Blog Spotlight: Casual Aggro

I thought I might start a new category of posts, in which I focus on a fellow blogger and maybe a recent post they have done that I particularly like. Heh, typing that makes me think of the QOTD posts, though for those I usually focus on a specific statement that may not be part of a blog. Any posts of this sort will be tagged "Spotlight."

A new friend, guildie, and fellow blogger I "met" through the New Blogger Initiative, @BigMikeyOcho of Casual Aggro, posts interesting thoughts on MMOs and players. That he has similar tastes and playstyle to my own helps a lot in my opinion of his opinions. ><

Yesterday, Ocho posted about the elements he feels make up a good Foundry Mission (player designed) in STO:

• Story: Has to frame the actions of the Player Character well. Provide sufficient motivation (besides game rewards).
• Balance Not too much talky, not too much action.
• Believability The actions of the PC should not conflict with the Player's concept of the Character.
• Detail The environment of the mission should fit the story. Also, proofread! Then proofread again! Then have someone else proofread!
• Time The length of the mission should be commensurate with the reward. Not too long, nor too short.

I'm not sure what other games allow for the sort of player-designed quests the way STO does. However, professional game designers would do well to follow the advice Ocho provides for player/designers. Some do a better job at this than others.

Anyway, Ocho has a great natural voice as he writes. I enjoy reading his posts about the various aspects of games he is currently playing. Check out his stuff over at Casual Aggro.

Quoting a QOTD: Big Damn Heroes and Mary Sues

“I love Ree, I love her work in building the world of GW2, I love a number of the other characters I’ve come across, I just don’t love me.  I’m too perfect, too good.  To all-star hot-shot knows-it-all.  Sure everyone wants to be that, but here’s the exciting part; we’re not!!  And it’s in trying to be better where our stories become interesting, not in being super-duper off the bat.  In RP, we call such characters ‘Mary Sues.’”
~ TL;DR

This issue is something that a lot of people seem to be interested in. I myself have bloviated at length on the subject. Whether the sentiments reflected in Syp's comments section are in line with the majority of MMO players is a mystery; but many—if not most—games have taken the opposite tack, making the player character the Big Damn Hero of the game world.

Needless to say, this topic is something near and dear to me. In GW2, I mostly ignore the characterization of my characters in the story cut-scenes. The game is fun, and the world has a rich history, but is rather light on the individual storytelling, from what I have seen. Being the "light reading" game in my current rotation, I am not too concerned about the lack of depth in this regard. Not every game story has to be War and Peace or Lord of the Rings. Much of the time it's fine to have a little fun with The Princess Bride or Stardust.

Fun or Un-fun; Or, Can We Support Innovation Wherever We Find It?

So.

The online debate still rages over what to do about The Secret World. It's an innovative game that many people find un-fun. Lono of Screaming Monkey thinks we send a bad message to the MMO development community by not supporting innovation where we find it. Kemwer rightly points out that the only reason ever to support an endeavor of this sort is that you enjoy playing. Syl over at Raging Monkeys then expounds on the fact that TSW is not the sort of place one would want to settle down in.

Does TSW deserve our money and time? Tobold's Homo economicus says no. I say H.economicus may not have all the info he needs. I am not talking about the people who have tried the game and not liked it. I am talking about the people who might like TSW, but have not been reached, whether because they misunderstood the marketing, were scared away by negativity, or simply haven't heard of the game. For that, the game needs time, and a better understanding of the target audience. It may need lower barriers to entry (read: F2P). Ultimately, we may decide it does not deserve our time and money, and that's OK. What is fun or is not fun is highly subjective. I don't argue that TSW deserves some kind of charity.

I don't play LOTRO because ultimately it wasn't fun for me, but at least I tried it. I know people who think it's very fun, and blog about it besides. I don't generally go to horror movies because I don't enjoy them. I don't watch contemporary character dramas for the same reason. I do enjoy the time I spend playing TSW though. However, it's not "light reading." I like Guild Wars 2 because it is fun and light. I play both. I have limited resources, like most people; therefore these are the only two games I currently play. Other games might be fun, but not fun enough for me devote time or money to.

