Month: May 2006

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Промоакции для игроков не только в шутерах — воспользуйся промокодом Vavada от наших партнеров и получи бонусы, которые подарят азарт и атмосферу, сравнимую с игровыми победами.

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Some Things A Tale in the Desert Did/Does Right

Today, we head far far outside the mainstream to a game that many of you know little about. A Tale in the Desert is often cited as a niche game, usually serving a population of 1000-2000. eGenesis’s Egypt is certainly an unusual place, where the head developer might respond to your bonfire problems and Pharaoh himself could pop in to for a glass of wine or a puff on your hookah. It is an Egypt knowingly in continual beta, where citizens work out the bugs in new technology as it is implemented on a daily or weekly basis.

It may or may not make sense to speak of A Tale in the Desert, as the third telling of the tale approaches. ATitD is designed to work in cycles: the tale starts, it winds to its conclusion, and it ends. After the end of the world, the world is reborn again. You bring into the new Egypt your experiences and your connections but not your previous wealth. It is a land where knowledge and networks are worth more than gold or blood.

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A Good Guild

wow[World of Warcraft] Well, it has been a while since I have said much. It’s mostly because I have been playing WoW like a mad man and haven’t really thought of anything to say. I have finally got my first level 60 and am enjoying the heck out of it. Once you hit 60, you have some set goals you want to accomplish. For me, it was to get my full tier 0 set, get my epic mount, and get geared for raiding MC.

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Shocking Tidbits About Project Entropia

1. It exists. If I hadn’t been a diligent Van Hemlock reader, I might never have realized how much fun was there.

2. The developers need to work on this IRL PvP thing they are trying out. No worries, though, it always takes practice before you can become effective. The important thing is to keep trying!

3. They are getting better at generating free press, although they are about as likely to get a free link as Horizons.

: Zubon

Some Things Dark Age of Camelot Did/Does Right

[DAoC] After we graduated from college, many of my friends decided to stay in touch in Albion. Despite no two of us being in the same time zone, we set up a play time when we all logged into Dark Age of Camelot. I had intended to be our Cabalist, but the lure of the run speed buff led me to be a Theurgist. Fear my bladeturn! It was also where I started learning all the EQ jargon we did not use in AC. Mez?

Let us turn to the three-part land of swords and sorcery. Okay, there are hundreds of fantasy RPGs, but what made this one fun to play (and presumably still keeps thousands playing it, if you will forgive the use of past tense)?

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OMG Who is this girl?

Ok ok ok. This is obviously a departure from my normal rants and raves here, but I just HAVE to ask. Do you know who this girl is? I saw her on Thursday May 11th, outside of the LA Convention Center (E3 2k6!). They were heading towards the subway.

Who is she?

Do you recognize either of the guys with her? I have GOT to find out who she is. She had the most beautiful eyes I have ever in my life seen in person, and she literally stopped me short in my tracks and made me stutter. Ask spot about it.

Yes, nerdy I know, but man, I’m telling you. This muse could inspire masterpieces. She is gorgeous. Anyway, help a fellow geek out. Ask all your friends. Have them ask their friends. Ask your guild. Send out press releases.

Use my email address here if you have any info. Thanks. May your coffers always be filled with platinum.

Some Things Asheron’s Call Did/Does Right

[Asheron’s Call] Asheron’s Call, my first MMO. We spend years hoping the next game will give us back that sense of fun, joy, and wonder at our first game. Our first anything. The newness itself is probably what we are seeking.

On Dereth, we were all humans, visitors from the next dimension over who fought monsters to reclaim another race’s lost lands. Our souls bound to lifestones, we fought to the death and beyond against monsters that returned to plague is in a cloud of purple smoke. We began our days with Drudge and longed for the day we could meet the deadly Olthoi. And, over time, we went hunting for phat lewts and tried to keep on leveling.

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Shiny Happy Week

Since we so often focus on negativity and the latest outrage, I want to spend a little time saying nice things. In this case, I will make a new post every day this week pointing out things I like or liked about various games. There will be no attempt to balance this with negative points, although I may classify some things as qualified successes or good ideas that did not fully pan out.

My apologies if I refer to something good that no longer exists or to something current in the past tense. I do not currently play most of the MMOs that I have played, so I am not always aware of their current states. I may accidentally give credit to a game for something it adapted or completely stole from another one; in that case, good call on stealing that idea. Good ideas can be repeated instead of re-creating the wheel every time.

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Gaming Gratitude Journals

You should be happier. Luckily, your happiness is within your control, and I am going to tell you how to get more happiness out of your gaming time. Hurray!

The simple version is: focus on the positive. Optimists are usually happier, even under identical circumstances. “Wait,” you say, “mightn’t that be backwards? People don’t have happier lives because they think about good things; they think about good things because they have happy lives. If your life sucks, you don’t have the good things to think about!”

There is some truth there, but most people have control over their attitudes towards life, if only they could develop the right perspective. Some of us bloggers whine because we hate everyone and everything, but some of us are just blowing off steam so that we can get back to focusing on the continuous joy that is life. (We also give constructive criticism, but it is not always terribly constructive.) This week, we are going to try an experiment in improving your happiness via a gratitude journal.

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