why i need to win the damn lottery...

Because work keeps getting in the way of this. Alright, it gets in the way of a lot of other stuff too, but it's seriously putting a cramp in the time that I have to blather at the four poor sods who read this junk.

Thus, I have decided that this weekend I'll be winning the lottery so that I don't have to work anymore and will have time to post every. single. day. Yeah, I know, you're all so thrilled that you've gone numb and that's why there's no applause. It's okay. I love you too.

After being out of touch for a bit as I was and then the mad crush of trying to figure out how to catch back up with junk, I got back into game for real and was kind of at a loss.

What to do and do I really want to keep playing?

It didn't really hurt me to not do much in game for a week or so. I read like four books, watched the entire first season of Heroes, and some other junk. I felt all productive (and yes I have to review books. I know. Shush). It was kind of nice.

Well, I was reminded why I keep playing. Besides, of course, for the fun factor.

The people. I can't ever stress enough how important the people and community are for the longevity of a game. I've been bored to tears a number of times and on the verge of taking an extended haiatus and managed to keep going because of the people.

I think I know some of the funniest people in game. Personal bias all the way, of course.

My guild is awesome too. We joke and laugh and everyone has a sense of humour. Or most everyone does. The people who don't usually don't last that long.

The other night, one of our templars decided she was going to move her alt into a lower level guild to play with some friends.

One of the officers went to boot her out of the guild cause it's fun and it would be amusing to have on the guild events. Except that she was either too quick on the draw or he was too slow... Because she ended up out and he ended up kicking a necro. A necro with a LOT of guild status. A necro who was in fact online at the time and in vent.

From what people said his comments in vent were priceless and I'm actually really sorry I wasn't there for it. As it was, I was crying so hard I could barely see the screen. It was seriously priceless.

We got him reguilded and all, and I THINK he's forgiven our officer for accidently kicking him. Maybe. We'll find out at the next raid.

We're social creatures, we humans. It's an incredibly effective tool for game companies to use to their advantage. You can have the most incredible game on the face of the planet and no community and it will fail. You can have a mediocre game and have a fantastic community of people and it will thrive.

Happily, EQ2 is both an amazing game and has a fantastic community.

I know that I wouldn't still be here if it weren't for the people I've met. SOE does a great job of trying to promote that feeling of family you develop in these kinds of games. Sure, there are people who complain and don't like it... but there are people like that everywhere. Nothing pleases them. They sure are fun to mess with though ;)

What does this have to do with the lottery? Well, DUH. I'd have more time to play. Sheesh. Try to follow along...

weeeeeeee!!

Thanksgiving!

There's some story about pilgrims and a thanksgiving feast to commemorate them making friends with the Indians (whom they later royally screwed) and having enough food to survive the winter blah blah blah.

It's a holiday to get together with friends (or if you happen to have a family who isn't bat shit insane, with them) and eat. Socialize a bit and watch lots of tv as well, but mostly to eat.

Now don't get me wrong. I love food (as can be seen just looking at my ass). I love to eat. But the best part for me is actually the cooking. Yeah don't ask me why, I just love to cook.

This year I've made enough food for about 10 people and there are going to be two of us, a few cats, and my best friend's boyfriend whenever he gets back from his parents' place.

I was gifted with a groovy idea about mixing my stuffing and mashed potatoes this year. It looks and smells divine and I'm pretty sure I'll be doing this every year for the rest of my life now. I mean seriously... what's bad about it?

Then there's pie. I love pie. I was going to make three kinds this year... But I ended up deciding it might be a bit excessive. See? I have self control. So there!!

Mostly the reason that Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays is that it's sort of the trigger for fall and winter. This is my time of year. Everything cools off, the air gets crisp. Everything is a little cheerier.

So for those of us chowing down today, enjoy! For everyone who doesn't have this silly made up holiday with no real basis in anything? Have a happy Thursday and remember the weekend is damned close.

back in the saddle again!

