Did you keep reading?

But of course you kept reading. You’re my mailman, for Zeus’s sake; you owe me that much.

Wrong. If you kept reading out of obligation, you’ve done us both a disservice: Wasting your time on a story you don’t like, and giving me a false impression.

Worse, some people assume they must read the whole ten-book series, and because they’re busy, they never read a word. (NOTE: New authors typically shouldn’t submit epic series, but that’s another issue.)

Neither is any help. Instead, I implore you:

Read the first sentence.

That’s all.

(Still too busy? If you have a television or Facebook account, I don’t believe you.)

Jason, I can’t judge your whole story on just one sentence!

Sure you can. People do it all the time: Decide to see a movie based solely on the preview, pick up a book based on the title and cover. Spend $60 on a videogame they’ve never played. This is comparitively much fairer. But to ease your conscience, don’t judge the whole story. Just the first sentence.

Actually, don’t even analyze in detail, just consider one thing:

Did it prompt you to read further?

If not, tell me why. You don’t even have to figure out what needs to be fixed, just tell me what you experienced. Were you bored? Confused? Disbelieving? Annoyed?

That’s why I don’t accept “I’m unqualified” as an excuse. If you’ve ever liked/disliked a book or movie and could articulate why, you’re qualified. I’m not looking for MFAs. I’m looking for readers.

What if I read past the first sentence?

Cool, I got one thing right; only a million more to go. However, you’re still not obligated to read the whole story. If the first sentence gripped you, try the first paragraph. Still undeterred? Read the first page.

And then, only if you cannot put it down, read the first scene or chapter.

Don’t do me any favors.

If you read my story to the end, it should be because — and only because – you loved it. No other reason. This is why ”I’m too busy” is a poor excuse. If you liked it, I’ve given you free entertainment. (You can now return the favor by telling me what to improve.)

If you didn’t like it, why are you still reading? Stop and tell me why.

That’s how editors and agents read unsolicited manuscripts, with one difference: Usually, they’ll give the author at least one page to hang himself. Properly formatted, this is just 13 lines of text.

If these 13 lines don’t astonish, delight and impress, the story goes in the trash, the author gets a form rejection.

The Bottom Line

I’m not trying to determine whether you think I should add a scene, remove a character, switch POV or cut words. That all comes later. (Though if you can tell me now, feel free.)

I’m just trying to determine one thing:

Can you put it down?

All other considerations are secondary. My career is on the line, and there is only one wrong answer:

Lying.

As your constituent, I ask that you oppose SOPA (H.R. 3261) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Otherwise, I cannot in good conscience support your bid for reelection.

As a writer, small business owner, videographer and blogger, the internet is critical to my success in those media and has been instrumental to  my career. It allows me to reach my audience affordably and with minimal carbon footprint, and without fear of arbitrary censorship.

More importantly, it is the last bastion of truly free speech, uncensored by corporate or government agency. Resources like Wikipedia, Google, Reddit and hundreds more (free to end users) are invaluable to our way of life, and their existence is threatened by these bills.

Furthermore, Anti-piracy measures don’t work. DRM attempts by EA and other major players have worsened conditions for legitimate customers, creating limitations and barriers on their products, effectively turning purchases into rentals. Meanwhile, technically-savvy users easily circumvent each new restriction, and only paying customers are punished. This has been proven repeatedly.

The only way to fight piracy is to incent content that is affordable, convenient, and a la carte. Piracy exists because monoliths like TWC require users to pay up to three times for the same content:

1. Cable package
2. Watching paid advertising (even on PPV channels)
3. PPV content itself 

As an entrepreneur, I have experienced how NC’s tax on internet revenue has limited my opportunities by discouraging partners like Amazon.com from offering affiliate status to NC residents. Translation: I can sell my own products on Amazon.com, but because NC is unfriendly to internet business, Amazon will not offer me additional revenue for advertising my products elsewhere on the web. Said revenue is available to residents of other states who link to my products and had nothing to do with my products. (It will be available to me only if I reside elsewhere.)

