Joey thinks about diving in

Among the things that I'm passionate about, two stand out from the rest (Three if you count RPGs, but we're not, so forget about it). Science, and Science Fiction. I especially like it when these two things collide, as often happens to good Science Fiction (Think the submarine in  "20,000 leagues under the sea," transparent aluminum from "Star Trek: The Voyage Home," or Luke Skywalker's artificial arm in "Star Wars"), and that's happening right now... Well it actually happens a whole lot. Like a ton. But this is one that is close to my heart.

     Full Dive. It sounds like something to do with a swimming pool. It is in fact the excepted terminology for bringing a human being's consciousness into a virtual world. What that means is that while a person would be sitting in a chair or lying in a bed, they would mentally exist in a virtual landscape. They feel their body in a computer rendered world and have absolutely perfect control over their in-game bodies.

Kind of like Digimon, but the players are mostly adults, and the story line isn't complete BS.

     The concept of a full dive goes as far back as 1984, when William Gibson wrote his groundbreaking novel, Neuromancer, which spawned a new genre (Cyberpunk) and a new setting (Cyberpunk Dystopian Future). Neuromancer is also where we first hear the term "The Matrix," which is just a fancy way of saying the Internet (remember, in 1984 the Internet was in it's infancy and the term was not widely in use). The main character, one Henry Case, is what is commonly referred to as a "Console Cowboy." These days we'd just call him a hacker, though in his case his mind is fully integrated into the machine.

This is the cover...

 In Shadowrun, a 1989 table top role-playing game, a Full Dive is called jumping in, so named for the physical feeling of jumping from your body into the console. In this dystopian world, Shadowruners are corporate spies, deniable assets, hired mercenaries. They stick to the shadows and get the job done. Often times that involves hackers going into the Matrix. In Shadowrun, real world damage can easily be done to your brain if you end up on the wrong side of IC (Intrusion Countermeasures, pronounced ice). One thing I love about Shadowrun is its strict adherence to actual science that is currently being developed or is a proven possibility. Black ICE is IC that can permanently damage a human mind, causing brain death or severe brain damage, and that is something that is entirely possible.

     The term Full Dive was first coined by the Japanese author, Reki Kawahara, in his light novel, Sword Art Online, which was later made into an anime. SAO follows the adventures of Kirito who, along with 9,999 other players, has been trapped inside a Full Dive MMO called Sword Art Online by it's mad but brilliant creator, Kayaba Akihiko. The machine they use to put their minds into the game, called nerve gear, has been rigged to kill any user who's character dies within the game or who is forcefully logged out, via simply removing the helmet. In order to exit the game, they must clear all 100 levels and defeat all 100 bosses. The first half of the series is pretty good, the second half is not.

This is Sword Art Online looking ridiculously Japanese

     The basic principle behind the technology here is pretty simple in conception. Insert a device into a human brain (probably closer to the spinal cord). That device will intercept the signals which flow between the body and the brain. So, in effect, this device acts as a surrogate body, taking all the orders from the brain, and then translating those signals into the game world. Then, as the in-game "body" interacts with the environment and receives stimuli, signals are sent to the brain which give sensory feedback, including visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile. Once perfected it will be able to simulate any stimulus you could experience in reality and, possibly, a great deal you could not. And anything you could instruct your body to do, you can instruct your in-game character to do as well, as well as things you could never do.
     So, we have a pretty good idea of what a Full Dive is, where it comes from, and what it does. But what does it mean for us? Well, the first thing that probably comes to mind, and rightly so, is video games. Basically, once Full Dive technology matures, becomes affordable and widespread, video games will take a giant leap forward. Immersion is a big thing for gamers. Reaching the point in a game where you're totally invested is something almost magical. When the world feels real, when the protagonist's problems feel like your problems, when you genuinely feel like you want to help the people in the world, that's something that every game developer is always shooting for. Full Dive will make that much easier to attain.
     And it certainly doesn't stop with video games. The technology has a wide range of uses, including those both benevolent and sinister. Full Dive has the potential to give a perfect, working body to people who have been denied that opportunity. Either born disfigured or crippled later in life, it would let men and women run free in the fields, play sports, fight in mock battles. On the other side of that coin, mind control is something that has been on the various world's governments for a very long. The idea of breaking into some one's mind and forcing them to comply with their wishes is nothing new, but with this technology it would be a very short leap to develop a device which would forcibly pull someone into a virtual world and manipulate them at their leisure. And I might add that when I said that the Full Dive equipment could simulate any sensation, that does not exclude pain. It might even mature to the point where a simple device will allow us to transmit feelings to awake people regardless of their physical surroundings. A pain collar for the disobedient...
     That rather disheartening thought aside, I have a few more thoughts on the subject. The potential for good an ill is extreme with this technology. It can up open paths and sensations, experiences and adventures that no one could ever experience in everyday life. Have you ever dreamed about flying? I mean physically, you with no apparatus. Just flying around like superman. That's the sort of thing we could experience in a Full Dive. I also think its possible, though I acknowledge it may not be, that we could produce a Full Dive apparatus that would encourage dynamic tension while you were dived in. That would in turn strengthen your muscles and give you a work out while playing games, which is basically every gamers dream as it is. Again, maybe possible, maybe not. Full Dive is certainly coming. When it does, I'll be ready for it. Will you?

Joey thinks about video games one last time.

Last time I thought about my dream game and about what it look like as far as story line and progression would like that.  This week I'm thinking more about the mechanics.

