Tickets for the Big Show.

It goes something like this.

Your favorite Band is coming to town and you know its going to be a sell out. You have known this for several months and have moved your entire life to prepare. You have spent hours listening to their music and imagining yourself in the front row. At some point during this time you became a walking tribute to this band because that's all you talk about.

You follow the bands tour and know every night where they are. You read everything you can about each stop of the way. They are getting closer. The week has arrived and you find yourself driving by the place they will be playing. A few times a day as you drive by you see the signs, they are coming. You have worked yourself up to where food is an afterthought and sleep escapes you. The day has finally arrived and in one breath real life steps in and says “no”.

Okay, it's not the end of the world but it sometimes can feel like it.

I was so ready to enjoy the launch of Warhammer On-line and begin my new game life with a new guild, when it melted away. The Boss Mob called “Real Life” who we all know well, decided to give me something else to do. “Work sucks” is a branded phrase you see everywhere, T-shirts, Bumper stickers, even refrigerator magnets. “That's Life”, “Work Sucks”, hell I could probably right a wall of text about these alone.

The point? I am glad you asked.

My job is camping my corpse (72 hour's a week ).This won't last long but enough to get in the way for War's launch. There will be time to play and catch up but I was hoping to start with everyone else.

Yeah I know, “work sucks and that's life”. I'm just all dressed up with no place to go.

Spore: Single cell organism to Digital Rights Management? (DRM)

Okay it's a rainy Sunday morning and Warhammer Online is soon to open the “Head Start” for CE pre-orders. Which of course leaves me out since I fall into the “SE pre-order Wait until Monday” category, of course launch date is the 18th and for some War is further still.

In any event this gives me a few moments to “Peruse”.

Did 'Spore' copy protections backfire on EA? ( article by Jennifer Guevin )

What's the fuss about? Electronic Arts imposed copyright protections that limited the number of times a user can install the game to three.

Such digital rights management technology is intended to keep piracy to a minimum. But in this case, it seems to have had the opposite effect, angering would-be buyers and DRM opponents to such a degree that they are illegally downloading it en masse, apparently to make a statement as much as to get their hands on the game.

DRM is something of a conundrum- a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? In this case it seems everywhere you deal with a product and their DRM, the more it seems to get pirated.

On Saturday, TorrentFreak wrote that the game had already been downloaded more than 500,000 times on BitTorrent sites. Though it didn't appear to have broken any overall download records at the time this story was published, peer-to-peer research company Big Champagne told Forbes on Friday that the rate at which it was being downloaded was "extraordinary."

I believe in the rights of ownership especially when it comes to paying for a product, but until they come up with something that doesn't choke the consumer it's hard to swallow.

...besides, for the last couple of years every time I turn around it's "Pirate" something, Sparrow, Disney, Burning Seas, it's the cool thing now "Yar!"

Running down hill with baby Jesus.

Okay, the title may be extreme and I am sure I'll pay for it later but I stumbled across something today that made me just shake my head. There is an Anti Spore Blog. I have read many articles and blogs in the past that have been very brash and opinionated but none as amusing as this. Anti Spore

Apparently this blogger Mom has taken up a crusade against the new game Spore, EA and the designer Will Wright. Spore is a "massively single-player online game" that allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a single cell organism to interstellar exploration. If you have not heard or read anything about Spore, then please leave your cave now and look here Spore.

I agree that everyone has the right to an opinion and especially the freedom to voice it in whatever medium they see fit. Of course I also reserve the right to grab a bag of pretzels, a cold beer and watch the fun.

Religion and personal conviction is a powerful state of heart and mind that can lead one to do great things, but without wisdom it may do more harm than good. This blogger believes that Spore teaches evolution and evolution is “Bad Mmmkay”!

The object of the game is to evolve from a “spore” into demon-like intelligent space creatures that violently take over the galaxy.  I decided that Electronic Arts needs to hear from concerned people such as myself that this sort of game is not acceptable, and created this blog to find support and share information and progress with anyone who feels the same as I do.

Yes, the game allows the player to choose how the character looks. But the game guides you through the evolutionary theory.
If you create a character that functions badly, and you can not eat, or fight, or move fast. You have difficulty surviving. Thus you must through trial and error select a design that works. Which is the fundamental “survival of the fittest” theory behind evolution.

God did not create us through trial and error. He did not make millions of mistakes until deciding on the final concept. Each of his concepts were perfect on the first try.

I do believe every parent needs to take responsibility for what their child may or may not take part in. We can't remove what may “appear” to be evil, only instruct, teach and prepare. A crusade against publishers, developers and designers is not going to make these demons go away.