 SOPA and PIPA offer an environment many thousands of times worse and on a national scale, permitting arbitrary limitations to free speech and free enterprise. They guarantee the death of businesses like mine and offer to turn our best free medium into a virtual police state where those in power determine arbitrarily who succeeds and fails based on their own agendas, and not on the results of a free market.

SOPA and PIPA punish me while rewarding monopolies like TWC who have more power to decide what should be allowed on the internet (through influence on government), which results in even higher prices and greater barriers for legitimate customers. It is entirely possible that SOPA and PIPA are backed by agencies hoping to replace resources like Wikipedia with their own pay-per-use community, one without neutrality or free speech.

The last thing our economy needs is greater expenses for the average citizen. The last thing our society needs is additional limitations on free speech.

______________________________________ 

I’d never played poker before Brenda’s party, but it wasn’t the cards I remembered when I left. It was the cat. The improbably-named “Flurffy” associated me with a previous tall, curly-haired owner and spent more time on my lap than I spent on cards.

When Brenda got pregnant and wanted to downsize her number of pets, she turned to Flurrfy’s original adopter, Jason Quigley, but his allergic wife and young daughter were reasons why Brenda had Flurrfy instead.

Quigley and Brenda turned to us.

We considered with some trepidation. As much as we love cats, we had all wanted: Two of them, hand-picked after lots of deliberation. One from kittenhood; the other from Independent Animal Rescue. Both have impeccable veterinary records and we know their history.

Nonetheless, memories of a sweetheart with an adorable tabby face convinced me that Flurrfy would be a wonderful addition to the family.

It may seem minor, but the jump from two cats to three seemed like a leap from household to zoo: The other two get along and had been trained on our all household rules. Flurrfy understood the rules, but insisted they did not apply to her. The others, after all, were cats; Flurrfy would tell you that she’s people.

Despite acclimating the other cats to each other, Flurrfy never got along with Rosie…they fought to the end, attacking with growls and claws several times a week. Petting the other cats prompted jealous glares.

Though Flurrfy was challenging, her disposition was sweet. She was the only cat we could honest-to-God hug, holding to our chest. Most felines will squirm to get down; Flurrfy would climb your shoulder to get higher, purring like tiny generator. Sometimes she would stand atop the sofa to prompt us to pick her up. She loved pillows and blankets, burrowing several layers into any bed available until you couldn’t even see her gray head.

She was also highly intelligent, our first cat who could open kitchen cabinets and — we maintain — taught the others how.

Flurrfy was every visitor’s favorite cat. No shy bone in her body, she loved to meet people and insisted that every newcomer pet her thoroughly. If one seemed disinterested, she found another. She primped and preened, or flopped on the floor upside down, paws curled to generate “AWs” and squeeze every drop of love from the room. Our little prima donna took center stage.

Our biggest challenge was Flurrfy’s health; she hadn’t seen a vet in years and had no records. She occasionally suffered seizures, and as hard at is was to watch her motor functions failing, the terror in her eyes was worse. We’d reassure and pet her until she recovered, looking up with relief and — we’d like to believe — gratitude.

She sometimes coughed up a thin stream of mucus, but gradually realized we didn’t want it on the carpet. When she had to cough up, she started to give a low cry, warning us to rush her to tile, or perhaps just asking for help and comfort.

The vet discovered a heart murmur and Flurrfy went on medication. We paid for all the tests we could afford, but others were advised, beyond our means and with guarantees that even greater expenses would follow. I discussed her health conditions with a previous owner, but his circumstances were no better than mine.

The best we could do for Flurrfy was pay for the treatments we could afford and provide a home that was happy, safe and warm. She was horrifically overweight when we adopted her, so we carefully dieted her to a healthy size. She had problems but seemed stable.

