• 16Jan 08

  Play the freakin game!

  I have realised.

  Or rather, suddenly been forced to acknowledge, the fact that I not only buy too many games, but sooooo many of them are played for a short amount of time before being put away in favor of the next shiny thing.

  Suffice it to say, my attention span must have suffered somewhere along the lines, as i used to not be able to look at another game until i had finished the current batch.

  So, in an attempt to widen my experience of genres and gameplay styles, I will be picking at random, a list of games which i have either never finished, or never played. From that list, i will be taking votes on which one i should commit to playing in it's entirety, and posting a full review for.

  Look out for an update sometime soon witha shortlist of games.

  • Posted Jan 16, 2008 1:09 pm PT
  • 10 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 12Jan 08

  Video Games are evil! TV would never harm my child!

  Just take a moment to read something quite shocking.

  Several weeks ago (I planned to write this much earlier) a child, girl aged 4, was found in her own bedroom, hanged. By a hairband

  While a lot of ignorant people will continue to blame video games for their dead, maimed, or emotionally scarred children, I feel this incident underlines a very poignant fact.

  Children are influenced by what they see. Of course they are, it takes a total moron to deny this fact.

  Yet people deny this fact continually, both inside and outside of the gaming community. Outside it tends to be parents complaining that the gaming industry is purposefully targeting their children with media that will turn them into suicidal maniacs. Whereas inside the gaming community, equally ignorant viewpoints are thrown around, claiming that video games do not influence children, and that parental guidance, or lack thereof is what influences them.

  While both of these sides may be well meaning, those arguments are flat out wrong. It is a stone cold fact that children will imitate what they see, it's their sole purpose in life, to learn so that when they reach an appropriatte age, they have learned all the appropriatte social and physical skills to progress in life.

  Unfortunately, with parents attention turning more and more towards careers, or other things, educating and caring for their children takes a back seat a lot of the time. So children, who innocently, know no better, will imitate what they see.

  In this case, a girl hangs herself, because she saw it on a cartoon. Her grandmother told her not to do it. Which was a moronic thing to do. Drawing attention to something, whether positive or negative, makes it more interesting. Not explaining WHY you shouldn't do it leads the child to wonder, and to imitate, to learn. She learned she had rubbish parents.

  What does this mean?

  In my mind, this is cold hard proof, that parents are more to blame than ever for their childrens behavioural problems. However, never one to see a problem in just one light, i feel this also highlights the blame that IS to be put on the industry. Not the developers, but the sales end of the stick. Age ratings should be enforced. Unconstitutional? I dont care. Do it. It's for the children, but it has to work both ways, parents need to spend more time with children, and to educate them with common sense.

  Otherwise, anyone who's seen the film Idiocracy will know what's coming.

  • Posted Jan 12, 2008 10:17 am PT
  • 10 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 28Dec 07

  I want something for nothing! Gimme!

  Ok. My apologies for not posting my Game of the Year awards. But two reasons stand out on this issue, firstly, everyone else pretty much said everything i could have wanted to, but in more detail and better articulated. Secondly, my WoW addiction has kicked itself back into top gear.

  Before i continue on what will be another rant post (You've had fair warning WoW Ranting to follow) i will comment on some of Gamespots awards. I must say i am surprised, and delighted to see Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 beating out Mass Effect, Eternal Sonata and The Witcher.

  I am also glad to see S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl winning the appropriatte award for setting and atmosphere. Surprised, but all for The Orange Box picking up it's fair share of awards. And i am most satisfied that Halo 3 didn't win anything. Not even most improved sequal, which was a surprise given Halo 2.

  Anyhoo. On with the show, so they say.

  Something which has been preying on my mind more and more lately, is the sheer amount of people who not only want Something for Nothing, but that they feel they not only deserve, but have the right to this.

  As a slight precursor for those are are not aquainted with the ins and outs of World of Warcraft.

