DDOU First Week Impressions

Last week saw the re-release of Dungeons & Dragons: Online, a game that has been on my radar for some time. I've probably mentioned this before, but when I was looking for my first mmo, DDO was one that caught my interest, however I was never a subscriber. The announcement that it was going free to play, though, meant that I really had no excuse for not playing it anymore. So, it went live last week as Dungeons & Dragons Online: Unlimited (Eberron Stormreach blah blah blah) and on Friday night I used their little quick start downloader to jump right in. I haven't made it past the starter town, but wow I have really enjoyed my time there, so far.

With the flood of new players coming to the game, myself included, I just thought I'd draw up a short list of Likes and Dislikes. Bear in mind, it's the small things that matter.

Likes:

• Run Speed - This was may be the first thing I actually noticed about the game. After talking to that little thief on the beach I began to try out movement...and immediately stopped. I had hit W and before I knew it was halfway up the hill to the encampment. Your running is more like sprinting. Apparently every adventurer in the D&D universe has the athleticism of Usain Bolt and at lower levels, before mounts come into play, this is an excellent thing.
  


• Journey vs. Destination - The focus of this game is very squarely on adventuring and exploration. True to its license the game puts an emphasis on story and the journey you take to accomplish a task. Yeah, beating a dungeon boss is great, but just exploring all the instanced areas is a ton of fun for an exploration junkie like myself.
  


• DM Voice Over - This might actually be my single favorite feature of the game. I'd even go so far as to say that every fantasy mmo needs to have narration like this. This goes along with what I said previously about journey and adventuring. It feels so much more immersive and epic, as if you were reading a book.
  


• Integrated Voice Chat - I'll just show how much of a noob I am and say that I never used voice chat in an mmo until I grouped with some people in this game. I know vent and teamspeak are considered the programs to use, but for casual folks like me this is a great feature. It seems that every big budget mmo *cough* WoW *cough* needs to have this feature.
  


• Climbing/Vertical Movement - Look, my avatar realized he has arms...and they aren't just for swinging a sword! Apparently vertical movement doesn't have to be limited to walking up steps or the side of a mountain...who knew?!
  


• Graphics - Unfortunately, my main gaming machine for the time being is a Dell Inspiron laptop with an integrated graphics card, so not a whole lot runs on it, or runs well on it. WoW runs so-so at low settings, Guild Wars the same, Free Realms actually runs something awful unless I crank down all the settings and stay away from high pop. areas. DDOU, however, runs great! Even with the settings on medium to high it still runs smooth and doesn't look half bad. That's big points in my book.
  


• Knows its Name - It's incredible how many games don't follow through on the promise of their name, you would think it's such a simple task. In DDOU you wake up ship wrecked on the shore, look up into the sky and you will see a dragon (check one) flying overhead. Follow the path up past the encampment and you enter a dungeon (check two) for the starting/training area. The game designers aren't wasting my time and for that I applaud them.
  


• Plenty of People - Obviously, this is mostly due to the free re-release and I don't know how large the community was before last week (although I could guess it was much smaller), but I hope the population stays high. A game this good deserves to be played by as many people as possible.

• Instances - As always, there are pros and cons to heavily instanced games like this, but what I really like are the details and options DDO gives you about its instancing. When you click to go into a dungeon a screen pops up asking if you want it set for 'solo', 'normal', 'hard', or 'elite' difficulty and tells you very roughly how long the instance will take. This is good for those (like myself) who have a more pop-in and out playstyle.
  

• IT'S FREE! - No one can argue that free isn't a good thing, especially in the case of this game. I would probably never have played it otherwise and now I'm even thinking of giving Turbine a bit of my money. If I wasn't so busy and could devote more time to the game with a steady group then they might even be able to pull the monthly sub out of me. Free to play and RMT are very obviously the way of the future for online games and Turbine seem to realize this. I wish this game nothing but success and hope that other companies see DDO as the start of big budget games going free to play with plenty of payment options.

Dislikes:

• Class Difficulties - At least the game is up front about it. From the start of the character and class creation menu they let you know that some classes are better and some worse in trying to solo stuff. Unfortunately, and probably accurately, caster classes do not fare well by themselves. Sadly, I'm partial to mages so I rolled a Wizard out of the gate and have been running when a group of more than four mobs comes after me. Even at the solo difficulty setting I've still been getting steamrolled by those damn Soughagan. At least I run like a championship track star.