     The actual game-play part of the game starts as soon as the king finishes his speech and lets the players loose on the world.
     Firstly: the players will notice is there is no text chat available in the game.  Instead there is a voice chat that is proximity based (meaning that you can hear people who are close to you, and the further away they get the fainter their voices get, until you can no longer hear them).  So right away the game is breaking a long held tradition.
     They will also notice that the king who talked to them will just hang around, and will talk to any players who want to speak to him. They'll quickly realize that the king is being controlled by an actual person. This person is the GM of that realm. He runs it, making sure that the server is behaving normally, and resolving any major crises. The GM, as directed by the players, though certainly not constrained by them, will promote a player to be the high commander of the kings forces on the ground. He'll promote four lesser commanders and a larger group known as the King's Police, or some such, and these players - players who take the game seriously and will act with honor and dignity - will lay out laws for the other players and take action against player killers and griefers.
     Secondly: as the players explore the town they will see that it is quite large and it is cleanly divided into several sections, such as the Magic Quarter, the Arms Quarter, the Trade Quarter, and the Residential Quarter, (there may be more areas, and probably will, but these are just ideas that spring to mind) each section will have an impressive number of buildings, with shops and residence and the like.  I intend to put as many shops as you would see in a real city. I don't know how feasible that would be, I may have to back off on that eventually. In any case, I would like the city to be big enough, with enough NPCs and shops and buildings and such that a player could really get into just exploring the city and looking for things to do. And those who do not wish to, need not explore further than buying their first set of armor and weapons.
     Thirdly: once the players are geared up and ready to go, they'll leave in groups (grouping will be strongly suggested to the players, especially in the initial stages). They'll find many dangerous creatures and monsters outside the walls. As they fight and destroy these threats, they'll notice that monsters do not respawn. anything they kill stays dead. They'll move through the wilderness clearing monsters and perhaps trees and brush.
     I will mention, briefly, the nature of grouping in Blink World. As the User Interface for Blink World will be very minimal, there will be no in-game component for grouping. Since there is no experience point mechanic in Blink World, (your character grows stronger by using skills, killing monsters doesn't give you anything extra, only fighting them matters) grouping for XP is not important. Grouping will take place because it is convenient and will save you from dying, which is very inconvenient. Loot will have to be worked out by the players. I want to foster a sense of community in this game, and simply dividing loot automatically will waste a valuable chance to build that community by making players work together and be real allies.
     At this point in the game the servers will be closed. The initial batch of 1,000 players will be by themselves. The wilderness outside is vast. Imagine a city two or three miles wide and sending a group of one-thousand people outside its walls to just move out and kill stuff. If I balance it right, the groups will be thin for the amount of wilderness they have to clear. Monsters don't respawn (at least not out of thin air right on top of you) but they do move back into an area if nothing is put there.
     Eventually the players will learn how to build structures, and they'll build houses and walls to protect those houses and maybe smithies and tanning sheds so they can build stuff. As they build these impromptu towns, NPCs - freshly able to leave the confines of the city by some mysterious force - will move into the outposts. They'll move into the houses with the players, they'll man the forges and tanning sheds while the players are out. In short, they'll make it into an actual town.
     Fourthly: there are no classes in Blink World as we understand them. Instead, every player has access to the same skills available to all other players. Every usable action is governed by a skill. Want to be a swordsman? The blade skill is for you. Magic? there's a skill for magic. Also, every skill is double governed by its primary skill and secondary skills within it. For example a swordsman might use broadswords or rapiers. Whichever he uses, his blade skill will raise, but he'll also raise the skill for the specific weapon he uses. There will be lots of skill. Skill for reading, for magic, for fighting, for singing, for writing, for speaking foreign languages, for creating weapons, armor and trinkets, for erecting buildings, for making friends with NPCs, for lying, cheating and stealing. In short, there will be skills for many, many things. Perhaps hundreds, each one governing a different action, each one available to every single player.
     With that in mind, some people will be concerned with how balance will be governed. How will I be sure that a player won't just get skill points in everything to make the strongest character? The short answer? There will be no checks there for balance purposes (though I will do everything possible to balance one combat type against another, I don't want swords to just be flat-out better in every way than axes). Instead, balance will be inherent, as raising a skill to very high levels becomes more and more difficult. If a player is achieving outrageous success with a skill combination, it won't take long for other players to catch on and raise those skills as well. One upside to this method, its not possible to "ruin" a character by allocating their points wrong. You can always just start building other skills up. Also, I've always been of the opinion that a player who is more diligent at the game should be stronger, potentially much stronger. That being said, they will never eclipse all the other players, and will need their aid to succeed.
