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is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!
Welcome
to the 1,414th
edition
of Loading...
It’s all too easy to criticize, but often much harder to
realize that there are people behind any creative
endeavor—MMOGs are just one example—who care more
than we know about whether or not we enjoy and appreciate the fruits of
their labors. Karen “Shayalyn” Hertzberg explores
the desire to impress and issues a plea for understanding in
today’s Loading… “
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/sep/8">Please
Like Me!”
The
Pulse
You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/">What
is The Pulse?).
Today's
top 5 Pulse results:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of Warcraft -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2" target="_blank">Everquest
2 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">EVE Online
(UP 2) -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons
and
Dragons Online (down 1) -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2">Guild Wars 2
(UP 9)
Biggest
movers today:
-
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2658">Torchlight
II
- UP
49 to #13 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto">Star Trek
Online
- down
3 to #16 style="text-decoration: underline;"> -
style="text-decoration: underline;">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro">Lord of the
Rings Online
- down 2 to #6
-
size="-1">7/27
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
target="_blank">Need
for Speed World
(release) -
size="-1">7/27
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2" target="_blank">StarCraft
II: Wings of Liberty
(release) -
size="-1">8/17
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
of Heroes: Going Rogue (release) -
size="-1">8/18
- href="http://everquest2.com/free_to_play">EverQuest
II Extended (release) -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">9/7
- size="-1"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion">Aion:
Assault on Balaurea (free
expansion)
Releases
-
size="-1">September
30, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv" target="_blank">Final
Fantasy XIV size="-1">
(release) -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">October
26, 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">LEGO
Universe (release)
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">November
2, 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1407">DC
Universe Online (release)
size="-1">Upcoming
Events
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">10/5 -
10/8 - href="http://www.gdconline.com/">GDC
Online -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">10/8 -
10/10 - href="http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/">New
York Comic Con -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
-
3/26 (2011) - href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/" target="_blank">CCP
FanFest
Want a head start on LOTRO free-to-play? 50 lucky Loading...
readers will receive LOTRO early access codes and 500 Turbine
points to spend. Entries must be received by 4pm US Eastern today for
this afternoon's drawing. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/lotro/f2p%20">Enter
here!
Win today. Start playing today!
PlayerScore
Top 5
size="-1">Rank
size="-1">Character
size="-1">Rank
size="-1">Guild
color="#0000ff" size="-1">Lvl 80 Human Rogue
color="#0000ff" size="-1">Ysera (US)
color="#ff0000" size="-1">Lvl 80 Undead Mage
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/playerscore/scoreboards?guild=207994&server=153">War
Storm
color="#0000ff" size="-1">Dragonmaw (US)
color="#ff0000" size="-1">Lvl 80 Tauren Warrior
color="#ff0000" size="-1">Lightning's Blade
(US)
color="#0000ff" size="-1">Lvl 80 Human Mage
color="#ff0000" size="-1">Saurfang (US)
color="#ff0000" size="-1">Lvl 80 Tauren Druid
Games
color="#ff0000" size="-1">Illidan (US)
What's
your PlayerScore? World of
Warcraft players, find out at
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/playerscore">playerscore.com.
style="font-weight: bold;"> Loading... now
with half the
MMOG calories.
One of my many occasional hobbies is jewelry making. I’m not
terribly proficient (if my life were a MMOG, I’d probably be
crafting tier 2 stuff), but it amuses me. Yesterday, my daughter asked
me to make a necklace out of a charm she’d picked up. While
she was in school today, I plotted out what I thought would be a
kickass design, one she couldn’t help but love. My daughter
digs vampires (the
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellsing_%28TV_series%29">
style="font-style: italic;">Hellsing
anime series kind, not the sparkly kind), so I thought it would be cool
to dangle a couple of ruby-colored beads, which looked like blood
droplets, from the choker. I puzzled out the technicalities, paid a
visit to the craft store, and then, after picking my kids up from
school, I got to work.
A while later I presented my daughter with my creation. She was
expecting a simple choker on a leather cord, so I was excited to reveal
what I’d made for her. She looked at it and, whether she
intended to or not, she made a disappointed face (or maybe it was just
puzzlement, but I read it as disappointment) and poked at the dangling
ruby beads saying, “What are these supposed to be, blood
drops or something?”
I’d been expecting a different reaction—one of
effusive praise more along the lines of, “Wow, Mom! This is
the coolest thing ever!”—but her actual response
crushed me. I reacted badly. I may have been a little immature, and I
may have suggested that my daughter was ungrateful. I didn’t
mean it, and of course I explained myself later and apologized, but at
the time I certainly felt it.
When we create something with another person in mind, when we put our
whole heart and head into making that something special, it’s
only human nature to hope that the recipient will be pleased with the
results. No child brings artwork home from school to hear his parent
tell him that he’s made his giraffe’s neck
unrealistically long. No mother makes a piece of jewelry for her
daughter hoping to hear, “What’s this supposed to
be?” Because we put so much of ourselves into the creative
process, we are not only hoping that our intended recipient will like
the end result, we’re also, by extension, saying,
“Please like
style="font-style: italic;">me!”
