by Chris Noll on Apr 20, 2010
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Keeping one foot in reality doesn't have to be a hard thing to
do while we play games, but it is necessary. Otherwise you may end up
with charges of murder, or selling your soul... today, in
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/apr/20">Loading...
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Sometimes it's best to just take a step back from the computer. We've
all been in situations where we get upset by some jerk online or the
internet goes out in the middle of a raid or dungeon crawl. But really,
if the blood pressure starts to rise and fingers get shaky, if things
get a little to 'real' - relax. As a family in Russia discovered last
week, sometimes it's best just to take a breath, walk away and get your
mind off of gaming.
A 14-year-old boy
href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/boy-kills-dad-with-sledgehammer-after-banned-from-playing-computer-games/story-e6frfro0-1225853471820">let
things get a little too "hard-core." His parents didn't want
him playing computer games till all hours of the night, so they took
his keyboard away. The kid's response? He took a sledgehammer to his
father's head in the middle of the night. With the father dead, the
mother, frightened for her life, returned his keyboard and he went
quietly to his computer and played games for another few hours before
he fell asleep.
I don't care if you're leading a raid to take out a boss you've been
working towards for months. When a game takes over your
judgment and you, oh, say, kill your dad, you need to get back in touch
with reality. If you're able to kill your father
style="font-style: italic;">and continue to
play games without a care in the world, then maybe it's time to call an
excorcist, cuz that ain't normal.
Point, being, of course, that we can easily take things far too
seriously and before we know it things are out of hand. It could cost
us our souls.
In slightly less morbid news,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/83496">7,500 souls
were bought recently by GameStation.
It turns out that some people don't actually read the Terms &
Conditions agreement on their games. *shock, gasp*. Nope, seriously...
they don't. GameStation added an "Immortal Soul Clause" to one of their
products which gave the company legal ownership over the customer's
souls. It seems 88% either didn't read the clause or just didn't care
becasue they agreed to the terms. The 12% that disagreed to the terms
were rewarded by a £5 GBP gift voucher. Gamestation, in a surprising
turn of events, decided not to cash in on the 7,500 souls they now own
and dropped the clause in favor of the right to say "neener, neener" to
their customers.
Games are meant to be fun. No one's denying that. But remember folks,
it is just a game, and we need to keep one foot in reality at all
times. Am I wrong? Tell me
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=50871">in
the forums.
4 new Ten Ton Hammer
features
today! 73 in April! 432
in 2010!
FEATURED EDITORIALS
All Things to All Players: Why Cant MMOGs Start Small?
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/editorial/why_cant_mmogs_start_small">http://www.tentonhammer.com/editorial/why_cant_mmogs_start_small
Have
you ever wondered why developers seem to feel that every MMOG must have
every feature under the sun at release, even if those features are
poorly implemented? Would you support an MMOG that started small and
concentrated on just a core feature or two? Mattlow takes a look at why
so many MMOGs try to do it all, and considers whether this is the right
path to take.
Nerd Rage:The Continuing Saga of North American Players vs
Microtransactions
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/83518
This
uproar over World of Warcraft's latest cash shop addition, the
Celestial Steed, piqued the interest of Jason Medawky Bolton and
raised two major questions: do players who are paying a monthly fee
have a legitimate gripe when they can only get an item by paying more
money? And secondly, will North American players every fully embrace
microtransactions? Join us this week as we explore these queries in
Microcosms Nerd Rage: The Continuing Saga of North American Players
vs. Microtransactions.
FEATURES & GUIDES
Flying The Harpy In EVE Online
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/83523
The
harpy is an accessible member of the assault frigate class that enjoys
success as a tough tackler and frigate-killer. Space Junkie explores
the ins and outs of this zippy little bastard.
WoW: Blizzard's Potential Perpetual Cash Machine - WoW Weekly
Report
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/newsletter/issue63
The Overpull, our World of Warcraft Weekly Report, is out again this
week with the latest news and headlines, along with David "Xerin"
Piner's
thoughts. This week we look into Warhammer, what WoW could
possibly do with an endless trial, and the slippery slope that is the
Celestial Steed. The Overpull arrives each Tuesday
morning to help get you through the server downtime. Be sure to
subscribe!
Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features
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for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye
and
the Ten Ton Hammer team