Nonetheless, our greatest fear was realized this evening. It’s easy to see why we use so many euphemisms for death: “Gone,” “lost,” or “departed.” Death is undignified despite our best efforts. Though we all lose pets, I hope you never have the misfortune to find one “departed” in your home. The heart hasn’t the fortitude for so crushing a blow. It’s also unfair that grief take a backseat to the logistics of the situation.

For her final resting place, Flurrfy chose the foot of her mommy’s chair, the place she sat for hours while Megan was gaming.

We miss you, Flurrfy. More than words, pictures and tears can express. Go purr on God’s shoulder now, or if you should choose, join us in another life…hopefully a happier, healthier one. I wish I had treated you better. We both wish we had done more for you.

Things are better for you now. But not for us.

Jason R. Peters
3:19 AM, December 1, 2011
Durham, North Carolina 

So what makes EA and Bioware think they can profitably challenge industry behemoth World of Warcraft and its competitors? Is the Force with them?

I tested Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend, possibly the most ambitious game ever made. It was innovative and surprising, and takes the genre in new directions as promised.

Despite epic cinematics, I was initially underwhelmed. I found the launcher uncommunicative and character creation bugged (though that seems specific to my machine). The first quests did not impress and the starting area was overcrowded, a problem I expect modern MMOs to solve.

Quests, Dialog and Story

It wasn’t until level 3 that I noticed: Every quest began and ended with voice-acted cutscenes. There was no reading text on screen to learn objectives (unless I forgot). This is a huge departure from traditional MMOs.

Another innovation was my option to choose responses in dialog, whether mundane or contentious, magnanimous or witty. Then I remembered: This is a Bioware game. Plot and storytelling are their hallmarks.

SWTOR plays like Bioware’s single-player games, but more refined. Some quests have more than one ending: Two courses are proposed, and the player decides where his allegience lies. It also offers surprising depth for an MMO. Questionable decisions will be challenged by your superiors and colleagues, and often there’s a second (or third) layer of intrigue to discover.

Mulitiplayer Dialog

What happens for group cutscenes? Some are specifically designed multiple participants.What happens when you choose, “Yes, I’ll help you” and your groupmate chooses “Shut your cakehole”?

First, if there are Light/Dark Side or influence points to be gained/lost, you’ll get credit for your answer. Second, the game randomly decides whose response to use (like a loot roll) which determines the course of the encounter. This makes conversations unpredictable and even more entertaining than the solo variety.

Waiting on groupmates to respond can sometimes be irritating.

Alignment

Keeping with “Old Republic” tradition, characters in SWTOR earn “Light Side” or “Dark Side” points for actions that are good evil, regardless of faction. Your Jedi Guardian can fall to the Dark Side; your Sith Warrior can find opportunities for compassion, sometimes costly. Alignment dictates which gear you can wear or wield, and can affect your appearance.

Classes

The player chooses from 8 base classes (four per faction), each with 2 “advanced classes” selectable at level 10.

Class Plotlines

Typically, ”alt” characters offer new abilities but the same quests. In SWTOR, each class has its own plotline, with unique story and quests all the way to level 50. Much of the replay value comes from seeing new content.

Companions

“Pet Classes” are a staple of MMOs, but SWTOR gives the old mechanic a new spin.

Every class gets “pets”, only they aren’t just pets, they’re companions: NPCs with their own motives, gear and abilities. Sidekicks have been a staple of the Star Wars universe: Luke had R2D2, Han Solo had Chewbacca. Your character should be no different.

Each class will eventually win the allegience of several companions. They can aid you in combat, react to your decisions, or even run errands for you, such as selling the junk in your inventory. Some can even be romanced.

Skills

Your SWTOR hero is a great delegator. Rather than collect every recipe, treasure, crystal and component yourself, you will instead send companions on gathering missions or crafting assignments. This allows you to continue your quest uninterrupted, though you’ll miss having your sidekick in combat until he returns. Once you’ve discovered mutliple companions, you can even send them on multiple errands.

Another innovation of SWTOR is that companions are smart enough to access your bank inventory for materials, not just your backpack.

