Kinect-ing with my couch

Well, it's been a while since I posted here, and I think it's time for a rant that is long overdue: why the Microsoft Kinect and Sony Move make me want to toss my gaming systems out the window.

This year's E3 saw a lot of excitement over these new motion-sensing gaming systems. Though the Wii - a system that proudly touted its motion-sensing features - was released almost four years ago, critics and gamers alike are saying this new technology blows the Wii out of the water.

"Simply jump in" invites the Xbox Kinect's website amid images of smiling people in awkward poses. "Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect (formerly known as 'Project Natal') gets everyone off the couch."

This is the exact opposite of what I want from my gaming experience, and I think a lot of people feel this way. I love just plopping down on my couch or computer chair, kicking off my socks and zoning out to some (occasional) button-mashing. It's relaxing, and it's a great way to escape and take a break from real life.

Don't get me wrong; sometimes it is pretty fun to pop in the Wii Sports CD and go "bowling" or play "tennis" with some friends. You won't catch me doing it alone, though, because half the fun of playing these games is watching your friends make total asses of themselves. Virtual bowling alone in an empty house.... now that's a depressing notion.

I just don't think that motion-sensing games are as fun or exciting as critics and corporations hope they will be. I flailed my way through Zelda: Twilight Princess with no rhyme or reason to my actions, because flicking my wrist back and forth was the only way to use my sword. Given the choice between the A button and wrist-flicking (which eventually led to a mild case of carpal tunnel), I'd pick the A button every time.

I was pretty disappointed when I found out that Zelda: Skyward Sword would be similar to TP but would be entirely dependent on the Wii's Motion Plus capabilities. Check out this review from Digital Trends:

Back stage at Nintendo’s E3 booth, with the Wii Motion Plus controller resuming its normal poise, Zelda: Skyward Sword shows its true colors. The Wii remote and nunchuk act as a sword and shield, respectively. One-to-one motion mapping means that each of your sword gestures in real life translates precisely to Link’s on screen. Start a swing by your side and stop with the tip pointing dead ahead, and Link starts a swing by his side then stops with the tip pointing dead ahead. You’re not triggering pre-animated sword gestures as you did with Twilight Princess, you’re crafting them as you go, in real time.

That does sound kind of neat... for the first five minutes of gameplay. I think that this gimmick will get old very quickly, leading to more frustration than fun.

In short, it seems absurd to expect the majority of gamers to enjoy thrashing around their living rooms, dodging invisible punches and swinging their arms to slay on-screen monsters. As excited as I was for Skyward Sword, I can't see myself getting through the first dungeon, even if it is "revolutionary".

Gold Spammers and the like

So this post is not about a fancy new game or technology but it is something I feel needs to be addressed. And that is gold spammers, account hackers, and paid leveling services.

I for one have never used any of these services but the amount of companies and people out there now is getting a little ridiculous. I cannot be logged into WoW for five minutes without getting a whisper about buying gold or a special promotion where I have won an exclusive mount/pet/beta key all I have to do is log onto a key logging website masked as a blizzard page, an in-game mail, or seeing a dozen spams in trade for gold sales. The newest form of whisper I get is the spammer pretending like they know me and then saying "we only have 350k gold left we will give it to you for a special discount price."

My response, " I have never nor will I ever purchase gold, so stop wasting my time on a game I pay good money to play." If I am in a good mood it will remain PG but after getting a dozen whispers in an hour, my ignore list full and hitting the report spam button more than any healing spell, it gets a little tiring.

This practice is not only occurring in WoW, on Xbox live I have also received messages asking if I would like to pay to prestige in Modern Warfare 2 and level in other games.

I wish that Blizzard and other gaming companies could put an end to the constant badgering of their consumers. If this continues I do not see why I would continue to pay $15 per month to constantly be harassed and hackers try and steal my account.

Social Stigmas

Going off of a question I receive a lot in game, "Are you really a girl or a dude?" I always answer honestly and proudly and say I am a girl. However in real life there are very few people that know my secret love affair with gaming. After some internal reflection I have come to the conclusion that I hide this from most people because I grew up with my parents looking negatively at 'gamers' so I accepted the stigmas they placed on them as truth.