I had my very first ever trip to the ER. Then I got to spend a week doing my very best impression of a teenager (read: sleeping 16 hours a day). Not the best week of my life.

However, it did afford me an interesting little tidbit to mull over.

Today's update was going to be all about community and its importance to gaming in general and MMOs in particular. But that can wait til tomorrow.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this blurb I saw on 60 minutes when I was sitting in the ER and trying not to cry from pain that was actually worse than being in labour. Yeah. That bad. I was immediately reminded of why I am not in a rush to have more kids.

The 60 mins blurb sort of reinforced that notion.

There were a couple of guys going on about how kids today (godsdamnit that makes me feel old to say it that way * sob *) aren't expected to be adults until after at least 26 years of age. There's a whole generation of kids out there who are living at home until their 30's. Or later.

All pain was momentarily forgotten as I tried to grasp that concept.

They went on to talk about how they don't need to focus on finding a career. It's acceptable to shop around now. Four jobs in a year on your resume is no big deal now... Colour me surprised. I can't get anyone to LOOK at my resume unless I've been somewhere for a year.

Add to that the fact that if I could have gotten out of the house and on my own at 16, I'd have been that cute little dust cloud that the Roadrunner leaves in the cartoons.

I understand that economically it's a good move and all... but I still can't imagine staying at home so long.

Do you have a curfew? Do you have to tell your parents where you're going and when you'll be back? How do you DATE? You can't very well bring a date home and hang out and stuff, can you? How does that work anyway? Hey baby, my parents are out tonight, wanna come over and watch a movie? That isn't even getting into the logistics of having a sex life. * shudder *

Perhaps it's a difference in rearing techniques on the part of the parents. The way I was raised, there as no way that I would have been able to remain at home a second longer than absolutely necessary. One, I was raised to be independent and get out and do for myself. Two, they were distinctively NOT of the nurturing variety.

At any rate, my best friend and I were sitting there with sick kids, kids with puss-filled elbows, and creepy guys who we couldn't tell what was wrong with them, kinda looking at the tv and each other...

And promptly forgot it all when a girl walked in with a t-shirt that said: I'm not a model, I just look like one... And well yeah. She really didn't.

Still sick... * sigh *

But that's okay!!!

Because it's November. It's national write a novel month or some such nonsense. Basically it's a challenge to write a full 50k words in 30 days. Sound crazy? It surely is. And I'm already 6 days behind.

Chances are I won't even attempt it simply for the lack of time to devote. I mean hello!! there's EQ2 expansion launching in exactly 7 days. I don't know how anyone could expect me to miss that for some silly novel.

However, the event does conjure up the desire to finally get off my fat ass and write. So I've made a solemn vow to actually make the effort to do some "real" writing and not just the randomness I torment you fine folk with or the stuff with which I torture the Zam folks.

I know... non gaming related writing... Almost seems like blasphemy doesn't it?

Speaking of which... The writer's unions are on strike. They think they should get paid a bit more and get a bigger cut of dvd residuals as well as get kickback for the internet sales and all that. And I agree. They get shafted. Hard. Yeah they make good money... I'd be thrilled. However when you look at what other people get for what the WRITERS produce... Yeah it's complete and utter bullshit.

The problem is... If the writers are on strike? That means that Heroes is in danger. Since this is literally the only TV show that I watch and I have to go on NBC.com in order to do so... Yeah. I'm distressed. They need to clear this up in a big fat hurry.

To the corporations... Stop being greedy bastards and frelling pony up the damn money. I want my freaking Heroes.

(Sidebar: I'm listening to the radio and evidently there's a little girl with 4 arms and legs and stuff... some sort of conjoined twin thing. Spiderbaby. * nod * Spiderbaby Spiderbaby does whatever a spider can...)

