He’s not wrong for the same reason Tobold says he is in his rebuttal Blizzard and McDonalds.  Tobold’s rebuttal is also well written and uses an analogy that is very apt to rebut the ideas that Wolfshead presented.  Don’t misunderstand, Tobold is right on, but his analysis is different from mine and is largely from the company’s point of view.

I wanted to address this even before Tobold did, but his article got me wanting to post.

Let’s look at this from a player’s point of view first.  Then I’d like to address the evident contempt that is out there for Blizzard from others in the development community.

First Wolfshead starts out with a section called The Farmville Curse.  I couldn’t agree with him more on that point.  Those aren’t “MMOs” and I think I would say that Facebook games in general are pushing the definition of “game” to it’s limits.  I have no argument with him there.

Next, we see the real target of Wolfshead’s rant.  Blizzard.  You guys know I am not afraid to say what I think about Blizzard or any other company that is building MMOs.  I’m not a Blizzard apologist, although I do tend to believe they have done a better job of making something people want to play than anyone else.  Look at the subscription numbers if you doubt this.  I understand the other side of Tobold’s argument that may say that WoW is just pablum for the masses.  Here is what Wolfshead says;

Year after year they have squandered billions of dollars of revenues and have failed to advance the MMO genre in any meaningful way. Let’s be honest here, what earth shattering innovations has Blizzard introduced into the MMO universe?

• NPC’s with exclamation marks above their heads?
• Solo to the level cap?
• Instanced dungeons?
• Arenas?
• Daily quests?
• Overpowered hero class?
• Achievements?
• The Dungeon Finder tool?

In every case, the addition of these features has created unintended consequences that have caused far more problems than they’ve ever solved. In the past I’ve written extensively on most of these issues and I don’t feel the need to repeat myself.

Is there a AAA MMO that doesn’t have these things?  Yes!  Everquest is still there, being updated, with content over content that even old EQ players like myself has never seen.  What is Everquest doing this week?  Merging servers.  All the traditional rule set servers are being cut in half.  So if the MMO playing community really wants something more like EQ, why aren’t more people going back to EQ?

The fact of the matter is that most of the people who are playing WoW never played a traditional Diku MUD or Everquest.  Most of them have played their first MMO either right in WoW or in games like SWG or other less-popular places.  I think it would be very difficult to put that genie back in the bottle.  People have seen the exclamation points over quest giver’s heads.  I don’t think they are going to tolerate a game where they have to walk up to an NPC and type “What Purple Blossom?”  ”Tell me about the Purple Blossom” “Can I have a Purple Blossom” until they get it right.

Thinking that the community wants a game like that belies the numbers.  The MMO failure road is littered with people who tried this too.  Even Vanguard, which was going to be the logical extension of Everquest, fell to the pressure to “modernize” it.  Why? Because it HAD TO.  The fact is that in the mass market you aren’t going to be able to enforce a grouping, difficult travel, open world  MMO ruleset without bleeding subscribers from the end of the very first month.  Yes, we all say we want it.  A lot of women say that all they want is a “nice guy”, but there are all kinds of nice guys sitting at home on Saturday night wondering why all the bad boys get the girls.  It’s because that’s how it works.  Intellectually we say we want one thing but in reality we quickly become bored with it.

The fact is that is an elitist way to look at the MMO space.  It’s evident that the author feels like these mechanisms cheapen the game to the point where he doesn’t want to play it.  That’s cool, I kinda feel the same way about Madden Football on the consoles.  I have no problem that I have an elitist attitude toward those games and look at them as “less than” MMO’s or other online multiplayer pursuits.

Wolfshead goes on to lay the death of community at Blizzards doorstep.  Really?  People started rejecting forced grouping before World of Warcraft ever shipped.  I still remember my later days in Everquest logging on, trying to get a group for a couple of hours, doing nothing and logging off frustrated.  I guess you could put in a dungeon finder for that but oops, that’s on Wolfshead’s list of bad things for his game.

Here’s the reality of the community situation.  It stinks. I ran a fansite for Vanguard from the early days of that project.  Let me tell you it all starts out idealistic but then the special interests come in and the trolls, pretty soon the discussion devolves and the community can become insular.  When that happens, the attitude that Wolfshead espouses here tends to come to the surface and runs off the less militant community members.  By the time Vanguard shipped (make no mistake, the product was a train wreck, but the community didn’t know that pre-launch) there was a distinct “Go back to WOW” flavor to the comments to anyone who disagreed with the “intelligentsia” there.

MMO communities eat their young.

The fact is that community does still exist on MMO’s.  I belong to a guild that is very tight, we have others outside the guild we run with.  Community is made by the community members, and forcing community just doesn’t work.  People want options, and they want to choose whether or not they participate in community in an MMO.  There is ample opportunity to do so if you choose, and you don’t have to if you don’t.

Now I will admit that antisocial behavior does happen, and some of that is a product of game design and the unintended consequences that he mentions.  But every design decision has unintended consequences.  That’s why MMO’s patch every couple of months and how the term “nerf” was coined.  The designers did something that caused something else and they fix it.  It does cause frustration and irritation.  WoW certainly isn’t perfect.  But no game is.

I get that there are things about WoW that people don’t like.  I get that it’s not perfect. I even get that it’s not for everyone.  I’ve taken breaks for as much as 16 months in a row.  But the fact remains that people want polished games that give them variety in their gameplay.  The community has voted with their dollars and WoW has become the market leader.

People are welcome to develop the game Wolfshead wants to play.  Hell, I’d play it.   I just wouldn’t give you any money to develop it.  Because I don’t think people are buying.

“We’ve been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we’re excited that the time for that is almost here,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Thanks to our beta testers, we’re making great progress on the final stages of development, and we’ll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net^® in just a few months.”

It will be interesting to see if this catches on to the same degree as the original 1998 (yes it really has been 12 years) release did.  I’m also going to be very interested in how the “new Battle.net” works out.  It’s going to have a huge impact, since it will be used by both the sure-t0-be-massive Starcraft base and the already large World of Warcraft players.  It has the potential to be a very rough day for Blizzard technically.  Almost as impactful as their sales will be.

Are you going to get Starcraft II?

A while ago, you might remember Darren over at The Common Sense Gamer losing his mind a little when one of the publishers had the audacity to ask for $10 for an in-game horse.  Well Darren is going to absolutely flip over this then.

Blizzard is selling a mount on the Blizzard Pet Store.  You can get your Celestial Steed now on the Blizzard Store for only $25 US.  What a deal, right?  I know Tarkheena is looking for her credit card right now.  I think they are going to sell a TON of these.  What do you guys think though?  How much is too much?

I still think that any of this stuff that is not germane to game play is fair game.  I don’t need it to craft, or to store items, or to access content.  It’s purely cosmetic.  As a matter of fact, reports are that the mount will scale to the speed of your fastest mount.  So it’s almost literally just a skin on whatever you already possess.  I’ll probably end up with one.  They are pretty cool looking.

There is some understandable Nerd Rage about this, but I go back to the fact that it’s an in-game collectible, and nothing more.  If Blizzard starts asking for money for unlocks, or crafting goods, or bag space, then you will hear more from me.  Until then I think I’m going to enjoy seeing what they come up with next to separate us from our money.

A young Panama circa 1999

When he was little he was a terror.  He’d hide behind things and jump out at us.  He’d tear around the house and chomp on our ankles. All I remember from those days was what a terror he was and how he used to drive my ex crazy.  We bought a house and moved in Panama and eventually added more cats.  As the elder statesman of the house, he always had to bear the indignity of kitten attacks when a new one was brought into the house.  My ex had a thing for acquiring animals but was never that big on keeping them.  A couple of dogs came and went.  Eventually we split (you already figured that out).  By now, Panama was an adult.  He wasn’t quite the typical cat.  He would always want to be in the same room as me.

She moved out of state and didn’t want to take the animals with her.  So there I was with a house and some animals and that’s when Panama and I really bonded.  He would come sit at my feet, follow me around the house, and he adopted the habit that a lot of cats have of liking to sit or sleep in boxes and box tops.

When I met my wife and decided to move to Texas, I packed up a UHaul and Panama and I drove from Colorado to Austin Texas.  When we got here, there was a period of adjustment with him and Tarkheena’s cat, Shadow.  Before too long though, we would catch them curled up together sleeping.  Or they would be playing together, chasing each other around the house.