     Fifthly: as players expand outward, no goal in mind but kicking ass and getting stronger, they'll eventually run into intelligence humanoids outside of Center City. These will be things like, Orcs, Elves, Trolls, Dwarves, Goblins, Gnomes, Halflings, Fairies, Dryads, Treants, Undead (maybe), demons(again maybe), and other races. Some of these races will be thrilled to make new friends and will offer to join with Center City with no strings attached, just a free flow of information, trade, and friendship. Others will ask that the players prove themselves, or help in a desperate feud between a rival race. In these cases the players will have to work together to gain new allies, and in some cases make a hard decision between races (for instance it is likely that the Elves and Orcs will be at war, and only one will join your alliance, while the other becomes a bitter enemy).
     Each race will bring new benefits, new weapon and armor types, new building styles, new writings and magic, and so on. Also, and perhaps even more importantly, as the players gain new allies, the rosters will open up again, and new players can join Blink World as new and different races. I'm thinking a limit of new players for each race, maybe another thousand or so.
     Sixthly: as the players expand outward they will eventually run into some randomly placed, but precisely designed, encounters. Things like an evil necromancer in a tower who will require a large group of players working together to conquer. An ancient dragon living in a magical lake, being disturbed by these new adventurers, destroys nearby settlements until a group of players gathers and slays it. As they expand outward, the challenges will become ever more frequent and difficult.
     To compound these difficulties, the player groups will quite naturally become thinner and thinner as they expand outward, as the area to cover becomes larger and larger. In time it will be an appreciable hike getting back to Center City, and focusing on just four directions, letting outlying lands be, will prove disastrous, as insidious beings will gather large forces and assault from their flanks. In short, as the players grow stronger and expand outward, the challenges will grow stronger as well.
     With the large distances involved in travelling in mind, we bring up the subject of death of a player. Should a player die (it will be less frequent than in some games, but definitely happen) their soul is returned to the temple of Center City. Their body is recreated with holy magic. They are clothed, given a small amount of gold to get back on their feet, and sent out into the world. If they want to reaquire their gear, they have to find their corpse. Hopefully their companions are trustworthy and won't just steal it.
     Seventhly: I'm thinking that the players will have to really work together to get through this game. There will be a leader of the realm, chosen by the players and crowned by the king. This player will have authority over other players, with the right to command them as he sees fit, with real punishments if players break the rules or grief others (I'm thinking something like jail time, which basically amounts to a day long restriction for the player in question). Of course, the player may resist, killing the guards who come after him. He could become an outlaw, running from the authorities, slaying players he once called friend and living outside the law. This kind of play might be fun for some, and opposing them fun for others. Blink World is really about freedom.
     Speaking of working together, some players will have to dedicate much of their time to crafting and building up their crafting skills. Only basic arms and armor are available in Center City. To get the gear needed to clear the highest level content, players will have to create all the most powerful gear. I want it balanced so it will basically be impossible for someone to become a top tier fighter and an amazing artisan, meaning, in practical game terms, at least 20% of whatever players are actively trying to clear the game will have to be devoted to creating things and running shops and basically being a support role. And I think that there will be many people who will love that! There are so many players out there who just want to play their farming games, or cooking games, or whatever, and given the chance to do that same stuff, but being part of something bigger, something that actually matters to others, I think they'll jump at it.
     Eightly: eventually the players will clear the map. They'll reach the edges of the island and discover the secret that keeps them there and how to escape. The king will take the city and jump to a new place - hopefully home (It won't be, it will just be a new island) - and give the players the chance to stay and play on the island they've cleared. At that point it becomes mine craft. Its just the players exploring what remains of the world, building massive cities and playing house. Some players will want to do that. And they can, for free at that point. Basically, the GM (who runs the game) will log in like once a week to make sure everything is running fine. The players who took part in clearing the island can play on that island for as long as they like, for free.
     I think, that in the end, that might be peoples favorite part.