• Instances - As I said above, there are pros and cons to instancing. Aside from the towns (and even within some towns) this game comprises a metric ton of instances. In this respect it could easily be Guild Wars with a different coat of paint. Even though it goes against the idea of the IP, I just can't help but wonder what this game would have been like as a persistent world.
  


• Complicated as Hell - I've never actually played a game of D&D so when I looked at my character sheet for the first time I was totally overwhelmed by all those stats. How does each stat affect how my character players? How do they determine the number of spells I'm allowed to memorize? How do I learn new spells? What is the story on action points and should I be spending them down a certain lane similar to Talent Points? These are just a few of the questions flooding my head whenever I look at the character sheet.

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the game...and if you, for some crazy reason, have not downloaded this game yet, then what are you waiting for? It's free! That last part really cannot be stressed enough. This is an excellent game.

If anyone wants to group up sometime, I can be found on the Khyber server with the rest of the MMO Voices folks. My character is named Maxian Flaco.

-Max

Titles that Make me Giddy

Van Hemlock posted his podcast question earlier today for their next recording session, it is as follows:

"Lot of Grump on the Blogoweb of late. Help cheer me up! What's the most positive thing thats happened to you this month?"

I would assume he means mmo bloggers are being their usual dour selves...but lets take a short look at a few reasons (games) to not be grumpy! These are the upcoming titles - excluding expansions - that I am most looking forward to, which will, *fingers crossed* be coming out within a year.

New IPs:

Gatheryn - Lets just be honest, it looks like crap. However, this is the only non-Asian, steam punk mmo coming out and that alone should be justification to anticipate it. The steam punk genre is morbidly under represented in video games these days. What interests me most about this game is its focus on community and games, rather than combat. My hope for this game is that it gives us something of a Free Realms-esq experience: collecting, exploration, medium to large community (hey, it will be free to play, so I can dream, can't I?), while milking steam punk imagery for all its worth. Oh, and did I mention it will be free? AND have player housing? It is currently in open beta and I've been teetering on the edge of checking it out, bugs and all. But, I think I'll wait until the kinks have been worked out, so as to get the best possible first impression. Regardless, it is one to watch!

Fallen Earth - Even though I'm a fan of post-apocalyptic storytelling and a ton of the things I have heard lately about this game sound incredible (the crafting, virus instead of nukes, the location), I probably won't ever have the chance to play it. Alas, my computer. That being said, I'm still excited for it. We have yet to see a good PA mmo and despite the inevitable Fallout comparisons that will come in a few weeks when it launches, this game will definitely fill a niche. Hopefully, it does well in its own right and paves the way for an actual Fallout mmo. These days you can never have enough online games that aren't fantasy rpgs.

Sequels or Old IPs:

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Seriously, how can you not be at least somewhat excited for this game? Maybe the hype switch in the back of my neck is just set opposite of everyone else's, but every piece of information on this game that comes to light manages to make me even more excited for it! Now there is even a rumor of player housing! After that four part video that came out this week everyone was complaining that, "oh combat looks so boring." Well, it doesn't look any more "boring" that combat in WoW and I happen to enjoy killing things in that game, I mean, that's what it's all about.... However, I do think combat in SWTOR will be more involved and probably more like AOC than WoW. And have you heard about the story? Or the full voice acting (which was admitedly a little wonky in the latest video)? The only concern I have for this game is how massively multiplayer it will actually end up being. To have as deep a story as Bioware claims to have, it would seem that they would need to lean heavily on instancing, but they are Bioware, so maybe they found a workaround.

Lego Universe - When I heard that they were making a Lego mmo my childhood came flooding back to me in a pile of multicolored, interconnecting blocks. I only want two things out of this game: 1.) For it to be free to play. 2.) To be able to build just about anything my mind can think up. It wouldn't truly be Lego, unless you could literally build whatever you wanted. Here is a recent article from Wired that I admit I have not had the chance to fully peruse. Also, the logo is totally awesome.

Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited - While this is not exactly a new game, the coming version of it will certainly be new enough to those that have never played it before. When I first started playing mmos I shopped around before settling on WoW and one of the games I read up on was DDO. I thought, "Dungeons and Dragons, the original role playing game, how can I go wrong?" I didn't end up buying then, but as soon as Turbine releases their free to play client they can count me in as a subscriber. Yes, I'm one of those folks who thought it looked interesting, would liked to have played the game, but could never justify shelling out $15 a month for something that didn't get totally solid reviews. (Not to mention, their free trial wanted your credit card. Nuh, uh.) But, when this game relaunches in early September, I will be there!