At any rate. I'm a firm believer in paying people what they're worth. And in this case, the corporations need to start paying their writers. Period. Because without the writers, the TV networks are boned. They're going to be losing FAR more money than they'll be paying out if they give the raise they should. This boggles my mind. It's just so easy.

Everyone cross your fingers. Heroes is on the line here.

oh the amazing slackishness of me

In my defense, the last couple of weeks have been rather hectic for me. What with worrying about extra crispy grandmothers who turned up in Las freaking Vegas (and without me!!! wtf???), a busy couple of weeks at BOTH jobs, and lingering sniffles and general sick in bedness... yeah. There has been little to no writing. There has been lots of soup though!

Today is one of my favourite days of the year. Halloween. But I think I like Coyote's definition better, so on the off chance someone reads this who doesn't already read Coyote (yeah... that'll happen) go scamper over and check it out. He gives good giggle.

I've decided that there just isn't enough time in the day to do all the stuff I want to or need to do. I need more hours. I need to be able to play twice as long so I can fit in all the stuff I need to do and then have time to write on top of it. I need to be able to find a way to squeeze in another few jobs (*nods to radar and his in living colour jokes*). But most of all? I still need time to sleep.

I've decided that sleep is a GOOD thing. I don't do it nearly as much as I should. I think my love of sleep is compounded by a love of my big comfy bed. It's a lovely and wonderful bed. And oh so very comfy. I need to spend more time bonding with it.

Thus, I have decided that the time has come to achieve a state of independent wealth wherein I can do whatever I want whenever and spend more time bonding with my bed.

So I'll be winning the lottery this weekend. No one else buy a ticket. And to the lottery people? I'll be emailing you the numbers you're to choose on Friday. kkthx.

sometimes it's better not to worry...

But when you have family in the midst of wildfires, you can't help it.

Of course, then you hear from them three days later and find out they were kicking back and having fun in Las Vegas... yeah. I was so relieved that she was safe that I decided not to strangle her.

More and more people that I know in the area are checking in and are all okay. As awful as this has been so many have been lucky. My heart goes out to those who are still in danger and who have lost things in the fires.

i got your jam right here!

So. I had my very first jam making experience this weekend.

As it's something I've always wished I knew how to do, this is quite a milestone for me.

The one thing that really struck me (other than how totally cute the friends who were doing it are) is that it really isn't that hard.

There's always been this thing in my mind that making jam was some sort of mystical and difficult thing that would require me to dance naked at midnight, backwards, on one foot, whilst chanting monty python quotes in order to accomplish it.

Yeah. So not. What does this mean? Yeah. I'm making some jam.

Of course, this also reminds me just how lacking my domestic skills still are. There's so much stuff that I want to know how to do that I've yet to learn. I'm getting there though. Slowly but surely. I've finally mastered the whole bread making thing. Which is highly groovy. I'm still trying to learn how to make soap.

Most of my projects are slow going, mostly because I just don't have the time to squeeze everything in. Which is yet another reason I need to win the lottery.

Thank you, my lovely friends, for teaching me to make jam!

(insert witty title here)

Yeah... I got nothing.

Well for a title anyway.

Mostly just a lot of thoughts floating about in my head. So I'm just going to sift out the game related stuff, cause the rest of it is none of anyone's damned business.

Gods and Heroes

While I called the death of this game from the second I read the first interview with Steig (incidentally, Steig was reached after much debate over the correct spelling... We've all seen it both ways and can never decide which is correct. So if it is misspelt, send your hate mail to radarx@tentonhammer.com kkthx.), I'm still sorry to see it crash and burn.

There are a lot of factors that contributed to its demise that I'm sure I have no clue about one way or the other. The main one that I see from a player's standpoint, though, is that it tried too hard. They took Roman culture and mythology and made unnecessary changes to something that didn't need it. They also tried to incorporate what seems like all the most successful aspects of major games on the market. And in the end... It was just too much fantasy in a glutted market. When someone like me, who has eaten up mythology since 3rd grade, throws up their hands in disgust, you're doing something wrong. Period.

