Category Archives: World of Warcraft
New By A Given Definition
Playing Final Fantasy XIV has led me to a realization that we desperately need new terms in our gamer lexicons for MMOs. “Kill ten rats” has already become commonplace, a short phrase that encapsulates content quite effectively. It’s beyond a … Continue reading
Absence Makes the Heart Something Something
I seem to have stumbled on the recipe for determining whether or not I want to keep playing a game: be forced out for a couple of weeks. When Ms. Lady’s account for World of Warcraft got hacked, I promised … Continue reading
Filed under Dragon Age, Final Fantasy XIV, World of Warcraft
Lionizing
It’s easy to look at the past and say that it must have been better then. Raids must have required much more strategy and much less reading online to complete when the game launched, compared to the present state of … Continue reading
Filed under EverQuest, World of Warcraft
Cataclysm Does Not Redeem
So I’ve had a fair chunk of time to play with Cataclysm. Maybe you’ve heard of it. And if I’m going to start using my own blog again (and I am), ranting about it seems like a good place to … Continue reading
Filed under Blizzard, Story, World of Warcraft
Blizz Was Out of Ideas, Like They Is, Like They Is
This week’s big to-do about World of Warcraft were people complaining about the changes in raid progression. In short: 10-man runs and 25-man runs will both drop items of the same quality, with the latter simply dropping more of everything. … Continue reading
Filed under Blizzard, Broken Parts, Cryptic, Design, Star Trek Online, World of Warcraft
The Dumb Sparklepony and 25 Better Options
I truly don’t care about this stupid horse thing except it’s twenty-five dollars. So I’m not going to convince you that it’s a double standard to complain about microtransactions with one side of your mouth and rush to get out … Continue reading
Filed under Craziness, Mass Effect, Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft
Cataclysm Killed my Dog
Okay, it didn’t kill my dog. (I have a cat.) But it has killed one of my favorite bits about Death Knights – the Frost tree. I bloody well liked Frost tanking, and I’ve enjoyed it a great deal more … Continue reading
Filed under Blizzard, Design, World of Warcraft
The Lich King Does Not Tell Stories
After a fair amount of thought, I’ve reached a conclusion on the overall arc of Wrath of the Lich King. And it’s an important thing to consider, because this expansion was Blizzard pushing hard on the story button. Oh, certainly … Continue reading
Filed under Blizzard, Design, Story, World of Warcraft
The Crunchy Center of MMOs
A conversation with Rubi prompted me to consider something interesting: what games are at the core of MMOs in general? If you play pen-and-paper RPGs, it’s hard to deny that you need a copy of Dungeons & Dragons, and most … Continue reading
Filed under ArenaNet, Blizzard, CCP, EVE Online, EverQuest, Fallen Earth, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Sony, Turbine, World of Warcraft
The Heart of Space
I spent yesterday offhandedly mentioning design space a whole lot. Which is kind of obnoxious, since it sounds a bit like a college student who just discovered Nietzsche or Ayn Rand or some other philosopher and takes the opportunity to … Continue reading
Filed under Design, Design Space, World of Warcraft
