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!

Fan Fic Media

Harry Potter and Twilight fans have their versions of fan fiction that provide fans a release for their own creativity and imagination usually in the form of short literature works posted on online forums.

My guilty pleasure however is neither Harry Potter nor Twilight but World of Warcraft and I love the music video creations that have been spawned out of the MMO.

So here are my top 7 picks! Why 7? Because I could not settle on 5!
(If you are an avid fan, yes some of the choices are somewhat old but they are still classics!)

*WARNING* Songs may be very catchy :) Songs are not listed in order of preference

1. Ulduar Vocals by Summergale and Cranius and produced by Legs All individuals are very talented and have many other great works, WoW inspired and otherwise.

2. Ni Hao Vocals by Summergale and Nyhm and produced by Madcowstudios. It was very hard for me to choose my favourite from Nyhm close runner-ups were, Hard Like Heroic and Pretty Fly (for a Draenei)

3. Do You Wanna Date My Avatar presented by The Guild. If you have not caught the online series The Guild I highly recommend it, while not focusing on WoW specifically it focuses on the hilarious antics of MMO players. Season 4 will premier July 13.

4. ROFLMAO by Oxhorn

5. Horde For Life vocals by Yarcinea,  Gigi and the Druidboyz; Zharkan, Abandonation, and Demineon

6. That's the World of Warcraft That You Play vocals by Ian Beckman

7. The Craft of War: BLIND produced by Percula

Fable III excitement!

With E3’s closing, gamers have a ton to talk about. A new Mickey Mouse game, a Kirby game (yay!) and, my personal favourite: Fable III’s release in October (see the trailer here).

I immensely enjoyed the first two Fable games, and saw a vast improvement between the first (released in 2004) and the second (2008). As announced at E3, the third game will see an amp-up in graphics (though Fable II was absolutely stunning, the third looks even more dazzling and detailed) and a huge change in gameplay.

First of all, Peter Molyneux, the game’s creator, promises a “more memorable story” than the one in Fable II. This makes me wonder just how crazy this dude is – I remember Fable II’s story quite well, and, in fact, cried so hard during the end of that game that I ran out of Kleenex (“A Perfect Day” ring any bells?). I loved the stories in both of the previous games, though Fable III’s story sounds pretty enticing: You play as the son/daughter of your Fable II character and set out to overthrow your brother, the evil king of Albion. Once you’ve overthrown him, you become the ruler – and this is where the moral choice stuff (one of my absolute favourite parts of the game) hugely comes into play. Will you be mobbed in the streets with adoring subjects, or the target of assassination plots? (I’m leaning towards the latter – evil always equals way more fun.)

Though the whole ruling-Albion-with-an-iron-fist part of the game sounds pretty cool, I’m also really interested in the first half. Rather than gaining experience points (as you did in the first two games), players gain followers. You start the game with three, and once you’ve amassed 300,000, it’s time to overthrow the king. “Followers” seem to be similar to “fame” points like in other games – for example, once you’ve completed a great act of heroism, you gain a number of new followers. Getting married, divorced, having kids and owning property also have an effect on your number of followers.

Another really cool thing about Fable III is the weapon evolution system. Weapons evolve to suit your character, depending on how you use them: long, flourished attacks cause your sword to grow in length, while quick attacks could slowly morph your sword into a dagger. Ranged and magic items will also be customized in a similar fashion. According to Shacknews, “Eventually, a weapon will be so customized that it will take your name, forever branded with your influence” – holy troggs, I’m excited!

Anyone remember co-op from Fable II? No? That’s because it sucked. I tried it once and immediately got extremely frustrated with being locked into a screen with my boyfriend (who likes to take the lead in video games). We never tried it again. Apparently Fable III has changed all that: your buddy comes into your world (via Xbox Live) and can go off on their own, get a job, do quests – whatever they like. My favourite part? Molyneux says: “You can marry your co-op buddy. You can have sex with your co-op buddy - sorry, Americans - you can have children with your co-op buddy.” Awesome.

Now, bear in mind that Peter Molyneux is famous for his huge promises that he (unfortunately) often fails to deliver upon. All of these cool-sounding features of the third Fable installment are definitely cause for excitement, but perhaps it makes sense to keep expectations at a moderate level.

Fable III is set to be released on Oct. 26, 2010, giving fans a few months to play through Fable II again - your Fable III world will be linked to your world from the second one, so you may want to have a few save files to see how being good or evil in Fable II affects the world in III. Fable III is being released for the PC and Xbox. I will be playing it on the Xbox to bask in the glory of Albion on the big screen!

Information from this Shacknews article.

Cyber and RL Blurring

While there is usually a divide between our gaming avatar's/persona's and our real life identities sometimes they can merge. Resulting in a comical, but very creative beginning to a long life of happiness.

While surfing the internet I ran across several stories of couples taking their love of technology, gaming and one another and merging their loves into creative marriage proposals, wedding vows and invitations.

