Category: General

General

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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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Difficulty

Spinks comments, inspired by Pete:

I’m firmly in this camp where feeling overly threatened by a game just makes me turn it off. When I see a hard mode, I automatically think, “Oh it’ll be too hard for me,” and switch it to normal (or easier) even though I’m a fairly experienced gamer.

Pete suggests that he is old and the reflexes are failing, but I submit another explanation: anyone in that age bracket grew up with Nintendo hard games that featured a lot of fake difficulty, and since everything has “RPG elements” now, fake longevity. We have seen “hard” done badly hundreds of times, versus some smaller number of good challenges.

If you tell me that this next mission is really hard, it could be because the developers have an interesting encounter that will force me to re-examine my usual tactics, react quickly, and understand complex patterns. It could also be that this next mission expects me to grind levels/gear for hours, memorize a Battletoads-like series of arbitrary dance moves, escort fast and suicidal NPCs, deal with a drunken camera, and/or guess the one trick someone thought would be a “clever puzzle.” Unless a trusted source tells me otherwise, I am likely to assume that “hard” means “unfair.” Someone has already consumed the benefit of that doubt a dozen times over.

: Zubon

That’s Why We Call It A Zoo

At the basic level, a zoo is a theme park. We go to see the animals and exhibits. We don’t go to jump in the lion’s pen and see what happens or build penguin dens. Yet, there is a vast difference between a zoo and a conventional theme park because we’re not always sure what we will experience. In a theme park, the rides, show times, and games are all set, but at a zoo the tigers might be napping while the monkeys are doing it next door. Things are especially interesting if a zoo visitor happens upon feeding time.

From basic definitions a theme park MMO is one where players experience exactly what the developers intend for them to experience, and sandbox MMOs are more player driven. Yet, with Rift and the upcoming Guild Wars 2, developers aren’t exactly sure what players will experience. There is a little more excitement and chaos than the usual theme park in these MMO zoos.

Continue reading That’s Why We Call It A Zoo

Pet Upgrade

“Swedish flamingoes massacred in frenzied anteater attack”. Beyond your inability to top that headline, it makes me wonder when I will get an anteater pet. A combat pet.

Relatedly, LotRO loves its giant turtles of doom, but badgers and wolverines are almost always swarm-class (trash) enemies rather than serious threats (Cracked link, not necessarily fully work-safe but very good). We have a turtle as a raid boss, a turtle as the end boss for one of the more difficult mid-level instances, and where are my badgers of doom?

: Zubon

On Wisconsin.
hat tip

Context in the Time of Microtransactions

It was inevitable: someone disagreed with my opinion that the Mercenary Heroes microtransactions were “fairly priced.” If it ended there, I would have no legs to stand on. Value, especially value of entertainment purchases, is highly subjective. Yet, there are so many objective criteria one can use to argue the microtransaction in to a lighter or darker shade of valued gray. The worst criteria to use is the core price.

The core price mechanism in MMO is generally either content pack (buy-the-box), subscription, or free. Content pack as a basis for the core price is found in Guild Wars and Wizard 101. Subscription-based MMOs are exemplified by World of Warcraft and the darling Rift, and take any pick of free MMOs, like Vindictus. Each of those has a core value, but it can widely differ. For instance, I find Rift’s frenetic update pace to well worthwhile the subscription cost while I do not find World of Warcraft’s subscription fee to have the same value. (As a tangent for another day, this will effect the value of underlying microtransactions.)

Whatever the case may be, the core inherently will have the highest value. It’s engineered that way because most importantly the game developers want players to buy and play their games. Compared to all the non-essential items, the essential core will have a value that blows the extras away. Look at Guild Wars with about 35 armor sets in the core (3 campaigns + expansion) and compare that to a $7.00 costume. The bottom line is the core is a statistical outlier in terms of placing a value on microtransactions.

Good objective talking points are comparisons to similar microtransactions, both in the same game and out. How much use the microtransaction gives is another good benchmark. I would also say nods to minimum wage are fair game. Just stay away from the core, it’s deceivingly shiny.

–Ravious
they now have their own crowned goddess

Bisexual Dragons and Slighted Straight Boys

Yes, this is week-old news, but it made a rather small splash in my portion of the blogosphere, so I hereby rule the topic still available for fresh discussion.

Quick background: there is a game named Dragon Age 2. It includes romantic options. These are not gender-limited. If someone is available as a romantic option, s/he is available as a romantic option, whether you are fe/male, whether s/he is fe/male. A message board thread ensued. There are a few interesting points here.

Continue reading Bisexual Dragons and Slighted Straight Boys

Cognitive Dissonance

If you leave a rat in a Skinner Box for long enough, it will begin to develop theories about the moral rightness of pressing levers and the personal failings of those with fewer pellets. It is somewhat less likely to develop theories that the box and levers are necessary or desirable, because the pragmatic importance of acquiring pellets is self-evident.

: Zubon

Spiral Situation

Test Realm April 2011: Burger King Amulets

Having asked Ethic if I could establish a bi-weekly column, I wasn’t expecting to post again so soon after bashing bubbly on the hull of my Spiral Situation. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear but those magical words: Test Realm Status: ONLINE!

Continue reading Spiral Situation

/Curtsey

In February 2009, I had never played an MMO and had never listened to a podcast. I’d made a living as a technical writer for about 20 years, but freelance work had dried up in the plunging economy. I was a 39 year-old former junkie for fantasy and sci-fi literature stuffed into the stale mold of soccer mom. Except I was driving a 1996 Saturn and sporting ripped cuticles instead of a shiny SUV and weekly manicures.

But I wasn’t bitter or anything.

Now, I subscribe to three MMOs: Wizard101, WoW, and LotRO, and I’ve dabbled in countless others. And I’m on four gaming podcasts, but those are irrelevant here on Kill Ten Rats. Because I came to KTR on bended knee asking to write about my first MMO, Wizard101.

I still drive the 1996 Saturn, sporting ripped cuticles as I grip the steering wheel, to tote my uber-son about town. Said uber-son introduced me to Wizard101,  showed me how to use WASD, and has been my biggest cheerleader every step of the way as I pursued projects related to gaming.

To be sure, I’m still bitter and full of snark. But life has become infinitely more tasty since I ventured into MMOs. Becoming part of KTR feels like extra sprinkles on my whipped cream. I hope you enjoy my contributions to the site as much as I enjoy writing them.

MMO Love to Japan

The world is supporting the crisis in Japan, but that support doesn’t just end with individuals and governments. Game companies are stepping up too. Valve is trying to get gamers to buck up by buying Japanese-themed Team Fortress 2 hats (all proceeds after tax to Red Cross). Two MMO companies are taking another route.

NCSoft has donated over 6,000,000 USD directly to Japan, which overshadowed every other Korean corporation donation at the time it was made (including Samsung and LG). It even outshadowed Japanese corporations donations like Nintendo and Sony. Now it is likely that Japanese corporations are “donating” with paid-time off and other ways to help employees and their communities, but it does put a point on NCSoft’s significant generosity.

US-based Trion Worlds with the shiny-new MMO Rift is taking a more personal route. They are finding their Japanese customers and giving them a free month of play. It’s not necessarily as humanitarian as donating money to aid, but it adds yet another showing that Trion Worlds values its customers. I have recently been a little critical of the mid-level zones and fuzzy edges of the dynamic content engine, yet as I noted in my last Rift post, they are keeping me a happy customer.

Prayers and thoughts continue to go to the island gaming nation. Also, one can never have too many hats.

–Ravious