Archive | April, 2010
Spouse Aggro for Apr. 24: “So much fun…so much.”
“So much fun it’s ridiculous!”
We have been having one of those months here in the Turkey household…you know the kind; non-stop fun stuff. Life is good when you have games coming out your rear and friends to play them with. Remember that…we are here to play these games with other people. It’s not so much a matter of how the game is played, or if it is instanced or portable or a “true” MMO, it only matters that we play them together.
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The Turkeys
Wearing you character IN not OUT and a FTP column idea.
Before I begin, allow me to complain about my current job. It’s a hassle for many reasons, mainly because I get to meet so many cool people and even get to write them emails and talk to them in live chats. Smart people, too. People that use big words and emoticons. Also, I have to play games for research, and sometimes have to talk to my favorite developers to get information about those games. Occasionally I even receive a cool freebie like a cute horsie or a free account. I am up to my ears in free XP pots. Essentially, I am a kid in a candy store. For money.
So, yeh…you thought your job was tough.
Seriously, though, if there is one complaint about writing about games it’s that I run out of time to play video games. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not writing even several hours a day. I can write really fast, and have a confidence that allows me to try new things in my writing, so I don’t waste much time on over-thinking it. I am a good learner, though, or at least an eager one that wants to soak up as much information as I can in the situation I am in, surrounded by better writers. But still, I am not writing a column (or generally even news pieces) dedicated to one game. I am covering Free To Play, meaning a market that actually has more games in it than the NA Subscription world ever could. In other words, in order to know what the hell I am talking about, I have to play everything I can. While I like to explore a game quite a bit before I talk about it, I cannot explore it to the point that many players do. So, this brings me to my two points:
Scavenger Quest ideas and updates.
Recently we upgraded Leala to an iPhone 3GS, so I took her year old 3G iPhone and threw it on my line. I replaced a 20 dollar Blackberry (thank you, good credit) and stepped into the world of the iPhone. I gotta’ say, it has me more excited than ever before about mobile gaming and social networking.
The exciting thing about this kind of mobility is that it will allow for even more immersion, not less. Soon we will log into fully 3-D games (already we have some decent 3-D’ish games) from our portable devices, while we post real life pictures into the game. Our lives and gaming will be more tied together than it is now, this is for sure.
We started the Scavenger Quest project on MMOVoices, basically an attempt to create a collaborative “game” using only basic tools. After messing with rules and possible pic posting sites, I have decided that the main tools will be the social network, Twitter and the players phone. I had to think about how to work it so that anyone can participate, but also how to allow for players to contribute from anywhere. It has to be portable and yet still customizable.
Disco-pony fever, my thoughts
So I’ve been hanging back pretty quietly about the sparklepony-gate situation that’s been going on. Beau has weighed in (see below) a couple times in his usual Beau-ish fashion. But I really want to gather my thoughts on the subject so here we go. It’s gonna be a long one.
He can haz pony.
Money is a very, very, very, very… yes.. very subjective thing. Our perceptions of money and value are incredibly personal and unique. They are based on so many things, chief among them: how we were raised and how much $ we make. So we can only really speak to our personal perceptions of pricing and if we “think” $10 or $25 is “too much” for something. Then based on that thought you can decide where to spend it, be it on a disco-pony or not. Here’s where I sit on the money vs. value thing. Without going into much detail, I grew up poor. If anyone knows the value of money it’s someone who doesn’t have any. Long story short, I worked very hard in school, got a degree and now work in a situation that is comfortable financially. I don’t have money to throw away, but I can spend $25 happily on a game or virtual goods within a game. The Leala I was a few years ago struggling through college could not. The point of all this is, WoW and video games in general, are a luxury. We aren’t talking about the price of milk. It’s ALL fluff and a waste of money if you wanna think about it that way. But I don’t. Paying $15 a month for a game that I enjoy and even $25 on a disco horse is a pretty good value for entertainment when compared to things like movie/concert/sporting event tickets, dinner out at a restaurant or whatever else. Frankly it seems pretty petty to me that anyone who can afford a PC, console, xbox, ps3, iPhone and all the games to go with it should whinge over $10-$25 bucks. But that’s just me. If there’s one thing I can’t stand its people who have money but are super tight with it. BUT to each his/her own.
The Gucci bag thing. If gaming is a luxury (which it is), then WoW is THE luxury brand. They are the jeans that cost $250 compared to the jeans that cost $30. Why? Because it is an incredibly popular, well developed damn good game. Hundreds of thousands of people would not have lined up for that horse if the game sucked. They just wouldn’t be playing at all. Why do Gucci bags and disco horses cost “so much”? Because of the brand AND because they are really well made.