Guild Wars 2 - Even though I have played and enjoyed Nightfall, this game was no where on my radar, because up until last week no one knew anything about it. Of course that all changed, when ArenaNet put out a darn good trailer. Hopefully the trickle of info on this game will become steadier now that hype is starting to build. To be honest, I think NC Soft needs something to bring them out of the fall they are in (Aion won't be it) and this is the best chance they've got. Fortunately, it's an extremely good chance. Also, I should say that there is absolutely no reason to believe that this game will come out within a year from now (like I stipulated above), other than my own wishful thinking. :)

Jumpgate Evolution - The only thing I know about this game is that you fly a space ship and things go KABOOM...and it's not Eve. That works for me. The launch was recently delayed so that they could change the economy to be player driven, not unlike another space ship mmo. I hope that they aren't trying to directly challenge Eve, though, because from what little I know about both games, they seem to be operating on entirely different levels. One is about charts and mining and large groups of players fighting other large groups of players. While the other one is not about charts, or mining, just shooting things and watching the beautiful space scenery. Jumpgate may or may not involve large scale battles, I could not tell ya. For my money though, that is the one idea they should borrow from Eve.

Hello Kitty Online - Juuuuuuuuuuuuuust kidding!! But really, wouldn't we all rather play Hello Kitty Island Adventure?

Well folks, that is it on the games I'm most excited for (and reasons to not be a grumpy blogger bump on a log). Hopefully they all come out sooner rather than later and completed rather than crap.

-Max

I love this song and I love this video. They just look so happy!
Matt & Kim "Daylight"

Short and Sweet...

Just wanted to say a quick blip about MMO Voices, a really exceptional social network put together by Beau and Leala of Spouse Aggro. It's pretty much Facebook for mmo's with an emphasis on blogs. The community is a healthy 114 strong at the time of this post and still growing. So, if you check it out and decide to join be sure to send me a friend request, I'm the only member named Max...haha! I've been posting a few of my blog over there also, from time to time.

See you there.

-Max

No music, but I'm continually updating my blog list on the right hand side of the page, if you are looking for any interesting reading, then check those out!

Warning:

Felicia Day you are about to be replaced as my numero uno nerd crush. I was reading my favorite, non-mmo news site the other day, The Daily Beast, and stumbled across an article on celebrity World of Warcraft players. Apparently, Mila Kunis, who starred in one of my all time favorite movies (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) plays WoW! AND she's a mage! Could she be any more attractive? I think not.

Suprisingly enough, Macaulay Culkin, Dave Chappelle, Vin Diesel, and Elijah Wood also play.

It's always odd - like watching a dog walk on its hind legs - when the mainstream media decides to cover mmos. The article is worth a quick read, if only for a laugh.

-Max

I Pick the Best Days to Be Away from the Internet

I take a few days off to travel and look at all the info that drops!

Pigs do in fact fly. I was beginning to think they would never announce this game's imminent playability, but apparently miracles do happen. I've learned, in a very roundabout way, to love the first Guild Wars for what it is, so I can only hope that this sequel improves upon the things its predecessor did so well. You really can't go wrong with adding the ability to jump!

And entire worlds get ripped asunder! Arguably the biggest game announced this week. Certainly the most exciting one for myself. Although, I can't help but feel bad for Dust 514 and GW2, this whole WoW announcement has stolen most of their thunder, at least in the press. But this new expansion, along with TOR has pretty much convinced me that I'm going to need a bigger boat...oh ahem, I mean a better laptop. An idea has occurred to me though, that I haven't seen much discussed anywhere else. I've been rather adamant for the last several months now that the new Star Wars mmo and the next World of Warcraft expansion will launch very closely together, but the announcement of Cataclysm adds another facet of competition between the two games. Is it just me or does it seem like this next WoW expansion seems to be focusing on story and a really awesome one at that? You know, like, just how SWTOR is supposed to be heavily focused on story? In my opinion the writers at Blizzard are really outdoing themselves bringing Deathwing back in a huge way and also aligning Worgen to the Alliance through Gilneas and finally letting us play Goblins! It is becoming more apparent with each announcement that these two games are going to be directly competing and anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken.