Bonus Quests

Most of the “kill X enemies” quests have been demoted to “bonus” quests: They aren’t important enough in their own right, but hey, while you’re accomplishing your true goal, there are additional rewards for slaughtering sufficient bad guys.

Instanced Zones

SWTOR uses instanced zones to reduce population. While I welcome the crowd control, unfortunately it’s a hindrance to grouping. Inviting someone from a different world instance will result in “I’m by the fountain too. Why can’t you see me?” And while it appears there’s a simple “change instance” feature on the map, it hasn’t yet worked for me.

The Game World

Except for newbie planets, the game world is appropriately huge, at least at low levels. Coruscant feels multilayered and overpopulated, from beautiful surface architecture to underworld industrial slums. Tatooine features wide expanses of endless desert, requiring a vehicle to navigate with any speed. The skyscapes are beautiful.

There are 17 planets listed, offering a much bigger galaxy to explore than previously seen in Star Wars games. Even Galaxies only has 12.

That said, the planets feel fairly linear with a clear progression of Class quests to higher difficulty/futher areas, supplemented by scaling side quests. It will feel huge at first, but most MMOs shrink rapidly.

To aid in exploring such expansive areas, players are offered taxis to noteworthy locations, plus a “summon taxi” power on 30-minute cooldown. At various levels, you’ll receive out-of-combat sprint and a range of vehicles with different speeds, plus the player’s own ship for interplanetary travel.

Your Ship

Mine came with its own droid companion; perhaps other classes meet a different first mate. Your “captain’s locker” offers bank access, there’s a holoterminal and you’ll find the galactic map aboard the bridge. Select a planet, and through the viewport you’ll see the jump to lightspeed.

Irritatingly, just boarding cuts to docking/undocking cinematics and load screens. Until this is streamlined, don’t board unless you have somewhere to go.

I was also irritated that I couldn’t rename the ship, and so far there are no options to customize the interior, even with minor decorations.

Space Combat

Based on other reviews, I didn’t bother. Other critics claim it has a constrained, arcade-like feel. If 3D ship combat is your main draw for a space-based game, I suggest you consider EVE Online, whose module-based fighting is second-to-none in far future realism (which has its own drawbacks).

While some speculate on the potential, for now it’s an afterthought for the developers, ergo an afterthought for me. Meanwhile, it’s enough to have a ship to walk around in and kick my feet up while AFK or crafting between worlds.

The Interface

SWTOR’s UI is clunky and unforgiving, though not the worst I’ve used. It has an aesthetically pleasing “in universe” motif. Questquivers even lack the now-traditional exclamation point, instead featuring a memorable in-universe symbol.

Only the chat window can be moved or resized; other components are fixed wihout even a UI scale to reduce them. Some elements, like the “second” bottom actionbar appearing below the first, are downright annoying and waste a lot of screen space. There is no support for macros.

Coming from addon-ruled WoW or fully customizable UIs like Rift and Champions Online, this is a leap backwards. Bioware’s single-player experience has ill equipped them to anticipate the UI demands of online players.

The minimap will usually lead you in the right direction, or even to the right stairwell or doorway when you’re in a different zone. Mousing over different icons will tell you exactly what they are, or which quests they indicate. New players will be confused when two quest markers point in opposite directions: Every time you change floors or buildings, one of your quest markers says you should turn right back around. This can be mitigated by tracking fewer quests.

The larger map goes transparent during movement, allowing you to move and navigate simultaneously, and clicking a transition point will show you the next area (if you’re explored it). Unfortunately, the large map only tracks one thing at a time, meaning it won’t show both vendors and trainers simultaneously (though the minimap does).

Powers and Combat

MMO veterans will notice there’s no autoattack. Each class does get one “free” power, but it must be spammed if you need it repeatedly.

Melee classes feel fast and furious, wading directly into the fray, usually with a closer. Blaster classes can take “cover” behind objects, bringing up a contextual action bar, much like stealth does.