Critics of WoW horsey proved Masters of All Smart Thingies, story at 11.
You know what's going to happen. So why do you do it?
Looks like the WoW horsey issue continues on. Not only are many NA players seemingly finally catching up to a practice that has been going for years in other countries, but like those people that don’t slow down on rainy days, they act as though they have never seen a virtual item before.
Seriously, though, let’s look at the entire reason that they are complaining. Let’s break it down, very very simply.
Some people honestly think that a company that manufactures virtual worlds filled with all sorts of fantastic monsters (none of which are so realistic that we would be fooled by them in any way shape or form) can pull the wool over their players eyes by asking a price for digital goods.
That’s it. The critics of these virtual items, be it that they call them a “scam,” a “plot” or”crazy,” honestly think that players are being duped into spending money on something.
Now, remember here…we are not talking about someone in real life fooling someone into buying something that fulfills a very needed spot in that persons life. We are not talking about a salesman lying to an elderly woman about roofing repairs, or even anything near the magnitude of a grocery store refusing to accept a coupon.
*standard title that moans about pricing on optional items*
This is a blog post that gripes about pricing on virtual items. In this blog, I will try to convince you that since I feel it is too expensive that you are a fool for thinking it is not. Now, we both know that this will not convince anyone to stop doing anything, being that people are either cool with the price or not, but in the end we all know that it just makes me feel better to appear as someone that takes no gruff, especially from greedy corporate fat-cats that only want to make money!
At this point, I am going to compare the price of some items to again try to convince you that what I value you should value, or that you should not be comfortable with spending a certain amount.
Of course, I like Starbucks coffee. Despite the fact that you can get a black coffee at 7-11 for a certain amount, while at Starbucks it costs a larger amount, I will still try to convince you that virtual items should not be weighed on this same scale. Despite that fact that there are jeans you can get for 35 dollars, and jeans that you can get for 235 dollars, and despite the fact that I am comfortable paying what I pay within that range, I am going to try and convince that you are literally a fool for being OK with paying 25 dollars for a virtual item, while I am not.
See, since I say it isn’t worth that amount, especially when you consider other luxury items that you can get for that amount, then you would simply be foolish paying for it.
Get it? I will tell you that it isn’t worth that amount, so you must feel the same.
Of course, I will never admit to spending any amount of money on any items that others would ever consider over-priced. I buy all my clothes only at Thrift Stores, I refuse to spend 5 dollars at the movie theater for 12 cents worth of popcorn, even though my date really likes popcorn, and I reuse band-aids.
But don’t touch my Starbucks coffee. I say it is worth the price I pay, despite the fact that many think I am stupid for buying just more expensive caffeine.
I hope this helps you see the error of your ways. After all, if there is one thing we need in a hobby that is populated by orcs, elves and dragons….it’s Common Sense.
“Old School” Blogger.
Massively DDO night pulls a Dr. Phil
In case you didn’t know, fair reader, I am a solo’er. That means that most of my time inside virtual worlds is spent in a group made of one. I rarely (if ever) join guilds, and rarely (if ever) have more contact with other players besides socializing with them. This is for several reasons, some of which I am just now realizing.
First, I play at my own pace. I read the quest text, and love to explore the details of the game world. Often you will find things you never knew existed if you just slow down and take your time. Most people grow used to the site of a virtual world pretty fast and tend to want to skip past the scenery to get to the loot. Not a bad thing, if you’re into that…it’s just that I am not.
Second, I play way too many games. In order for me to find a static group of friends to play with I would have to work pretty hard or have someone else do it. I have always skipped around out of curiosity but mainly because I always wanted to have knowledge of almost every game out there. While some might pride themselves on the perfect crit chances their characters can get, I pride myself on the fact that no game gets past me (sub or FTP.) And now that I am writing about the FTP market in an official way, I have to really be on top of the products. (Now I just have to learn all the hip lil lingo of the gaming generation…kitty cat emoticons and all the versions of “lawl”.)
Why Texas football is keeping me up at 1 AM.
He's building self esteem.
One of the great things about living is Texas is that you get to be so angry that at 1 AM on a warm Wed. night that you just might wake up (or stay awake) to write blogs about how pissed off you are on a blog that is typically reserved for the topic of MMORPG gaming.