/puts soapbox away.

The read is an interesting point of view, (One post and 'nuff said) but the responses were the most entertaining. It did remind me of some forums that I tend to lurk around. I really liked the post about getting Jack Thompson to represent her and then the "strikethrough" after she realized 'ole Jack was the Real Slim Shady.
It makes me wonder of this is a gimmick or stunt, well played out for hits and attention.

With the advertisement “COMBAT ARMS; online FPS action, FRAG FOR FREE” attached to her blog, the Crusade falters. I feel like there are more important things a person can make a stand against, but a poor single cell organism trying to make a way, isn't one of them.

Let the games begin.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning entered Open Beta today and those that have only been able to read others views, can now taste War for themselves. The “roller coaster” ride that everyone gets when reading game info on the NDA lifted, up and coming, is similar to every one I have experienced. The good the bad and the ugly are described on every thread, repeatedly. Of course I am referring to the state of game play rather than what's broke, after all it is beta. I can only comment on the beta & release of games I have experienced and so far they've all followed the same criteria, a work in progress. A continuation of polish, fixes and content.

So what's next? Open Beta To See If I Like It, testing.

Open beta is synonymous to “Whats the game like?” for the majority of those that have been reading and waiting on the sidelines. After all, how much testing can we do 10 days before release. What's fun is relative and no matter what we have heard, in game is where our decisions are made. OB testers can now see if they like it as much as they thought they would. I haven't been in the testing stages long enough to appreciate the progress so my assessment is the “Open Beta To See If I Like It” review.

Verse of Verses: PvE and PvP/RvR.

Personally in an MMO I desire to be immersed. I want to be enthralled by the plights of those poor NPC's I encounter. I want to get lost in the story line as if reading a good fantasy novel. In many of the games past my desire has been fairly well satisfied, at least palatable. At first I let myself slip into the “Ho Hum, kill ten crap,” but soon realized for anyone that has never played this type of game before it's their tutorial. My eyes were opened to this when I fired my first cannon or crossbow. I am sure glad they showed me how to do that, it may come in handy. Putting my haughtiness aside, because I am an expert in MMO's, (choked on that one) I moved on.

The immersion that I look for was not overwhelming but enough to keep my attention. However; Public Quests are just the flavoring needed to make PvE, the soup de jour. I personally don't like spoilers so stumbling is what I do best. When I stumbled upon a bunch of people on a PQ, I jumped in to help and had a blast. I had no idea what was going on at first, failed to notice the “pop up” description of what I stepped into. I didn't help enough to get a roll on the loot but the “drive by” break in my present quest was a nice touch.

I also enjoy, not so much as a desire but a “put the novel down” break in the action change of pace. The camaraderie of group PVP and all the action surrounding it is excellent fun but it's a seasoning, not the main ingredient for me. In Warhammer, it's all about War and RvR so what in the hell am I doing here? Well I'll tell ya'.

Caught up in the moment.

My first experience of what War had to offer in RvR was the “Khaines Embrace” scenario. 5 minutes of this scenario is not enough for any useful verbiage but first impression was “capture the flag”. Exit and look for more PvE. ( these are actually somewhat better. “Never judge a book by it's cover” comes into play here).Working my little PvE heart out in Nordland I came across an area that, if I stayed, would flag me for PvP. A town called New Emskrank was crawling with those who follow the way of Chaos. I stayed and for the next 5 hours I was lost in RvR. Battlefield objectives which seem like “capture the flag” didn't have that stale mundane feel to me.

I spent time solo as well as grouped and both were exciting. Solo, I felt more mobile. Hit and run tactics that didn't necessarily turn the tide of battle but enough to be a pest. Of course the cannons on the hill came in handy once in awhile (I knew that cheesy kill so many whatever, canon/crossbow quest would come in handy). Now the flip side to this was after you make yourself enough of a pest, the more organized of the opposing masses put you on top of their hit list.

Grouped PvP offered the same as others I have experienced as long as the pick up group was in tune. “Do this, do that” team tactics that was satisfying if you helped save someones butt or yours was just pulled from the fire. What seemed to be different for me here was “the moment”. Overall the objective is to win your area back but it was the “moment”, that skirmish, group or solo that was the juice for me.

The early levels of PvE doesn't feel like climbing a ladder to max level but more of a feeling that its preparing me, preparing me for War.

...and this has my attention.

When your character comes to life

We grow very fond of some of our creations in MMO's. It is an odd thing that we grow so attached to an in-game avatar that it borders on the “unstable”, especially when it comes to losing them.