Next week I'll talk about something else. Promise!

Joseph is an aspiring writer. He is currently working on his forthcoming novel "The Last Shadow" and writes this (supposedly) weekly blog. His avatar is used by permission of the author, Graffitihead, of Deviant Art. Visit his Webpage if you like his art.

Joey thinks about his perfect game a little more in-depth

Last week I thought about some generally ideas about my perfect MMO. This week I unveil the grand imagining of the world and system.

     Anytime we talk about a game, there are two main things involved. First is game play, which is a broad, broad topic, second is story, which is also broad...ish. In the case of this game, which I have dubbed Blink World, the story and the game play are not mutually necessary. What this means is that I may someday revisit this game system with a new story line, a new world, etc. This is the imagining of how the game will go, from release day to the day the players defeat the last world boss and claim Victory Over Blink-World Day.
     Also note that the names here are somewhat generic names which will almost certainly be changed before release.

     Its a hot, humid day in Center City. This is the grandest city in all the world.  Thousands of people live here. The city is tiered, the poorer living towards the bottom, outer ring, the richest in the highest tier, the Heart Palace. As in any time, thousands of visitors are here, some strong, some weak.
     Suddenly, without warning, a light appears above the palace. It appears to be a star of some sort, and very soon eclipses even the sun in brightness. A moment of this blinding  light, and all goes dark with a clap of deafening thunder. A long heartbeat, the panic is rising everywhere. People begin to scream and, with a whooshing of air like a great bellows taking a breath, the light is restored. People look up in silent relief.
     Relief lasts only a moment. The sun of the world they know is a glorious blue. Everything is now a muted yellow. The star that now sheds it's light is foreign to them. Those on the top of the terrace see a landscape which is alien as well. Jungle and Savannah to the south and west, tundra and marshland to the north and east. A great confusion and panic takes hold again, and as a whole the city riots against this madness.
     A midst the confusion some try and escape the city, thinking, perhaps, that this is all some illusion, perhaps simply wanting to flee the reality of their situation. Alas all but a tiny minority are repelled by an invisible barrier which encompasses the entire city. With rising panic, the city is thrown into revolt. The guard is dispatched to restore order, but little can be done.
     The king himself descends from is palace, his royal guard in attendance. With dignity he walks through his city. Those he passes are quelled by the sight of their calm and collected lord. He reaches the barrier and stops, feeling tentatively out with both is hands and his magical senses. He is entirely barred, both mind and body. He returns to the streets to quell the people.
     Several hours later the riots have stopped. The fires have been put out, and the city's order is restored. The king has taken stock of his people and ordered that those who are able to leave the city be in attendance to a public address in the market square. A thousand and change are in attendance. Some old, some young, some men, some women. There seems to be no common traits among them.
     The king of the city is the Game Master of the realm. The Game Master is played by an actual human who's character is the king. Players only communicate through verbal language in this game, meaning every person will need a headset. A cheap one will be provided to players who don't have their own. The GM addresses the players.
     "Dear subjects. These are indeed troubling times. I, King Alfred the First have loyally served as your king for many years, and never has this city faced such a threat. Much is unknown of our current circumstances. I and my wizards believe our entire city has somehow 'Blinked' through dimensions, ending up in this alien world. Whatever the cause, some of us are incapable of leaving the city. Others may go as they please. While we do not understand these chain of events, we will not let them deter us from our path. We will discover the secret of the this world, and we will return home. I implore you all to explore this continent and discover its secrets. Find the truth for us, and protect us from whatever threats may emerge.
     "We at Center City will do all we can to support you. As you know, I am a powerful Mage in my own right, and I have a retinue of court wizards under my control. We will do all we can to preserve your lives, binding your souls to our temple here. Should you fall in battle, we will return you to life if possible. Now go, with our God and with my blessing."
     At this the new adventurers cheer for their glorious leader and they make preparations to leave. Though untrained and unskilled in the art of battle, these intrepid explorers leave to find their way. Along the road they encounter new enemies.  Within a month they have traversed a meager portion of the land, becoming stronger and more adept.
     As they explore the world they meet intelligences not of the human race. Elves, Dwarves, Undead, Trolls, Goblins, Orcs and more. Some are friendly, some are hostile. Some are in bitter feuds and the people of Center City must decide who they will side with. In time they have both created alliances and spawned deep hatreds with the locals.
     Within a year they have become powerful adventurers, capable of all manner of powers. Some deadly swordsmen, others potent spell casters, still others skilled artisans, able to create powerful weaponry and armor. Even fewer have mixed some disciplines or been diligent enough to become masters in many arts. They tame the wildlife, they build temporary shelters which turn into permanent homes and soon the new world is alive with villages, towns and even some cities (it is worth noting here that the cities, towns and villages will be entirely designed and built by the players). Some of them open shops to create and sell powerful equipment. Others join guilds to clear one direction of the compass.
     As they expand outward, towards the shores of this unknown land, they encounter powerful beings of ancient knowledge and terrible power. Together, united in a common goal, they defeat these powerful lords of this new world. They uncover secrets of terrible weight and come to understand their place in the world and the many paths before them.
          After a great time the World has been cleared. The adventurers have become masters of their domain, taming the wilderness and destroying threats too potent to ignore. Long ago they learned the secrets of what brought them here and how to leave. They have razed the barrier and have divined a way to leave this wretched place.
     The king will take the city and attempt to return home. If he will be successful or not, he doesn't know. He only knows he must try. Some of the adventurers have become attached to this place though and the king gives them leave to stay here and live. Some stay, others go. It is a bitter parting, for they will never see each other again.
     With great sadness and relief, the king sends his city through the void, hoping beyond hope that they will reach home.

     Part of the idea here would be that once a realm has "won" the players who have played in that realm may stay there and simply enjoying a world building game for as long as they wish. Others can leave and get the opportunity to play in a new realm. Obviously the details need to be worked out, but this is my first imagining of how a typical realm will progress. By the end of its lifespan, it will be radically different from every other realm in existence.

    Next week I'll discuss the specifics of game-play, and that should wrap it up for this series of posts.

Joey thinks about what he'd really like to see in an MMO

The last two weeks I thought about World of Warcraft. This week I'm thinking about what, to me, would be the perfect online multi-player video game.

     Before I go any further, I've gotten several complaints from my loyal readers that they have no idea what I'm talking about here. Specifically, they want to know what all this MMO stuff is about. If you know what an MMO is, then go ahead and skip this part. If not, I'm going to put it as plainly as I know how.
     MMO is short for MMOG which stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Game. Basically what we're talking about is a game which is connected via the internet between many different players from different physical locations. Typically it is a single game world where all the player's characters exist together and can interact together. MMOG is further divided into several categories, MMORPG or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Not to mention a few more obscure ones. These games run the gamut between simple life simulation games like Second Life, to hyper realistic sandbox space simulation games, like Eve Online. The variety and multitude of online games is simply astounding.
     I hope this answers any questions my readers have. If it doesn't, please leave a comment below asking for clarification. I'll see what I can do.

     I've always had the opinion that the two most important things in any video games are freedom and realism. Before we go any further, allow me to clarify. When I say realism I don't mean an exact copy of our world. What I mean is that things in the game are realistic in the context of that world. As a great English professor once told me, "People will be believe the impossible, but not the improbable." In other words, if there are dragons in that world, I'll believe it when they singlehandedly  destroy a castle. However, I won't believe a character with shoddy dialogue, or one with stupid motivations, or an ancient, cunning dragon being tricked by a fourteen year-old boy.

                                                               By Cellpod

That's not a direct reference to anything, by the way. I just love dragons. Also, I don't like Eragon, so if you can make that burn fit Eragon, that would be perfect.