With the majority of these games currently set to release in 2010, next year is looking to be huge.

On a side note, this is what I was doing over the week. Real life can be pretty amazing when we choose to look beyond our monitors:


















Hamilton Pool, Tx


-Max

Oh, and by the way, Carla Bruni!
I have no idea what she is singing, but, thankfully, beauty has the ability to transcend language

Dust 514

When I read the article on Massively this morning about CCP's new console only mmofps Dust 514, the best two adjectives I found to describe what they are attempting were bold and intricate. And there are two questions, the answers to which, I feel, will determine the success of this game.

1. Will the EVE Online community accept the console community and share their sovereignty content?

2. Will the console fps Halo crowd be smart enough to figure out that they need to work with the players of EVE Online, in order to achieve success, and presumably have fun in game?

In attempting this melding of gameplay styles CCP is putting a metric ton of faith in their subscribers. Will it pay off?

Also, something they didn't mention was which console(s) Dust will actually be playable on. I'm thinking PS3, for no baseless reason other than it just feels right in my mind. Not to mention, PS3 players will soon be playing MAG which seems a lot like Dust, just without the interconnectivity. And did I mention the graphics? Because they look pretty damn good.

It will be interesting to see where these two games go from here.

-Max

Virgin Worlds: The Movie!

(Full disclosure: I never finished watching it.)

By now I'm sure everyone has heard of the new mmo documentary Second Skin. Apparently some dudes got the bright idea to make a documentary of a certain selection of gamers who play EQ2 and WoW. Maybe when they first set out on this project they didn't intend it to be so heavily biased against the genre, but the finished product is pretty heavy handed in its disdain for these types of games. This is not a review, other than to say I thought the movie was fear-mongering crapola. Also, check out the latest episode of Spouse Aggro, as Leala pretty much rips into the film - like RAWR!

However, I just had an amazing idea for a rebuttal. Hence the title of this post. To counter all the negativity expressed in Second Skin, somebody needs to take their little digital camera and hop on a plane around the world to interview the podcasters of the Virgin Worlds Collective! From the way these folks behave on their shows (like normal, everyday human beings without social issues) they would be the perfect group of people to interview in order to show that the mmo community is a very friendly, deep thinking social sphere that isn't just inhabited by nerds in their parent's basements. The bias would be very obvious and very positive, promoting our community to the world at large.

Someone mention my idea to Brent and lets get this shit in theatres!

-Max

Ye Olde WoW Hate

This topic has been done to death, I know, but with the inevitable coming expansion, I feel it deserves some re-discussion.

At the this very moment (and for the last week or so) I will be the first to tell you that I am none too happy with ol' Blizzard at this point in Warcraft's lifetime. Not being able to log-in to one's first and favorite mmo will do that to a person. But, it is precisely because I love the game so much that not being able to play it causes my frustration at the company. I fully understand my current feelings for the game and thus am able to cope with not being able to play it for some unknown time. What I don't understand is why any WoW news at all brings out the haters, with the sharpest criticisms usually coming from former players.

Yesterday I was checking Massively and WoW.com for any new stories when this jumped out at me, as I'm sure it did to many others. My first and only thought concerning this revelation was that it sounds totally awesome, if it proves to be true. Now, perhaps it is because these days I mainly read mmo game sites for news, but I was quite taken aback by most of the non-mmo gaming communities reaction to the news. A little while ago I was checking Gamespot's "Latest Headlines" and two things caught my eye. One was this, which just caused me one more groan of Nintendo bewilderment. The other was, of course, Gamespot's own rumor mill reporting of the WoW.com news.

Jesus, god. Please take some time to scroll through the hate. Here are a few of the best:

"Can this game get any gayer?"

"No more new races will be added. This article is pure BS except the fact that the next expansion will be called Catacalysm. Expect a new hero class."

"This game has been going downhill since release, I didn't even bother with WOTLK, it'll take a lot more than Goblins and Worgen to bring me back."

"I don't play WoW anymore but all my friends are still addicted. Just wanted to comment on this. Ok I can see Goblins joining the Horde but Worgen for Alliance? How does that make any sense? Am I missing something? Seems like just a random choice because Worgen don't really fit as Alliance at all. But I guess if all people care about is "cool playable werewolves!" then why should Blizz care if it makes sense."

"and WoW becomes even more stupid, glad I left this piece of crap months ago"

"enough of this game already."


