The Broken R0m
The testimony,angry rantings, and randomness of a hardcore gamer, geek, nerd, and dork. And taking over the world, too.

Alright, i've seen enough of it these past few days. Especially since the release of the 17 minute, in-game trailer for Darkfall. It scares me, that my generation's only concern is how shiny a game is. They want all the pixel shaders, all the lighting effects, the realistic particle effects, moving shadows, wavy grass and trees, they even desire to see the very pores on their characters skin.

When did gaming go so far as to say gmeplay, content, innovation, and uniqueness is no longer important? When did they decide that the only thing we, as gamers, wish to see, is shininess? THEY didn't. It's us gamers that are pushing for graphics so intense, so awe inspiring, that everything else takes a back burner. They wanna give us content, gameplay, and graphics, NOT just one of those three.

What I saw for Darkfall amazed me. A game that actually gives you something to do, gives you full control, doesn't constrain you to a set path.  It is giving us huge amounts of content and gameplay. I mean come on, fleet battles, castle sieges, hovercraft siege weapons, fps style combat, skill based system. It's so open ended for us, who could ask for more?

The graphics are great for what they have been doing. And honestly they look better than some games i've played, such as WoW. It's graphics are sub par at best. Cartoony, cliched and dated. Yet they have over six million subscribers. Then you look at AoC, it's graphics are amazing, but it has failed in the departments of gameplay, content, and stability.

Graphics are enhancements to the game, not the game itself. I play games for the gameplay, the content, and the fun. I don't spend my hard earned 50 bucks to ogle skin pores while running through a monotonous, cliched, and predictable story that offers little in gameplay or content.

There are three games that graphic wise aren't award winning or awe inspiring, but they were the best damn gaming experiances I EVER had, and they are:

Baldur's Gate - Content, Storytelling, Replayability, Gameplay

Fallout 1 & 2 - Storytelling, Gameplay, Replayability, Content

X-COM UFO Defense - Gameplay, Replayability, Innovative

None of those games had graphics as a prioity. None of them needed graphics to make the game awesome. The games themselves were awesome. Period. You gamers my age, which is 22, and younger, need to get your priorities straight. Graphics don't make the game, it's what the game let's us do, what it provides, that truly makes a game worth playing.

I'll be playing Darkfall when it's released. It has everything I want, and nothing I don't need.

Heya guys, yeah, last time I spoke it was in March. Went on a long hiatus playing games and went on a tour of the USA and Canada with my grandmother. Finally back home. Longest trip of my life. But, it did allow me to think. And I did a lot of thinking. Mainly about MMO ideas that are never touched, that would be very unique, and that could so be done, and loved by many. Here is my list of ideas I compiled during my trip.

The MMO's Never Touched

1: Wild West/Cowboys-Native Americans

     Take the Wild West of the US during the 1800's, mix in a tad bit of steamwork tech, faith based classes, and the ability to explore/settle/start new towns, find gold, set up trade with natives, rob banks, horse rustling, become a train baron, run trading companies, join the US Military, set up forts, fight for territory with other nations.

2: Steampunk/Alchemy

Create automotons, build steampowered flying contraptions, create new formulas, discover transmutation of lead to gold, discover new forms of explosives, create new fuel types, invent new machines, parts, and tools. Play as human or automoton.

3: WWIII/Future

Set in the future, fight for the three sides. Similar to Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Sonic technology, harvest new fuel types, fight over contested territories and resources, design and invent new weapons, vehicles, and technology.

4: Modern Day Earth/Alien Invasion

Play as either human, or one of three alien races, one allied, two uncaring, and one bent on total subjugation and domination of the living. Set in modern day, preform autopsies on alien corpses, research alien tech to fight the invasion, design new weapons and aircraft to fight for earth, create organisations, taskforces, and alliances with other factions and races, join the enemy for power, control, and a chance to rule portions of the Earth.