I think a lot of people looking for "innovation" don't really know what they want. For example, the setting itself of TSW is innovative. Name another MMO with a similar setting. Whether it's a "good" innovation or not remains to be seen. The Ability Wheel is a great innovation, IMHO. But, like much of the rest of the game, there is a nuance to it that may be a little off-putting to those not interested in studying that detail. (Having the preset Decks does help.) The actual combat? Perhaps not so innovative, but certainly not as cringe-worthy as some have made it out to be. Frankly, I find it on a par with most games I have played, and encourages (forces?) movement while not worrying too much about limited range cones and such.

Is TSW buggy? It has some bugs; most have been fixed from what I can tell. Guild Wars 2 has bugs, too. In fact (and I love the game), I have encountered more bugs in GW2 than in TSW. That people dismiss TSW as bad because it has bugs, but praise GW2 despite its bugs, tells me those people are looking for reasons not to like TSW and simply add the bugs to their list.

As Syp pointed out, The Secret World is tacking into the wind. Funcom was somehow hoping for "Mainstream" numbers when they had produced a niche game. Like Syp, I hope they give it time to develop the niche audience it deserves.

Kung Fu Pandaria (Or, Ninety-nine Problems, But Ailuropoda Ain't One)

Ambermist Tweeted/Tumbld yesterday about a silly argument against the impending World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria. This included a link to WoW Insider article with the full design history of the race. The timeline of the introduction of the Pandaren into official Warcraft lore appears to begin with the character Chen Stormstout for the WC3 expansion The Frozen Throne, dating to 2003. Pandaren lore is also included in Warcraft tabletop RPG source books from about the same time. All this predates the release of Kung Fu Panda (2008) by about five years.

So you have two comedic, cartoonish depictions of anthropomorphic pandas coinciding within a decade. One is slightly more well known than the other, but they were developed fully independent from each other. I haven't seen any news of Dreamworks bringing a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for copyright infringement. I'm guessing that they know they don't have a case, despite similarities, assuming they have looked into the matter.

If I recall correctly, the Pandaren were at the top of many polls for potential playable races predating even WoW 2.0, The Burning Crusade. I'd bet many of the people who enthusiastically hoped for Pandaren to be a new playable race are still eagerly awaiting the opportunity. If for some reason you've changed your mind in the intervening years, I sincerely hope it was not because of Kung Fu Panda. Others never thought it was a good idea. Still others are looking for another excuse to play the hate game because for some reason they think they are awesome because they don't like WoW.

Now, given the original artwork by Samwise at Blizzard, some callouts to the Pandaren from before the earliest days of WoW (I myself am the proud owner of the Pandaren Monk minipet), and the rumor (fact?) that most current WoW players are Chinese; it makes sense that the Pandaren would be a playable race with some direct parallels to Chinese geography, architecture, and culture, up to and including the martial arts-inspired Monk class. It sounds like a reasonable design decision on the part of the creative team at Blizzard.

The Bloggerazzi have many reasons to criticize MoP. Some can be reasonable differences of opinion over, say, the new talent system or the new restrictions on weapons. One might even argue that the cultural setting of the new continent doesn't fit (though, in a world with mages and motorcycles, I'd say pretty much anything goes). But comparing the new race to a single character in a kids' movie is silly.

I am not going to be at the gates chomping at the bit for MoP next Tuesday. I won't say my time in Azeroth is over forever, but it is for now. However, none of the reasons I have for not playing have anything to do with the Pandaren or their alleged resemblance to Jack Black. In fact, I think it's a pretty cool concept.

TL;DR: Whether or not you actually play World of Warcraft (or intend to start up with the new expansion), let's put to rest the whining about Kung Fu Pandaren, etc. It's not helping anyone.

A Tale of Two Trailers

It’s like a whoopee cushion at the end of an opera.
~~Justin "Syp" Olivetti

Please forgive my language in this post. I am just dumbfounded.

Have you seen this trailer?

If I had not clicked through the link from the official Guild Wars 2 Twitter account, I would have have thought it was a trailer for The Secret World. There is no indication of what the trailer is actually for or what it is about until the very end. I get no feeling that matches the feelings I have actually playing Guild Wars 2. It does not match the game. Contrast that with the actual launch trailer for The Secret World:

Holy shit! THAT trailer evokes exactly the feelings I get playing TSW: the sense of dread and danger. The knowledge that I am part of the thin red—and blue and green—line that is all that stands between the World and the Darkness.

I am not making a judgement between the two games. Just saying that the trailer for one gives me chills. The other just leaves me saying, "What the fuck just happened?"