It’s kind of a nice, depressing feeling, this feeling associated with watching a state place more value on sports, the “hero of the day” in sports, and the “life lessons” that sport teaches us instead of you know, reading and writing and not having babies at 14. In fact, it’s really depressing watching this emphasis being put on sports by the same state that goes pretty soft on immigration and pretty heavy on the religious magic despite being such a “conservative” state.
See, in Allen, Texas they just approved (hardly by a landslide I will admit) the building of a 59.6 MILLION dollar football stadium. A high school football stadium.
Let it sink in for a second: 59.6 MILLION.
Is the free client the way to go?
The more I write about games and the more games I play, the more interested I become in the workings of the market. Now don’t get me wrong, most of the time I just want to talk about the coolest pink pony I just bought from some cash shop, but I am fascinated with gaming trends, numbers…boring stuff.
Seems that readers are mostly interested in that as well. Well, I should say that any blog or article about “How much super fun I am having” will do OK, and will do better if it’s written well, but let’s be honest and say that MMO gamers are as into gossip as 13 year old kids. In fact, if you look at the top posts on Massively for comment numbers, most of the posts are about something to do with “controversy.” Even my article, at number 3, probably only has that many comments because as soon as I say “FTP”, people comment about how much they love or hate FTP. If you look at my article, most of the comments have nothing to do (not really) with what I was asking in the writing.
It’s actually quite sad, if you ask me, but such is life.
But I do admit to enjoying a good look into such topics once in a while. I just wish it was balanced with, you know, happy stuff, but so be it. Interesting, nonetheless. So that brings me to the recent questions I have been asking myself: is there a benefit to asking cash for a client download, especially these current days of FTP invasions?
Ah, this toybox life of mine.
Here I sit, playing Alganon in windowed mode while I write this, checking email (40 some-odd comments on my Massively article so far today) and Tweeting with friends.
It just keeps getting better. The money isn’t exactly keeping me wrapped in gold, but wow. I have already met more people than I had before, and strengthened the relationships I already had even more. Is my goal to work in the industry? Hell yes. In what capacity I am not sure. To be honest, writing is something I have always done, and flows even easier than art or drums. So, a “more” professional writer would be my goal.
I love the fact that I can talk about any game, and can see responses from the developers! To me, it’s all one big ball of multi-colored wax, a joyous blanket that I love to walk around in. It’s a toybox life, for sure.
In the end, though, I truly feel that nothing is accomplished if you don’t help someone out. Before I die, I want to volunteer more, to do more with what I have and possibly use gaming to do this. MMO gaming is all about connecting people together in mutual experiences, and…
…ding level 3…
…and I see that as an opportunity to actually change something about how people see the rest of the world. Also, I would like to see gaming bring more of the disabled community into the fun, and to help those that might not have a choice in leaving their homes or hospital beds. Gaming is becoming more than many of us would have imagined, and is only going to grow. Luckily for me I don’t have any hang-ups when it comes to games, I simply want to explore them all with good people. If this year so far has been an example of what’s to come, I am in for a very good time.
Beau
The funny thing about writing about video games…
..is that you don’t have as much time to play them. Luckily, I play in small chunks anyway. The biggest issue I am having now is the extra strain on my eyes. Text is fine, as long as the website doesn’t have black backgrounds (sooooo ugly.) Writing while pissed off is not so good, being that blood pressure alone can bring on a headache, and even mild pissedoffnessocity can raise blood pressure. Add on typing while raising blood pressure….not good.
So I try to save my eyes. As you can see, posting here might suffer a bit. But only for a few days hither and dither. bear in mind that I also have househusband duties.
My new article is going up tomorrow.
Beau
The secret behind Progressive Insurance and their spokeswoman.
“It’s…a little unsettling.” Jacob said, staring at the glowing projection in front of him.
He was standing in a darkened lab, one that looked a lot like the classroom labs of his youth. Behind him breathed a bearded scientist in a typical white coat. Jacob swore that the smell in the room was familiar, too. He took off his glasses, wiped them with the bottom of his t-shirt.
“Well, that’s what we were going for. Realism.” said the scientist as he shuffled in behind the projection and adjusted some buttons. Jacob heard a click and the woman standing before him blinked and smiled, looked right at him. “Hi there! May I help you?” The woman asked. Her voice was the same as his wife but had been tweeked up a bit in pitch. It reminded him of when she would see a puppy or a baby and her voice would raise. He looked at the woman, and she stood looking at him with her hands crossed in front of her, head cocked slightly, and her mouth drawn into a thick red smile.
