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Fables, mythology, history, call it what you will, the stories that explain why the world behaves the way that it does have illuminated our darkest hours and entertained us for countless more. We are a curious race that meditates on and speculates over the stories of the past. Wondering where we came from and why we are here is as intrinsic a part of our psyche. We yearn for purpose.
Yet, how many games have given you a sense of decided intention? How many games have you played in which you really cared about the outcome? Movies, books and music have all taken the human situation and distilled it down to an offering that the consumer could digest in small pieces, yet still feel satisfied. Massively multiplayer online games on the other hand, have for the most part missed the mark. Players have not been given the means to inhabit the emotion of the world. They have been left castaway and directionless on a lifeless shore.
It doesn't take Scooby Doo and some meddling kids to unravel the mystery of the mislaid story. First and second generation massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) were built to bring the fantasy worlds that we were passively observing into an interactive media. MUDs accomplished this via text. Ultima Online accomplished this via 2D graphics and EverQuest charged swiftly into the breach that was to become the standard today, 3D interactive worlds. I remember vividly talking to a comrade at work shortly after EverQuest had launched. I was trying to describe to him, a man who refused to pay a monthly fee for a computer game, what exactly EverQuest was and why it was worth paying for. "It's like a MUD with 3D graphics" was how I so inarticulately fermented it down. To this day, that blunt description holds true for nearly every MMOG that has been released.
Yet now, as the industry sheds its baby fat, it's years as a cherub faced toddler recorded by the blogging scribes; as the industry bursts into its adolescence with a newfound vigour, I see light at the end of the tunnel. I see a focus on story, lore and background that is every bit as well crafted as the gameplay. I can talk with literary geniuses like R.A. Salvatore about games. Games I tell you, games!
Richard Garriott has returned with ambitions of making a game so immersive that even the tutorial refrains from referring to the keyboard or mouse. Tabula Rasa incorporates its own unique lore and even its own language; a language that is integral to not only to gameplay, but to the backstory.
Paul Barnett, Jeff Hickman and team have taken 25+ years of Warhammer backstory and turned it into a world that I can inhabit. They have taken the human element and stamped it indelibly on a game that once only existed as painted models on a tabletop.
I am not living vicariously through the protagonist of a novel. I am not watching passively as the movie unfolds before me. I am part of this world. I can affect this world. The Salvatores, Garriotts, Barnetts and Hickmans of the industry have given me new optimism. I'm euphoric! I want to know why I exist in these virtual worlds. What is my purpose? Wait, don't tell me. Let me find out for myself.
Finally the journey may be as important as the destination. They say that art imitates life and maybe, just maybe, we're almost there.
A galaxy of thanks to the following sites for sending us the most visitors yesterday:
EVE Online stays on top for the 2nd consecutive day.
Comments, questions or naughty pictures? Hit the blog or hit my mailbox. --Boomjack
2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
- Austin Games Conference: Preview - Cody "Micajah" Bye
- Archlord: Codemasters Crowns First Official Archlord - Cody "Micajah" Bye
- Blog: Crowded Convention Concerns - Cody "Micajah" Bye
- EverQuest 2: Bruiser Achievement Abilities - Savanja
- Lord of the Rings: There and Back Again - Beogarnath
- Lord of the Rings: Men of Bree Reputation Vendor - Stacy "Martuk" Jones
- Vanguard: Weekly Hot Topics - Eric "Dalmarus" Campbell
- Vanguard: Giving BoP Items to Non-Grouped Players - Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg
- World of Warcraft: When is it OK To Switch Guilds? - Byron "Messiah" Mudry
3. Hot Content - What our readers viewed the most yesterday! Did you miss anything?
- EVE Online: Ambulation - Cameron "Aelryn" Sorden
- EVE Online: Ambulation Part 2 - Cameron "Aelryn" Sorden
- Ten Ton Hammer Comics
- Ten Ton Hammer Comics Rankings
- EVE Online: Ambulation Part 3 - Cameron "Aelryn" Sorden
- EVE Online: Ambulation Video - Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle
- Aion Reveal Video - Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle
- EVE Online Art
- Lord of the Rings Online: First Balrog Announced - Cody "Micajah" Bye
- Aion Reveal Video Part 2 - Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle
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Urology Shortage At Crisis Point
Needless to say, patients are pissed. -
Mom of Bullied Boy Shows Up At School With Axe
Rockstar's next game comes to life. -
Paul Newman Beats Bono In Africa
Now if we could just find someone to beat him in North America. -
Taliban Says S.Korea Lied
All is fair in love and terrorism.
Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team
