Cannot Be Tamed

So it's time to jump on the bandwagon of Jasyla's Gaming Questionnaire:

When did you start playing video games?
We got an Atari 2600 when I was a kid—early 1980s, I'm not sure what year. Before that, I may have wasted a few quarters on Space Invaders or something similar at local pizza parlors.

What is the first game you remember playing?

Combat is the first video I can remember playing for sure.

PC or Console?
PC, definitely.We don't even have a console in the house anymore.

XBox, PlayStation, or Wii?
Given these choices, I'll say PlayStation. I've never even owned an XBox or Wii.

What's the best game you've ever played?
That's hard to say. I enjoy them for different reasons, and they also all have flaws. I have several favorites, but none stands out as the single best game.

What's the worst game you've ever played?
Also a hard question, because what I considered horrible games, may be someone else's absolute favorite. I am going to say Myst. The game did not appeal to me at all when I tried to play it.

Name a game that was popular/critically adored that you just didn't like.
The aforementioned Myst. I also couldn't get into Warcraft 3, though I tried it after I'd been playing World of Warcraft for a while.

Name a game that was poorly received that you really like.
The Secret World. I almost named it as the best game I'd ever played, but I am not sure it is. However I do really like it, despite the fact that it can be incredibly frustrating to play at times.

What are your favourite game genres?
MMORPGs, followed closely by RTS games.

Who is your favourite game protagonist?
ME! It's why I prefer MMOs to other games where I am essentially playing someone else's character.

Describe your perfect video game.
My perfect video game would have an open character development system like TSW's ability wheel, combined with a fantasy/sci-fi scenario that is more . . . cheerful. Certainly less unrelenting horror. It would have fairly realistic graphics, but not be a brown world. I would use TSW's gear/wardrobe system, as well, where stats are not tied to the look of the character. Though the actual clothing would fit the scenario. Controls would definitely be PC mouse/keyboard oriented, similar to WoW, TSW, and a host of others, but the option to use a console controller would be available for those who would like. Combat would be kinetic, enabling and requiring motion by all players: active dodge, cast while moving, etc.

Better yet, where's my holodeck? I'd love to step into a world as beautifully realized as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, or Joss Whedon's Firefly. Could you imagine learning "spells" by perfecting hand gestures? Or actually wielding a sword and board or dual pistols? We'd all be a lot more fit, thats for sure.

What video game character do have you have a crush on?
Call me egotistical, but I really liked my Mirialan Trooper, Achillea, in SWTOR. She was tough, tried do the right thing, bucked authority when she thought it was wrong, and was just generally badass. I wish I had gotten to play her more before I got fed up with BioWare's management of the game. Achillea is perhaps the direct predecessor to Samantha "LoneStarBelle" Hawthorn, my no-nonsense, brilliant, and tough-as-nails Lumie character in TSW (shown above). Perhaps for obvious reasons, I make my female characters as attractive as I can. My male characters are generally attractive, too, I think. For their species.

What game has the best music?
I love the original World of Warcraft soundtrack. The expansions have their moments, as well. But WildStar's intro/login music is currently running through my head.

Most memorable moment in a game:
Hitting 60 and stepping through the Dark Portal several months into The Burning Crusade. I was still so amazed at the spectacle of WoW back then. What the graphics engine was capable of. I spent several minutes at one point just admiring the sky.

Scariest moment in a game:
I honestly don't get scared in games, but I'd say running through the underground garage missions in The Secret World.

Most heart-wrenching moment in a game:
SPOILER ALERT
Lately? The destruction of Sadie Brightland's rescue ship in WildStar.
SPOILER OVER

What are your favourite websites/blogs about games?
I don't really follow regular gaming sites, because they're not accessible from my office. Blogs I follow religiously include Syp's Bio Break, Belghast's Tales of the Aggronaut, and Scarybooster's blog. I hesitate to just name a few, because I read several different posts though my gReader app. Basically, check out my blogrolls on the sidebar for the latest, greatest.

What’s the last game you finished?
Like finished, finished? Rise of Nations, I guess, back before I started playing MMOs, which don't really have a "finish."

What future releases are you most excited about?

I suppose Dragon Age Inquisition, but I need to actually finish Origins. Oh! I am also interested to see Firefly Online next year.

Do you identify as a gamer?
I suppose I do, although my "gamer cred" is fairly shallow, I think.

Why do you play video games?
Video Games help me relax; and at the same time, I feel more involved with my leisure time than if I were watching TV or movies all the time. I've made lots of friends in my years in gaming. But most of all I enjoy spending time with my bride in virtual worlds.


This questionnaire was brought to you by Cannot be Tamed in the Spirit of Blaugust!

~~~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Return to Mulgore

As I mentioned the other day, Scooter got an email offering Mists of Pandaria for free if she re-subs to World of Warcraft. On Thursday evening, she fired up her old trial account and roled a new Blood Elf Hunter. The thing is she was already familiar with the Blood Elf starting area from when she and I were playing WoW around the time Cataclysm dropped. I suggested she try a race and starting area she'd never done before.

This morning, I logged into my own trial account, created when we wanted to check out MoP a couple years ago. I had always wanted to see the post cataclysm Tauren area, but never really took the opportunity to do so. I roled a hunter of my own, calling him Gil Buckthorn (no space) and went through the first few quests on Red Cloud Mesa, spending a little over an hour until I got to Bloodhoof Village. It was pleasant enough, I suppose. Mulgore has always been one of my favorite areas, and I love the Tauren culture. I always wish there were more of it in WoW. And WoW has never really been an unpleasant experience, though I have gotten bored with it in the past. Today was no exception.

After a nice afternoon spent out and about, Scooter and I returned home this evening to play a little more. She took my suggestion and roled a Tauren Druid. Meanwhile, I created a Shaman, naming him Oakhoof. Scooter named her Druid Madam Oakhoof (again, without the space). We spent another hour or so doing the Tauren rites on Red Cloud Mesa and intended to continue with the quests in Bloodhoof Village, but some unexpected latency caused a few deaths and eventually I was bumped from the server. So here we are.

You, too, may commune with the Spirits of Blaugust!
~~~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Unexpected Guests