Panama also always would come when he was called.  He knew some commands like; “Lay down” and “Don’t Bite” when we were playing a little rough.  Panama always wanted to be in whatever room we were in, and once he got to know Tark, pretty much wanted to be in her lap.  This wasn’t a small thing as he was a Maine Coon, and in his prime he was often between 16 and 18 pounds.  He was long as well, and could stand on his hind legs and put his paws on the kitchen counter.

Panama in his prime

I know everyone thinks their pet is special.  I’ve had a lot of pets in my day and this cat was by far different than any other. He was great with the kids, even when my youngest son would run up on him, or flop down on top of him, he wouldn’t bite or scratch.

Like most animals, as he got older he got a little thinner.  He lost a little of his mass and we couldn’t get it back on him no matter what we did.

In February, we got really concerned.  On a trip to the vet we found out he had hyperthyroidism.  In cats this is treatable but expensive.  We were ready to forgo our planned vacation and get him his treatment.  In the run up to the thyroid treatment, he started showing some unrelated symptoms.  We took him back to the vet and found out that it looked like our little friend had a brain tumor.  He was declining fast.

On Thursday February 25th, we had to let him go and we had the vet put him down.  It was one of the hardest things I ever did in my life.

My younger kids cried when we told them, and Tark and I both spent several days with tears in our eyes.  One of the reasons I haven’t written much for the last few months and even took so long to post this is that it was just too painful for me to share my feelings.  I know it sounds crazy but he was that important to me.  He and I went through a lot together, and he was always there, a faithful and loving friend to just hang out with.

For 15 years Panama was a wonderful pet and a great companion.  He was special, and there will never be another one like him.  Pictures don’t do him justice.  He was elegant and handsome as a cat can be.

So I am writing this to say; Thank You, Panama.  Thanks for the wonderful and unconditional love and companionship you gave me and everyone who came in contact with you.  Thanks for adjusting to new cats, new houses, and new places.  Thanks for sitting next to me in a UHaul for 2 days and never freaking out.  Thanks for being a lap cat, and coming when we called you.

Just a week before we lost him.

You were the pet of a lifetime and we’ll never forget you.

PANAMA

12/1/1994 – 2/25/2010

Spinks article is about “You can’t heal stupid,” which is absolutely correct.  Syp writes about the unwritten rules that healers have in “The Secret Life of Healers.”

Both of them allude to or outright point out that most healers in the game (I play a Resto Shaman as one of my dual mains) have a set of rules for healing people, particularly people in Random Heroic Groups.  We probably all had rules that we had in our minds from doing PUGs, but not many people did as many dungeons doing PUGs as we do now with the Dungeon Finder.  This has amplified our issues as healers and brought them to the forefront of our thinking.  Before this I never really thought that much about them but over the course of the last few weeks I have had time to consider this quite a lot.

For the benefit of all the ADHD tanks, fire-and-forget ranged DPS, and don’t-quite-know-they-aren’t-the-tank melee DPS folks out there, here are some things to consider should you be lucky enough to be in a Heroic I am healing.  I am willing to bet that there are even some other healers who will agree with these, so think of them as rules to live by.

1. Tanks – I am a mana-using class, please keep this in mind. – I know you have to hurry up and finish the dungeon before your parking meter expires, but going fast has the law of diminishing returns.  Seriously, WTF is the rush?  You are a tank, and can get a dungeon instantly and if you really are such hot shit you probably don’t need the emblems any more.  Slow down just a little and let me drink 2 or 3 times during the run.   Stressing me out means I’m more likely to make mistakes, and me making a big mistake could mean a wipe, which is the ultimate slow down.  I spend my entire time in there looking at your health bar, glance at mine once in a while.  Einstein.

2. It’s more mana-efficient to rez Hunters and Rogues than it is to heal them. – Seriously, why are you taking damage?  If there isn’t some sort of AE that the MOB is doing and you are taking damage, you are risking me having to decide between keeping me and the tank up, or finishing the fight with 4 players.  Given that all but 2 or 3 of the Heroics can be 4-manned anyway, I’m not going to lose any sleep if you drop.  So knock it the hell off.