     Now that I've laid out the two things that are most important for me, I'm going to immediately contradict myself and put in some caveats. First of all, I'm not totally opposed to bending reality somewhat to make game mechanics more fun. For instance, if we played, say a Lord of The Rings game and all the main characters were playable classes, there would be huge gaps in power between the players, since they exit in the story. Everyone would want to be Gandalf, and no one would want to be Merry or Pippins. And that wouldn't be good game design. So something has to be done about that.  Preferably it would be something that doesn't mess with the internal logic of their world. Just flat out making Merry as strong as Gandalf would be an easy fix, but would also suck in terms of realism. A better fix is to have Merry face easier challenges, as he did in the book.

     Alright, we got our priorities and our caveats out of the way. Let's get down to brass tacks. There are essentially six specific game play mechanics that must be present for any game to be my perfect MMO. As usual I'll break them down into sections in order of least important to most important.

1) Skill based characters

     Skill based characters basically means that the characters don't level up in the traditional sense, instead each character has access to every skill, and players level individual skills up by using said skills. For example, every character would start with a one in horseback riding, and to raise horseback riding, you have to ride horses. To raise swordsmanship you fight enemies with a sword. To raise skill with magic you cast spells, etc.. I prefer this mechanic over traditional leveling for two reasons. First, it means that characters are not restricted by class, which feeds into my freedom thing. Secondly it means that players do not have to be in a group to share experience, since XP is gained by using abilities, not by defeating enemies.

2) Permanent player created buildings

     I'm not a big fan of Minecraft. I don't really like playing it. However, I give it credit where credit is due. Before Minecraft came out I had never even considered the idea that we might someday play virtual games where we could construct our own buildings. This particular point is extremely important, because my idea for a perfect game involves a vast uncharted wilderness with the players starting in a central point and working their way out, clearing land and beasts, until they claim the world. With that basis, permanent buildings are a must.

                                                        Planet Minecraft

A single, human person built this alone and for free. Just think about that.

3) Permanent NPC death

     For those of you who don't know, NPC just means non-player character, or to be even more clear, a character in the game, which is not controlled by players. As players build villages, trading posts, and outposts, NPCs will slowly come into those places and inhabit them. These NPC will be generated with random genders, body types, coloring, names and skill sets (although the skills will make sense for what they are, a shop keeper would have skill in shop keeping etc.). These NPCs will be totally unique. So to make the players have an emotional connection to the world, if an NPC dies, it will stay dead. A new one will eventually come to replace them, but not for a while, and Ted, the fair haired, stocky man, will never come back.

4) Realms controlled by GM

     Again, some explaining. GM stands for Game Master. Originally GM referred to someone who ran a D&D game, but the definition has expanded to include people who arbitrate in online games. I already mentioned that my game would basically be a man vs. wild sort of thing, but I want this game to be a living, breathing world. Until computers are smart enough to figure out how to adapt to new situations we'll just have people who control the realms and make sure it stays challenging for the players. What I'm basically imaging is that the GM will be in control of monster population and migration, and any raids on towns or villages. They will periodically plan raids on these places, and give players a chance to figure out when and where ahead of time so enough players can be online and in position be of help.

5) Small population realms

     So I'm not sure what would be reasonable here. Basically what I want to avoid is the ridiculous overcrowding that sometimes happens in some MMOs that don't have checks on population. I'm thinking no more then a thousand per realm, though that may change. One character per player per realm, and every realm will have different topography. The smaller population will also add to a sense of community, which I mentioned World of Warcraft used to have, but no longer does. Obviously I don't know what number I want for realms at this point. If this ever becomes a reality, testing will need to be done.

6)  Permanent mob death

     Mob means enemy. Its old gamer slang from way back in the day. It refers to any enemy, be it monster or person or monkey, which is a person but also a monster. Some of you, those who play MMOs, are probably thinking this is a stupid idea. Well let me finish. As you clear an area of Orcs, those Orcs stay dead. However, deep in the jungles to the west is the native Orc breeding ground. If players clear an area and don't create a village or outpost nearby within say a week, an Orcish raiding party will show up and retake the land, building a stronger camp than before. And not just Orcs. All manner of monsters and people and monkeys will have the same treatment.

    I think I'm going long here, so I'll finish with that and split this into two entries. Next week will be the last entry in this four-part foray into online video games. It will be a vivid imagining of what my perfect MMO will look like.

joey thinks about World of Warcraft, then and now.

Last week I spoke about World of Warcraft and its addictive yet enchanting nature. This week I talk about the continuing evolution of WoW and how its changed over the years.

     World of Warcraft was an amazing game when it first came out. It was groundbreaking in so many ways and even to this day has over seven million players. That being said, it isn't the same game it once was. Its changed, as I mentioned in my last blog. Well, what's changed, and is it good or bad?

     Since release, WoW has basically been on a downhill slope of difficulty. Vanilla WoW started fairly easy for new players, but as one leveled up, the difficult ramped up as well. Around level thirty (the highest obtainable level back then was sixty) the game became pretty difficult in many ways. At level sixty the instances were downright brutal, at least at first. As the game progressed and players got better at the game and obtained higher level gear, those instances became somewhat easier, but still had a rather high difficulty level. Group makeup really mattered and we had to work together as a team.

     Flash forward to last week. As I mentioned I just started playing WoW again. I'm playing with some newbies who are real world friends of mine. We were delving into an instance that I remember quite well from the old days. Called Black Fathom Deeps, it was a very unpopular instance for one very important reason: it was way out of the way. As players, particularly if you were on the alliance, it was a long walk to reach it's physical location. Its difficulty was higher than the average as well, I believe. As I mentioned last week, actually getting to the physical location of dungeons is no longer required, so reaching it was not an issue.

