Suguay Productions

I thought I’d give you a little bit of my thoughts on some of the different online games that I’ve played. After all that was part of why I wanted to join this site, too share some of my thoughts from a non-hardcore-gamer point of view. I look at some of the games a little differently. I don’t know what all the specs for every class and weapon and spell and such are. When someone says something about that I usually reply with, “????”. So I would not class me in the hardcore category.

I have played a few differentl games though. All trying to find something that I really liked and felt like I could really advance in. Initially my primary criteria was that the game be free to get and free to play. This limits what you can play somewhat and it keeps you out of some of the bigger games/worlds. However, it does give you an interesting collection to choose from.

I started with Second Life. I know it’s not a game to most. Ok. It’s a world. I started there. I soon figured out, there is a reason it is called Second LIFE. It’s a bit like life in that you gotta figure out what you are going to go do when you get in world. You might want cash, you might was stuff that will require cash, you might want land. And getting cash, isn’t always that easy. I still keep my Second Life account. I log in periodically and change the decor on my land. I dress it up for the season sometimes. I’ve helped out with a demo of online worlds for a college class. I can’t say I do much with it. When I first got in world I met up with someone who helped me learn how to build and a lot of those type of things. She was really nice and helpful.

I tried a game called Shadowbane. I liked this at first. I had a lot of fun getting up to level 20 and then I got kicked out of newbie land. Ugh. That’s when life in that game becomes difficult at best. It took me several characters before I found a combination that I could get anywhere with and then I was able to join a really good guild. They were huge and they were helpful. And I was able to level all the way to 55. I like the fantasy aspect of this game. However, it’s mostly just fighting things and raiding. There isn’t a lot of crafting in the game like other games. Even in Second Life you can build stuff and sell it. In Shadowbane, I never got to any crafting. And there was not real communications system for if you are out of the game. In Second Life, if you get a personal message in game, it not only queues it up until you log in, you can also set it so that you get the message in your real world email. Not so in Shadowbane that I recall. The other aspect of Shadowbane is that once you leave the new player lands you are in a pvp zone unless you are in the walls of a city. What that means is that you can be quietly killing your monsters and have some rat sneak up from behind you or overhead and destroy you before you know what hit you.

I think the next one I tried was Anarchy Online. At the time you could play at the base level, with no addition expansion packs, for free. No subscription either. I liked that it was sci-fi based. There didn’t seem to be many sci-fi games available and I’m more into that than fantasy. So, I read all the background stuff and started playing Anarchy Online. Holy Cow! This game is just a touch complicated. It’s kind of cool in that there is a lot of technical stuff to really get into and if that is your thing then you will love this game. First choosing your character and then the leveling and allocation of skill points is just mind boggling. Then there is the fact that you have to save you status periodically or if you die you loose points. Then there are the 3 sides. I don’t remember the names of the two and then the neutral. You can get things that are faction specific and they are supposed to be better. And when it comes to crafting and enhancing. Oh my. There are so many different items and things to make and combinations and requirements. And, you have to have the right skills and profession and class to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, I actually like/liked this one. I got a little bored because it seems a little hard to meet up with people of your level and do stuff so I just kept running missions and some of them would take a really long time to get to because I had to run all the time. I never made it high enough to buy a transport.

I’ve even tried some of the asian games. I think they are anyway. All the characters look like manga people. I think I played Space Cowboy. It was ok though I didn’t stay with it long. Don’t think I ever got past about level 15 if that.

Next time, I’ll tell you about Entropia Universe, Voyage Century Online, and 9 Dragons.

 

See you in the machine

Games

Originally published at: suguayproductions.com/joomla which has been discontinued.

Ok, so why shouldn’t a person have a goal in a game? Yeah, I know, it’s a game it’s just for fun. At least that is how I feel. I sometimes think some people take them way to seriously. And that is a topic for a different post.

