i am not alone

looking over a few of my past entries, you've undoubtedly noticed a recurring theme: 
1) i love gaming, and
2) gaming has grown stale. 

yep, these two concurrent events might seem paradoxical, but they're nonetheless quite true. 

a couple of things happened today which might help illuminate this subject from another perspective.  the first is the letter of resignation from a WoW player named Muqq.  First, a little background:  Muqq has been playing World of Warcraft for five years now (read = exceptionally devoted), and has been a major community figure on Ensidia, an incredible example of a gaming fansite.  Muqq has developed class guides, raid movies, and software performance guides for the general benefit of the WoW gaming community at large.  in other words, he's a gaming hero, and one whose opinion should not be easily dismissed.

so, imagine my surprise when i stumbled upon Muqq's farewell to the land of Azeroth.  i mean, this guy has put forth more effort than many professionals when it comes to collecting, organizing, and publishing data regarding WoW, and now he's quitting?!

how did this happen, you might ask?

it seems Muqq feels about WoW the same way i feel about the MMOs i've left.  i won't blame you if you don't read his entire entry (he goes on longer than yours truly!), but here's an excerpt:

"...I think Blizzard have intentionally overlooked to adjust the game for their new target audience. In other words, the lack of character progression makes the game as it is today; boring, very boring. No amount of vanity pets, mounts, kill x, deliver y, collect z quests, mirrored instances, heroic instance zergs, arenas, battlegrounds and homogenized classes will change that fact. All to cater to an audience that won't be playing the game for more than 2-3 months at most.
The game philosophy has shifted, maybe due to the large turnover of players, or perhaps it might have been the reason causing it. Regardless, here we are today, playing a game with some of the best gameplay features any MMO has to offer, yet lacking the depth and character progression to go with it.
That leaves me here. With an account that's about to expire in a few days. This game is just not for me anymore. Perhaps I've grown to old, or perhaps I just have other things to do, but that's not really it. It's just not fun anymore, it hasn't been for a long time. I honestly can't see what other players are seeing in the game to keep them going, especially the veterans. It's not fun leveling an alt for the sixth or seventh time, it's not fun to raid either extremely toned down instances or doing heroic versions on my main, just to get an item a week for no real purpose other than to kill the boss a few seconds faster next week."

yep... the game industry has shifted their focus from game to industry.  it's all about how to churn & burn the most money through the entertainment machine, with no attention whatsoever to the original concepts that made gaming the awesome experience it used to (and could still) be.  difficulties have been (ridiculously) watered down, quests are written with no appreciation for the concepts of plot or characterization (who reads all that text anyway?  just click "accept" and get back to the killing!), and character evolution has been replaced by a race to the level cap so you can join in the endless grind that is only epitomized by the never-ending crusade for phat lewt.  if you can't keep interested the players who made your game the icon it has become, make it easier for the newbs to take their place.

upon the heels of this announcement, another seemingly unrelated event has occurred.  Turbine, once the largest privately-owned MMO studio in North America and the company responsible for such industry greats as Asheron's Call, Lord of the Rings Online and the once near-death but now incredibly lucrative Dungeons & Dragons Online (which has made money hand over fist since the decision by Turbine to make the game free-to-play, a move which staggered many within the industry), has just been acquired by Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. 

i'll let that sink in a moment.

the people who manipulated the creativity of artists like Frank Zappa and Prince now own a huge corner of the MMO business.

...

"hi, table for four?"

"yes, we have a reservation.  the name is Horsemen of the Apocalypse?"

"ah, yes, right this way!"

what does the future hold for gaming?  i have no idea.  many great game concepts have come and gone, none of which really delivered upon their own potential for various reasons (or their own promises, for that matter).  the games which are receiving the most funding seem to be those which most closely duplicate the models of those which have done well in the past, which is exactly why there are so many games out there that look (exactly!) like World of Warcraft.  and why not?  a quick web search will reveal many players who want exactly that: another game like the one which is already established (?). 

unfortunately, it is the original gamer here who gets discarded.  the focus is no longer on quality of entertainment, but how to draw in new memberships to replace those which are no longer active due to lack of long-term playability.  ultimately, it's cheaper to lower the xp-to-lvl ratio than to retain superior writers, artists, and service staff, and like all great art forms, greed has taken hold.

guess i'll hold out for an independent company to come along and provide something completely fantastic and utterly innovative... the likes of which i can only hope will follow the footsteps of film and music.  Reservoir Dogs Online, anyone?

