TenTonHammer.com - Taking Tabula Rasa Gamers to the Next Level!

Blogging over the years has become not only a valid form of expression but a vehicle to bolster interest in everything from gaming to cars. Why exactly do bloggers cover games and what seperates them from the average fan? Is it really as easy as they make it look? I managed to get a few moments with Shuttler of Tabulablogger and got his insights on Tabula Rasa and other aspects of the community.

Ten Ton Hammer: Thanks for doing this, we really appreciate your time. Why don't we start out with what drew you to Tabula Rasa and what game you came from.

Shuttler: I have always been a fan of NCSoft games, after SWG went bad I needed somewhere to go whilst we waited for the unreleased WoW. I really wasn't bothered about playing WoW, but it was where all our guild where heading and these sorts of games are largely about community for me so I was going to follow the herd. Before WoW came we all went to EQ2, and I just really couldn't get into it so I downloaded and played City of Heroes. It was only on the US servers at the time so I was playing on there. It was so much fun and I enjoyed the contract from SWG and in turn EQ2. It was at this point that I decided I like my MMO's fast, fun and easy to pick up and put down. I am a huge fan of Comics and Science Fiction so being able to play in this world was incredible, the story and issues were great and the story arcs were there if you took the time to read them

So really it was playing City of Heroes (and later Villains) that kept me on the NCSoft website looking at releases. I loved the initial artwork that appeared on the original Tabula Rasa website it was so great a very comic-book sci-fi feel. I knew I would try the game when it arrived and luckily I eventually was awarded with BETA access.

Ten Ton Hammer: You liked TR enough that you actually started doing a regular blog about it. Tell us a little about Tabulablogger and how that got started? How long have you been blogging?

Shuttler: Tabula Blogger was really something I have always wanted to do. I am very much a social internet user and love being part of communities, forums and interacting with anything that I take an interest too. It really does take your enjoyment of a game or hobby to a deeper level. I love blogging on a personal level and I started to incorporate Tabula Rasa blogs in to my personal blog over on www.gaxonline.com It soon became clear that my personal blogs and game blog needed to become separate so I created an Alt blog and Tabula Blogger was born. This was definitely with the help of Community manager William, he encouraged me along the way and is very supportive of good content over there. I've been doing it every day since December last year and I don't ever get tired of doing it.

Ten Ton Hammer: The interesting thing about blogs is they aren't considered mediums that can be influenced by game companies, how do you feel blogging fits into the community?

Shuttler: I think people are more trusting of bloggers, as long as a blogger presents facts well the information doesn't feel biased. The community warm towards someone's personal views rather than the often cold over-branded face of a an official website. As for 'fitting in' bloggers have a knack of enjoying community and wont stick to their own home on the web. Often a blogger travels around other fansites and in a way it becomes a more organic two-way sharing of opinions and facts. A blog often starts from someone's passion for something, in the case of Tabula Blogger it is my passion for playing the game, being part of it's community and watching it develop. Therefore you know everything on my blog is from the point of view of a like minded player. If you look at blogging and podcasting, there is often so much interaction with many podcasters making appearances on other podcasters shows. I guess something we are doing right now?

Ten Ton Hammer: That makes total sense. As a side note, according to this study, bloggers are more social. Do you agree with their findings?

Shuttler: 100% - I interact with so many other bloggers and podcasters its incredible. this coupled with the fact I really enjoy the social side of my games means I am naturally more social and therefore I guess this is why the blog was a natural progression for me. I can see that blogging is an outlet for people and it does indeed create a large network of people you communicate with. The blogging has made a lot of people get in contact with me and I actively look for comments on my blog posts and reply to them. I also feel it is important to comment on other peoples blogs, It's give and take after all. You become part of a network and this is really where social networks have stemmed from such as GAX, Facebook and such.

I hope to see more of a cross-over of the games and the social networks, much like Playstation Home on the PS3 a 3D game world and a social network rolled into one.

Ten Ton Hammer: What advice would you give to people interested in blogging?

Shuttler: Take your time choosing your subject and don't over commit yourself. It ay be easier to combine several pieces of news into a once a week blog rather than doing a daily blog. I personally need the daily posting as part of my routine, it keeps me motivated.

Take the time to learn your blogging platform, incorporating good pictures, links to sources and related subjects and a well formatted blog are so much nicer than a wall of text.

Also take the time deciding where your blog will live and listen to the people who comment on your posts as they are your audience and who you are trying to reach.

Ten Ton Hammer: Sound advice sir. Blogging regularly is a lot harder than it looks. More about Tabula Rasa though. If you could make one change to Tabula Rasa, what would it be?

Shuttler: I would have to say the loot - although to me the items ingame look great I crave more individuality to present high end items as something different. If you get a rare item it should look unique. This would have a great effect on the MS and hopefully even the crafting system if that was more involved.

Ten Ton Hammer: I would have to agree I'd like more variety but hopefully thats something we'll see in a future update. Finally, how do you feel TR's community stacks up to other games?

Shuttler: The community is solid, it just isn't as obvious as other games that have an official forum. In my opinion the lack of an official forum made the community stronger as players are encouraged to go to other sites such as Ten Ton Hammer and look for the community. You soon learn that there are alot of passionate and active members of the community. If you look at some of the live player run events cropping up everyweek it really is incredible and seems well established compared to games that have been out for 2 years plus!

Thanks again to Shuttler of Tabulablogger for answering our questions and we hope it gave you a little more insight into the mind of a podcaster and blogger. If you haven't checked out his blog head over to Gaxonline.com and be sure to also catch him and Shawn on Tabulacast.

Questions or comments? Email me and let me know! Also be sure to stop by our fourms to discuss this further.