Try as I might…

I cannot for the life of me stick with an MMO.

I have tried just about every mass-market offering, and many obsure F2P games.

Many of those I have played, I would eagerly recommend to friends and passerby alike.

Some, I would not inflict upon my worst enemy.

I find that the problem inherent in my inevitable disinterest lies in group-cohesion, or the distinct lack therof.

All too often I will get into a game, find a group to play with, (be they people I know or folks I have met in-game) and glorious adventures are had by all. As time goes on however, the group falls apart. Some leave for the next shiny-object filled game, some severly out-pace the group leveling, others remember they have children they haven’t seen in 6 weeks. Whatever the reason, I am left to solo the game. In many of those cases, I have attempted to find a new group of people to oppress didital undesireables with. Most times however, this leads to an unending string of PUG scenarios known for causing madness, malice, and malcontent.

So many games have a unique hook to them I find greatly appealing, losing the group dynamic is a dealbreaker for me though. I find it greatly annoying to pay ~$15.00 a month to solo an online game. I like my ‘alone’ time here and there, but when it comprises 90% or more of my play time, I get irate.

So invariably, I move on to a new MMO that someone tells me about, or that seems to be living up to online hype. The cycle, sadly continues in the new game.

Is this scenario plaguing anyone else? Really start to get into a game only to get that ’stranded’ feeling? Am I making a mountain out of a mole-hill? Will Batman disable the bomb in time?

Leave a comment and let me know how your favorite MMO is stacking up in the group-play aspect. (Oh wait… no-one reads this)

 

~John

…in a handbasket no less!

I’m going to hell.

This will not come as a surprise to anyone that knows me. Nor will it surprise anyone else, as no one reads this blog, (which is just fine, this is more of a self-indulgence anyway).

The most recent reason for my eternal damnation rests upon the feet of my inability to *not* vocalize a horrible idea.

This horrible idea, rife with all manner of wrongness is rather simple. I want to re-create Kubrick’s classic, ‘Full Metal Jacket’ only as a militant wing of the Catholic Church, and call it ‘Full Metal Convent’.

Now that you are done vomiting, I’ll ellaborate on why this will wake me up in the middle of the night, only to giggle with pure glee. The idea of a militant group of nuns is not one of my own concoction, it is a concept familiar to any reader of obscure comic books, or Simon R. Green, and quite a few other authors, (or really anyone who went to a Catholic school I hear).

The crux of the dellicious humor for me, is casting R. Lee Ermy in the movie as the ‘Sister Superior’ or ‘Lead Christ-Bride’ or whatever they call the one in charge, (after God, Jesus, Mary, Glen Danzig, and Bob Villa).

I can’t help but laugh my ass off when I see a formation of battle-grizzled nuns singing cadence as they march, (especially the really dirty ones).

I also have the delightful visual of Mr. Ermy telling this convent to ‘Pray’:

This is my ruler. There are many like it, but this one is mine… (Hillarity I say!).

Or how about this gem? Picture a nun covered in battlefield-grit, cigar clenched tightly in her teeth, launching a righteous salvo of bullets from her M-16 while the camera zooms in enough that you can see WWJD tattooed on her knuckles. Exquisite!

I assure you, there is much more.

So… who wants to give me a sack-full of money to shoot this?

Booooo

I hate bank holidays.  No one who really works for a living gets Monday off, only govt. employees and banks… why banks? If everyone else has to do business on that day, aren’t they losing money by not being able to provide service?

I call shenanigans.

Lamentation of the responsible

I used to find myself gaming in some form or another for 8hrs a day or more. This was in addition to work, school, and various social outings. These days I’m pushing it if I can dedicate a straight 3hrs, (and this is becoming more and more infrequent). To some this may seem more than excessive in its own right. Owning a game store definitely made my enthusiastic geeking-out seem almost in line with the entrepreneurial spirit. Nowadays however, with work being what it is, I find that my gaming takes the backseat to my many other obligations, (I dread what having children would do to the remaining time. The world in general sharing my trepidation for other, obvious reasons at the thought of me with spawn).

So began the search for various, and often ingenious ways to get my fix in smaller and more frequent doses.

Start with a more and more infrequent dalliance into the World of Warcraft, add a dash of check-when-you-will browser based games, (see previous post for a few examples) my trusty PSP, an attempt to revitalize the bi-weekly poker game, and when possible a convention or two a year. Of course should I come across other worthwhile mini-doses of sheer geekdom, I’ll make sure to make note of them. In the meantime, should anyone know of something that might slake my gaming thirst, be sure to let me know.

Fond Regards,

John

 Browser-based ranked gaming… that pays?! Word

http://www.skillground.com

Gonna go check this out now.

Jaded, yet still addicted

Having trolled my way through the various nooks and crannies of the internet for over a decade now, I find myself not easily impressed with the various services, mash-ups and other odds and ends of the internet.

I do, however find myself thoroughly addicted to some rather cheap entertainment.

Browser-based games cheif among them, I will spend large quantities of time checking in on my little virtual empires. Turn-based, or semi-real time makes no difference. If the interface is intuitive, or the concept cool enough, I will nurture my addiction with reckless abandon.

A couple that maintain my interest:

http://en.zepirates.com

http://www.tribalwars.net

http://www.astroempires.com

Fond Reguards,

John