"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."  -  Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993)

LARPers fight back (sort of)

seriously, folks, it's not our fault. 

i'm speaking to those of you who engage in live action roleplay (LARP, for short), from those of us who do not.  first, allow me to say that i have nothing against LARP, or those who engage in these activities.  as much of a fantasy/literature/gamer/geek nut that i am, you'd think i would have gotten into something like this by now (and, honestly, if i lived in Europe where LARP is much more prevalent, i probably would have), but i haven't.  even though i'm not into LARP, i don't put down or think less of those who are.  seriously.  there's enough in this world that actually deserves to be ridiculed...

but here is my point: much of what is presented by the LARP community (in the West, anyway), falls into a category many believe is worthy of ridicule.  to make matters worse, i don't really see those within the LARP community doing anything to change that.

the impetus behind this article is an email i received from Alltern8.com, which touts themselves as 'the biggest online community for the world of console games, MMOs, LARP, comics, & CCG games' (in all fairness, i subscribe to it).  yeah, nerdery abound!  ::shrug::  hey, if the shoe fits, subscribe to its monthly newsletters.  besides, they got me into the semi-open beta testing of Star Trek Online without preordering the game, which equaled free server time on a high-quality MMORPG... you can't beat that with a morningstar (or a Plasma Sniper Mk X, as the case may be).  anyway, the subject of this month's LARP article is fighting stereotypes which those of us who don't LARP might have (read = probably have) about those who do.  this is an admirable topic of discussion, and one which i had hoped would be interesting.  let's be realistic for a moment: most people in the US who don't engage in LARP aren't conveniently receiving emails regarding the topic, so this article was written for an audience who LARPs.  i understood that i was the outsider when i began to read, but many similarities exist between myself and the LARP community at large.  i love all things fantasy, i enjoy roleplaying games, and i love to battle with foam & latex weapons.

"wait... um... hey Grey, i thought you said you don't LARP..."

i don't.  allow me to explain the difference before moving on. 

you see, fantasy literature includes all things from The Odyssey and Beowulf to the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard to the more recently popularized epic fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien and George R. R. Martin.  nothing but absolute magnificence in these examples, and there are many more examples of wonderful fantasy literature out there.  not to mention science fiction, but i will resist the urge to continue down this tract and remain on subject.

this is not easy for me.  ::deep breath::

ok, where were we?  oh, right...

roleplaying games, which originally evolved directly from fantasy literature, take the genre to the next level by allowing the participant to not only imagine an author's protagonist living out a specifically written plot scenario, but to create his (or hers, i'm not trying to be sexist here... just going to stick with the masculine for the rest of the article because 1) i don't like it when an author continues to say "his/hers" throughout paragraphs of text and 2) another honesty check: this realm was created by and has been dominated by males since its creation; i'm the first to admit, however, that this has changed in recent history, and i'm of the opinion that this change is definitely one for the better) own protagonist and make his own choices about the actions and interactions in an (attempted, anyway) equally rich fantasy setting.  beginning with the games of one Gary Gygax, including the amazing Dungeons & Dragons, these games became the front runner of a class of interactive entertainment (and media) which is still influencing modern entertainment today.  in fact, most (like 99%) of all video games ever created either borrowed or directly stole ideas and/or concepts from D&D, like hit points, damage rolls (crit ftw!), and the entire implementation of character class.  if you've ever played a video game besides PacMan and Farmville, you owe Mr. Gygax a huge heap of gratitude. 

live battle play... this can definitely enter a gray area which could coincide with LARP, if not directly stand within the same context.  there are differences, however.  the combat which i enjoy is based solely upon actual weapons combat, period.  a group of people wielding realistic weapons converge to "kill" those around them.  ::sigh::  this particular group shown in the linked video, Barbarian Battles, was begun by a man named Jim Gasser, the greatest fighter i'd ever met.  it is with no small amount of sorrow that i must say he is no longer with us, and i still (and probably will forever) miss him greatly.

"so, wait... what's the difference between that and LARP?"

i'm glad you asked.  the difference to the untrained eye might be negligible, but i assure you it's more than i've ever cared to traverse. 

there are various examples of LARP to be found on the 'net.  most of them are, shall we say, less than flattering.  for instance, you've got the famous Lighting Bolt video.  there's the trailer for the upcoming movie, Monster Camp.  not to mention The LARP Rap.  you see, i don't dress in medieval garb, call myself 'Dorn of the Dragon Mountains,' and spend time manufacturing various bags of multicolored rice to throw at people while shouting spell names.  i just like to beat on people with fake weapons.  big difference.

now, back to the subject at hand.  this article goes on to discuss how to broach the subject of LARPing when someone who doesn't LARP (read = someone "normal") asks (read = griefs) you about being a LARPer.  nothing really unusual in the article, except that the author expects anyone in this situation to remember that they are 'representing the entire LARP community' via their responses and actions in such a situation. 

no pressure...

however, a look around some of the other articles for the LARP community on this particular website paints what is probably a more accurate picture of the group of people whom we are discussing.  for instance, the article on LARP dating is a bit more realistic than merely communicating that LARPers are just non-LARPers with style.  here's an excerpt:

"Most players when they think about the stress of carrying on a conversation do not even think of forming a relationship with someone unless they can call to trade Magic cards."

um, seriously?  you're not talking about an average Joe here... you're talking about someone who suffers from severe nerddom.  sure, anyone can be a little apprehensive when meeting new people, especially when that new person happens to be an attractive member of the opposite sex (or same sex, whatever... i don't judge).  but describing the people in this situation as being "two people that are use to interacting with a screen between themselves and humanity" doesn't really bode well for creating a connection with the general public.  


in other words, LARPers of Alltern8, get your story straight.  it's great that you're trying to overcome the stereotypes which the rest of the world holds for your hobby (obsession, whatever... i don't judge).  but you won't be able to do that if you're simultaneously living up to those exact same stereotypes.