In the years I’ve spent roaming the official forums for
various MMOGs, I’ve seen many a developer respond to
criticism and flat out abuse from players with an admirable grace under
fire that I could’ve only hoped to have emulated with my
daughter. I’ve observed besieged community managers behave as
models of diplomacy. (And, although this is far rarer, I’ve
also seen a few devs and CMs snap and suggest that certain members of
their communities are ungrateful trolls.) I’ve never been
part of a development studio, but I can imagine the mindsets of the
people working away in the trenches to create stunning environments
(which are inevitably called “too brown”) or
fun-to-play classes (which are inevitably marked as over- or
under-powered) or smoothly functioning mechanics (which are inevitably
labeled hopelessly broken) are very similar to the mindset I
experienced when I was creating something for my daughter—we
want that something to be liked and appreciated, and we look forward to
feeling liked and appreciated, too.
There’s one little fly in the ointment for some game
designers, though. (And by game designers I’m talking mostly
about the people on the lower rungs of the payroll scale who bust their
fingers coding or writing or rendering.) While I was in complete
control over the necklace I designed for my daughter, some game
designers have little control over the end result of their
collaborative project. At best, they’re part of a team effort
where their input is valued, and then weighed and measured against the
company’s goals. (The MMOG realm boasts success stories to
prove that this type of management style exists.) At worst,
they’re simply the gears churning toward the agenda of
some…higher powers.
And yet, the little guys—the code monkeys, the quest
designers, the artists--still pour themselves into the creative
process. They’re still thinking, “Please like this
game!” and, by extension, “Please like
me!” I understand these feelings all too well (writing is
another “Please like me!” endeavor), and
that’s why I feel a twinge of sympathy when I see a blog post
like
href="http://lukehalliwell.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/goodbye-realtime-worlds/">Luke
Halliwell’s frustrated missive.
Despite the best efforts of the designers working to make a fun game,
it appears the management types pushing their own agendas (very often a
bottom line that has little to do with creating something fun) have
managed to steer
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">
style="font-style: italic;">APB
off course. The same thing happened, infamously, with Cheyenne Mountain
Entertainment and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/feb/19">
style="font-style: italic;">Stargate Worlds.
And
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/58631">Sigil
and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/vanguard">
style="font-style: italic;">Vanguard.
It’s easy to vent frustration at the nearest target,
something we’re all guilty of from time to time.
It’s much more difficult to acknowledge that behind every
project are people who care, people who want the creation they took
part in bringing to life to be liked by the masses. I’m
certainly not saying that we should withhold our criticisms from game
development teams, or that we should be overly-generous and blindly
accept every game that comes our way, I’m simply suggesting
that we stop automatically assuming that no developer cares about our
complaints. I assure you, for every MMOG developed there are people who
care more than you realize.
Got comments? Hit the Loading... forum.
Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features
from Ten Ton
Hammer
9 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 25 Ten Ton
Hammer features in September! 980 in 2010!
FROM
PAX 2010
style="color: red;">
style="color: red;">HOT!
Guild Wars 2 -
Hands-On, Part 2
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/previews/pax2010/hands-on-part-two">http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/previews/pax2010/hands-on-part-two
This weekend at
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/paxprime/2010">PAX
Prime in Seattle, Ten Ton Hammer
was fortunate
enough to get plenty of hands-on time with the live demo for Guild Wars
2. In fact, we even managed to play through full demo sessions of both
the low level human experience in and around the village of Shaemoor,
as well as the mid-level charr content including the epic Shatterer
event and a whole lot more.
Since the overall breadth of content to consume in the Guild Wars 2
demo encompasses far more than what a single article could properly
cover, we have a two part look at the game in action. First,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2">Ethec
shared his experiences as a
human ranger, and for the second half of
our two part feature Sardu gives an in-depth look at mid-level charr
necromancer gameplay. How is the game shaping up so far?
style="color: red;">HOT!
A Tale of Two TERAs -
A Hands-On Look at TERA's Group Play
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/previews/pax-hands-on">http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/previews/pax-hands-on
Of the numerous hands-on demos Ten Ton Hammer had the opportunity to
experience
at
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/paxprime/2010"
target="_blank">PAX
Prime, one of the more
interesting among them was focused on
the group
experience for
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2339"
target="_blank">TERA.
In this updated
look at the newest group demo for
for the game, Sardu shares his thoughts on how TERA
has held up against
his expectations based on two recent gameplay experiences. Is the
gameplay as
epic as he'd hoped it would be?
HOT!
BETA GIVEAWAYS
LEGO Universe Beta Key Giveaway
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/lego-open-beta">http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/lego-open-beta
Ten Ton Hammer is pleased to bring you beta keys. Grab them while
they're hot and soon you'll be in the game saving Imagination with the
best of 'em.
Keys are limited! For your chance to win, simply fill in the form. But,
there's a twist! You'll have to tune into
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/lego-open-beta">this
week's Ten Ton Hammer Live podcast
to find out the secret
phrase. The phrase was told to audiences live Saturday night, but you
can catch the archive to find out the pass phrase. Only correct entries
will be put into the draw to win.