     We ran the instance until about halfway through, at which point I was disconnected. I was playing the tank (The tank is arguably the most important role in any group, since they protect their friends from taking damage) and texted them to let them know what had happened and that I was going to sleep, since I was tired anyways. The rest of the group left and then they proceeded to beat the instance themselves. Two level-appropriate characters, both of which were DPS and unable to heal themselves, completed the instance by themselves. Beyond that, both of the players were big time newbies. If this is all gibberish to you, this is the important part: this would never have happened even a year ago. The game has become ridiculously easy.

     Other things have changed as well. Quests are now homogenized to an obscene extent. They don't make me feel like a hero, as they once did, they make me feel like I'm at work, like I have to punch a card so many times before I get another number over my head, so I can do it again. Their is very little variety, there is very little difficulty, there is very little fun. And its a shame, because Blizzard has clearly put in a tremendous amount of work in this last expansion. They've created a new continent with five distinct zones. Its a huge area and its interesting and new. But its also easy. So easy. There's no sense of accomplishment anymore.

     The characters have changed too. In vanilla our level progression was simple. Past level nine, every even level we'd gain a talent point to assign as we'd like, every odd level we'd gain a new ability, which we had to pay for. Money was a little harder to come by back then, and I distinctly remember going up in level sometimes and being totally unable to buy any new abilities due to my extreme poverty. It kind of makes sense too, if you think about it. These are heroes venturing into the wild.  If they really wanted to make money, they'd get a job.

     The level progression has changed. Dramatically. Basically, to put it in a nutshell, Blizzard has been steadily simplifying and dumbing down the talent and leveling system since release. At this point there is so little freedom on how to set up characters now that they all pretty much seem the same. At its core, this is Blizzard taking away our freedom to fail. There no longer is a best spec. There's just the one spec that everyone can pick. And here's the really important thing that I don't think Blizzard gets, without the ability to fail, we never really succeed at anything. You can't have one without the other, and so its nothing. Its terrible. Of all the changes, I think I hate this one the most.

     I mentioned money too. Gold used to be very hard to come by. Players were not allowed to ride any kind of mount until level forty, and then the mounts cost one-hundred gold piece. That was quite a bit of gold back than. I was level sixty on my first character long before I could afford my first mount. Add to that the fact that the level sixty, or epic, mount cost one-thousand gold pieces, most players were chronically poor and horseless back than. These days the first mount is unlocked at level twenty, with the epic mount unlocked at level forty. The game is balanced so that characters will have enough money to buy their mounts as they level.

     I guess to summarize, the game has been adjusted to cater to the very lowest common denominator. If we were to rank players in terms of skill, one to ten, I would honestly rate myself an eight in most categories (I'm lower in player versus player).  And as such, to have a sense of success or achievement, I need a challenge that's set for players with skill similar to mine, maybe one or two points in either direction. The game has now been balanced to be playable, and beatable, by a one. And that's a problem. I can't enjoy beating a one, when I'm an eight. I guess it kind of relates to my world view with politics as well. Its the philosophy of lowering the standards of everyone to accommodate the few.

     The point of my article last week was that many players, myself included, find themselves inexorably drawn back to WoW no matter how many times they quit. I'm somewhat relieved, and saddened almost to the point of tears, that this game is no longer WoW as I remember it. Almost everything that made it great is gone. It has changed and evolved until it only vaguely resembles the game it once was. It is a bloated monstrosity and a shadow of its former self, all at once. After less than one month of playing WoW again I've cancelled my subscription. I very highly doubt that I'll be back again. We had good times, times I won't forget, probably ever. But those times are over, and I'm moving on.

This week I talked about my first real love in the realm of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games. Next week I'll talk about what I like in the genre, and what, to me, would be the perfect MMORPG.

Joey thinks about an old girlfriend

     So recently I met up with an old girlfriend I hadn't seen in a while.  She's one of those girls you know are bad for you, but you just can't say no to.  She took all my time with the promise of  excitement and adventure.  And boy did we have adventures.  We got into all kinds of scrapes together.  We met new people and made new friends.  She took me places.  Places I could never go on my own.  The wonder of seeing the world through her eyes is indescribable.  But eventually it got old.  There's only so much you can see through one person's eyes before it gets dull.  She wanted to keep doing what we were doing, but I broke it off.  It was unhealthy.

     Then I saw her again this past month.  It was a chance meeting.  When I saw her I couldn't help but remember all the good times we had.  All the adventures we went on.  All the fun times we spent walking for hours at a time, looking for other people to hang out with.  All the people we met together.  All the quests we did.  All the monsters we killed.  Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier.  My old girlfriend's name is World of Warcraft.

The drums of war thunder once again...

     Once you're hooked to World of Warcraft, you're hooked for life.  You can leave for a time.  You can say "I'm done.  You're no good for me, and you're not a person, so who cares what you think", but one of these days you'll run into her again, and you'll remember the amazing times you've had, and you'll just want to try it out for a little while.  Maybe play for an hour or two.  Check and see if your old friends still play, and what they're up to...

     ...And you're hooked all over again.  You play for an hour.  Just to check out your old character's stats and equipment.  You look at his gear.  Then you go through your inventory.  You can't help but remember the plans you'd had for those items before you quit.  "Oh yeah.  I promised Steamroller I'd enchant his gloves with +30 agility once I got the materials.  Sorry Steamroller."