5: Evolution/Creation

Discover the wonders of genetics, mutations, and adaptations. Play as a human in the future, utilizing DNA to evolve and mutate to adapt to their environment. Travel to distant planets full of alien life, mutagenic substances, and alien technology. Create factions based on faith, science, the furthering of the human race, or the preservation of humanity as it is today.

This is by no means all of them, but some have been done in some form or another. Some examples are Cyberpunk, Vampire/Lycan/Undead, Cops Vs. Robbers, Spy Vs. Mercs, and a few others.

Now, i'd like to see others give me some ideas they may have had. My criteria were rather simple.

1: Avoid Fantasy/Elves/Magic/Dwarves

2: Original for an MMO, Never done mainstream.

3: P2P, NO Item Malls

4: Unique Gameplay, Innovative Ideas

5: Fun Factor, Market Size

Now, have at it!

Okay, folks. Got another little thing eating at me, this one is less political. Well, not political at all.

Lack of ingenuity, creativity, and innovation in MMORPG's.

Now, I know these new MMO's coming out keep spouting innovative features, but really, they are the same mechanic, just in a different uniform. Quests, leveling, skills, classes, races, etc. Now, i'm not saying one can't take a working, and well made feature and enhance it, but that is not innovation, that is updating.

MMO's were infants for years. They lacked mainstream appeal, a well known IP, and money. Until Blizzard snuck up and threw WoW out for us all to enjoy. Now, i'm no WoW hater. I just don't like the game. Boring, simplistic, monotonous, grindfest, unoriginal. But that's not to say MMO's don't owe WoW the credit it deserves. It threw MMO's into the spotlight, and helped other, lesser known ones get attention. But, the new MMO's coming out and that have come out since WoW's birth, have become the wannabes.

There are very, and I mean VERY, few MMO's out there that I find truly innovative and fun.

City of Heroes is one of the first to have the most in depth, expansive, and detailed character creation i've ever seen. I spent hours JUST making characters, combining different parts, colors, designs, etc. The options were endless.

EVE online is one of the very few that the Devs actually introduce, continue, utilize, and support Roleplay. Their storyline is continuous, not just changing month to month, but literally day by day. And it both is affected by, and affects the players. Their actions fuel the story, the story fuels their actions.

Anarchy Online is one of the few, more original sci-fi concepts out there. Yeah it uses cliches, but, it uses them as new and fresh. Who cares about the sub-par graphics. The content, story, and originality alone is enough to keep me engaged for hours.

Runescape is, in itself, a darling. Now before you haters start spouting your fiery breath at me, I love this game. It was my first MMO. I learned how to lead a clan, I learned how to work as a team, I made many friends. It was cheap, it was fun, and it was loaded with things to do. I played it for six years. My clan is STILL going, four years since I left. THAT is amazing to me. I STILL talk to friends I made in that game. It is an introductory MMO, maybe a bit simple, but it is original and damn fun.

Now, That is not all the MMO's I have enjoyed, thought as genius, etc. But those are the ones that made a positive difference in my MMO experiance. They were creative, different, driven, and innovative. MMO's today? They follow a formula. Tried, tested, and true. That's all well and fine, but when all MMO's begin to feel and play like the same game in different skins, something is wrong.

I tried WoW, got bored. I love the Warcraft series. I tried LotRO, got bored. I love the LotR story. they both feel, act, and play damn near the same. Same quest log, same leveling system, same gear-centric advancement, same quests. It's one game in two skins.

Now, I know, i've been rambling on. And you say, but what do you propose? What do you think is needed to spice up, differentiate, and make games look and feel creative? Well, let me give a few of my opinions.

Quests: No more "Go kill 8 boars, bring back the tusks to prove you killed them." That is not a quest, that is a mundane task. An errand that i'd send my little brother out to do. It's not heroic. It's a mockery of my growing badassery. I want heroic deeds, I want to save the princess, assassinate the evil prince, break into the dungeon of an ancient dragon for the mystical spellbook. I want quests that shake the world, change the story, and make me look the total bad ass.

