“The people drawn to Twitter are people on the cutting edge, the real nerds who are resentful of the fact that the general population have found and taken over Facebook.” – Steve Dotto, host of Dotto Tech
Everyone can use a feel good moment to start the day. Let’s go with this…
Once upon a time, as I rode a light-rail train to and from GamesCon in Leipzig, Germany I came up with a crazy idea to plot out and track the traffic that our network delivered to our readers. Pulse was born.
Essentially Pulse tracks the daily, weekly and monthly movers and shakers in the MMOG industry and has done so for quite a long time. You can clickity-click around and see if games are trending up, down or just treading water. To see Pulse in action, just visit our homepage at TenTonHammer.com or click the fancy graphic and scroll down.
World of Warcraft has been king of the Pulse nearly every day since its inception. Conan took over the top during its launch, but few games have ever been able to knock WoW from its perch. Titles, with long-tails like EVE have done very well, likewise games with deeply loyal followings like Lord of the Rings Online always seem to rank high.
Before Twitter and Google made the term digestible we have had a trending tool for MMOGs.
One of the trending topics on Twitter this morning is #whendiditbecomecool .
It is being tweeted so fast that there is no way I could keep up to it. Some of the tweets from #whendiditbecomecool :
To wear the theatre 3D glasses
For men to wear pink
For grown men to wake up and play Xbox
To share all your problems and issues on Facebook
To name your child after cars you can’t afford.
So, that obviously leads me to…
When did it become cool, the MMOG edition!
To spam guild advertisements in Trade Chat (World of Warcraft)
To pull a boss and then d/c on purpose
To wear your faction/class/guild on a t-shirt
To create a character name with ascii letters so nobody can send you a tell
To tank in dps gear
To disrespect every game that you don’t play
To collect more virtual pets than your friends
To play a female character when you are really a male
Enedwaith does not receive a lot of mention in Tolkien's lore. In the late Third Age, it is a rugged highland moor settled by the Dunlendings, and a more recently-established population of rangers of the Grey Company, who are chasing rumors about a growing shadow in the south.
At SOE Fan Faire of this year, Benjamin J. de la Durantaye logged onto the Fippy Darkpaw server with EQ developer Ngreth to answer some burning questions from the players.
Rift has shattered many conventional notions about roles traditional fantasy MMOG classes can perform and the Warlord is no exception. Featuring an array of buffs, debuffs, mitigation and threat generation enhancements - the Warlord can turn the tide of battle if utilized correctly.
Since PAX Prime tickets have been sold out since May, this is probably your best chance to check out the Seattle show. Play Rusty Hearts, the online RPG brawler, and you're automatically entered for airfare and a 3-day pass. More details after the jump.
Completely unauthorized but strangely awesome, a WoW and Starcraft 2 themed amusement park called "World Joyland" has opened near Shanghai. Click here to watch the one-of-a-kind promo video.
Citing that only 18% of Mass Effect 2 players played a female Shephard, in a recent interview Bioware pledged to restore the gender balance with Mass Effect 3.
Members Only Epic Thread: Ask TTH, Round 2
Every now and then our premium members, who apparently find us amusing, decide they want to ask a bunch of questions of the Ten Ton Hammer staff. And while there are some secrets we just won't tell, there are plenty we will.
Got a burning question for the people who make Ten Ton Hammer tick? Want to know about Ben and Sardu's sleeping arrangments in Germany (and how a double room in Germany doesn't necessarily translate to two beds?)
Want to find out which brew Ethec prefers when he's being a beer connoisseur? Or what Boomjack does when he gets the dinner bill? (Hint: It looks like this.)
Jeff joined the Ten Ton Hammer team in 2004 covering EverQuest II, and he's had his hands on just about every PC online and multiplayer game he could since.