Kill Ten Rats

Why have we built an internet culture that encourages negativity? If you are on a message board, replying that you agree with the original poster is often taken as pointless, content-free post-count building. Blogging “look at this great post” is sometimes described as being unable to develop worthwhile content of your own, the sort of thing you can only occasionally indulge in. If someone replies with “Great post!” there is no point to anyone doing so again, right? The only thing you can post agreement with is that someone else is wrong. You can agree with each other that someone else is an idiot.

You are only to post if you have additional content to add. Generally, that means you disagree. Even if you agree, you are extending the post away from where the original poster took it, which can easily come across as a slight in the sea of negativity.

The major exception I can think of is posting examples and stories. “Yeah, something like that happened to me one time…”

: Zubon

Wayback machine: Shiny Happy Week

Burch’s Law:

I think people should have a right to be stupid and, if they have that right, the market’s going to respond by supplying as much stupidity as can be sold.

: Zubon

Hat tip: Overcoming Bias

It’s time for another outburst. I have not had a lot of time to play anything in depth, so I just came up with some random thoughts to share.

World of Warcraft: My wife wants Blizzard to add an option to stop earning XP. Her level 35 Hunter has 8 days /played. Mine? 4 days. She spends a lot of time talking when she could be out playing with other people instead of saving her XP for grouping with me.

Continue reading Random Thoughts

Just to be sure we’re on the April Foolery bandwagon, and because I’m at a loss of something clever, I giving you a link to the classic, and probably most famous, April Fools Day gag of all time- The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest . Yes it’s grainy, but this was from 1957. Back in those days, we carved our TV’s out of stone.

Enjoy!

Upon a mention from the always opinionated Tobold, I picked up a copy of Puzzle Quest for my DS. My DS was a purchase I made to avoid a boring wedding reception (really), but the lack of truly innovative or different games for it has been discouraging. I have the few ones that are out – Animal Crossing, Brain Age, Trauma Center, Partners in Time – but lately I’ve been playing the better GBA games instead. Golden Sun is fun and great graphics, but I was looking for something that actually used the DS’ power. This one delivers. It’s very fun, even in short play times, and is just different. Should you have a DS (or PSP, but I’m not sure if it’s as much fun without a stylus), I highly recommend snagging this one.

I expect I’ll be even more AFK on flight paths than normal now.

Ok, Order of the Stick wins mad points for amusing me greatly. If you haven’t read it, go do so now.

Things that don’t amuse me? Right now, it has to be Dave Perry’s Super secret project and 38 Studios.

Super Secret!

Having more than 20,000 people “sign up” to “develop” a “MMO” doesn’t really mean jack. Honestly, can you guys *really* say you have a 20k+ strong development team? Second, how much signal is really going to rise above the noise here…hell, I can see it now…how many of these people are going to stick a design credit on their resume and try to get a job with it? Finally, I have a problem with this being called a massively multiplayer game. I was all excited about the concept here, until details were released. I mean honestly, a multiplayer racing game? Heavily microtransaction based? This sounds like nothing more than Mario Kart online with a matchmaking lobby. Maybe some gunbound style “gameplay” where you can customize your avatar and vehicle. Is it really going to take 20,000 people to “develop” this? From my point of view (limited obviously, I didn’t sign up), I get the feeling that most of this game is already planned out and a core team is going to be making it. The whole secret project just reeks of a marketing ploy for attention.

Yeah, I said it. Thumbsdown.

Continue reading Amuse me…or not

I need little in the way of fanciness or services with regard to an apartment. So, I’d *love* to live in a really cheap one. However, it would also mean I’m living near a bunch of people who can *only* afford that. […]
So, basically, I’m paying more, to … er, be with people … who can pay more.

How much does this perspective affect your online gaming choices? Do you avoid (some) free games because of the people who can only afford to play free games? Would you be interested in an online “gated community,” whose only gate was an extra $5/month in its fee?

Long-time members of our online gaming community can comment on the drop in civility that happened when you stopped paying by the minute for online time and/or games. When you have invested several hundred dollars in your character, you are less likely to do anything to get yourself banned or become a pariah. Today, griefers and goldfarmers can get back in the game with a $30 box and back to the level cap in a month of hardcore play. It is not as if they have better things to do.

The game’s content can serve as another sort of cost that deters the archetypal foul-mouthed twelve-year-old. Do you play Vanguard because it is hard to get into, therefore dissuading the undesirables? Anyone can pick up World of Warcraft and go, but it takes a certain type of person to play A Tale in the Desert.

: Zubon