Gallenite, who's terribly smart and awfully cute too, posted about the development side of game making and all that's involved. Go read.

My guild

Are a bunch of loons. I love them dearly :) They're curing my burnout most handily.

Crafting

Must. Get. To. 70... * twitch *

Warhammer

Arugh. Just... Arguh. I wanna play this game. I give them massive props for having the brass to take down the beta servers and say "Hey, you gave us good feedback... we're fine tuning and reopening the beta later." That's awesome. DAoC should have been bigger than it was. It was a well made game. So hopefully they'll do good stuff with WAR.

Tabula Rasa

Not sure... still debating. I like the idea and the feel... but there's a learning curve that sorta turned me off at first. Hopefully they refine that a bit.

Winning the lottery

I need to. That is all.

* does the happy snoopy dance of I told you so *

I absolutely, without a doubt, love to be right.

It doesn't happen often. In fact, all too often I make really ridiculous mistakes.

But just this once, I bask in the glory of rightitude. Yes, it's a word.


** for the people who don't know what this is about :)

Gods and Heroes has been cancelled. I said a year ago that this game was never going to make release. * flex * Yes, my ESPN is strong!

Hello, I love you. Won't you tell me your name?

I often joke that I have a "Freaks and Creeps Apply Here" tattoo on my forehead. Whilst this is obviously not true, as my forehead isn't large enough for that, it is an on going sensation.

Being female in an MMO is... interesting, for lack of a better term.

One need not even really be female to experience this. Which is an entirely separate discussion.

Just being perceived as female often garners attention. You'll get random pressies just for being a chick and showing up in the newbie zone. Can you say, eww?

What's worse is when you're minding your own business and making some potions and poisons and such (what kind of an idiot messes with a woman who can make poison, btw???). Sitting there crafting away, carefully measuring out components for that oh so dangerous hemotoxin...

freaky_guy_01 tells you: nice underwear!
....
I beg your pardon?
freaky_guy_01 tells you: do you often craft in your underwear?
* twitch * The plate gets in the way * goes back to crafting, mildly amused *
freaky_guy_01 tells you: a bunch of stuff that can't be repeated, not even here.
* gags * You're creepy. Go away.
freaky_guy_01 tells you: even worse things that make me want to go bathe in acid..
/ignore freaky_guy_01!!11!one11eleventyzomg!

guh. guh guh guh and a big heaping side helping of GUH.

Now, I know that this is an extreme case. I know that this doesn't really happen to all that many women. But good gods it seems to happen to me a lot.

Obviously my own fault for having a Dark Elf (superior race, hottest chicks in game, etc etc).

But it kind of makes you wonder about people who just randomly strike up that sort of conversation, if that's what you wanna call it, with a pixilated version of a totally fictitious race and assuming that just because these pixels are female means that the consciousness behind them is also female.

If I'd been thinking clearly at the time I'd have busted out with: Dude, I'm a guy. That would likely have been the end of it. But I'm just not that quick and I was so thrown by the whole episode that my mind was reeling.

I get flirted with a lot online, it's just sorta what you deal with being a chick gamer. Random and kinda sad PM's on forums from people you don't know, tells, mail, whatever. Somehow they always find you because you're Eleanor. Two points for the reference.

I honestly don't think people know just how creepy this really can be. And then I think to myself, good GODS why do they do it in the first place?

When someone figures it all out, lemme know! I'll just be in the bathroom trying to scrub this invisible tattoo off my forehead.

Barbara had a point...

People... People who need people....

Okay, that's enough of that. I'll not be singing in the blog. Something for which I'm sure you're all profoundly grateful.

Life being what it is, last week was a ridiculously non productive week work or writing wise. (And while that entire sentence reads like poo, it makes sense in my head and we're going with it.) Thus, the all of one entry.

Today is a brand new week, though, so here we go.

