeon. Word on the street says that you can get more gear through tokens than you could six months ago. So, queued I did.

That’s when I saw it. Approximate wait time: >12 minutes. TWELVE minutes?!? What was I supposed to do for twelve minutes? Questing was out of the question due to Ganky McGanksalot. I’m absolutely horrible at mage PvP (I still contend Blizzard put a target on my back that only I can’t see), so that was out too. Dailies? What am I, a vending machine; push the button for random thrusting motions? No. I wanted my loot pinata. Give me dungeons or give me death.

So, I caved and logged out back to the character creation screen. Hmmm, I thought, perhaps this is a good time to get ready for Cataclysm and roll an alt on Emerald Dream (my home server). Yes, a new plan was born. I looked into the races and classes coming with the expansion, saw that Goblins couldn’t be druid and decided it was the time. I was finally going to be an owlbear. And a cow. I made the biggest, ugliest, milk cow you’ve ever seen. And, in honor of my co-hosts on The Multiverse, I named him after both of them; Rikel (Riknas + Ferrel = Rikel) was born. As it turns out, leveling up seems to be easier in the beginning. I felt powerful right off the bat and didn’t run out of mana once. Still, killing ostriches only goes so far. I logged out again.

Now, I’m back at character select and steadfastly determine that it was time for the fix to be itched, and the scratch to be fixed. I logged into my DK. My tank. My undead Ken doll. My LFD popper; and, a strong popper he turned out to be.

Within two minutes, I was in Old Kingdom killing spiders. And, to my surprise, I was doing pretty good at it. Having not so much as thought of my rotation since the last December, I was expecting to have some trouble. After the first pull, I was back into it like I’d never left. 4,5,3,3,9,0. Just like that, Tank-Zilla. The only hiccup we had was when the hunter decided to run back through the instance to pull a pat we’d snuck past. Crazy hunter, hopping his way to heals like that.

The whole experience really reminded me of what’s so nice about WoW. You get into this nice little groove and everything begins to feel really familiar. You get to sense exactly how close to mobs you can get before they attack; you know the architecture before it ascends the horizon; you can alliterate all of the appropriate words until the game really starts to feel like home.

It reminded me of a pair of sneakers I own. I actually have two pairs that I wear often. The first is newer, cleaner, and all around better looking. The other I’ve had for three years; they’re old, stretched, scuffed, and generally just a lot more worn. But, they’re also really comfortable. They’re the ones I can slip on and off at a moments notice, for just about any purpose, and think nothing of. That’s WoW for me: comfortable, worn, and easily slipped back into. I like that familiarity, and that, for the last four years, WoW has fundamentally been the same game throughout.

Sometimes I don’t feel like wearing those old shoes, and sometimes I don’t feel like playing the old and familiar. But it’s nice to be able to slip back into those old familiar feelings– even if they’re often laced with indecisiveness. At the end of the day, it’s always satisfying because I’ve gotten what I expected to. When that stops happening, it’s time for a break.

The return is sweeter for it.

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The Multiverse – Episode #17: “Ferrel Offends EVERYbody”

Categories:

a. MMORPG, d. Everything Else

May 18, 2010

by

Happy Tuesday Folks,

Another week, another Multiverse. Riknas was under the weather this week, so it was just Ferrel and I, with Ferrel at the helm. I’ve gotta say, I kind of like being a co-host. And a harvest queen– you’ll just have to listen to get that one.

Ferrel was in rare form, too. I’m pretty sure there’s a thin slice of people he didn’t offend, but it’s hard to say. You can direct your hate mail to multiversepodcast@gmail.com and let him know how you feel. Just remember, he looks a bit like Arnold Schwarzenegger, so choose your words wisely my friends.

Without further delay, here are this weeks amended notes.

Vagary Homepage
Subscribe to the Show
iTunes Feed
Download/Listen Here: [audio: http://vagary.tv/multiverse/episodes/multiverse17.mp3]

News:
Heroes of Might and Magic Online hits Closed Beta
Fallen Earth lay offs (late but still important)
Games Workshop sues Warhammer Alliance
Obama says games are bad for democracy?

Talking Points:
Cataclysm puling players back into WoW. Are you going back and why? Why can’t we escape this thing?
“In the year 2000” a look at MMOs that are coming up you might not have heard of: Planes of Telara, Copernicus project

Contest Winners:

Oriik
Insoo Hwang
Jeremy
Thanks for entering!

Contact: multiversepodcast@gmail.com

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