Interesting thread over on the Project Reality forums about putting together a Minecraft Tournament. The PR community is a war inspired bunch, their hobby being tactical shooter games. A lot of the forum members are members of the military as well (although not exclusively) and in the Politics sub forum there is a lot of…
Avoiding Disasters
Including Cataclysm. A part of me was actually hoping I would have interest to buy the expansion, and based off the generaly quietness of blognation I may be in the minority. Although, the things the bloggers have turned out seem to be a lot of ‘content is almost done, when is the next expansion’ fun…
Project Reality 0.95
I wrote a bit about Project Reality when 0.8 was released as it was my first experience with it. After my gaming break I recently rebooted up the franchise in it’s 0.95 version. This Battlefield 2 mod does so much right for my gaming style and in general, that I want to share, promote, hug…
How Not to Blog
Sorry, Peter Moore, your “blog” is a pretty big embarrassment. I was surfing EA sites to find anyplace to complain that they stopped their major sports title development for the PC. Yes, I have complained about it a couple times already. I really want to play some football. 1) Most of the comments on that…
Film Fund
Fun thing about being ‘successful’ and making contacts – I was asked, and agreed to, sit on a board of directors for a film fund. I just signed back the paperwork today. It sat on my desk for a week, and to be honest movies aren’t any more of my forte than games – I…
Nodding Wistfully – RMT, Gold Farming, and Jared.
Nodding Wistfully is a newer post-type here that has little content, but refers to a fellow blogger’s content that I either agree with strongly, or think is a very worthwhile read. Yes, I’ve only done two of them so far, but plan on continuing them! PlayNoEvil has a great annotated video interview posted up that…
Premium Market Position
While our MMO companies battle for the mainstream dollar, I can’t help but wonder if any are forward thinking to the premium dollar customers – or if that market even exists in the gaming world. In the simplest of comparisons think Price Chopper vs Whole Foods. The first provides basic food at cut rate prices.…
Bioware’s New Game is Shattered Steel (probably).
A lot of speculation out there, but here’s a visual cue on why it is probably a remake of Shattered Steel. Capture from the video See those two, round black bulb things above his head (and to the left?) He’s not shooting out of a window, he’s shooting out of a cockpit. Oh look at…
More Proof of the Decline of Western Civilization
Stolen directly from Gregg Easterbrook of Tuesday Morning Quarterback (TMQ). The Zubon of the football world (meant as a compliment). And yes, it is game related. Not only did huge numbers of people buy the latest “Call of Duty” video game — which allows you to play the role of Richard Nixon killing zombies —…
Deferred Success
This title stems from educators wanting to remove kids from an ‘F’, or ‘Failing’ grade. No more failing – just deferred success! Clearly the change in terminology will make kids all become hugely successful. This Epic Defer is part of a longer list of deferrments by public offcials who manage powerful unionized employees (the same unions that…
Inventory Full
A friend and old guildmate of mine has jumped into blognation over at Inventory Full. I suppose technically he is a current guildmate from WoW (I am unsubbed, but details, details) and we always enjoyed parlaying in and out of game about games and other fun and relevant stuff. He only has a couple posts…
Don’t Spam Me, Bro
I don’t mind getting information pieces from various MMO’s I have signed up for. I actually appreciate being kept up to date on various things, without having to click or find them. Picking on WoW (I unsubbed a while ago.. again) a bit here as I got an email from them today. After the break.
I’ve Created a [zombie] Monster [survivor]
There’s a lot of coverage and interest with The Terminator vs. Video Games trudging through the Supreme Courts right now. I’m sure blognation will cover it much better than I but I’ll share a story about games and parenting as a gamer and a parent of a 5 year old. While I do not claim…
Combat Testing
I think I have mentioned it here before but worth bringing up again – if you like first person shooters and beta testing go apply for a slot as a Combat Tester. I’ve been in the group since 2007 and have enjoyed access to several betas through them. A list of previous tests through them…
Spinning Politics
I try not to write much when it comes to American Politics – it’s very polarizing and I’m Canadian. My University education was a joint honors in Poli-Sci/Economics so I do watch with much interest, and since what happens to my favorite neighbors to the south has an impact to us Canucks, it’s an important…
Vegas Baby
I’m in Vegas this week at a conference. I haven’t found the Lucky 38 yet, and not a Securitron in sight. Maybe I just need more to drink.
Straws, Backs, and Camels
Ok. I’m going to see how long I can NOT buy an EA product. I’m disconnecting my cash from the company. I’ve never had a major issue with the company, either. Their support (for me) has been just awesome. I’ve been buying their titles for as long as I have been gaming. Sometimes, you just…
Minecraft Zen (for you, Tesh)
Tesh often waxes poetic about forms of Zen grinding, and I found it recently in Minecraft. I realized in game I am not a fancy builder – but hey, can I strip mine with the best of them! When a much needed work break opportunity appears, I make 12 stone pickaxes (saving the iron ore for…
Nodding Wistfully : Diku
A thankful nod to this article over at Qblog from Mr. Dr. Bartle. While I started my MMO adventures in EQ beta, I still didn’t understand where the holy trinity actually came from.  I’ve always disliked it, writing my own musings on how silly it all is, and the challenges of getting people to adopt something…
What I Don’t Get About the Gaming Industry
“As you know, seasonal roll-offs that follow game launches are common and vital to maintaining a healthy business” – EA Spokesperson Jeff Brown Why is it that this statement seems only true for the gaming industry? I’m probably missing a few other industries that do this so nonchalantly in tone. It seems impossible to maintain…
Steam Sale Stings! (also – my Baseball Game is now a RPG)
I picked up MLB 2k10 from 2k sports over the weekend. I enjoyed 2k9, and the $20 price tag is a nice entry level. Today I check out steam, and that same title is now on sale for $1.99. 90% off! While that is indeed impressive, now my valued purchase makes me feel like I…
Welcome To Our Preferred Customer Program
My son decided he wanted to be a Skeleton this year for Hallowe’en – a far cry from his normal big budget movie choices (Batman, Spiderman, Bumblebee) and wow, is it ever hard to find a basic skeleton costume these days. I ordered on online and had it priority shipped. It arrived in a day,…
On Relationships
Not interpersonal human relationships, as that is better served by the professionals. Not MMO player relationships (guilds, etc) as that is still managed between human beings. In Fallout: New Vegas, I am asked to manage relationships in game via two formats – Karma, and Reputation with various groups. Karma is interesting – if you do…
Conventions
One of the best blog articles I have read recently was at Elder Gamer regarding genre conventions in our beloved MMO’s. It hits on a lot of interesting and valid points, and is a great read. I find it interesting that a lot of the ‘outside of the box’ MMO design discussions (from the armchair…
Vindictus-ed
I have spent a couple days in the Vindictus open beta. I don’t really do ‘reviews’ but wanted to share some bullet points about the experience. My initial impression is MMO-lite meets Team Fortress 2, but that is meant as a compliment. 1) Currently there are only 2 character classes, a Fiona (sword and board)…