I've long held the firm belief that there is one thing that makes or breaks an MMO. The people who play. A lot of people won't agree with me. They'll site gameplay, or fun factor, or whatever other hot buzz word is being bandied about that week.

Whilst all these things are an important factor in the success of a game, I still hold that the community devoted to the game is the most important variable.

Look at EQ2, my game of choice. I think it's the best game on the market and has been since it's launch. I will likely never be swayed from this opinion either. I can admit that the launch was a little rough and that the game needed some serious polish.

However, even as far from the yummy perfectiony goodness that it is today, nothing could have drawn me away from EQ2. The reason for that is simple. The community.

I got involved in the EQ2 community in April of 2004. The official forums hadn't been up for very long at that point and the community was in its infancy. Moorgard was still the only one running the show and we all spent a good deal of time chit chatting and speculating over every tiny tidbit SOE slipped us.

The months leading up to beta and then to launch gelled the forum community into a rather lovely and fun place to make friends and get game information. We figured out what did and didn't work, both in the game and on the forums.

I've made some very good friends from EQ2. But I didn't meet them in game. I met them there, on the forums where the community congregated during work hours when those of us not lucky enough to be able to play from work (yes, there are people who can do that... lucky bastards) would hang out and get our fixes.

Of the games I've played and the communities of which I've been a part, EQ2 has one of the tightest knit and mature bunch of game addicts I've come across. (By now I think I've used the word community a dozen times or so.... I suck.) This is what's kept me around, even through the burn out and the lure of other games.

Nothing else has had the feel that EQ2 holds and a large part of that is the people. For the most part, because to be honest every game has asshats, the people of EQ2 are warm and welcoming. They help newbies get started in the world and share amongst themselves.

I'm not saying that other games don't have solid communities. They do. No MMO out there can make it on gameplay alone. Man is a social animal and we congregate in groups. The trick is finding the group that fits all your kinks and quirks and makes you feel at home.

* brushes off her little "Home, Sweet Home" sign and hangs it up on her door in Neriak *

This is mine and you're all more than welcome to stop in anytime for the grand tour.

Will they never learn??

The lovely people over at Online Gaming Radio let me get on EQ2sday and yap for a couple of hours last night.

I've been on before, not EQ2sday but Friday night's Ravecast, and for some reason they keep inviting me back. I think they're gluttons for punishment or something. But, hey, I get to yammer about EQ2 and whatever else crosses my mind for a few hours, so I am happy!

Zanadi mentioned a pick up raid she'd gone on and that let me touch on a topic near and dear to my heart. I didn't get to say as much about it as I would have liked, which is probably good since it would have occupied way too much time and ended with me totally monopolizing things. So, now all four people who read this must suffer. Send your hate mail to OGR ;)

So. Raiding.

I love to raid. I have since EQ1. There's just something about the whole experience that opens up all new avenues for fun and excitement in the game for me. It isn't all I do by any means, but it's definitely a big part of things for me.

One of the problems I've always had with raiding, though, was that it seemed like a part of the game only the super uber elite folks could do. I've never held with that mentality and I have never agreed with the strangle hold the "uber guilds" have tried to keep on raid content.

I'm of the firm opinion that anyone who wants to do it should have the opportunity to and more importantly CAN raid. Here's the thing. Raiding isn't HARD. Yes, you do need to focus a little more than you do when you're soloing or grouping. There are more people to coordinate and get used to. But even with all that, once you get yourself in that mode and know what to do, it isn't hard.

More and more lately I'm seeing casual guilds run through raid content. Pick up raids are all over the place. Yeah, they're a little rough and not as smooth as say NPU or whatever other uber guilds are out there, but honestly? Who the hell cares? It isn't about who can do it the fastest or with the least amount of mistakes. It's about FUN.

You don't have to be a rigid militarily precisioned guild to do any of the content in this game. I mean you can't run around and half arse it or anything cause you won't get very far. The point is, that all of the content can be done even if you aren't "perfect" at the game.