In times past I have added certain elements to the game itself by writing story lines on a guild forum and playing out parts of those stories in-game. I would tell a tale of woe complete with detailed descriptions of areas in the game. I would then give clues to an on going puzzle that would be played out in character.

This would be on a set day and if you could discern from the story where I would be found you would see another clue play out before you, in character. This would continue from written story too in character play and everyone seemed to enjoy the added element.

I had an opportunity some time ago with a Radio Station I was volunteering for to bring my characters back in play, but this time it was audio more than in game role playing.

Mapus and Hegwin have been with me for several years, being created over and over depending on what fantasy MMO I was enjoying at the time. Halfling twins that I have grown very fond of just because I am unstable that way, came to life once again and it sure was fun listening to the trouble they got into.

Hegwin and the Bow.mp3

The Next Chapter?

With Warhammer Online getting ready for launch and open beta just hours away I find myself going through the same 'ole routine. I am clearing out the weekend for game time, doing some preventive maintenance on the old PC and lurking around my favorite game forums.

Since my introduction to this addiction, the anticipation for the new expansion, game or even the monumental game update has never changed.

It's always presents, wrapped and ready to open.

The several MMO's that I have had the pleasure to spend time in were beautifully wrapped and like any adolescent, I madly tore my way inside. As with most presents they all get some use even if it's for a short time but eventually some get shelved.

Everquest had its moments.

The fond memories of traveling form Qeynos to Freeport and in the early days that meant running. Seeing Highpass for the first time with the faces carved in the canyon walls was nothing short of breathtaking.

Everquest didn't get stale it just gave way to better graphics and the “New and Improved” Everquest II.

Like many other gamers I like to see whats new. I may be having a great time where I am but it seems dabbling with something new is always tempting.

It's that unopened present that haunts me.

I envy those gamers that have stayed with that one “main” game for it's duration. They have created for themselves a reputation a legacy and home. Maybe Warhammer will be that home for me, only time will tell.

...patching for open beta now.

What are we looking for?

As one who loves the MMO universe I often ask myself what do the game gods ask themselves before creating an MMO. Getting the obvious out of the way, genre, what do they look at next? We know there are a million things that go into making a decent MMO.

I wonder at the little things that we sometimes pass over like in-game dialog, quests or story line. The hours upon hours of written text, “Hi I am Boomba and I sell pickles” or the idle chatter of NPC's as you pass by. It's hard to fathom that at 70+ levels we have read a few novels worth of written hints direction and lore.

How about the textures, lighting, shading and colors that bring an MMO to life. How many games have we played that we have stopped at some overlook and it actually took our breath away. The sunsets, the clouds, the rain, is it just fluff? Is it really needed? One would have to think that the “powers that be” would ask themselves, what are gamers wanting, what are they looking for.

I have seen concerns across the boards covering, Combat, death, questing, instancing, class balance, PVP, PVE, RVR all the way to “Does this armor make me look fat?” All of these are important but of course it depends on ones point of view.

Perplexing isn't it.

How do you serve the masses? I am glad that's not a hurdle I have to clear, its a high standard we place on the industry.

My expectations are almost impossible to meet I suppose, after a dozen MMO's I can glean from each to make the perfect game. I love the open world concept, the “wherever I can see, I can get to”. No boxed in zones except the game world itself. The ability to travel, at my discretion, and traverse mountains, plains, the oceans and stumble across that “easter egg” some developer left for me to find. This open world actually gives me the feeling I could really get lost. Time sink for some but immersive for others.

What a conundrum.

How about aesthetics or cosmetics, the eye candy that some crave from a game. You know the ones. Those robust games that need a Quadracore Gigamoose with a multimondo threaded taxibus type of PC that draws enough juice to dim the lights in your neighborhood. New game, new computer scenario because the new graphic engine is two bytes short of a hologram.

Okay, I'm guilty.

I love detailed graphics. Spin my character around to see even his nose hairs kind of detail. But at what cost, stability, gameplay? Would I play a perfect balanced game with great mechanics if my avatar was a stick figure? That would be a no, but there are others though that would run their stick figure to the level cap.

They bring us all together like some social club with the hopes of finding that niche for the masses. Success in some areas and failing in others but they try, over and over again they try. No game may be perfect but I still love the experience and am glad they keep trying.

Have I found what I am looking for?

Sing it Bono, just sing it...

“I have climbed the highest mountains

I have run through the fields Only to be with you, only to be with you

I have run I have crawled I have scaled these city walls, these city walls Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for”