Many of the social stigmas associated with gamers and female gamers simply are not true, especially in today's diverse society in Canada and the United States.

Here is a list of some of the stigmas I would like to see done away with.

1. Gaming is for males and therefore females are not as capable or carry the same degree of skill as their male counterpart would.

2. Gamers are:

• Lazy
• Anti-social
• Overweight/Obese/Unfit/Out of shape
• Nerds

South Park's Make Love Not Warcraft (Season 10, Episode 8) makes light of a lot of the stereotypes placed on gamers in today's North American society.  I actually love this episode just because of how extreme it really is, but it annoys me when people view this episode and think that is how EVERY gamer really is.

3. Gaming is just a waste of time.
In my opinion gaming is a form of entertainment the same as watching a football game on television, going to the cinema or a round of mini golf. It is personal preference how you want to spend your spare time and which method gives you the most enjoyment for the amount of money or time you have to spend.

4. Gamer's will spend their entire life living in their parents basement, eating pizza pops and drinking soda, and never have a significant other.

5. Gamer's only like to game and spend their entire life doing that.

----

I fell in love with video games with Super Mario Brothers for the Super Nintendo, which I beat numerous times and was better than my brother at. I get good grades and graduated from University, while at University I continued playing video games, mostly World of Warcraft. It did not consume my life, I was able to balance, school, relationships, having my own apartment and work.

I can play my avatars just as well as a lot of the males out there and was able to be a strong guild leader. While I love games, I also love to read and write and play sports outdoors.

I find it sad in the 21st Century that there are so many negative stigmas associated with gaming. Real life has them and for a girl, you cannot even escape them in the game sometimes.

So in the end do what you love to do, and try and ignore the stigmas so that hopefully one day, when our children are growing up they will not have to face this type of stereotyping.

Join the party, grab some friends and get out there and game!

The future of WoW is... microtransactions?

I sure hope not.

This article by Gamespot (and several other sites) makes it sound like WoW lead designer Tom Chilton says that the game may do away with its current subscription fees. This should be taken with enough grains of salt to choke a pony: the original interview from PC Gamer makes it quite clear that this is not the case. “We’re not spending a lot of time thinking about it," Chilton is quoted by PC Gamer. "It’s not something that’s a reality for us in the near future.”

This got me thinking, though: would I want to keep playing Warcraft if it got rid of the monthly fee and instead relied on microtransactions for income?

Right now, paying between $14.50-$16.00+ is not so bad (I'm Canadian, so the price fluctuates monthly). I justify it as "entertainment" spending: for the price of one movie (sans snacks), I have as much entertainment as I want. Changing to a microtransaction-based payment system could either be much cheaper or much more expensive. Cheaper is always better, but $15-ish is pretty much my limit for monthly entertainment right now. If I feel like I'm missing huge chunks of the game because I'm not willing to shell out my (non-existent) big bucks to play, then I would probably just quit altogether.

The way I see it, players would probably be paying for new content and cosmetic items:

Content:
This sort of already happens with expansion packs, but those have new content added to them on a fairly regular basis, and the expansion is a one-time cost. If they changed the game to be based on microtransactions, Blizzard could charge players to play new content, which could get expensive for progression guilds.
Also, what about when content gets old? Do players still have to pay to play? If they reduced or eliminated the cost once the next dungeon/raid was released, then players could potentially just wait to play new content until it wasn't new anymore. This seems like it would defeat the entire purpose of the game.

Cosmetic:
This also already happens to a fair degree, with fancy pets and mounts costing players real-life money. I have two of the pets myself: the Wind Rider Cub (who has been named Gale) and the Griffin (named Ken Griffin Jr.). I would not have bought on my own, as I would feel very silly paying for plushies and virtual pets. These two pets were fantastic presents from my lovely boyfriend, who is apparently immune from feeling silly.
I actually wouldn't mind so much if Blizzard started adding free cosmetic items that could be worn over your real gear (adding no stats, just cool looks). I am a huge sucker for awesome-looking gear - for example, I wore my Wolfshead Helm until I was level 65, just because it looked so cool. However, I would not pay actual money to look virtually cool, though I can't say the same for the hundreds of thousands of people who purchased the $25.00 Celestial Steed mount.