I absolutely LOVE to see casual guilds, raiding alliances, pick up raids... whatever. I don't care who it is. I'm just happy to see people who want to do this stuff getting out there and doing it. It's an aspect of the game that is becoming more accessible to the player base and I can only see good in that.

There are elitests out there who are pissy about the hoi polloi out there getting the gear and such that they think should only be reserved for the "better" guilds. I think they know where they can shove that nonsense.

This isn't a contest. It's a game. It's there for people to have fun. That being said, yes, these folks need that competition and sense of accomplishment for their fun. Good for them, and I hope they're getting what they want. It's the attitude that the gaming companies need to cater to them that makes me grind my teeth.

It isn't about a fraction of the player base being appeased and elevated. It isn't about keeping the super uber elite so far above everyone else that no one can hope to attain those levels. It's about everyone having as much fun as they can. That can't happen if content is focused on just one type of player. It has to incorporate things for everyone.

The more people who raid? The more attention that can be given to raiding content.

**note: there's a lot more to say on this... but I have a day job, so it'll have to be a continuous thing.

believe it or not...

I try to be fairly laid back. I get excitable about things, but for the most part, I like life to be drama and hassle free.

Mostly because I'm high strung and something of a perfectionist (which is really just a nice way of saying an anal-retentive Virgo). As such, I tend to get a little... invested in things. Anything that puts pressure on me tends to end up magnified by like, oh a million or so, because of the added pressure I put on myself to do it right and make it perfect and whatever else leads me to develop an ulcer.

What the hell does that have to do with anything?

Shut up and read. Gods. Impatient much?

I'm applying for a job. An honest to god, real life, grown-up job. Which means instead of filling out an application with all the relevant information, I have to send a resume and a cover letter.

I never knew that writing a little 3/4 page blurb about what I want, who I am, and what I can do could be so stressful. My head is seriously on the verge of explosion. (It's a damned good thing I'm wearing black today. Brains are SO hard to get out of clothing.)

So here I am. Fretting. I swear if I were a cat I'd be shedding fur so fast I'd be bald.

I love pressure :D

And the award for dumb idea goes to...

This lady.

I get how she thinks that things are gonna go down the tubes after seven years. I can't really say I blame her going strictly off personal experience.

I'm just not sure what exactly she thinks she's going to accomplish with this. It's just divorce with another name slapped on it.

It isn't going to make people more interested in staying together. It isn't going to take any pressure off and make it easier to get along.

If a marriage is over, it's over. Likely because the people shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. If it's going to last, it's going to last because the people involved are committed to making it work no matter what.

So I'm really failing to understand what the hell is going on in her head. Maybe she's seen too many reality shows.

oooo i LOVE quizzes!!!

And this one just amused the hell out of me.

My favourite question?

You know that being a dev groupie is weird, right?

Yes, YES I do.

I came out to be Risque-Intense. And yes I think that fits.

book review

So. I finished Echoes of the Fourth Magic the other night.

Gotta say that I'm truly impressed. It was a fresh take on a post apocalyptic society.

I don't want to say too much and give anything away for those who haven't read it. If you haven't, I highly recommend that you do. The hottest geek I know told me to read the series, and damned if he wasn't right yet again.

There are two things that I really liked the most about the first book in the series and have me ready for the next.

The first is the way that Salvatore tied the old world to the new. This includes everything from the hold overs from the dead world that went before, to the speech patterns of the various races that were inherited from the few who came forward. It provides a nice solid background to the characters in the story and makes them feel like they fit in the places he's put them.

The other thing I liked, which will likely be a topic of future musing, was the main protagonists view of war and violence. Despite my road rage and the general joking about that I do, I'm actually not violent in the least. I unleash my temper through words and vent out the angry grr feelings by imagining horrid things and then throwing them away. I'd never actually do any of it because violence is... well... eww.