3. You are responsible for controlling your threat.  Don’t automatically blame the tank. – We are ALL responsible for controlling our own threat.  If you don’t have a threat meter, you may want to get one.  The one I have beeps if I get close to #1 on the charts.   This lets me know that I have to do more than memorize a button sequence and let ‘er rip.  I know DPS is a high-workload role, but that doesn’t mean it should be a low-brainshare one.  Pay attention to what you are doing, so I don’t end up blowing my entire mana pool healing everyone who gets smote on the mob’s way back and forth between you and the tank.  If you do draw aggro, die gracefully without blaming anyone else because, well, it’s your own damn fault.

4. Don’t be a douchebag. – If you are going to tell everyone in the group how to play their class, berate the tank and the healer for doing things the way they are doing them, and generally act like an antisocial ass, please know that I am not going to heal you.  At all.  Now before you all hate on me, know that I have a high threshold for asshattery, but once you reach it there is pretty much no way back.  Example:  Last night I am running a Heroic with Br3ntbr0 from ITG!  The Ret Pally (big surprise here) starts yapping about Hurry up!  And GO FASTER!  We tell him to chill, but he starts peppering in obscenities and jumping around like a fool while still telling us to hurry.  I’m in Vent with Brent and as we approach the last boss I tell him I’ve had enough and the Pally is gonna die.  Note:  I do tend to go kinda passive-aggressive in situations like this, so of course that is what I did.  Brent made sure he allowed the Pally to pull aggro, and I let him die.  We finished the boss in record time anyway, looted, insulted him, watched his profanity-laced tirade, and left him dead in the instance.  Lesson:  If you can’t be civil, expect that to have consequences.

5. A tank is not a tank. – To everyone who isn’t a tank, just something for you to know: A Prot Pally is not the same as a Prot Warrior, is not the same as a LOLBear, is not the same as a DK tank.  So you should know how each of them are different in the realm of aggro management, and make adjustments accordingly.  I’m always going to try to keep everyone vertical (with some exceptions noted above) but if you insist on pulling aggro from the tank during the initial pull over and over again, then I have to agree with Spinks and just realize that “you can’t heal stupid.”  Hopefully your deaths are a lesson to you.  If not, then you apparently can’t teach stupid either.

6. Don’t stand in the fire/poo gas/poison/void zone.

So to boil it down;

1. Let me have some mana, saving 1 or 2 minutes isn’t buying you that much.
2. Know your role.
3. Don’t be a douche.
4. Use your head for something besides a hat rack.
5. Don’t stand in the effing fire.

One other thing you should know. Here is my healing priority list:

1. ME. I can’t heal anyone else if I am dead.  Simple concept.
2. The tank.  Should really be 1b. A fight without a tank is a wipe 9 out of 10 times.
3. Anyone else who isn’t a Rogue or Hunter, particularly if they can backup heal.
4. Rogues and Hunters.

I guess I’ll never understand why people can’t make an effort to at least be civil, try, and to try to have some fun in these groups.  I’m not quite sure why my initial reaction to people behaving in what I perceive to be an unacceptable manner produces a passive aggressive response in me but, well, it does.  I suspect that I’m not alone in this.

If you are a tank, please just pause every once in a while and see if your healer is OK.  We’re keeping you (pretty close to) front of mind, showing a little mind-share to your healer should be one of your priorities.

And no matter who you are.  If you have something to share that you think would help someone in the group, try doing it without name calling or berating anyone.  That doesn’t help.  And it will probably get you killed.

Daevilchylde, whose idea it was to get going again in the first place, has graciously allowed the reigns of the Casualties guild over there to be thrust upon him.

We would love for anyone who is playing WoW or is thinking about playing WoW who has had anything to do with CoW or The Grouchy Gamer or I’m Talkin’ Games to get over there and help us get stuff running again.

So what are you waiting for?  Make a character (or fire up an old one)  and do a /who casualties and see who is on (there aren’t many of us yet) and ask for an invite.

Let’s find a way to play together again!  Looking forward to seeing more people on in the near future!

