Subverting a game by playing differently than the intended manner, or countergaming (according to Alexander Galloway), is nothing new in MMOs. In WoW, there is the 2-man Karazhan group and the Naked Troll Project, for example. While most of these projects were created to cure boredom, they can also cause people to examine the existing game mechanics, and the ways in which they play the game (and the reasons why they follow the rules that they do). Recently, though, a large number of players unintentionally countergamed on a small scale as a creative workaround for a glitch.
Patch 2.4, as I mentioned last week, was released on the PTRs*. Only a select few, however, were able to transfer their characters over before Blizzard shut down the queues because of glitches in the copies. As a result, the unlucky (myself included) took it upon themselves to embark on a special journey to see the new content for themselves, despite the fact that low-level characters could not fly directly to the new island. I rolled my own level 1 to check out the Isle of Quel'Danas, the new level 70 zone.
The journey itself was truly epic. The blood elf starting area was flooded with level 1s who were marching out to brave the long swim in waves. This wasn't your normal dip in the water, though. A third of the way there, players entered the 'fatigue' zone**, inflicting continual damage on the characters while there. Once I entered the zone, I found surrounded by corpses floating in the water in a scene oddly reminiscent of the Dead Marshes, and by other swimmers healing themselves in an effort to stay alive long enough to reach safe waters. The further I went, the more the living were replaced with the dead. It became a timed mini-game, a tug of war with my health and mana bars. Eventually, with only 18 health left, I saw the foggy, green reaches of land, patrolled by level 70 skeletons - and a level 70 mage who welcomed me with a Fireball to the face (I rolled on the PvP server without thinking).
I'm very interested in the patch itself, to be sure, particularly the new dynamic content with Silvermoon City. However, that swim to the island was probably the most fun I've had on the PTR, and even on my normal server, for a while. It's an accomplishment that I, at least, will remember for a long time to come - which is probably part of the appeal of countergaming.
* Player Test Realms. On these servers, you can copy existing characters over to test out the new content.
** A game mechanic designed to control where players can go.
Showing posts with label patches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patches. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
A Different Kind of Eye-Candy
(Note: This post is a little late in the coming; when the first part was written, the GamePro article was only a few hours old. Sorry!)
First things first, the patch notes for 2.4 are (finally) up! Read, love, and enjoy; there'll (hopefully) be a post on that soon.
GamePro caused a minor stir in the gaming community recently with their article on bullshots in the video game industry. While the topic (and the term) is by no means new, the side-to-side comparison in the article is rather damning. The article goes on to illustrate examples of altered images in television and advertisements, including the Dove promotional video (the adjustments to Emma Watson in the HP5 promotional poster also comes to mind), but notes that although additional airbrushing is expected in 'traditional' media, edits to game screenshots - already manufactured - are false advertising, pure and simple. Interestingly enough, preoccupied as people seem to be about doctored screenshots (which I've always supposed was true), the complaints have not been extended to misleading advertising as a whole.
I turn your attention to the front and back of the World of Warcraft game box. The front image, which most people will see and recognize, is amazing in its detail -- and therefore, too good to be true. The screenshots on the back validate this assumption, despite also being gorgeous, especially for an MMO. (Even those in-game graphics require a top-end computer to properly handle the intensive demands on a system.)
I'm aware that eye candy is one of the best ways to attract a consumer's attention, but why are our standards so high that even amazing in-game graphics (Oblivion comes to mind) are wholly inadequate to market a game? We all know that they don't look like that, anyway.
First things first, the patch notes for 2.4 are (finally) up! Read, love, and enjoy; there'll (hopefully) be a post on that soon.
GamePro caused a minor stir in the gaming community recently with their article on bullshots in the video game industry. While the topic (and the term) is by no means new, the side-to-side comparison in the article is rather damning. The article goes on to illustrate examples of altered images in television and advertisements, including the Dove promotional video (the adjustments to Emma Watson in the HP5 promotional poster also comes to mind), but notes that although additional airbrushing is expected in 'traditional' media, edits to game screenshots - already manufactured - are false advertising, pure and simple. Interestingly enough, preoccupied as people seem to be about doctored screenshots (which I've always supposed was true), the complaints have not been extended to misleading advertising as a whole.
I turn your attention to the front and back of the World of Warcraft game box. The front image, which most people will see and recognize, is amazing in its detail -- and therefore, too good to be true. The screenshots on the back validate this assumption, despite also being gorgeous, especially for an MMO. (Even those in-game graphics require a top-end computer to properly handle the intensive demands on a system.)
I'm aware that eye candy is one of the best ways to attract a consumer's attention, but why are our standards so high that even amazing in-game graphics (Oblivion comes to mind) are wholly inadequate to market a game? We all know that they don't look like that, anyway.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Again from the Beginning
As some of you may know, Blizzard recently released Patch 2.3 . Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, this major patch presents several major tweaks to the game. While the introduction of guild banks (hooray, more storage space) the release of the new 10-man dungeon, Zul'Aman (hooray, new content), and addition of damage modifiers to +healing gear (hooray, more freedom for healers), are definitely worth writing home about, I'm personally excited about the easier leveling curve from levels 20-60.
