I love blogging. As I've said before, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. As a matter of fact, with Xmas behind me and Wednesday through Friday off, I may finally have the time to sit down and start writing content again.
For now, I wanted to announce to everyone that I have started a second blog, titled Unending in Azeroth. This blog is a World of Warcraft blog.
I decided to make a second blog to talk about WoW to keep my audiences distinct. Most of you who have followed me for so long for my thoughts on achievements, the Xbox 360, or console gaming in general (plus my random ramblings) may not care one bit about WoW, so why push in front of you content you don't want? Likewise, are most WoW fans going to care about my thoughts on New Vegas's Hardcore mode? Unlikely.
Now, there's still a reason to follow my WoW blog, even if you don't play the game. That blog is not primarily intended to be a journal of my exploits in the game. While it will do that, I want to use it as a place to discuss social dynamics in-game and other social aspect that come with playing an MMO. So, if you're looking for some educated opinions (I got a degree in Sociology) about the largest Virtual Environment in human history, keep your eye on that blog.
I just threw it up tonight, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles I want to add to it. That's a project for another night.
Showing posts with label MMOs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MMOs. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Thrawn Got WoWed
If you've seen my automatic daily tweet from Raptr, the secret is already out. I've taken the plunge on an MMO again, giving the biggest of them all a shot.
I traded in a few crap old games and a 20GB hard drive in exchange for the World of Warcraft Battle Chest, which had the core game and first expansion. It was basically free, since I just got rid of stuff I didn't care for. This is almost like a glorified 30 day trial.
Fear not, blog readers. No matter how into the game I get, this blog will not become a WoW blog. If I choose to write about WoW, I will make a seperate blog for that, as the two audiences are likely very different. Mentions of WoW here going forward will mostly be in discussion of how the game fits into the larger world of games.
I have parental controls turned on myself, limiting my play to a max of 12 hours a week. I don't want to get too sucked in, or neglect all other gaming. (Yes, this could turn into a total joke, as I set my own limits and could easily change it any time. It's up to my self-discipline not to.)
Why get into an MMO again? I have several reasons:
1 - The appeal of a persistent character. The coolest thing about MMOs is having an alter-ego that you can spend hundreds of hours adventuring with and not get bored. There's tons of things to do, and always some way to improve. I enjoyed thins in EQ2 more than your regular RPGs, as the sensation of growth lasts longer than even the longest offline RPGs. I've always enjoyed the growth more than being Godlike at the endgame.
2 - The social aspects. With my work schedule, I have a lot of weekdays off, which aren't the best days for having a social life. Add to that that most of my friends are at least an hour away, and it's an infrequent treat that I get to spend time with my friends. While I try to establish some local relationships (bonus points if I don't work with these people), it's nice to have an online group of people to BS and have fun with when there's nobody else around to hang out with. I've been disappointed with the level of interactivity I've had with people over Live. Nobody talks in MP. I'm never in any party chats (I'm sure I'm partly to blame for that).
3- It's cheap entertainment. I can't get the complaining about subscription fees for MMOs. These games are ungodly expensive to maintain. I think I read somewhere (don't quote me), that it costs in excess of $15 million a month to keep WoW going. Yes, I know they make that back times a jillion, but still, there's upkeep involved. In my books, if you play the game just 30 minutes a day (15 hours a month), you're getting your money's worth, as that's just $1 per hour. Lool at the other games in your collections. How many of them cost $1 per hour or less for the entertainment they provided? Probably less than 25% of them, unless you're a true bargain bin raider. I'm starting to try to save money like a bastard (partly as proof to myself that I actually CAN), so dropping the more expensive Gamefly and trimming other game purchases to the true AAAs that I want is a way to start. I can always rent from Family Video if I want to check out a different game.
Or borrow it from Silva. That man buys EVERYTHING.
4- Curiosity: WoW has over 12 million players. It's been around the block for six years, and has a huge number of player blogs and sites surrounding it. It has its own norms and internet sub-culture. It has its own collective history. As someone fascinated by the sociological implications of things, I live for this shit. I spend an entire semester researching WoW from the outside (and I got paid for it, by the way), and now I'm curious to observe these types of social dynamics from within.
So yes, I'm dipping my feet into WoW. We'll see how that goes. You'll still see me on Live plenty. I'm not about to retreat into an MMO cave of obsession or anything. I promise. (Oh, and this way I'll probably be the only one who hangs out with Sabre LOL. I rolled my character on his server so we could chill. Helps to have one person you know in the game with you.)
I traded in a few crap old games and a 20GB hard drive in exchange for the World of Warcraft Battle Chest, which had the core game and first expansion. It was basically free, since I just got rid of stuff I didn't care for. This is almost like a glorified 30 day trial.
Fear not, blog readers. No matter how into the game I get, this blog will not become a WoW blog. If I choose to write about WoW, I will make a seperate blog for that, as the two audiences are likely very different. Mentions of WoW here going forward will mostly be in discussion of how the game fits into the larger world of games.
I have parental controls turned on myself, limiting my play to a max of 12 hours a week. I don't want to get too sucked in, or neglect all other gaming. (Yes, this could turn into a total joke, as I set my own limits and could easily change it any time. It's up to my self-discipline not to.)