I don’t usually call out other bloggers because usually they have their opinions, which everyone knows is like a part of the body, and they are entitled to that opinion.  My standard for reading a blog is that there is a shred of objectivity to the posting there.  Sure we all have our favorites and I tend to write mostly about what I am playing at the moment.  Right now that is WOW, but it’s been variously EQ2, EVE, AoC, Vanguard, and even TF2.  There have been others but you get the point.  Other than on the fan site that I started (which was sanctioned by the studio and clearly labeled as such), I’ve never really advocated a game and tried to stick to posting about what I like or dislike about it or my sometimes inexplicable behavior around it.

I’ve noted that a lot of others stick to that same ethos.  There is currently one blogger that stands out, and that is Syncaine over at Hardcore Casual.  Hardcore Casual has been on my blogroll for a long time.  I remember enjoying reading it back in the day, and even looked up to it as a successful blog.  Recently though a trend has emerged over there.  In short, it appears that Syncaine should change the name of the blog to Hardcore Apologist.

In the post linked above, he sets out to discredit Scott “Lum the Mad” Jennings, who I believe is a respected gaming veteran.  He even goes so far as to impune the job that Scott Jennings is currently doing.  Now Scott certainly doesn’t need me to defend him and that isn’t what this post is about anyway.  The real crux of the issue for me is that the blog has crossed over from being a blog about gaming to being a Darkfall fansite.

Here is my take:  First, the  blog has an ad at the top that Syncaine states gives him 20% of the client cost for each new Darkfall sold through it.  OK, you want to monetize your blog that is your business.  I pimp Jinx gear, and I get a few pennies toward a t-shirt if you buy a t-shirt.  Full disclosure and all.  So far that has amounted to about 3 dollars off for me.  That’s about how much it has influenced what I write.  Second, the tone of the posts has become defensive and is clearly written from the perspective of someone who is advocating for the game.  Third, he has a disclaimer;

(DarkFall-related post disclaimer/reminder. If you click the image link near the top-right of this page and buy a DarkFall account, I get paid 20% of the client cost. If you believe this taints my views and reporting on DarkFall, your opinion is wrong.)

This disclaimer is more of the dismissive tone that more and more is present at the site.

What do I think?  I think Syncaine has whored himself to Darkfall both emotionally and monetarily.  Yes, I said “whored”.  Syncaine, if you are reading this I am here to tell you that you have lost your objectivity and your credibility with me.  I’m guessing you can live with that but I’m here to say: “Man, I thought you were better than that.”

Syncaine’s commenters have also taken a similar tone.  The comments section there reads more like a PVP game’s forums.  All the tiny penis boys are shouting anyone down who disagrees with their Precious.  I’m not alone in being critical of these developments.  Read the comments on that post and you will find some of the people I respect most in the community also challenging his stances and statements.  They are, of course, immediately discredited.  I expect I soon will be myself.

I stand by my earlier post saying that PVP is not a viable mainstream MMO mechanism.  EVE is about as big as a PVP game can get.  While EVE is certainly a success, the road behind it is littered with the corpses of the would-be successors to the throne.  And on that Lum and I agree.   I DO hope that developers keep trying to make a great PVP MMO.   It keeps this element’s eyes on another shiny beside the game I may choose to play.  Am I against PVP?  Absolutely not.  I enjoy it.  I just don’t think it works as a stand-alone MMO in the greater sense.

So I’m here to mourn the death of a blog.  Long live the fan site!

I’ve ranted here before about microtransactions, and the negative effects of RMT on today’s games.  I’m not a big fan.  But what I don’t like is the type of MT that gates or changes game play.  So when Blizzard announced this week that they were adding the Pet Store to their Blizzard store for use in WoW, you might expect that I would have a problem with that as well.

Instead, as you can see here, I now own one.  It’s actually fun, as people can come up and bow to him, and he will bow back.  He’ll also do some animations that are kinda fun.

I’m still not a fan of changing game play with MT.  Even the moves that SOE made this week rubbed me the wrong way, converting Free Realms from a Free To Play to a Fee to Pay.  But to me, cosmetic things like this are harmless.  If you think they are stupid, you don’t have to buy one to remain competitive or able to play.  So you are free to take a pass.  To those who say that they are too much money, I say the same thing.  If it’s too much money, don’t buy it.  You don’t need it to raid/crawl/craft or whatever you like most in the game.  It’s really something you can ignore if you think it’s overpriced.