Ministry
of War Beta
Giveaway
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/ministry-of-war/beta">http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/ministry-of-war/beta
Ministry of War, from Snail Games, takes MMORTS browser games to the
next level with spectacular graphics, a huge world map, epic PVE and
PVP battles, GvG combat, and comprehensive questing and leveling
systems, In the beta, players will be able to choose an Ancient Empire
(Rome, Egypt, China, and Persia), marshal resources, and buildup your
forces. 'I'm not in the beta!' you say? Fix that with a free beta key
from Ten Ton Hammer!
Craft
of Gods
Free-to-Play Code Giveaway
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/craft-of-gods/f2p">http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/craft-of-gods/f2p
Craft of Gods may not be the only MMORPG based on Slavic mythology or
the only one that allows players to make pets and mounts of just about
any animal you find in the world, but it's certainly the only MMO to do
both. Yesterday, the makers of Craft of Gods launched a free-to-play
server, so you too can join the battle between light and darkness
without a pesky subscription.Ready to start your Craft of Gods
free-to-play experience with a few extra Kun in your pocket? Grab an
special giveaway code first at Ten Ton Hammer!
PREVIEWS
style="">
style="color: red;">HOT!
Rift: Planes of Telara First Hands On Preview – Part 2
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/hands-on-preview-part-2">http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/hands-on-preview-part-2
Ten Ton Hammer was among the first group of gamers to get some hands-on
time with Trion Worlds' upcoming MMORPG, Rift: Planes of Telara. In the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/hands-on-preview-part-1">first
part of our hands-on preview, we
got the chance to learn more
about souls (the game's classes), character progression, and to take a
look at the starter area, Shadowlands. In part 2 of our hands-on
preview,
we explore the functionality of the rifts system and the dangers and
rewards that it will offer players.
WoW Cataclysm: Azshara Preview
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm/azshara-preview">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm/azshara-preview
Azshara,
once an untamed wilderness, has become the home to
the Goblin
race thanks to the prejudices of the new Warchief, Garrosh. What have
the Goblins done with the new place they call home? Will Azshara meet
the same fate as the Goblin’s last home? Join us as we take
you on a
journey through Azshara to answer all these questions and more!
INTERVIEWS
Sony
Online Entertainment Plans for the Future of MMOG Forum Communities
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/features/soe-forums-2.0">http://www.tentonhammer.com/features/soe-forums-2.0
Surprisingly Sony Online Entertainment's most talked-about
upcoming project at SyndCon 2010 was their plans to improve on official
forums. "O-forums" have been an invaluable tool for developing
companies and game communities for some time. As the MMOG genre forges
ahead with new features and exciting concepts, SOE plans the same
advancement with their forums.
REGULAR
FEATURES
Ten
Ton Hammer Live Episode 18 - LIVE from PAX 2010
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/18">http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/18
This week on Ten Ton Hammer Live the boys return from a
month off to bring you all the coverage from....the bajillion
conventions and conferences Ben, Jeff, and Reuben went to. We also
learn that Ben REAAAAALLY flew the "friendly" skies back from
Germany...if you know what I mean.
Also, Jesse tells tales of a "Krispy Kreme Burger" and Dav apparently
decided to buy a million dollars worth of books. Some month off!
In the news: Stargate debacles, Star Wars promises, FFXIV has Jesse
massively confused, and apparently EQ2 is doubling up the EXP.
Also, MASTER LOOTER returns with a hilarious conversation with little
Timmy.
Today's
Top 10
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/previews/pax2010/hands-on-part-two">
style="font-weight: bold;">Guild
Wars 2 - Hands-On,
Part 2 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/previews/pax2010/hands-on-part-one">
style="font-weight: bold;">Guild Wars 2
-
Hands-On at PAX Prime Part 1 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/previews/pax-hands-on">A
Tale of Two TERAs
-
A Hands-On Look at style="font-weight: bold;">TERA's
Group Play -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/torchlight2/previews/pax2010">PAX
2010 Hands-On Preview of style="font-weight: bold;">Torchlight
II -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/firefall/previews/pax2010">A
First Look at Red 5's Firefall
at PAX 2010 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/lotro/f2p">
style="font-weight: bold;">LOTRO
Early Acess Giveaway -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2/editorials/trying-eq2x">Top
Reasons to Try the style="font-weight: bold;">EQ2
Extended Server -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo/videos/update7-preview">Half
Elves, Time Travel, and a Demonic Vultron? - A PAX 2010 Video Preview
of DDO Update 7 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rift/hands-on-preview-part-2">
style="font-weight: bold;">Rift: Planes of Telara
First Hands On Preview – Part 2 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lego/videos/racing">Minifigs,
Start Your Engines! - A First Look at Racing in LEGO
Universe from PAX 2010
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Karen “Shayalyn” Hertzberg
and the Ten Ton Hammer team
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our APB: Reloaded Game Page.