Most of this nonsense is easily brushed off with, "read the damn lore," and, "stop speaking out your ass on a game you have likely never played" but the comments from former players are what bug me the most.

What is it about this game that causes people to feel so burned when they finally call it quits?

• Did they take it too seriously?
• Did they not get out of it as much as they put into it? (time & effort vs. rewards)
  
• Are they just mad at themselves for playing the game for so long, but never really 'getting' what it is about?
• Or, perhaps after all that time spent did they never create the experience they wanted? As we all know, because of the social nature of mmos a large portion of that experience is player created.
• Lastly, maybe they just saw how much they had paid for the game and had a heart attack!

I am no psychologist so this is as far as my gamer-mind evaluation goes. But, perhaps those bullets are something to consider with regards to reasons for Warcraft burnout.

Lastly, when I started to write this post I remembered something Shawn Schuster tweeted the other day:

"Man I hate when sites write about MMO news and don't even play them. Don't you?"

Yes, Shawn, I DO hate that. I'd say that hate even extends to regular gaming sites that only partially cover mmos, but that have a rabid user base of mmo haters.

-Max


"WoW was the Nirvana of mmos"
-Michael Zenke in reference to wow's inevitable legacy

The End of WoW *Tear*

Unfortunately, it looks like I won't be logging in to the World of Warcraft for quite some time. With the new patch 3.2 came more demands on the video drivers within my shitty little laptop, demands that it just can't handle. Dell, apparently, hasn't seen fit to update the drivers for the GMA 965 integrated graphics card in their Inspiron line, and because it's Dell, the generic drivers downloaded off the Intel site won't work. :( And yeah, because my warranty is out, customer service totally won't take my call.

I don't have the computer know-how or patience to search every last forum post for a possible solution to this problem.

So, until I get a decent computer, it's goodbye Warcraft.

-Max

Becoming A Free to Play Junkie

I fear that I am very quickly turning into a free to play junkie. For the last couple of weeks I've been splitting my game time between Guild Wars and Free Realms, with the odd New Super Mario Bros. mini game. Although, now there is a growing tension between myself and the issue of PC Gamer magazine that I bought last weekend.

I couldn't help myself, it was sitting there on the shelf and practically screaming "365 FREE GAMES". I guess it was them trying to be helpful in a time of recession (because $10 for the fuckin' magazine itself is really easy on the wallet). So, I brought it home and found maybe one out of every ten games interesting and worth checking out; haven't really bothered yet, they are mostly flash games. For the last couple of days though, the magazine has been lying face down with cute, pixelated faces of characters from Maple Story staring up at me. Now normally I don't bother with Asian mmos, click-to-move is not what I want in a game experience. Somehow though, I think it must be hypnotizing me because I find myself staring at those ridiculously huge anime eyes and thinking, "It's a side scroller, so maybe it's different...and it's free, you can't argue with free." I am beginning to scare myself.

So, before I go and download a bunch of crap that I more than likely won't enjoy, I have a small request. If you are reading this and have given Maple Story a shot, please in the comments leave a little mini-review with your overall opinion of the game and maybe some positives and negatives of whatever types of game systems it employs (because quite honestly, I have not bothered to look up any info on the game).

I think I need to find some new games, because if I log in to Free Realms one more time I might end up spending money in that item shop. Seeing those RMT cards at Target and Best Buy are tempting me to do evil things, like break my rule about paying for 'free' games. Argh, WoW has ruined me!

Wrapping things up: if, for some reason, you should want to get in contact with me and berate me for my truly idiotic opinions then feel free to call me on Skype at max.castillo9791. I'm rarely on, but connecting with fellow gamers is part of what this blog is all about, so there that is.

Lastly, my first love is music, so from here on out I will be ending every post with what I've recently been listening to. Today it is:

Ra Ra Riot's "Can You Tell" which can be found here. Enjoy!

-Max

The Harry Potter MMO, or Lack Thereof

Originally, I was going to do a post today about new class ideas. But, after reading this article over on Massively, decided the Harry Potter mmo discussion was much more pertinent.

I understand that this property has probably been discussed endless times on blogs already. However, I feel the need to weigh in, given the fact that: THIS IS BULLSHIT.

Before I start in on my little shit storm, let me just say that, yes, I did attempt to read Twilight. But, it was apparent to me very quickly that hypersexualized tween stories about vampires were just not my thing; at least not after reading much higher quality vampire novels.