Annoyingly, ranged characters hover in limbo until level 10 since they could become melee at that point, powers reaching a pathetic ten meters. Your “ranged” Jedi will have to walk very close to enemies.

Some of the powers are interesting, but others feel uninspired. For example, the Jedi Consular’s “throw an object with the force” summons a random object from underground. After seeing DC Universe Online use existing world objects for telekinetic throwing, this is dissatisfying. To further confuse you, “Telekinetic Throw” does not hurl an object with the Force, it hurls scattered debris. The power which throws an object is called “Project.”

Combat is alternatingly challenging or mundane, repetetive in typical MMO fashion. One twist offered by SWTOR is that instead of just standards and elites, enemies come in a range of classifications: Weak, Normal, Strong, Elite, Boss. All fights are not created equal.

Little about combat was innovative or groundbreaking; it maintains the expectations of the genre, which isn’t all bad.

Fortunately, SWTOR combat feels firmly rooted in the Star Wars universe. Blaster fire and lightsabers are the norm.

Music

The game features soundtracks from the movies (of course), but also tracks by several composers (now a requirement in quality MMOs) which match the original themes in flavor but lack the garish repetition. Music cues enhance paritcular scenes or moments, but will not play endlessly.

There is combat for music, but it doesn’t play every fight. This makes the game feel cinematic without being oppressive.

Graphics

The graphics are mediocre like most MMOs. SWTOR is prettier than WoW but less hardware-efficient than RIFT. You won’t be impressed by character models, but they are good enough to sell the action in cutscenes and combat.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

For a game so focused on story, SWTOR breaks the fourth wall repeatedly. For example, companions are different for each class, but all Jedi Consulars have the same first companion. Not just the same race/class, but the same name and backstory. A simple name generator would add to suspension of disbelief.

I have mixed feelings about the “you’re the wrong class” curtains which block story areas. On one hand, it’s nice to know there’s nothing there…though there are plenty of other empty rooms. On the other hand, they’re distracting. Film sets don’t have backdrops that say “Behind here are props for a different movie! Don’t peek!”

I’d rather the barriers were invisble, the areas empty and easily ignored, or even filled with monsters if it’s a combat area. Keep as much behind the curtain as possible (without advertising it).

Conclusion

The Old Republic has problems, some of them glaring. The UI is atrocious and space combat an afterthought. The Codex (in game database) is not searchable and there are some obvious bugs. Some of these may be solved by launch; it’s doubtful all of them will be.

Despite this, SWTOR looks more polished in beta than WoW did at launch 7 years ago. Additionally, it offers a story experience — pardon, 8 story experiences – to rival most single-player games. If you can view group content and social interactions as a bonus, it’s one of the most impressive games ever designed.

Those who expect fast-paced action will be disappointed by the game’s deliberate pace. Leveling is much slower, especially if you consider every decision and hear everyone out. If you enjoy games like KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age, if you enjoy the RP elements and decision-making, the MMO components will be icing on the cake.

SWTOR may not take over the industry, but it makes a fair bid for up-and-comer. And they have added at least one subscriber in me.

…I’m now completely overwhelmed by your expertise and attention to detail. I will almost certainly advise all my friends to shop Apple products this holiday season.

…I wanted to include a follow-up to our last correspondence, lest you think you think I might not give you credit for fixing the previous error. Let it stand recorded how well you have served your customers.

…thanks very much for the flawless OS upgrade. As usual, it has gone smoothly and without problem.

I also appreciate the specific nature of communicated errors, allowing me to troubleshoot quickly and accurately, with a minimum of search engine use and throwing objects through walls. Your patching process is so efficient that its only equal is your communication process.

Thank you for bricking my $400.00 device under the guise “upgrades”. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, as I’m sure that lacking access to music, movies, directions, email, time and temperature at my fingertips is an overall boost to quality of life.

I’m certainly better off without the music library I’ve spent thousands of hours acquiring and organizing, to say nothing of my alarm clock and to-do list. Thanks again.