Looks like you landed on your feet though.

    Then you think, "Well, maybe I'll just run one instance (a dungeon where you fight monsters and defeat bosses)."  You run that instance, but you see something new from a player.  "Wait, you're saying hunters can fire into melee now!?"  Then you look at your character and realize that he's different too.  New talents, new glyphs, new abilities.  Everything's changed.  This old girlfriend is different.  She's not a person but she changes and evolves like one.

     Then you're really screwed.  Because you remember what you really loved about that game.  The discovery.  The adventure of going to new places.  Abandoned mines, caverns under a city being controlled by evil cultists, a stockades been overrun by prisoners, a subterranean jungle filled with heathens worshiping a dead god.  You remember those old times, the wonder of exploration, and you think "What else can I see? I thought I'd discovered everything in this old game, but now there's more."  And you pack up your saddlebags, jump on your trusty steed and ride off into the unknown.

     You ride over the next hill to see what's there.  And you keep riding.  The wonder of discovering a new world isn't as great as the early days, but its pretty damn good.  You ride until you get lost in a new world again.  Your old friends are mostly gone.  Either they've moved on or they're playing as new characters now. It doesn't matter though.  You make new friends.  You meet an honorable warlock a mile under the ocean. he saves your life, and in return you help him complete a tough quest.  Later you ask him to run a dungeon with you and he goes.  Then he contacts you about an opportunity to kill a world boss. A great friendship has been born.

     But, alas, eventually you explore this new world too.  You reach a new limit, hit a new ceiling.  And after a while it starts to feel like a job.  You've already done all this, and you're doing it again just to get another character to level 85, and for what?  So they can do the same end game content that you've already done with a different character.  You turn the game off, planning to play again when you feel like it.  Only you never do.  Weeks go by and you don't think of it.  Maybe you have a new job, a new hobby, new friends, or, god forbid, a new girlfriend (or boyfriend, plenty of girls/gay guys play World of Warcraft), and in a month you get a bill for $15 and remember her.

     You think, "Well, I'll keep paying, I'm going to play again, just taking a break."  Another month goes by, still no playing.  Another.  After three months and $45 you realize this is getting silly.  You cancel your subscription.  After all, your characters are still waiting for you.  You can play again, just as soon as you feel like it.  No point in paying until then.

     Time passes and you realize you're better off without her.  $15 a month isn't outrageous, but you don't need the charge.  And you've got better things to do with your time.  You could focus on your work or your education.  Spend time with your family.  Get a real girlfriend.  Get married.  A plethora of better things to do with your time stretches ahead of you.  You don't need WOW: you never did.  You walk away.  Happy to be free of her clutches once and for all.

     Does this sound familiar?  You've done it before.  You'll do it again.  She's a lady you can't ever forget, and you can't say no to her forever.  One yes is all it takes, and the cycle will repeat.

Next week I'll talk about WOW again.  I'll describe how it was in the old days, and how its changed, for better and for worse.

Joey thinks about settings.

     It's no secret that I'm a big fan of pen and paper RPGs.  I run a weekly game, and I'm always trying to generate interest in my friends.  As you can imagine I end up answering questions quite often.  Not a lot is known by the general public about what RPGs are.  I wrote about how RPGs are a niche hobby and how I think that shouldn't be so in my second blog.  However, I'm often asked something to the extent of "How do you decide where the characters are?  Like is there a certain world all the games take place?"

     The answer is two-fold.  The settings are divided first by game system, and then by group.  First game system.  There are thousands of different RPG game systems out there (This may be an exaggeration, I'm actually not sure how many there are.  Suffice to say a lot.), and, almost without exception, each one has a setting where their game is meant to be played.  I'll talk about a few of my favorites in a bit.

     Second it is decided by the player.  If you listen to the game publishers, you might think that almost every game played is set in an official setting.  They really want to make you feel that investing in a book that details their unique setting is a worthwhile venture.  And to be honest they are.  But it isn't because almost everyone plays in them.  In fact quite the opposite is true.  The vast majority of D&D players never play in the official setting.  No, they play in completely unique settings devised entirely, or stitched together from several settings they like, by their respective GMs (Game Masters).

     These unique settings are called home brew settings and they're quite common, and quite fun.  Its an expression of what the GM thinks is best in fantasy settings.  It is of course limited by the skill and imagination of the GM, but they're generally pretty good.  I've ran three large (By large I mean games lasting more than three months.  I know some of the more established gamers will balk at such measly games, but they're the best I've done so far.  Give me a break here.) campaigns in D&D or pathfinder, and each one of them has been home brew to one extent or another.

Believe it or not, this home brew is actually better than most of my stuff.  Look at the Giant!

     This holds true for D&D and many other Fantasy games with generic settings.  It isn't true for most science fiction games where the cool settings are the main draw, such as Vampire: The Masquerade or Shadowrun.  Also I'd imagine some of the fantasy systems which are inherently tied to their settings are mostly played in official settings, such as Exalted or Mouseguard.  Even with all these games which are mostly played in their official settings, though, the majority of RPG games played are Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder.  So my statement, I think, is still true.

     So, I've described what settings are in relation to the games.  They're where your characters as people live and breathe, where their problems and exploits are, where their treasure is, where their loved ones and enemies are, and where they die.  But I haven't described what RPG settings are like.  Its tough to give a description that will give you a good idea what all these games are like.  But I'm going to try.