So, why is Twilight being made into a game and Harry Potter not? Nobody asked for a Twilight mmo! Most teens who read crap like Twilight don't play video games and those that do are perfectly happy playing Wii Sports and probably have no clue as to what an mmo is*. On the other hand, fans have been hoping and speculating for a while now on whether an mmo would ever be set in the realm of our favorite evil-vanquishing boy-wizard. Whoever the complete dumb ass (Mrs. Rowling excluded) is that decided to sit on this property and not develop it into what would almost certainly be a massive hit should be shot, several times.

After recently seeing this sixth movie and subsequently deciding to re-read the series from book two, a near endless stream of ideas has come into my head regarding what could be done with this mmo. A few are as follows:

• Set it during the first wizard war before Harry was born in order to create factions.
• If Rowling has direct input in the storyline, this setting would allow her to flesh out the back story without requiring her to write any more books, which she has more or less made clear she probably will not do.
• The inevitable expansions could be based around expanding out of England to the major battles that were hinted at all over the world.
  
• Start all characters at Hogwarts and by level 10 allow them to decide to become Death Eaters or part of the Order of the Phoenix.
• For all those bitching about class systems, it wouldn't even have to be class based...because everyone is a wizard! Make it skill based and allow players to specialized in different types of magic. Ex: herbology = healers, defense against the dark arts/dark arts = tank, care of magical creatures = pet style tank/dps, charms = dps, potions = support/buffs/healing?
  

Now, I am not advocating that a game with a fan base of this size and dedication be rushed to release, just to appease drooling idiots like myself. There is one very good example of a large franchise turned into a lackluster mmo. If they are going to do Harry Potter, I think everyone will agree, they need to do it right or not at all. Despite my disdain that was the impetus for this blog, I would also say that a game based on Twilight should be done well or not at all, too. All dedicated fans expect and deserve quality.

So, when we're done adapting games that no one actually asked for, can someone please get to work on our beloved Harry Potter?

-Max

*I didn't have time to talk to her before writing this, but I will send a message to a friend of mine who is Twilight's target audience and get her expert opinion on this matter.

Wow

No, not that WoW. I could never hope to have that many subscribers...

Bad jokes aside, I would like to say one huge thank you to Darren and the folks over on the Shut Up. We're Talking. podcast for mentioning my blog along with Tranquil Abyss in their Blog of the Week section.

I usually check Virgin Worlds once or twice a day to see if any new shows have been put up and was really excited to see a new SUWT. What I was totally unprepared for was to see my blog in the show notes! So, thanks Darren and Karen, you just made a noob blogger's day!

To be honest, it was always a hope in the back of my mind that one day I might get mentioned in one of my favorite podcasts; though, surely, never a goal of this writing experiment.

I am, however, sure of one thing: I am now going to have to exercise at least SOME quality control in order to call this a respectful blog. :)

We shall see where this takes us and I am glad to have as many people as possible along for the ride.

Again, thank you!

-Max

Caution: Devastator's Balls

For those that care, this blog is still deeply under construction.

So, tonight I just thought I would do a short post on what I'm playing/listening to.

Games:

• WoW Peggle - Only during podcast listening, don't worry.
  
• Guild Wars - I've been trying to get a friend of mine to play with me on odd nights, so I've just been popping in and out. Hopefully this time I can stick with it, the first time it didn't rub me so well.
• New Super Mario Bros. - After watching the Mario Marathon a couple weekends ago I got a huge itch to play some jumping plumber games.
• *I'm on the verge of giving Free Realms another shot. I think I should rotate all the unpaid professions; I got frustrated with mining pretty quickly.

Podcasts:

• Pretty much all of Virgin Worlds
• The perennial Shut Up. We're Talking.
• The extremely entertaining Van Hemlock
• The informative Massively Speaking
• The rare but delightful How I WoW
• The apocalyptic Through the Aftermath
• The obvious WoW Insider Show
• The Star Wars hype machine The Holocron
• Finally, ever since Epic Dolls went the way of the dodo I've picked up on the Turkey's other podcast Spouse Aggro. It is very quickly becoming a new favorite, due in most part to Beau Turkey being an awesomely entertaining commentator!
• *Also, I would give both my pinky toes to have The Online Gamer's Anthology come back. Please Jonathan, come back to doing what you do best: reminiscing!