The first was the story of Sara and Paul O'Flaherty who met over the internet, and proceeded to continue their courtship in cyberspace. For their wedding they merged social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter into their ceremony and vows. To watch the ceremony unveil http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKAEAasiddA&feature=player_embedded and for a copy of their vows can be found at http://pauloflaherty.com/

A cute example of how a couple embraced their uncommon relationship and made it incredibly personal!

This next story made my eyes well with tears it is so touching. A man decided to propose to his girlfriend via hacking a video game she was playing and inserted details for their courtship. Watch the proposal and game play http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_HMLvLB7b0&feature=player_embedded I do not think anyone could say no to a proposal like that! He must really be in love to go to all that time and effort, so cute!

Another method of proposing via video game, is to make your avatar get down on one knee for you. As this man did when he proposed to his girlfriend in Halo, spelling "Marry Me?" with weaponry http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2007/11/the-halo-3-marr/

Finally wedding invitations can be so boring and tedious, this next couple decided to create a wedding (movie) trailer to announce their nuptials. The production values are incredible and I have not seen any invitations similar anywhere else. To watch the trailer http://vimeo.com/1581347 to view the poster http://davidmalki.com/onesheet-v1.jpg and to view their cake http://davidmalki.com/wed/cake_big.jpg

There are also stories of couples IM'ing each other their vows, weddings taking place over webcams, and virtual weddings inside of MMO's, such as World of Warcraft. Not to mention the fact that many couples are meeting online whether in chat rooms, video games or dating websites.

While some people may say these stories are 'lame' or the people are 'nerdy', I however sigh and see true romance and love, for one another and for life. They acknowledge who they are and embrace it, instead of hiding it in shame.

E3 2010

One event most gamers look forward to each year, at least the gamers I know, is the E3 expo. Today wraps up the event for 2010 and there were many exciting announcements.

On the technical side Nintendo made a huge announcement with their preview of the new DS system that will be one of the first 3D gaming systems to hit the market. Meaning Nintendo will once again be the front runner in bringing the latest technology to gamers. The Nintendo 3DS keeps the cute small design of the original Nintendo DS and DSi.

One aspect of this system I am extremely excited about is the fact that you will not need any special glasses to be able to use the system. It will also feature motion and gyro sensors, slide pad, touch screen, and camera with two lenses (with the capabilities of shooting pictures and viewing them in 3D!) And if that is not enough, you will also be able to watch movies in 3D in the palm of your hand.


For the full live demo visit, Nintendo 3DS Video Game, E3 2010: Live Demo Part I | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Following in Nintendo Wii's footsteps, Microsoft announced a step forward with their Xbox 360 console, that is supposed to be whisper quiet, has built in Wi-Fi, 250GB hard drive, sports a new sleak design, and apparently they fixed that nasty red ring of death most avid gamers feared. This new console will be a perfect addition to go along with Kinect, their new 'no controllers' way of gaming. Similar to the Wii's motion sensor bar, Kinect takes it a step further and eliminates the controller as well. This won't be for the couch potato gamers :P

Now onto the games:

For the PC, while I am not overly excited other gamers may feel differently, Crysis 2 and Witch 2 were debuted.

The PS3 was all about cashing in on sequals, seeing the return of Metal Gear Solid with Metal Gear Solid: Rising, Killzone 3, inFAMOUS 2, Grand Turismo 5 (GT5) and perhaps the largest surprise a new Twisted Metal.

PSP, we got to see the God of War: Ghost of Sparta debut trailer.

In my opinion the most exciting game announcement from Xbox 360 would have to be the Halo: Reach demo.

Nintendo announced big things to come for many of our favourite characters, including Zelda, Donkey Kong, Samuss and Kirby. Zelda will be making a return in Zelda: Skyward Sword, we will be seeing samuss in Metroid: Other M, Donkey Kong in DKC Returns, and Kirby in Kirby's Epic Yarn.

Bond will also be making his appearance on the wii in GoldenEye 007. Personally I am most interested in the new Kirby game, stylistically it looks different, and very creative, should make for an interesting adventure.

Nintendo kept amazing people announcing new titles for the DS such as Dragons Quest IX, the return of a loved character, Pit and we got to see where they took Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Other big game news:

Mickey Mouse will be leaving his mark on the Nintendo Wii. Graphically it looks great and it appears this game might actually have some semblance of a story, allowing the gamers to make the decisions about the direction of the story, with actions having reactions and consequences. It looks like you might be able to play through several times and never getting the exact same experience.

With the popularity of Vampires in today's culture it is no surprise (to me anyways) to see the return of Castlevania.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is receiving quiet a bit of buzz off of their stage demo.

We got to see some of the story elements for the new Call of Duty: Black Ops.

And Sonic showed us some gameplay from Sonic Colors. In my opinion the gameplay looks very predictable and safe. However because it is a Sonic game, this taste has left me hooked, and I am excited to get my hands on it.

And Marvel vs. Capcom 3 released a preview of its gameplay.