It's abhorrent and does nothing but beget more violence. We're a primitive people, genetically, and our biological urges haven't caught up to our super ego imposed societal mores. (Re-reading that, it looks dreadfully pretentious and vaguely along the lines of one of our all time favourite subjects of pokeage... so... it stays.) The point is, we're still rather base creatures. Prone to fighting and given to vengeance.

It's a hard urge to overcome and I battle with it every time some halfwit in a toyota cuts me off. But, battle it I do. And so does our hero in this novel. That, more than anything, is what endeared the story to me.

Yeah, we can make the world better... but we need to start with ourselves first.

Note: I no longer have a ton of time to read, as I've managed to wrangle myself all kinds of obligations for my time. So these will happen whenever I manage to finish a book. On my desk to be read (and waiting to be pulled out of boxes) there are currently at least 14 books. So bear with me. I'll get to them all eventually.

The Blizzardification of the Gaming World

I was talking with a brilliant and rather delicious friend one day about making video games. A subject which I know nothing about, but about which he knows a TON. The very great advantage to having a few friends in the gaming industry is that when I can get them chatting about what they do, I learn a lot.

One thing that he mentioned that stood out in my mind and has been really making me think for several months now is how things have changed in the gaming industry since WoW hit it so big. Gaming talk has started to revolve around WoW and Blizzard and that model. No longer abstract and gamey, it's now all WoW this and WoW that.

The phenomenon that is WoW has taken over and seeped into every aspect of the gaming world.

This is a problem.

Not because WoW is a bad game or anything. For what it is, it's really great. It has its appeal and that's all good. It doesn't appeal to me, but that's just... ya know, me.

So why is it a problem? Because in their desperate race for power and glory, game designers have forgotten one thing. They forgot to hook up the doll. (2 points for getting the reference.) No really. The problem is that WoW has become the benchmark for so many people. It has become the standard by which success is measured.

Unfortunately this is an inaccurate and fallacious measurement. It's like the view that women who read a lot of romance novels develop about sex and relationships. It isn't normal. And it sets standards that are unattainable.

So what happens because of this? We end up with a lot of games that are clones of WoW. They're out there trying to make it WoW, but different in the hopes that they'll hit on that mystical combination of variables that gets them the nine million subscriptions.

Grimwell wrote a great bit about it in his blog with regards to venture capitalists and what they look for when investing in game ideas. I agree with him on a lot of points there. Since he was focusing on the business end of things though, he neglected to mention how this burning desire to hit the million sub mark is hurting the gaming industry in other ways.

That way is the players. We're being hurt by this WoW cloning machine. Games are getting a little cookie cutter and boring. All these new games coming out that should be good and fun to play because of the ideas behind them are losing. There isn't a lot of market for the same game over and over with a different paint job. Well, except for Madden... but that's another fluke.

Eventually there are going to be so many games out that are boring copy cats of WoW that people who play MMOs are going to lose interest entirely and look elsewhere.

SOE down!!

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Okay, it isn't really. Just some updates and such.

So check out the fluff Cal and I have posted for your viewing pleasure.

And don't expect an updated blog entry until later today. I'm having too much fun making up downtime haikus with Coyote.

Everyone has an off day...

But gods is it embarassing when it happens.

Calthine sent me a link to this thread and I have to admit that I giggled. Fortunately it hasn't happened to me yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did at some point. Like the poor person in the thread I, too, have a tendancy to get a little distracted. Forums, blogs, netflix queue (mine's at some 300 or so movies eep!), tv, books, shiny objects... You get the idea.

This made me giggle since I'd just been telling her about an article I'd written (we'll be tossing that up late tonight for tomorrow's downtime) about how I multitask when I heal.

The bad part comes in with the fact that I was actually writing that article during a labs raid.

