Please remain seated. If you look to your left you can see the SWTOR beta test on the horizon. Driver, turn this bus around!
I’m John Hoskin and I’ll be your MMOG tour guide today. Enjoy the ride!
“It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English…no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese.” – Carl Sagan
Everyone can use a feel good moment to start the day. Let’s go with this…
Thanks for taking some time out of your day to read this column. I truly appreciate it. If you happen to use Twitter, you can follow me @BoomjackTTH. I rarely use Facebook, but I do occasionally post gaming related tidbits on Google+ where you can find me under my real moniker John Hoskin.
I’ve been in a dry spell regarding ideas for the column of late, but yesterday while playing some World of Warcraft I came across an interesting decision; more on that in a moment. I’ll give you some less personal and more relevant information first, albeit in no particular order.
I mentioned WildStar a couple of times in previous columns. It’s the upcoming MMOG that to me seems to have been inspired in part by Firefly. Reuben takes a look at WildStar and the Bartle Effect. It’s been a while since I have read something referring back to Richard Bartle’s Designing Virtual Worlds. This is a good read whether you are familiar with Bartle’s work or not. Where do you fit into the spectrum? In Bartle’s original classifications I was an Achiever. I’m not so sure where I fit in his more recent list of eight player types.
Space Junkie is back with a fantastic article for new EVE players. SJ shows you how to get to the level four missions in days and not months, which means more ISK for you! Check it out in Grinding Caldari Standings.
Gunky has posted a guide to earning Turbine Points. Aptly titled, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap this guide will prepare you for the upcoming expansion.
We have also opened the alpha version of our PlayerScore database. It is still in the very early stages, but with our PlayerScore data combined with quest, item and zone data this is a tool that can benefit any WoW Player. Search for your own characters and then click on “Most Popular “Insert Your Class Here” Gear” to see what everyone else is wearing. You may be surprised.
Please take a moment and dig out some bugs for us.
Ok, relevant information out of the way… time for the silly decision that I had to make yesterday. I’m levelling up another alt, which will come as no surprise to long-time readers. While PUGing through blackrock spire we killed the spider boss that drops the spider companion. I didn’t have it, so I waited to see if other group members were rolling Need or Greed. They rolled Need, so I clicked the Need button, and… won the spider pet. I’m about as lucky as the next guy. I’m the poster-boy for average when it comes to rolling on items, so it was a pleasant surprise.
We continued through the dungeon and eventually killed the wolf boss that drops the worg companion pet. Now, everyone rolled Need again. My gut told me to pass since I had already won a pet, but the chances of me ever coming back in here at the meteoric rate of levelling that takes place in WoW these days were slim. I had as much right to roll Need as anyone else, but sharing seems to be ingrained in my personality. I must have been a stellar kindergarten student.
We come up against these moral choices regularly in MMOGs. My decision is often flavoured by whether I am in a guild group, group of friends or in a PUG, but should it be?
What would you have done?
I’ll leave you hanging until tomorrow with my choice. If you send me a tweet or email me with what you would have chosen I’ll tell you my secret early.
That’s it for today. Thanks again for reading. See you in-game!
Check out our newest full dungeon guide for the latest hot MMOG, Rift. Medawky goes in deep, very deep into the Fall of Lantern Hook and has all the tips waiting for you.
It’s time for the second instalment of Return of the Cartridge and we have two more titles lined up and ready to go. First on the docket is Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi, a Star Wars themed fighting game from the great year of 1997.
Following some hands-on time with the Embermage, we had the opportunity to sit down with Runic’s Max Schaefer to talk about the new class, the revamped UI, the storyline of Torchlight II, and a whole lot more.
Set to release early this month, Episode 2 will upgrade the Black Prophecy PvP experience with the addition of a new warzone feature, which will pit opposing factions against each other for fast-paced dogfights in an effort to gain control of the opposing faction’s warzone outpost.
The developer yesterday announced that its free-to-play MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game, Rise of Immortals, will officially launch on September 12th, 2011.
The letter details some ambitious plans for the superhero-based MMOG that include new Incarnate Trials, a special “Haunted Mansion” event for Halloween, new monthly Signature Story missions, which will be free to VIP users and more weekly rewards.
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