So that is it. Please check back soon!

-Max

Early Adoption and the New MMO Gamer

As I mentioned in the first post I am a gamer new to the mmo scene. Without giving my full gaming history (I am saving that for a future post), I'll just say that my first experience playing video games was on an extremely old mac at my grandparent's house playing a game in which two apes threw exploding bananas at each other. Since then I've owned several consoles and handhelds, although I continually find myself coming back to the pc to play games.

So, where am I going with all of this boring personal history?

It makes me sad and lonely to say, but I have not yet had the opportunity (privilege?) to be part of a newly launched mmo. Yes, I tried my darnedest to get into that weird two week Free Realms beta and when the game went live I gave it a shot, but eventually decided my awkward ninteen-year-oldness was at the polar opposite region from the age group they were looking to attract. Who knows though, perhaps in the coming months I will go back? That's the beauty of free to play.

To be perfectly honest I have played WoW on and off since the summer of 2006, but it was not until this past January that I truly immersed myself in the massively multiplayer online culture of games and began to think of myself as an mmo player. To be less label-y: this year the genre began to appeal to and interest me in an entirely new way. I realized that there were plenty of mmo's out there that were not Warcraft.

This brings me to my main point of the post (finally). Star Wars: The Old Republic might as well be the only game on the release calendar, for all the rest of eternity. Global Agenda, Champions, All Points Bulletin, Aion...these are not games I will probably ever play and certainly not on day one of release. SWTOR, however, is one game that I will reserve and stand in line at midnight at GameStop for.

Being part of a game in all its newly released and exceptionally buggy glory has never been appealing to me until now. I'm a moderate Star Wars fan and I'm a huge KOTOR fan so this game is right up my alley, if you will. I want to be one of those (usually annoying) people who can say, *in a crotchety old man's voice* "I remember when SWTOR (insert changed game mechanic here). It's a totally different game these days!" Of course the day when I utter those praises and complaints might be three months after release. Nevertheless, I will have been a part of, what I believe is an experience integral to the genre: The Release.

Reading about so many launch reminesces on sites like Massively and listening to podcasts in which the hosts wax romantic about the glory days of their favorite mmos has got me wanting that same type of experience, and when The Old Republic launches I mean to get that experience.

They say you always have fond memories and rose colored glasses for your first mmo. I think the same must also be true for your first mmo launch.

-Max

Begin Blog: NOW!

Beginning to write is always the hardest, most awkward part. It's as though I'm waiting for Garrick Padfoot to spawn and who should turn up right beside me, but you, dear reader. Might I say you are looking lovely in that standard issue leather armor. But now the big question: Do we group, or are your intentions simply to ninja this mob I have been waiting on for nearly five minutes?

I will do the noble, nay, heroic thing and send you a group request. So, will you accept...?

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I hope (perhaps out of that silliness above) that you will be so kind as to befriend me in this world of massively multiplayer online games that we collectively call home. My name is Max and I have for some time entertained the idea of starting a gaming blog to cover and convey my thoughts regarding video games in general, mmo games in particular, and perhaps a little random music as I see fit. Finally, I decided (out of an abundance of free time) that it was either put up or shut up, and like many current bloggers I like to hear myself talk. It inevitably had to be the former.

So, a little about myself:

I am a second year college student who, in the last several years, has developed a keen taste for online games. If the first generation entered into the massively multiplayer game space with Everquest and the second generation entered into that space with World of Warcraft then I am solidly of the second generation. However, currently I have let my WoW account slide and am beginning to dip my toes into other games, beginning with Guild Wars.

I have to admit I am somewhat of a lonely gamer. Unfortunately, very few of my friends are at all interested in my gaming hobby. This fact alone is probably the main reason why mmo's are such an appealing genre of entertainment to me. *Millions of people on this series of tubes who share my passion?! Sign me up!* (For the low, low price of $15 a month)

Also, before we get any further I should state quite plainly that I am a Noob. Most of the time I will NOT know what I'm doing. Awareness of one's own inability is always a plus, right?

Finally, my writing ability. I can promise that my grammar will not always be perfect and my perspectives not always the most well-thought-out, but I can and will guarantee that every post on this blog will be written with an honest passion for massively multiplayer online games.

So, to wrap this first post up I'd just like to say thank you, dear reader, for showing even the most meager of interest in what I have to say. Maybe we can quest again together, hopefully very soon!

-Max