Okay, so labs is easy right? We farm it weekly (and this week was a GOOD loot run omg), and as such, we usually run through it in about an hour and half or so. Two hours if people are going ld or we're just goofing around.

This last run was one of our really not good runs. There was much badness when we got to Vymenn. This is a little amusing to me just because normally we're so good about it. The very next day, we spanked the Lyceum the way we're supposed to.

So that got me to thinking. What exactly is it that makes a day run so wrong that your raid just totally screws the pooch? I'd love to say that it can all be chalked up to the distracted inquisitor, but I know I'm just not that integral. What is it then? Just too many people woolgathering? A split second off on the pull? It can't be a lack of skill, cause we do it all the time. Perhaps a general klutziness about the entire raid force?

I have no idea really, but it made for an interesting saturday afternoon. Maybe next week, I'll turn off the tv...

More stuff that makes me cranky...

I was raised by my grandparents. They were born in the 30's. So I'm a tad on the old fashioned side. I don't think that my current rant is a matter of generational gappitude though. I think it's just sheer frelling laziness.

What the hell am I talking about?

Parenting.

Or rather the lack thereof.

Examples of the things that annoy the piss out of me about parents today:

Blaming their kid's bad behaviour on music, games, tv, music.

This has to be the biggest cop out ever. Oh my kid beat up that poor person because they played a video game and it's the fault of the video game makers. Umm... Wrong, Kato. It's your damn fault for buying the violent video game. It's your fault for not teaching your kid right from wrong. It's your fault for not disciplining your kid and fostering in them the idea that they can do anything they want and blame it on something else. It's your fault for being a shitty parent.

Allowing their little girls to dress like prostitutes.

This bothers me on so many levels that I choke on the words. No way in hell should a six year old girl be wearing crop tops and leather pants. No way should a 12 year old girl be trying to look like Britney Spears or whatever other slut pop star is currently setting trends. What the fuck ever happened to letting your kid be a freaking kid?

I was hanging with my little five year old son getting mommy hugs and smooches and the little spaz tried to tongue kiss me. I was livid. I was all kinds of set to talk to the teachers at his Pre-K, the parents of the little girls he learned that shit from, not to mention the verbal lashing his father got for not putting a stop to that crap right out of the gate.

I don't care if the kid is 16 or four. It makes no difference. Cause even at 16 a child is still a goddamned child. And our duties as parents are to ensure that our children are protected and grow up able to think for themselves and protect themselves when we let them go out into the world. The only thing they learn by being allowed to emulate skanky chicks or adult behaviour long before they are able to understand the consequences of such, is to be trash.

The early and oversexualization of children is abhorrent. I just want to beat people who allow it.

Child Abuse

This is a lot broader a category than it appears on first blush. It isn't just people beating their kids or locking them in closets. It isn't just sexual molestation, which also makes me damn near homicidal. It's also neglect.

I don't just mean not feeding or taking care of a kid. It also means not taking an interest. Not teaching your kid. Yeah, that goes back to an earlier topic. Not actively guiding and teaching a child is neglect as surely as anything else.

I also classify as abuse limiting your child. Not limiting like giving them rules to follow to keep them safe, but like crippling them by enforcing on them the idea that they aren't capable of doing something. Not encouraging and supporting a child, not instilling in them a belief that they can do anything they set their mind to, or at the very least TRY. I was in Best Buy one day and about choked on my own tongue when some (insert an insult of your choosing here because I won't repeat what I called her) woman looked at her little girl and the movie she had and said: You don't want that, that's a boy movie. Her voice was dripping with disgust and you could just see the little girl wilt under the scorn. I've never wanted to punch another human being so much as I did at that instant.

Obviously, I get a little tense about children. My maternal instincts are definitely in overdrive and always have been. I see people who use their kids to hurt an ex and I just want to beat them. Kids are one of my hot buttons. The possibly psychological causes and ramifications of this are not lost on me and I can make fun of myself for it, so it's unlikely I'll go postal any time soon...