Yes, I have a goal in the game I am currently actively playing. I’ll get to which game it is in a moment. No, I won’t tell you my main character either. My goal is to have one high level character.

Ok, I know you are thinking to yourself that’s everyone’s goal. Well, not always. That is an end to a means or something like that. It is usually a consequence of general game play and a desire to have something cool in a game that you can’t get until you get to a certain level. And let’s face it, all the really good stuff is in at the higher levels.

That, however, is not why I want to have a high level character.

It is mostly because I never have. My highest level character in any game was a Shade Assassin in Shadowbane and she was a level 55 when I gave up because my guild got wiped  off the map. I never got into any raiding or anything like that and wasn’t really into the pvp thing at the time. Though, I did try a duel. I also got ambushed a couple of times.

I only seem to make it to about level 40 or 50 or so before I loose interest in the game or something along those lines. Of course, I’m not usually in a good guild or such either. This time though, I think I might make it. I have a couple of co-workers who play the game. One has been quite supportive. I’m playing World of Warcraft for the first time, well, since December. So I usually have questions for him. I ask what things like RFC and DPS are. I had to ask how to get to a battlefield last night. We whisper/tell to each other congrats on new levels and things like that. He led the first 5 man I did. So it’s been good. And because of that I think I may make a high level character in WOW.

Since I have never really had any really strong characters in most of the games I’ve played, it’s been a different experience to attain higher levels. I’ll have to tell you about it some time. For now, that’s my goal in a game. I want a high level character. I feel compelled, it’s sort of like having the need to read all the “Harry Potter” books or all the books in the “Twilight” series. I just really want to do this.

See you in the machine.

Games

 

Originally published at: suguayproductions.com/joomla which has been discontinued.

If you’ve gotten involved enough in any MMORPG (Online Role Playing Game) and involved yourself with one of the player created organizations then you have probably run into the suggestion or request that you use Vent (short for Ventrillo) or TeamSpeak. If you haven’t run into them yet or you have and you don’t get why you need them, a little explanation.

These programs, and I am sure they are not the only two just the most popular, are programs that allow for group voice chat. Often times a play organization such as a guild will insist on it’s usage for group raids, hunts, and other such group events. Many seem to feel it enhances and eases team communication. 

I have used both programs. I can’t tell you I have a preference for one over the other. I don’t. I dislike them both equally.

Yes, you read correctly. I dislike both of these programs. Not because I think either one is bad software. For me they take away from the game play. I honestly do not want to hear someone else whining about this or the other. I’ve been there. It’s annoying. I am busy concentrating on the game and what I am doing in the game. I have no desire to listen to the ramblings of others. I feel obligated to be prepared to respond. And it interrupts my enjoyment of my own music that I am listening to while I’m playing the game.

As you might guess I’ve had a less than ideal experience with the voice chat programs. I was involved in a player group that insisted, to the point of being hounded, that everyone have and be on Teamspeak and later Ventrillo. I got the full experience of the mutterings and ramblings of the group leader who did not much more than complain with regards to other players in the group and how they didn’t respect and apreciate what he did and how much he put into the game and the group. I have even been yelled at over the chat for not good reason.

For the record, in my opinion, there is NEVER a good reason to yell at someone over voice chat when playing a game. It is just a game. I don’t care if it seems to be meant in jest. Without proper face to face communication where you can see the expression you can never be sure.

I am sure that these programs do offer a great tool for larger raid groups. I can see where when you get up past 5 people it is probably very helpful for planning strategy and assigning tasks. I however, will do almost anything I can to avoid using them. Perhaps you will have a different experience.

See you in the machine.

Games

Originally published at: suguayproductions.com/joomla which has been discontinued.

That’s a pretty loaded and wide subject is it not? I mean those organizations with in the games that the game makers included to foster a sense of community and belonging. They are usually, groups, societies, corporations, guilds and even parties (as in political). So far these are the titles I have encounters. In addition to fostering a sense of community, these organizations usually have a common goal of some sort and the members try to assist the other members. We’re going to just call these organizations guilds as the concept works well and the term is fairly common within the online massive multiplayer game genre.

