Another week has gone by and with it comes another bathtub full of
hydrocortisone to soothe my aching body. There are times when I have to
wonder if
target="_blank">someone
superglued the bat to my hands, because yet again I
was the fat kid swinging at the hornet's nest with reckless abandon,
ignoring the impending sense of doom descending upon me. You'd like to
think that sooner or later I'd learn my lesson, but if history has
taught us anything, I wouldn't hold my breath. When I told my good
friend Akahn about last week's
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/51583" target="_blank">Get
Your
Holidays Out of My Games
editorial, I thought he was going to have kittens right there
in the
restaurant. Needless to say, his reaction was the same as the rest of
the community. He kept looking for the rope burns on my neck. When I
asked him why, he replied by saying he was convinced I had to have been
lynched for it. In the metaphorical sense, he wasn't that far off.
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style="font-style: italic;">Don't ask how many seconds I
stayed on the track.
I may - I repeat and emphasize *may* - have been a little harsh in my
previous editorial. Even Delfina, one of my long time readers, said,
"Wow, you really missed the mark with this article." I won't take back
anything I said, but other perspectives have been brought to my
attention. I figure if a chimpanzee can be taught to complete some
basic puzzles, I can learn to listen to some other ideas where the
holidays are concerned. To that end, I'd like to thank those who sent
me messages, even those whom I disagree with. We're all opinionated in
some form or other (some more strongly than others), but at the end of
the day, we're all here because we love reveling in the joy of video
games. If that were not the case, the reactions to various articles
(for better or for worse) would never be as strong as they are. Buried
in the stacks of the aforementioned messages I received, there were
some definite nuggets of truth and interest.
One of the things I complained about in my last article was the feeling
that all these events had a
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/51594" target="_blank">distinct
copycat feeling. I won't lie and
say this still doesn't bug me beyond belief, but Blythhe brought one
extremely original event to my attention that gave me hope there was
still something new that could be done. When I discovered the source of
the original event, it came as no surprise that the premise originated
in the City of Heroes universe, especially considering
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/50656" target="_blank">the
glowing
review I recently gave the game. In City of Heroes,
they've
introduced snow skiing to the masses as a part of their holiday
festivities. Players around the world have been putting up videos of
their races all over the Internet faster than flying shoes at a news
conference. Sliding down the slopes with super speed, jumping gaps in
the track, and trying to avoid flying off the edge of the track are
just a few of the challenges you'll have to overcome if you want to
reach the bottom of the mountain in one piece. I don't care how loud
your (or for that matter, my) "Bah Humbug!" shout is, you have to give
points to the CoX team for coming up with such a cool and exciting
event.
Another prevalent theme through the emails I received was the idea that
changing things up, even for a brief amount of time, helps break up the
monotony of the daily grind. Although I wish the decor was altered, I
can see their point. I'll agree that anything new and shiny in a game
has the potential to be a good thing. We all like to see
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/51387" target="_blank">something
different and exciting. It's the "exciting" part that I think
sometimes
gets lost, though. If you want to make a holiday festival, I still say
actually *make* it then. Don't just take the colors and traditions we
already have; go in a new direction and make something extraordinary.
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style="font-style: italic;">Everyone could use a little more
dancing in their lives.
One of the more interesting points brought up was that a lot of people
simply don't have any family (or sometimes even friends) they can spend
the holidays with. The events provided by the developers of various
game companies allow these individuals to participate in some fun
activities not only with the friends they've made online, but the
community as a whole. It can give a sense of belonging that would
otherwise be missing in their lives at this time of year. I'll freely
admit that I simply hadn't thought about this point. So while you're
running around in your game of choice this year, be sure to put on a
cheerful face and have some fun. You never know whose face you'll bring
a smile to and how much it might mean.
In the spirit of goodwill and to prove that despite popular opinion I
could not, in fact, give Scrooge a run for his money, I'll leave you
with some holiday humor.
Have Arrived In Your MMOG
*Drum roll please*
10. The chat channels have more drunks than usual.
9. Dodging flying reindeer droppings is the latest extreme sport.
8. You find yourself catching snowflakes in the desert.
7. Even the raid bosses are wearing Santa hats.
6. The local dark and creepy forest is now lit up with more lights than
an airport.
5. PvP battles are fought with snowballs instead of weapons.
4. There's more white trim fur in the game than your local nursing home.
3. Candy has higher stats than your best potions.
2. Small eggs now cost more than your epic mount.
And the number one sign the holidays have arrived in your favorite
MMOG...
1. Poof! You're a gnome.