Why get into an MMO again? I have several reasons:
1 - The appeal of a persistent character. The coolest thing about MMOs is having an alter-ego that you can spend hundreds of hours adventuring with and not get bored. There's tons of things to do, and always some way to improve. I enjoyed thins in EQ2 more than your regular RPGs, as the sensation of growth lasts longer than even the longest offline RPGs. I've always enjoyed the growth more than being Godlike at the endgame.
2 - The social aspects. With my work schedule, I have a lot of weekdays off, which aren't the best days for having a social life. Add to that that most of my friends are at least an hour away, and it's an infrequent treat that I get to spend time with my friends. While I try to establish some local relationships (bonus points if I don't work with these people), it's nice to have an online group of people to BS and have fun with when there's nobody else around to hang out with. I've been disappointed with the level of interactivity I've had with people over Live. Nobody talks in MP. I'm never in any party chats (I'm sure I'm partly to blame for that).
3- It's cheap entertainment. I can't get the complaining about subscription fees for MMOs. These games are ungodly expensive to maintain. I think I read somewhere (don't quote me), that it costs in excess of $15 million a month to keep WoW going. Yes, I know they make that back times a jillion, but still, there's upkeep involved. In my books, if you play the game just 30 minutes a day (15 hours a month), you're getting your money's worth, as that's just $1 per hour. Lool at the other games in your collections. How many of them cost $1 per hour or less for the entertainment they provided? Probably less than 25% of them, unless you're a true bargain bin raider. I'm starting to try to save money like a bastard (partly as proof to myself that I actually CAN), so dropping the more expensive Gamefly and trimming other game purchases to the true AAAs that I want is a way to start. I can always rent from Family Video if I want to check out a different game.
Or borrow it from Silva. That man buys EVERYTHING.
4- Curiosity: WoW has over 12 million players. It's been around the block for six years, and has a huge number of player blogs and sites surrounding it. It has its own norms and internet sub-culture. It has its own collective history. As someone fascinated by the sociological implications of things, I live for this shit. I spend an entire semester researching WoW from the outside (and I got paid for it, by the way), and now I'm curious to observe these types of social dynamics from within.
So yes, I'm dipping my feet into WoW. We'll see how that goes. You'll still see me on Live plenty. I'm not about to retreat into an MMO cave of obsession or anything. I promise. (Oh, and this way I'll probably be the only one who hangs out with Sabre LOL. I rolled my character on his server so we could chill. Helps to have one person you know in the game with you.)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
An Interesting Statistic
I was randomly thinking about the videogames I've played, and wondered which game I've spend more time in than any other. Perhaps I was curious since Raptr is now logging all my game time. It didn't take me long to realize that Everquest II is hands down the game I've logged more hours in than any other.
Yes, there was a stint back in my college days, mostly before I had a 360, where I was an EverCrack "addict." While I no longer play, Sony Online Entertainemnt keeps that data saved, no matter how long you're gone, so you can return to that character should you ever come back. (It's been over 3 years, I don't see that happening) So, I was able to look up my main character to see his play stats (would have added in my alts too, but I can't remember any of them).
Between October 6th of 2005 (3-4 months after I graduated high school) and February 1, 2007 (my sophomore year of college), I racked up 34 days, 4 hours, and 55 minutes on my main character. Doing the math, that averages out to about 48 hours a month of EverCrack, or 1.6 hours a day. Damn that's a lot of playtime. Of course, any WoW player will probably look at that and go "pfft, that's nothing!"
I enjoyed my time in EQ2 and met some good people there, but the game was far too group-centric at the higher levels, and when it got to the point that you needed 6 people and 4+ hours to feel like you'd accomplished anything, I knew it was time to walk away.
At the end of this month, I'll be picking up Final Fantasy 14, which has me intrigued with its much more solo-friendly and casual-OK game style. I want to play an MMO where I can quest and progress on my own, but have a lot of other people around to game with when the mood strikes me. I don't want to feel obligated to party up to play 90% of the game (which is EQ2 after level 40), and I think this is the game to do that. No worries folks, I have too much going on to let it consume all my time, and I'll still be gaming on the Xbox and padding my Gamerscore.
Yes, there was a stint back in my college days, mostly before I had a 360, where I was an EverCrack "addict." While I no longer play, Sony Online Entertainemnt keeps that data saved, no matter how long you're gone, so you can return to that character should you ever come back. (It's been over 3 years, I don't see that happening) So, I was able to look up my main character to see his play stats (would have added in my alts too, but I can't remember any of them).
Between October 6th of 2005 (3-4 months after I graduated high school) and February 1, 2007 (my sophomore year of college), I racked up 34 days, 4 hours, and 55 minutes on my main character. Doing the math, that averages out to about 48 hours a month of EverCrack, or 1.6 hours a day. Damn that's a lot of playtime. Of course, any WoW player will probably look at that and go "pfft, that's nothing!"
I enjoyed my time in EQ2 and met some good people there, but the game was far too group-centric at the higher levels, and when it got to the point that you needed 6 people and 4+ hours to feel like you'd accomplished anything, I knew it was time to walk away.
At the end of this month, I'll be picking up Final Fantasy 14, which has me intrigued with its much more solo-friendly and casual-OK game style. I want to play an MMO where I can quest and progress on my own, but have a lot of other people around to game with when the mood strikes me. I don't want to feel obligated to party up to play 90% of the game (which is EQ2 after level 40), and I think this is the game to do that. No worries folks, I have too much going on to let it consume all my time, and I'll still be gaming on the Xbox and padding my Gamerscore.
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