The functions of the guild varies depending on the game. And the personality depending on the people involved.

I have been fortunate enough to be a member of a very large guild that had control of a large area and this allowed me the opportuntiy to advance my character a good bit, in a fairly short time. The members were into helping each other quite a bit, and without really expecting a lot in return. The first thing I was asked was if I had a certain weapon or armour skill at a particular level and I was to let that person know when I did. When I did, they gave me a wicked awesome level of whichever it was, armour or weapon. This was a great experience. I took a two week break from playing only to return to the game somewhere I didn’t leave myself and without a guild. I was horrified, I thought I had been kicked out. That wasn’t the case, some other guilds got together and raided and wiped my guild off the map, literally. It was a shock. And a disappointment.

I have also been a member of a guild that for some reason the leader was trying very hard to make it very large. He/She was insistent on a very regimented sort of behavior. We had to use a voice service while in game. We were expected to get on it. We were expected to greet the group in the guild chat and things like that. I remember being very tired and having a headache and just wanting to be left alone one night and he/she was taking a bunch on some exploring expedition and I didn’t want to go. He/She was trying very hard to get me to. I left the group after the drama got really too much. I think I was a member all of a month. In that same game some members of that group splintered off to form their own and asked me to join them. I did for a while. They were too small and had grandiose and altruistic ideas and after a while I decided I was better off guild-less. Interestingly, the leader has left the game completely, and many of the members of the splinter group have rejoined the original.

The unfortunate experience in that particular game has taught me a few things with regards to guilds.

Becoming a member of a guild can be easy or complicated depending on the guild and the game. Often times, as you are off doing your own thing and minding your game business, someone will ask if you might be interested in joining their guild. That’s what happened in the case of the less than ideal case. In the ideal case, I was actually ‘advertising’ that I was looking for a guild. I was at a point in that game where I needed a strong guild to advance further. That was all I knew and I was very lucky. I have been asked to be a member of a start-up guild. This happens sort of randomly. Someone is forming a guild for some reason, they need a certain number of people as founding members and they are a couple short. I’ve never taken up this offer to join a start up other than that splinter group. Sometimes you have to go through an application process and sometimes it appears to be very simple event. 

I think I was actually interviewed for the guild in the less than ideal case. I didn’t register that at the time. I was asked to be a member of a guild in a different game because of the equipment I had at the time and the activity I was participating in. Believe it or not, a lot of these games have mining as a component. I guess so since you tend to need weapons, ships, and other stuff of the ilk. In any case, I didn’t really think to ask about the guild, I’m really not sure why I bothered as I had never intended to be a member of a guild in that game. I wanted to create my own since in this game you can have a guild of one if you would like. I was a member of the guild in this particular game for less than a week. I found it disturbed the way I had come to enjoy playing the game. I went back to a system guild for a while and I have since created my one person guild. I does leave something to be desired.

So, in that game that I had the less than ideal experience,  I was once again asked if I might be interested in joining a guild. I like this game, I don’t want my play to be colored by frustration with other players. When I was asked, I asked. I asked about the guild, what it’s goals are, what the expectations are of the members, and then I said yes. I have to say, so far it has been a very pleasurable experience. Within the first week or so I was invited on a group hunt that was a lot of fun. I realized I hadn’t had so much fun in quite a while. And when I was done it wasn’t a big deal to say I had to go. Wow. I’ve gone on a hunt with another member as well and we did pretty good, especially since we were hunting things that are a little out of my league. I’m hoping this continues to be a good experience. 

When the guild experience is a good one it really does enhance game play and create a sense of community. 

 

See you in the machine.

Games

 

Originally published at: suguayproductions.com/joomla which has been discontinued.