  Each player has the ability to learn 2 'proffesions' These are either gathering, or crafting. Usually you take one of each, and use the gathering to produce the materials to help you level your crafting. But of course, given the nature of a player driven economy, there are lots of items that cross the realms, such as leather occasionally needed by Blacksmiths, or tailors etc.

  One of thse proffesions is Enchanting. Instead of having a gathering proffesion linked to it, instead you get the ability to break down magical items into components to allow you to make other items more powerful. These items come in 3 forms, essences, dusts, and the very valuable Shards.

  The downside to this, is that you must effectively 'lose' money, as you dont have as much loot to sell after a dungeon because you break them down for the components to raise your skill in enchanting.

  Why am i telling you this? Well, because lately i have noticed an icnreasing trend. Shards are very valuable, and used in large numbers for the best and most powerful enchants. So naturally, people want them either to use, or to sell for profit. But thats part of the few upsides of being an enchanter right? The ability to break down the loot you dont need, to sell as the slightly more valuable shard.

  Not according to those who want Somthing for Nothing.

  Common practice when with a group in World of Warcraft when some valuable loot drops is to roll for it. Whereby, if you do not need the item, IE it's for your class, or better than your current equipment. Then you all roll 'greed' on a 100 sided die, and whoever wins, gets the item to sell/do with as they please.

  Now, as most of these items are bound to you when you pick them up, and can only be sold to a vencor, they are worth a flat rate of whatever the store will pay for it. However, enchanters have one more option with this soulbound gear. Disenchanting it for the shards, most boss dropped items will give you a single shard.

  Recently i have noticed however that, greedy as people are, they no longer want the flat vendor rate. No, they want the ever increasing Shard value. So it has apparently become common practice (Although i have only seen it a few times, much to my horror and dismay) That if an enchanter is in the group, they will instead give the item to him, and once it has been broken down, instead roll for the shard.

  This is where my blood starts to boil.

  Hold on a moment? You already have 2 proffesions, and all the associated benefits (Mining ore, or making weapons, or whatever it is you do) Why should you get the benefit of my proffesion as well as your own? That's not fair at all. I've put a lot of time, and money into being able to disenchant such powerful items. You have not. So surely if i greed an item, it's mine to do with as i please? I won it fair and square.

  You want something for nothing huh? Oh i see, it doesnt work both ways though? I'm not allowed to roll for that nice gem you just mined out of the ground, but you want my shard?

  Nice.

  Add this to the fact that a lot of people who raise alt enchanters, are very. Very. Lazy. So you quite frequently see people in the various trade areas shouting thingsa like "I will perform any enchantment you want, for free, so long as you provide all the materials"

  So of course, materials have become a lucrative trade to say the least, wich most shards popping in at about 4-8 gold each.

  However, for the honest enchanter who just wants to make the same amount of cash as every other proffession (That's, quite a bit of cash.) It's nigh on impossible, you have4 choices.

  1. Do it for free like everyone else, and hope someones nice enough to tip you.

  2. Farm the materials yourself, and sell the enchantmentsat LESS than you could get by selling those materials individually.

  3. Power lvl to 70, join a 40man raiding guild who doesnt have an enchanter, and hit the big raid dungeons as often as possible to get the really rare enchantments that might actually sell for a profit.

  4. Ignore it, and continue making a meagre amount of money on disenchanting your loot (Remember, just because a shard sells for 8g, doesnt mean im making 8. As i have to lose 5g worth of loot before i pull a shard, at least.)

  So i ask you. Am i just being a grumpy old loser, who wants to keep everything to himself? (Or worse, as i have been called by people to whom i would not give free stuff) Or do you agree, the benefits of a proffesion i have worked hard to learn should be my own?

  I'd like some opinions on this one, as i am at a loss as to whether or not i'm just being a jerk and can't see it. Or if the culture of I Want Something For Nothing really has spread this far.

  • Posted Dec 28, 2007 4:14 am PT
  • 5 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »