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Sex, Drugs, and Succubus!

[Sociolotron] I read an article in Wired the other day regarding this little indie MMO based in a post-apocalyptic London. Not exactly an original concept, but the bells and whistles make up for the lack of originality. In fact the frills almost require such a setting in order to be believable.

What makes Sociolotron unique is its dedication to the minute realisms which other MMOs, due to their mainstream audience refuse to address. Pouring the bag out on the table I will point it all out for you up front. The world allows explicit sex, murder (including perma death at higher levels), drug use, BDSM, disease (including sexually transmitted), pregnancy/abortion, rape, and mechanics to support them all. This is obviously only the things which should get your attention. Much emphasis is also put on combat, ownership, crafting, business, etc.

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This Just In…

Star Wars: Galaxies still sucks. Film at 11.

Really, all they have accomplished here is to chase away all the people willing to play that horrible excuse for a game. I gave it some decent play time, ignoring the bugs, and still could not really find any enjoyment. It is an improvement in my opinion, but not enough.

These changes may encourage some previous players to try it out for a month and many of the current players will stick around (just how much grief can you do to these people before they finally quit?) but I just don’t see any possibility of drawing in brand new players. It ain’t going to happen. The writing is on the wall my friends, the game is doomed.

– Ethic

The Original World of Warcraft (or Why I Hate Battle.net)

wow[World of Warcraft] Last week, my friend who is cursed with a crappy computer got a gift certificate to Fry’s Electronics. Not being able to buy anything useful with the $40 certificate and having a computer not able to handle any newer games, my friend went with an old favorite: Warcraft 3. He got the battlechest which includes both the original and the expansion.

I remember when the game first came out. My friends and I were in the awkward stage where we were just starting college and desperately needed ways to blow off stress on weekends, but too young to go to bars or clubs. We made a local cyber cafe our hangout of choice and we played a lot of CounterStrike and Warcraft 3 (later tower defense). I look back at those times with found memories because after that everyone kind of went their seperate ways. Well, this past week, it was just like old times again as my friend called everyone up and we played some Warcraft 3.

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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

SWG:NGE First Impressions

SWG[Star Wars: Galaxies] I wanted to experience the “radical” new changes in Star Wars: Galaxies first hand, so I decided to reactivate my account and reinstall the game. They have the New Game Enhancements (NGE) live on the Test Center so I figured I’d give it a try.

First up, reinstallation. My DVD burner started getting flaky recently so I could not install the game. I ran a laser lens cleaner for about an hour and it seemed to get a little better. Tried to install again, no dice. Spent an hour digging in my computer parts bins in the basement and finally I found a spare CD drive. Installed that and finally I got the game installed. Patch time, one more hour. Installed Test Center copy, one more hour.

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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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Lower Level Lackeys

cov[City of Villains] Good lord, my teams have been getting rocked this week. Not that everyone is hitting the hospital, but we have been a lot less successful than during that pre-release weekend. I think that Lackeys are the main reason.

“Lackey” is the CoV word for a CoH “sidekick.” If you don’t know the system, it means that a lower level character can tag along with you, with their numbers ratcheted up to about your level. They do not get new powers or enhancements, but they are otherwise treated as a higher level character. Obviously, a sidekick or lackey is not as good as someone of the appropriate level. Having more or better powers is good. If you want to play with your friends, however, it is the next best thing.

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