In theory, this will allow players to level through old content more quickly, but in practice, this change primarily benefits alts* and casual players. Some hardcore players have criticized Blizzard for making the game too easy as a result, noting that the game's leveling curve was already easier than other games (FFXI and Everquest comes to mind), and that making it easier to level just caters to the lowest common denominator. Most players, however, are in favor of the change, particularly older players who wish to play a new toon, but cringe at the thought of the mindless effort needed to catch up to their level 70 peers. Not only that, but now players can advance further in new classes to get a feel for the play-style of the class, at least, even if they never level all the way to 70. At the very least, the leveling change offers a change of pace for players who are getting bored.
As for me? I've now had an excuse to try out a shaman and a paladin, but I think I still like my druid more. For now.
*A toon that is not your most-played. You can have 9 different toons per server, and can play on as many servers as you want.
In theory, this will allow players to level through old content more quickly, but in practice, this change primarily benefits alts* and casual players. Some hardcore players have criticized Blizzard for making the game too easy as a result, noting that the game's leveling curve was already easier than other games (FFXI and Everquest comes to mind), and that making it easier to level just caters to the lowest common denominator. Most players, however, are in favor of the change, particularly older players who wish to play a new toon, but cringe at the thought of the mindless effort needed to catch up to their level 70 peers. Not only that, but now players can advance further in new classes to get a feel for the play-style of the class, at least, even if they never level all the way to 70. At the very least, the leveling change offers a change of pace for players who are getting bored.
As for me? I've now had an excuse to try out a shaman and a paladin, but I think I still like my druid more. For now.
*A toon that is not your most-played. You can have 9 different toons per server, and can play on as many servers as you want.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Can You Hear Me Now?
For those unfamiliar with MMOs*, developers will periodically release updates, or patches, to their games. Changes in these patches range from bugfixes to new content and features, and help to keep the game 'fresh' between expansions (which are major changes and additions to the game), thus maintaining the attention spans of their customer base. Blizzard, like every other game, releases patches fairly frequently for World of Warcraft, the majority of these being bugfixes. Earlier this month, however, the company released patch 2.2, a major patch which adds and tweaks several things -- including a new feature known as Voice Chat.
Why is this important? Since the game's release, players in WoW have been using voice chat as a supplement to text chat for three main reasons: it's easier to speak, it's faster than typing, and it's more social. This utility has traditionally required an external client running alongside the game to use, the most popular client being Ventrilo, a PC-oriented program.
Raph Koster goes over the pros and cons of voice chat of in his blog, commenting on these reasons. While ease and speed are positive aspects of voice chat (barring issues with clarity), the social aspect of voice chat is more ambiguous. The utility can exacerbate existing problems with communication and create new ones. Koster mentions that the "emotional bandwidth" of speech -- its ability to convey more and better emotions, particularly through non-verbal cues inherent in speech, like the tone of your voice -- can be both a blessing and a curse. Speech can clarify meaning where text might be ambiguous, such as when expressing sarcasm. Moreover, the presence of emotions in speech can remind players that they are playing with actual people on the other side of the screen, rather than programmed bits of code. However, voice chat can also strip away a layer of the player's anonymity. The cocky, macho Orc warrior, for instance, could end up being a squeaky twelve-year-old boy. More common, though, are the male players who play female toons**, and have assumed the persona of a female player amongst their in-game friends, where speaking will reveal their true gender.
The anonymity that voice chat strips away is not limited merely to identity. With the presence of voices and more tangible emotions, players must also deal with other players as people. Emotions can complicate and muddle discussions, particularly when they become heated. Voice chat is currently used most often amongst serious players because of its tactical benefits when orchestrating larger encounters, such as those often found in raids.*** Two well-known instances of this are the recordings of two particularly heated moments: the Serious Business (abridged) from the EU Chromaggus server and Getcha from the US Kil'Jaeden server. (warning: excessive profanity, not safe for work). In the first soundclip, the main person talking (the raid leader) is calling out directions to the thirty-nine other people in the group, but as the group progresses in this particular boss fight, the directions become increasingly lost within the string of curse words that the leader keeps shouting toward the rest of the group. In the second clip, several members of a guild**** are approaching the guild leader about an issue, who reacts...badly, to say the least. In both instances, voice chat exacerbates the situation by drawing attention to the high emotional level of the situation.
