Category: General

General

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A Magazine, How Quaint

I received a subscription to a gaming magazine free with a discount club. In the midst of an ongoing internet explosion, we are still seeing weekly and monthly magazines expanding. Maybe they are all being given away, because most of their content is given away online before they see print.

In this issue, we learn that the Nintendo Revolution will have a funny looking controller, there is a good buzz about FEAR, several extremely popular series have sequels coming out before Christmas, and hey some photos of an upcoming movie that has a video game tie-in. I imagine that some console gamers are not online very much, but what what are the odds on you or I hearing something for the first time in a monthly magazine?

Apparently, games are rated on a scale of 5-10. I say this because one of the harshest reviews I have ever seen got a 5. The reviewer expected the game’s protagonist to leap from the screen and kill babies IRL. I guess a 2 would require that actually happening. Is it a sign of cynicism if I see a 10 rating and wonder, “How many ads did they buy?

: Zubon

Choices = Fun?

Off and on lately, I have been having scattered thoughts about a subject about which others have surely written more coherently. The impetus was the announcement of ED around the same time as the announcement of the Nobel prize in economics. The winners this year work in game theory, and some of Thomas Schelling’s work can be summarized as, “You can be better off, either individually, or institutionally, if your choices are limited in advance. ” (Yes, it means something different in-context.)

We take it as an article of faith that games should offer more choices. When does less choice mean more fun?

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City of Hybrid Damage Dealers

cov[City of Villains] City of Villains does not have healers or tanks. The holy trinity of healer, tank, and damage? We are down two. Stop for a moment and think about what your current MMO would look like without those two.

There are characters that can heal, and some who can take some damage. Still, your Paladin is not a Priest, and my Dark/Thermal Corruptor is certainly not an Empathy Defender. Every character has some sort of damage power and some sort of defense or utility power. We are all hybrid damage dealers.

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Anti-Social Multiplayer

I feel that I am pretty anti-social when it comes to playing MMOs, which does tend to complicate the issue sometimes. In general, I solo because I am more comfortable with it. I enjoy having a few friends online to chat with, but usually we are all doing our own thing.

I’m the same way in real life situations. It takes a good while to get to know me, but once I’m comfortable around you a whole different person starts to show up. I don’t know why, but it often causes problems in big groups. Big groups of strangers? You’ll find me hiding in a corner looking for an exit.

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Direct attack on Kill Ten Rats

kol[Kingdom of Loathing] Starting up in the Kingdom of Loathing is pretty simple. Your first quest is to visit the Toot Oriole and complete the tutorial. Your second quest gets you a familiar. Your third quest is to kill ten rats.

Well, “was.” The quest was revised last week, and while it is still rat-related, it is no longer simply “kill ten rats.” And we cried.

: Zubon

Mages conspire. Blizzard is /scared.

wow[World of Warcraft] I like to visit the Blizzard WoW forums in my “I dunno WTF to do” moods. I typically visit the class forums, which means the mage forums currently, considering that’s my main class right now.

The mage forums were actually getting pretty sickening. Mages feel forgotten and gimped, and they have no reassurance from Blizzard, beyond the promise of an invisible spell a while ago, which has not been added or even explained or hinted at when it will be added since then. Beyond that, there has not been a “blue” post yet (“blue” refers to a Blizzard rep who posts on the forums).

Continue reading Mages conspire. Blizzard is /scared.