     The simplest way to describe RPG settings to liken them to books and book series.  We've all read books, most of us have read fantasy books (I know a few sticks-in-the-mud who have never read any kind of fantasy books.  They and they're parents should be ashamed!), and we know that from one series to another the settings are different.  There are often themes or certain aspects that are the same (For instance, pretty much everything in Lord of The Rings can be found in other works, as it really spawned the fantasy craze) and there are even more things different (at least in good settings, read my first blog post for an example of a setting that was almost good, but in the end sucked).

     So from the setting we know what races are available for PCs and NPCs (PC=player character, or the character the players are playing as.  NPC=Non-player character, or a character controlled by the GM.), as well as enemies and villains.  It also tells us what level of technology is available, what, if any, magic there is. It tells us things like what the world looks like.  Is it covered in water? is it a desert planet? Jungle?  And how they get around, sailing or sand sailing, or tree... sailing?  It tells us how the people in the world get along. Are they war faring, peaceful, insular, friendly?  It tells us how they trade with one another, and indeed if they do any trading at all.  It tells us what the PCs are likely to encounter, what their problems will be.
     In settings like D&D's Forgotten Realms, after a certain point PCs never have to worry about money or living places again, they're too busy battling Demi-Gods in the outer planes, or assaulting Hell to retrieve a lost loved one unjustly taken by Orcus The Prince of Undeath.  In contrast, in the setting of Shadowrun it isn't uncommon PCs to be taking dangerous jobs just to pay rent for one more month on the mean streets of Seattle.  Those are two extreme cases, but they're is everything in between, and quite a few more extreme.

     I promised I'd describe a few of my favorite settings before I go, and I'm going to do just that right now. If you're bored just skip to the last paragraph, otherwise, buckle up.  Here we go.  Coming in at favorite setting #4...
     Mouseguard.  What do I like about Mouseguard?  Well, for one thing you play as mice.  And the stakes are basically saving the lives of a bunch of mice.  I'm already in love with it.  One common criticism I have of fantasy is that the stakes are perpetually too high.  How often do we fight an evil villain on who's defeat rests the fate of the entire galaxy?  Sometimes it goes so far as to threaten every plane of existence ever created, where a villain will destroy past, present and future lives for all eternity, sending existence back to a void of nothingness.  Bringing it down to the level of mice is just nice.  Beyond that, the world is beautifully detailed and well thought out.  Its a wonderful setting.

There's even a comic out for it, which I highly recommend.

     #3  I mentioned Exalted earlier.  The Exalted are spirits of great warriors who exist to defend the world of Creation.  They inhabit the bodies of honorable human beings, giving them powers beyond mortal dreams. They stand up against the forces of evil and entropy.  However, in the past hundred years, the world has turned against their protectors, labeling them as dangerous outlaws.  Now The Exalted must defend themselves from Creation, while defending Creation from the ancient Titans.  One thing I love about Creation (the official setting for Exalted) is how simple it is.  Its land is divided into five distinct areas.  North is the endless tundra which eventually becomes bitter ice fields akin to the antarctic.  East is the Jungle lands which stretch off into infinity.  South is barren deserts and fiery mountains.  West is an endless ocean full of piracy and adventure. The center is the seat of power, the Blessed Isle.  I love how you can have any kind of adventure you want by going to any part of Creation.  Also, the Exalted are just cool.

I have nothing clever to say...

     #2  My second favorite setting would have to be Call of Cthulhu.  For those of you unfamiliar with Cthulhu, he is an ancient being of immense power who sleeps in the pacific ocean, originally imagined by H.P. Lovecraft.  He waits in his sunken island of R'lyeh to be awoken and end the world.  In the meantime, though, countless cults have sprung up in the history of the world to awaken this ancient being (and countless other beings of immense power and knowledge) and gain power for themselves.  Most CoC games take place in the 1920's.  Players are Investigators: normal people caught up in extraordinary circumstances, just trying to survive and do the right thing.  Everything is as it was in the 1920's, except Ancient Ones roam the earth.  Its an amazing game and an amazing setting.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die." -H.P. Lovecraft

     #1  Of course my favorite setting has to go to none other than Shadowrun.  What can be said of Shadowrun?  The year is 2070.  After The Awakening in 2012, the world has gone downhill.  Dragons once again walk the earth.  Huge Mega-Corporations run the world, pulling the strings behind the thrones of power. Magic awakened in 2012 and now we share the world with all the magic bogeymen of ancient lore. Elves and Orc, Trolls and Dwarves.  The undead are once again among us.  And through it all you survive. You're a Shadowrunner, a Corporate Spy, a deniable asset.  You run the shadows, doing the jobs too dangerous or dirty for any normal person.  Some 'Runners run for the money, high rise apartments and expensive toys.  Some for the challenge; its the ultimate thrill.  Some got a personal score to settle, and see 'running as a means to an end.  Most are just trying to survive.  Pay that rent more one month so they got somewhere to lay their head. Shadowrun is amazing.  The attention to detail, in making our world into a believable dystopian future is astounding.  Definitely my favorite setting out there, no real competition.

Shadowrun: 20th Anniversary addition.

     It would be an exaggeration to say that there are as many settings as there are individual games being played.  But it would be accurate to say that their are more completely unique settings created by individual gamers than official settings created by companies.  Whether that's good or bad, I don't know.  I might talk about that one of these days, and probably be completely off base and wrong.  In any case, have a nice night, and go play some RPGs!