So, perhaps a microtransaction-based system would work well for Warcraft - they've clearly proved that many players will snap up pricey cosmetic items to look cool - but I wonder if they would be able to retain their massive number of accounts (11.5 million, as of 2008) if they switched. For it to make any sense to make the switch, they would have to see it as being more profitable than their subscription payments are currently. By my calculations, they make $2,070,000,000 - that's over $2 billion - per year from subscriptions alone. There would have to be a lot of content - or some very expensive content - in order to justify the switch.

So, after thinking about it some more, it really doesn't look like WoW will become a microtransaction-based game any time soon. Sorry, ridiculous game journalists - your out-of-context quotes and attention-grabbing stories ain't foolin' this playa.

Now with the 'Tap of your Foot'

If you play an MMO, than you probably use or at least have knowledge of Ventrilo or Teamspeak. If not you may be familiar with Skype which allows the same type of voice communication via the internet.

In MMO's, in particular World of Warcraft, raiders and guilds use these programs to communicate via voice rather than typing everything. This is very useful when you do not have the time or ability to type or when large conversations between numerous people take place.

It was a simple process before, have a headset and mic, download the program, enter in the server information, create a login and name and then simply set a key binding for your push-to-talk button. Usually the left control button was chosen.

I personally have been raiding for almost four years and have been quiet successful with being able to press ctrl and talk while healing my raid party but I suppose for some it must have been an issue for Blizzard and Creative Labs to create the new Tap Chat.

Low and behold! For those who don't like to use their finger, a way to get your foot in all of your conversations.

This foot peddled control is simple to use, you just have to change the key binding to the foot peddle instead of your old push-to-talk key. Instead of pressing your key now you will be able to use your foot, press the peddle and talk. This peddle is the next product in the Sound Blaster Series and therefore requires the use of the World of Warcraft Sound Blaster Wireless Headset or the World of Warcraft Sound Blaster Headset.

I personally do not think that any of these products will enhance your raiding performance. But for those that need a better option than a keyboard binding for push-to-talk this is a great implement, and will not interfere when casting any skills.

Although I foresee many of these foot peddles being broken when stomped in anger during a raid.

Headsets and the Tap Chat can be purchased online at the Blizzard Store and Creative Labs.

Red vs Blue

Red vs Blue is a series played out in the Halo universe.

They use actual game play and animation from the game to be the video for each episode and then add voice-overs to create the satirical story. Created by the Rooster Teeth team, Red vs Blue is joke after joke about what it would be like to be a red player vs a blue player inside the Halo game.

Check it out their latest episode, Chapter 10: This One Goes to Eleven



For Halo and non-Halo fans alike! After one episode you will want to go and watch the first 5 seasons to catch up! I swear some of the shows I find on the internet I enjoy a lot more than the ones that make millions of dollars and air on television.

Five ways to ensure your random group hates you, and seven ways to ensure they don’t

WoW’s random dungeon system brought a lot of great things with it; most importantly, the ability to quickly gain experience points while obtaining valuable and powerful gear at lower levels, and the ability to gain Frost and Triumph emblems at higher levels. Despite these wonderful things, the random dungeon system has also caused a lot of grief and cross-server hatred. As a random dungeon aficionado, I’ve compiled a list of things to do to get your group to hate you and things to do in order to ensure a smooth and painless run.

To get your group to hate you:

1) Ninja loot

So you’re a warrior, but a green cloth caster robe comes up to be rolled on? And it’s worth four gold? Need that thing! Not that it matters that it would be a huge upgrade for the poor healer – who is constantly running out of mana – you need exactly four gold to buy your riding training (at least, that’s what you’ll tell your group members). WoW has solved many of the ninja-ing issues by only allowing certain classes to Need role on blue (Superior) and purple (Epic) items (ie: only Plate-wearers can Need Plate items), but it can still happen with green items, unfortunately.

2) “Discover” the emotes

I once had the privilege of grouping with a young Tauren hunter who thought he’d lighten the mood by spamming the /moo button. He didn’t. I’m pretty sure that if Blizzard invents a way to physically slap people cross-server, this hunter will be the first target. Anyway, don’t spam emotes – it’s never funny, especially when you...

3) “Discover” the emotes mid-boss fight

This happened too. For the love of Thrall, please don’t do that, either.