“How are you?” Jacob asked. The woman widened her smile. “I’m SO good today. But then again, it’s always a good day here. Do you need some help with insurance?” The woman reached behind her back and pulled out a plastic pricing gun, the kind you see stock boys using at the local supermarket. “We let you name your own price! We’re the only ones that do!” The woman held out the gun towards Jacob. He looked at the scientist, who was smiling.
“I knew she was filming commercials for you. She told me about that. I even visited her one day on the set. But this…this..”
There is no competition at a buffet.
Leala has a name for Bettie, our sight-hound mix of a dog: brat. Of course she knows that this is a human term with human meaning, but the way Bettie acts can sometimes resemble a very human brat. For example, I was only minutes ago out in the backyard raking leaves. For some reason, the dogs (Roy is our other herding mix) love it when I come outside to clean or garden, and become very excited and play for as long as I am out there. But let’s say I start to toss a toy around for them. Normally, I get one toy for Bettie and one for Roy, tossing a ball for Bettie to fetch while throwing something in the air for Roy to leap up and grab. They have different play-styles that require this type of attention.
At some point during every single play session Bettie will become grabby for Roy’s item, whatever it is. She will literally drop what she already has to get what he has, and then drop that item to go get the next item Roy has. He always gives in, being the more comfortable dog with his place in line, and everything is fine.
When I buy two identical toys and hand them each one, you will always find Bettie at some point without a toy, waiting for Roy to drop the one he is happily playing with. See, that’s the one she wants. She is at a “competition” for that toy that he always has, despite the toy that she has. Understanding this competitive feeling in dogs can often help to ward off any fighting or aggression.
Now we get to the tired (I have spoken about this to the point that even I get tired of hearing me talk about it, but it is interesting) subject of competition in MMOs.
Many players point to the FTP cash shops as allowing some players to have an “unfair advantage” over other players, by allowing them to level faster, get around faster or to avoid death easier. (And a million other things, but I do not have time to list them all.) My point has always been that there is no advantage in a land without limits and without death, but like Bettie the dog players are confusing their perception of competition for actual competition. So, let’s look at a situation that resembles a modern MMO…a childs party.
Spouse Aggro podcast for Easter, 2010 “Social games, evil incarnate”
We discuss social/Facebook games today, and we do it pretty honestly. No it’s not all just me and Leala saying that they are really, really cool, but instead is filled with us trying to honestly see what people like and dislike about the whole thang.
Three songs are on the show, in case you were wondering.
Email us at spouseaggro at yahoo dot com,
Twitter us at spouseaggro,
The website is at spouseaggro dot com,
And be sure to watch ravenwoodradio dot com for good stuff and Massivley dot com for Beau’s other writing.
Beau and Leala
Free Realms Seaside: The coziest spot on Earth?
I am still not sure that Free Realms gets the credit it deserves. Often passed off as just a “kids game,” many gamers don’t seem to appreciate that the world, not the game, is the most striking feature of Free Realms. Not only are there so many places to explore, but a player can actually gain levels in exploration just like any other job, and even gain phat lewt for each collection fully achieved.
The exploring in Free Realms is one of the best systems I have found in most games, “kids game” or not, and it makes me wonder why more games don’t have similar systems. Of course, most MMOs now concentrate on combat as the core of their game, which is fine when you feel like fighting. But what about those moments, on a some lazy Saturday night, when you just feel like wandering around? Well, Free Realms legitimizes that feeling and rewards you for it as much as it rewards you for fighting giant blue yetis.
Social games: a different kind of immersion
I have decided to make Farmtown the Game of the Site for MMOvoices.ning.com, for many reasons. First of all, I am seeing gamers respond to Social Games as though they are literally evil, mind-controlling spam bots that do nothing but suck money directly out of gamers pockets.
While there are many games that are set up to get your money as quick as possible, you have to ask who is responsible for giving the money away. It certainly is not the game. Social Gamers are not spending 250 million (as they did for Farmville last year) on little tractors and buildings because they are being scammed. They are spending the money because they like the feeling it gives them.
Just like “normal” or “regular” MMO gamers like the feeling and chase after the virtual glory of a shiny new sword or title, as though the rest of the server will suddenly stop and go “Wow, that guy is BADASS.” (Hint: it won’t happen. Just like our cars, virtual phat loots are noticed by two people: ourselves and the person we made up in our head that we think will notice us.)