Flint Buckthorn looked out across the Algoroc Valley. The sun was just peaking over the mountains. Loftite spires reached up into the sky, shards of the strange ore floating around them as if in orbit, catching the dawn's rays. He had been in the area just a few weeks, but it was already growing on him. The sparse environment reminded him of his village on Gnox, but he pushed that down. Even three centuries later, the rejection of the Free Companies by the Granok chieftains felt like a fresh fissure. A heavy sigh came out from under his mustache. He wasn't even middle-aged, but Flint felt old. He leaned on his sword, squinting into the distance. A ship was landing across the valley, but he couldn't make out its markings.

"Heya, Flinty!" Lave came bounding up the boulder he was standing on. Jumping onto his broad back and clinging to his shoulders, she asked, "What's so interesting up here?"

Flint barely felt the young Aurin's weight. The burden of her history was a different story. Seven years ago, he'd been part of the operation on Arboria. Unfortunately, they couldn't save the Aurin homeworld the way they had Gnox centuries earlier. Lavender Daisy had been orphaned by a Chua planet reaper attack that razed her village, and Flint's team was the first on the scene of destruction. He had found her huddling in a pocket under the rubble. The Aurin girl had scarcely left his side since. Flint had sworn that even if he couldn't rescue them all, he would make sure Lave wmade it out.

"Ship touched down over yonder," he responded, pointing. "I don't know that we're expecting visitors today. Might be the Marauders."

"Ya wanna check it out?" She dropped off his shoulders, landing lightly.

Flint hefted his claymore over his back and grinned at his companion.

"Sure. I love a good asskicking in the morning."

It's not too late to enjoy the Battle of Blaugust. Field Marshall Belghast has promised spoils for the victors.

~~~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Which Path Shall You Take?

Syp's talking about player paths in WildStar today. He's got some great ideas, like adding ways that the various paths interact with the environment on an incidental basis (e.g., blowing stuff up for extra damage to enemies, opening otherwise hidden doors, etc.).

Inherently Flawed?
I originally thought the paths would be more swappable—based on my playing mood, really. Much like the popular Bartle Test, locking paths in at character creation reflects a misunderstanding of Richard Bartle's types in the first place. On top of which, Bartle's hypothesis has been analyzed and critiqued by others, like David Yee, who came up with a different way to assess playstyle preferences. This actually makes me think of the Myers-Briggs personality test, which has been shown to be unreliable, but is often used in employment decisions and other inappropriate settings. In any event, if Bartle's model of player types is flawed or misunderstood, then games designed to appeal to such types will also be flawed, leading to player dissatisfaction.

Synergies and Efficiencies
Even though I generally love the lore of a world, overall, I am a bit disappointed with scientist. Settler is fun, though. And it seems the most appreciated path, providing buff stations for all players and repairing decorative items that garner the affection of the local NPC populace. There are synergies between settler and scientist, which Scooter and I thought were cool. And I assume all the paths have similar synergies. But often, we "waste" one another's time, one partner doing path-related things while the other stands by, not quite sure what's going on. On our more recent pairing, we went the same path, so now we can work together on the missions and be more in sync, making up for the loss of cross-path synergy.

Soldiering On
Non-soldiers participating in a holdout receive a buff, just like clicking on a settler buff station. There are chests of limited-use weapons scattered across the landscape, as well, that are accessible by anyone nearby when the soldier opens the chest. There is even a creature (with a quest) on the mountain above the first little town in Algoroc that only seems accessible by blowing up a box of explosives. I'm not sure if other paths can set it off, but when I am nearby, it's got a soldier icon above it.

While I disagree somewhat with Syp's assessment of soldier missions (there are more than just holdouts) and skills, they do seem a bit less useful to other players, the way settlers are. I do like the ability to bug out of an area like the bottom of a cave, rather than fight my way back out, though.

Heh, some soldier, right?

The siege of Blaugust is almost over. Who will emerge from the sound and fury victorious?

~~~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Young and Old

Too much fun in the sun yesterday, as we threw a party at the local water park for my daughter's 16th birthday; as well as a last hurrah of the summer, I guess. I don't often hang out with a group of teenagers, and it's an interesting experience. The things they chit-chat about are basically the same things we discussed when I was that age. The hot celebrities, the latest couples amongst their friends, the upcoming school year, etc. They sing along with the popular songs on the radio—which I have heard most of and do enjoy, thank you very much. Makes me feel young and old at the same time.

Meanwhile, with the impending release of Warlords of Draenor, Scooter got an email offering her Mists of Pandaria free when she resubscribes to WoW. Presumably it's an open offer to any returning players. We might take advantage of it, I dunno. I honestly am not sure when we'd have time between now and November.

We're making progress with our new WildStar characters, Flint and Lave (which, as I have been informed, is short for Lavender Daisy). Tonight's NCSoft outage didn't help, though.

There's still a ton folks in the running for Blaugust champion. Follow all the posts on Anook or using the #Blaugust hashtag on Twitter.

~~~

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.