4) Post your Bejeweled/Peggle achievements to the party

Once, during an ICC run, a healer in our raid was apparently kicking serious ass at Bejeweled...at the expense of the raid. It was infuriating during a raid, and it is just as infuriating in a random dungeon. If you don’t have the attention span to properly run through a dungeon (most of which can be done in 20 minutes or so), then don’t queue. “But Erikaaaa,” I can hear you whining, “We have randoms on faaaaarm now.” I don’t care, young WoW player, other people are focusing, so you should too.

5) Be a jerk to new players

You’re so 1337, and this group is just full of n00bs. You could probably one-man it, but you want to get through it quickly and it takes longer alone, so you deign to play with idiots. Your life must be so hard, being so much better than everyone else. Were you just born good, or did you ever have to actually take the time to learn your class, like the rest of us do? I bet it was the latter, and that’s what many people who queue for dungeons are trying to do. Being a jerk to people who are still learning does not make you look cool or skilled; it makes you look like a jerk. It’s also a huge waste of time – I’ve been in random groups where one player was so busy berating another, we could have finished the instance twice in the time it took to do it once.

On the other hand, if you want to ensure a smooth and painless dungeon:

1) Be friendly

I always say hi to the group, even if I’m joining mid-dungeon. I say hi when a new player joins the group. I just try and keep things nice and light. If we’re all friendly with each other from the start, then I find that people are less likely to be rude when/if the tank/healer/DPS isn't so great, and more likely to be polite about it and offer advice. By a similar token...

2) Be respectful

I know this is similar to the first point, but I feel as though it really needs a separate section, because people tend to forget that one of the things that can be most wonderful (or most disastrous) about the random dungeon system is the huge mix of people that you could get grouped with. You could have a veteran player making her tenth alt, someone trying a new class for the first time, and someone who is totally new to the game. Not everyone knows every fight perfectly, and sometimes people are still learning. I absolutely hate it when I see someone picking on a newer player just because they don’t know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. That’s the whole point of the random system – to learn how to play your class! It’s important to keep this in mind to ensure a smooth run, but if it’s your first time through a particular dungeon...

3) Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Meaningful questions, not idiotic ones. What I mean is, if you don’t know the fights, then ask! There’s nothing more frustrating than wiping over and over on a boss, to all of a sudden see an “Ooooh, we’re supposed to be hiding behind the pillar,” appear above a player’s head. If you don’t know, ask – someone will be able to help you out.

4) Ready check

I’ve noticed that – especially in lower level dungeons – tanks sometimes have a tendency to just barrel through the run, pulling gigantic mob after gigantic mob, then making a beeline straight for the boss. Ready checks are important to ensure that everyone’s got mana, health, buffs and whatever else they need to perform their best. Four simple clicks: Enter > “r?” > Enter, and you’ve finished this step! It takes two seconds, and will virtually guarantee a smoother run.

5) Need when you actually do need

I know, it’s crazy, right? I generally take this as a rule of thumb – and I generally don’t ask if I can Need an item unless it’s for off-spec. I just find it kind of silly when a Warlock asks if he can Need a cloth caster item. In general, don’t ask unless it’s for off-spec (and make sure you actually do need it.)

6) If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the random

The queueing system is not perfect; sometimes players are not quite geared or skilled enough to handle a dungeon they are placed in. If the group is not getting anywhere, and you know it’s probably because you’re not quite up to snuff, it’s important to know that it’s okay to bow out. The group will probably appreciate it because it’s usually shorter – and much less frustrating – to requeue than to keep wiping over and over. Before you go, though...

7) Don’t leave without a goodbye

Just let your group members know that you have to go, either because something has come up IRL or because you don’t think you’re up to par for the dungeon. Leaving without a word is a bit rude and leaves people wondering why you left. You don’t have to give every detail, just let people know that you’re going. To keep things friendly at the end of a dungeon, I always say a thank you and a goodbye, and may even toss in a “Nice run”, if it was.

In short, every group is going to be different. If you’re running a quick random with a bunch of friends before it’s raiding time, then what’s acceptable is going to be different than if you’re running with four total strangers. In general, though, if you’re respectful and polite, chances are that the group will be a success.

Happy random-ing, everyone!