Me, I’ve already got my $10 worth out of the little guy.  Had some fun parading him around Dalaran tonight and watching others interact or try to interact with him.

I’m interested to see what else may come along for this kind of thing.  Armor dyes, color swatches to match up all your armor, other pets?  All of this kind of thing are the least objectionable form of MT to me.  The first time they ask me for cash for a key to a dungeon or the like I’m gone though.  How about you guys?

I’m excited to join a multi-author blog.  Some of my favorite blogs (I’m looking at you, KTR) are multi-author and I’m hoping that some day we can get the quality and consistency they get.  We’ve got a couple of newer bloggers to the circle I usually run in, along with old friends Oakstout and JoBildo contributing.

I’m going to keep this blog open, because I know that there are going to be things I want to say here.  Please set your readers and feeds to http://imtalkingames.com as well.  I’d love to see you all over there too.  We’ve got some exciting things planned there.  I’ll let you head over there and see for yourself.

Thanks!

In accordance with the server closure date, the Free Character Transfer service has been extended through October 15. 2009. Between September 15, 2009 and October 15, 2009 at 4:59 PM PT all characters on the affected servers are eligible for a one way, one time Free Character Transfer* to any of the remaining thirteen (13) Star Wars Galaxies servers.

Cool!  Free character transfers!  That’s always good, especially when the server you are on may be one of the soon-to-be-obsolete variety.  Duh.  But there is more;

After October 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM PT, any characters and their associated items and structures remaining on the identified servers being closed will no longer be accessible on your Star Wars Galaxies or Station Access account.

Ouch.  OK, no longer accessible? You mean deleted, right?

But wait!  There’s more!  And this is the really good part!

To access the Free Character Transfer Service, you must login to Star Wars Galaxies with the character you would like to transfer. You will be notified that your character qualifies for the free character transfer service opportunity when you login. Eligible characters may also enter “/freects” to begin the transfer process. Only one character may be transferred at a time. Please read and respond carefully to each question and answer entry you type. All Character Transfers are considered final and cannot be reversed.

This means that there is no way to transfer your characters if you are currently unsubscribed.  I say currently because the nature of MMO subscriptions is that people come and go, then come back again.  Tarkheena and I have resubbed to SWG three separate times.

So let’s do some fact inventory, shall we?

1. Many of us have enjoyed repeated returns to the SWG for visits from time to time.  During AGDC we even talked about this game in particular having that kind of draw.
2. The servers, the way they were, were completely untenable.  You could scarcely find another player, even in most of the cities.
3. They are offering free transfers.  Whoopty-freaking-do.  Of course they are.  Who in their right mind would PAY for a transfer.  This brings us to the fourth point.
4. This program was designed to MAKE YOU RESUBSCRIBE if you want to change and preserve your character.  This is horrible customer service, and by extension, business.
5. SWG is an abject failure.  I don’t think anyone involved with it pictured it working out this way.
6. SOE is not a customer-friendly company.

Here’s what chaps my hide: This was another opportunity for SOE to engender goodwill.  Instead they have taken a short-term attempt to grab a few extra dollars in callous disregard for their past and future customers.  The players and fans of this game have been jerked around more than the subscribers to just about any other game I can think of. CU, NGE, all of that stuff has been well documented.  There have been discussions here and elsewhere in the past about making it as easy as possible for customers to return to your game (and thus your income line) in every case.  I’ve abandoned games because of resubscription policies before, and this is another case where the publisher has tried to exploit people’s feelings toward their customers to callously take a month of subscription money in exchange for an opportunity to preserve those characters just in case you might want to come back at some future date.  Yet here once again, SOE didn’t think things all the way through.

All they had to do was one of two things;

1. Make character transfers available through the web site, whether or not you were currently subscribed.
2. If the above wasn’t technically viable, offer a week-long “return to archive your stuff” free access period where people could come back, pack up their houses, and move to their new server homes.  Who knows?  Maybe a few of us would get nostalgic and take out the credit card one last time.

That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen now.  So I guess it’s goodbye SWG for me and Tark.  It makes me sad, but it doesn’t surprise me.