Now that Blizzard has implemented a version of Voice Chat directly into the game, this opens up several possibilities -- as well as problems. Ventrilo requires both a machine capable of running the program and a remote server for users to connect to, the latter of which either requires some significant system resources or at least ten dollars a month for a cheap server. Now, the built-in voice chat is available to most WoW players, regardless of platform, and will work on most machines, regardless of hardware specification. At the moment, the implemented version is flawed, rendering it mostly unused, but in the future, this may be a viable alternative to Ventrilo. That said, the aforementioned issues will still persist in the in-game version, and perhaps even grow worse with more players starting to use Voice Chat. The loss of anonymity, in particular, will be a problem as players will have fewer excuses to remain silent, though the feature is currently far from universal. The Zen of Design discusses Blizzard's unprecedented decision to include the feature, despite the current issues surrounding it. Regardless, it will be very interesting to see how this might affect later MMOs, even if the WoW version does not end up being used much.
*Short for MMORPG, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Older games of this genre include Everquest and Final Fantasy XI, both of which are still active.
** Toon refers to the avatar/charater in the game.
***Raids are difficult dungeons, at the time requiring a group of forty players to work together for an extended period of time (often four to six hours at a time, depending on the group). After the Burning Crusade expansion, however, raid size was reduced to twenty-five people, though the time commitment remains the same.
****Guilds are player-run organizations, grouping people together by shared interests or purposes. Some focus on PvE (Player vs. Enemy) combat, usually involving raids, while others focus on PvP (Player vs. Player), roleplaying, or even just socializing. The guild in the Getcha soundclip is a raiding guild, and thus PvE-focused.
Why is this important? Since the game's release, players in WoW have been using voice chat as a supplement to text chat for three main reasons: it's easier to speak, it's faster than typing, and it's more social. This utility has traditionally required an external client running alongside the game to use, the most popular client being Ventrilo, a PC-oriented program.
Raph Koster goes over the pros and cons of voice chat of in his blog, commenting on these reasons. While ease and speed are positive aspects of voice chat (barring issues with clarity), the social aspect of voice chat is more ambiguous. The utility can exacerbate existing problems with communication and create new ones. Koster mentions that the "emotional bandwidth" of speech -- its ability to convey more and better emotions, particularly through non-verbal cues inherent in speech, like the tone of your voice -- can be both a blessing and a curse. Speech can clarify meaning where text might be ambiguous, such as when expressing sarcasm. Moreover, the presence of emotions in speech can remind players that they are playing with actual people on the other side of the screen, rather than programmed bits of code. However, voice chat can also strip away a layer of the player's anonymity. The cocky, macho Orc warrior, for instance, could end up being a squeaky twelve-year-old boy. More common, though, are the male players who play female toons**, and have assumed the persona of a female player amongst their in-game friends, where speaking will reveal their true gender.
The anonymity that voice chat strips away is not limited merely to identity. With the presence of voices and more tangible emotions, players must also deal with other players as people. Emotions can complicate and muddle discussions, particularly when they become heated. Voice chat is currently used most often amongst serious players because of its tactical benefits when orchestrating larger encounters, such as those often found in raids.*** Two well-known instances of this are the recordings of two particularly heated moments: the Serious Business (abridged) from the EU Chromaggus server and Getcha from the US Kil'Jaeden server. (warning: excessive profanity, not safe for work). In the first soundclip, the main person talking (the raid leader) is calling out directions to the thirty-nine other people in the group, but as the group progresses in this particular boss fight, the directions become increasingly lost within the string of curse words that the leader keeps shouting toward the rest of the group. In the second clip, several members of a guild**** are approaching the guild leader about an issue, who reacts...badly, to say the least. In both instances, voice chat exacerbates the situation by drawing attention to the high emotional level of the situation.
Now that Blizzard has implemented a version of Voice Chat directly into the game, this opens up several possibilities -- as well as problems. Ventrilo requires both a machine capable of running the program and a remote server for users to connect to, the latter of which either requires some significant system resources or at least ten dollars a month for a cheap server. Now, the built-in voice chat is available to most WoW players, regardless of platform, and will work on most machines, regardless of hardware specification. At the moment, the implemented version is flawed, rendering it mostly unused, but in the future, this may be a viable alternative to Ventrilo. That said, the aforementioned issues will still persist in the in-game version, and perhaps even grow worse with more players starting to use Voice Chat. The loss of anonymity, in particular, will be a problem as players will have fewer excuses to remain silent, though the feature is currently far from universal. The Zen of Design discusses Blizzard's unprecedented decision to include the feature, despite the current issues surrounding it. Regardless, it will be very interesting to see how this might affect later MMOs, even if the WoW version does not end up being used much.
*Short for MMORPG, or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Older games of this genre include Everquest and Final Fantasy XI, both of which are still active.
** Toon refers to the avatar/charater in the game.
***Raids are difficult dungeons, at the time requiring a group of forty players to work together for an extended period of time (often four to six hours at a time, depending on the group). After the Burning Crusade expansion, however, raid size was reduced to twenty-five people, though the time commitment remains the same.
****Guilds are player-run organizations, grouping people together by shared interests or purposes. Some focus on PvE (Player vs. Enemy) combat, usually involving raids, while others focus on PvP (Player vs. Player), roleplaying, or even just socializing. The guild in the Getcha soundclip is a raiding guild, and thus PvE-focused.
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