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Are you looking for the latest industry headlines? Look no further.
Daily Column
New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today
Hot Content
Real World News - You Can't Make This Up
1. Daily Column
It's Monday. Many of you are honoring Memorial Day in the U.S with booze, fireworks and lots of food. Something about that just doesn't strange, but hey.
World of Warcraft has many special events, one of which is 'Children's Week'. Players can take a virtual orphan on a tour of the land and as a reward receive a vanity pet upon completion of the quest. The pets are funky, but one is somewhat disconcerting. In Shattrath you can receive Egbert, a bird, an Elekk (elephant like creature) or Sleepy Willy, which resembles a strange alien creature with one eye. Do you see where this is going? You can receive a one-eyed willy.
Official Blizzard Page For Children's Week
Who Has The Biggest One-Eyed Willy Forum Thread
Blizzard had to know that this "joke" was going to happen given the size of their community. Is it humorous or bad taste? You decide.
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Gamers have had sponsors since QuakeCon was a gleam in the event coordinator's eye. Recently a World of Warcraft guild, Nihilum announced a 'Partnership with Mousesports', a German 'eGames' company. The website doesn't explain the difference between a partner and a sponsor, but the guild also has two sponsors 'Steel Series' and 'Multiplay UK'.
Mousesports, Steel Series and Multiplay UK all show banner advertisements from one another. Are they somehow related? I can't tell just yet. Does anyone in the know care to comment? They all appear to be good MMOG corporate citizens with the best interests of the industry at heart, which leads me to the company that apparently 'supports' Nihilum.
The difference between a partner, sponsor and supporter? Your guess is as good as mine. I've sent Nihilum an e-mail, which I'm sure they will answer, explaining the subtle differences.
The company listed under the big 'Supported by' banner is a RMT (Real Money Trading) company. They sell gold, characters, etc. They break the WoW EULA. Are they giving Nihilum gold and characters? Is that their 'support'? It's one thing to claim to be the most advanced guild in the game. It's quite another to be supported by a gold farming company. What's the deal? In what is likely a coincidence, the privacy statement link on their site returns a 404 error.
More when I hear back from the folks at Nihilum.
You can view their site here. A copper for your thoughts.
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I eagerly await your thoughts on today's column.
Comment in the blog (now with direct link goodness) or email me directly.
2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
Interview With Industry Legend, Don Daglow
"Continuing our "Legends of the Industry" series, the Ten Ton Hammer team tracked down Don Daglow, the creator of the first graphics-based MMORPG, the original Neverwinter Nights. Since then, Daglow has worked on over thirty different video game titles and has held positions at EA and is the president and CEO of Stormfront Studios. In our discussion, we chatted about his work on Neverwinter Nights, how D&D has shaped his work in the industry, and where he thinks the MMOs of the future are heading."
Blog: Vanguard - Not Dead Yet
"Is Vanguard: Saga of Heroes dead? Shayalyn gives her answer using cheesy song lyrics and some nuggets of wisdom she gathered at the Online Game Development Conference. Confused? Just read the blog."
Blog: Dungeons and Dragons - The Root Of All Video Games?
"We all know about the first video games and how they took room-size computers to run, but what set the precedent for our modern day gaming? Cody "Micajah" Bye wonders how much impact the Dungeons and Dragons RPG had on mainstream video gaming in his latest blog."
Blog: So, What About Hunters?
"Ok, so after all the talk about hunters a little while ago in our forums on my blog, I decided to pull mine out of the proverbial closet and give her a go. I wanted to see what they are all about in the Burning Crusade now, so had to start out in the Hellfire Peninsula from 60.
Blog: What's Next For Blizzard?
"In this weekend edition of Heal Plz our very own Xerin takes a look at what's next for Blizzard after the announcement of StarCraft 2. Could it be World of StarCraft still has a future or would Blizzard go for something else? Find out Xerin's take on this at Heal Plz!"
Blog: SOE Needs To Break The Silence
"In this weekend's blog, Ralsu calls for SOE to give gamers a State of the Game Address."
Dungeons and Dragons Online: Guide To Level 4 Cleric Spells
"Priests gain powerful and useful spells one they attain fourth level spells, and Serenity brings you the details of these useful god and goddess given powers. Beware a priest who has gained the ability to use these powerful prayers."
Lord of the Rings Online: LotRO Newbie Guide
"More Ultimate Newbie guide for you today: Part three, covering movement and combat."
Vanguard: Blood Mage Guide To Symbiotes
"Ten Ton Hammer Community member Hjelmen submitted this great guide to constructing and using Symbiotes."
Warhammer Online: Zealot Class Guide
"Today we have an update to both the Chaos Zealot and Empire Warrior Priest pages. With the recent screenshot releases that have come out for these classes, we've updated their respective pages with a bit more imagery to show them off."
Warhammer Online: Warrior Priest Guide
"Today we have an update to both the Chaos Zealot and Empire Warrior Priest pages. With the recent screenshot releases that have come out for these classes, we've updated their respective pages with a bit more imagery to show them off."
Warhammer Online: Troll Country Update
"Finishing up our round of Location Updates we've thrown up an additional image for Troll Country as well as our very own Ten Ton Thought."
World of Warcraft: Hellfire Citadel Heroic Instance Guide
"To kick off our new set of heroic instance guides (guides that go over the differences between normal mode and heroic mode for some instances) we start off with Hellfire Citadel. Hellfire Citadel contains two of the easiest instance wings (both normal and heroic) out there! Our guide gives the details you need to change your tactics and survive the harsh heroic mode of The Hellfire Ramparts, The Blood Furnance, and The Shattered Halls.
World of Warcraft: The Eye - Attunement Guide
"We continue our guide on attunement to The Eye with a look at the prerequisite quest that you must complete in Shadowmoon Valley called The Cipher of Damnation. It is a long quest with several group sections, but one that you have to do if you ever want to get into The Eye."
3. Hot Content
Interview With Industry Legend, Don Daglow
Fury: Q&A With Mike Hampden
38 Studios: R.A. Salvatore Interview Part 2
Gods and Heroes - Video Interview With Chris Launius
OGDC: Auto Assault Post-Mortem With Scott Brown
OGDC: EVE Online Interview With Peter Gollan
Pirates of the Burning Sea: Video Interview With John Scott Tynes
OGDC: An Analysis Of Video Game Writers
OGDC: How Developers Use Public Relations To Build A Brand
Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising - Video Interview With Chris McKibbin, Executive Producer
OGDC: Stargate Worlds Interview With Joe Ybarra - Part 2
4. Real World News
Rosie Fights Last Fight On 'The View' [Thanks Bill]
Ro calls U.S. troops "terrorists", hopefully receives one-finger salute in return.
560 Pound Woman Gets Stuck In Toilet
It must have been a BIG toilet.
Soft Drinks May Harm Your Health
Just one more reason to drink the hard stuff.
Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
John "Boomjack" Hoskin