"But, then everyone will run around, being badasses, that's no fun." I agree. Each quest should be tailored to your character alone. Well, character or party. Now, I know that would require, *GASP!*, involvement of either Developers or Game Masters. Oh my, what? I'm suggesting they actually come and talk to us? Yup. I want a Game Master who leads me along an adventure, deciding the outcome of my choices. I want him to set up a quest for me, one that only *I* will be able to I did. One that will make me look like a bad ass. When 2 million different characters all have slayed Tragmadiloria the Red Dragon of Lame for her Chalice of Sameness, does that really make you feel THAT badass? Not really, makes me feel like I was a bit slow in catching up. And that Tragmadiloria is, actually, lame.

Now, there are some side effects of such a feature. Interaction between employees/volunteers and the players will sky rocket. The Devs will get to know and understand what the players really want, and will, by God, probably listen to us. It will though, on the con side, require a lot more GM's, time, and money. But that can be easily taken care of. Get players to volunteer to be a GM for their party for a day, for a group of people for a week, what have you. It will inspire, teach, and reward all involved.

Now, the rewards. They need some originality to them. No more receiving some random sword with the name of so and so NPC in the header. It's a damn sword. Now, I want a reward that will mean something, that will require me making a decision on when, how, and why I should use it. Now i'm not saying getting a sword is bad. No, I want a damn sword, heh. But I want a sword that will either A) Make a difference, or B) Be the ONLY one of it's kind. Yes, again, uniqueness tailored to you. But that again, would truly make you bad ass. To be the only dude walking around with the Frostcleaver Mace. Out of 2 million people.

Gold is cool, we all need gold. And that, I do not believe, should be changed. But Experiance Points/Skill Points? Yes, that needs a face lift. I want to be able to choose what I get. Perhaps not directly, but I want to gain experiance through the choice i've made during that specifically tailored quest i'm doing.

Say, for example, I must get through a locked door ahead. Now, normally you would have to get a key, or beat some bad guy for it to magically unlock. Lame. No, that's blah. I want multiple paths, each with different choices, and each reward me differently.

So, a locked door. Here would be the options:

1) Bash it down.

2) Pick the lock.

3) Use acid on the lock, disintegrating it.

4) Throw a fireball at it, burning the wood.

5) Find a key.

Now, those are basic choices, but each are different, each work, and each will get you to the same conclusion. You got the door open. But dependant on those choice, will depend on the consequences that follow, and the reward should reflect this.

Say I bash it down. I should receive some point, or experiance towards my strength/bruteness, etc. But I may have woken the sleeping orc guard on the other side. Now I have to deal with him.

How about i melt the lock with acid. I should recieve experiance or a point towards my ingenuity/intelligence. I slowly open the door, and see the afore mentioned sleeping orc. Now I can decide on the best way to take him out with as much or as little confrontation as I desire.

Choices give consequences, and my rewards should reflect that.

I'll end there for today. Tomorrow, Part Deuce of The Humming Disc.

Hey all, first blog. Hope ya all will become vic- er...loyal readers of my mad rantings, psychotic randomness, and over-zealous, fundamentalist, insane, crap.

That last bit is a lie. The fundamentalist part.

First things first.

Fare thee well, Gary Gygax, Original Dungeon Master. Your adventure has only now begun.

Alright, now i've got a few things eating at my gray matter, and i'm tired of the buzzards, so gonna let them loose here.

First off, Sex in Videogames:

It, oddly enough, is one of the most taboo, and hated subjects in the American public, media, and government. It is reviled more than decapitating innocent bystanders, it is more demonized than the actual portrayal of demons. Why? I dunno. But I do know that sex is the most natural act, and one we were mandated by God to exercise freely. All that hogwash about doing it out of wedlock, masturbation is bad for your health, it's harmful to children, etc is all just rhetoric spouted by the neo-conservative, uneducated, ill-informed parents and politicians. Oh, and arrogant, self worshiping lawyers.

Now that I got that out, i'm not saying we should glorify sex. That we should hold it up on a pedestal. No. I'm saying, have an open mind, be informed, and be mature. Sex can be a wonderful addition to a game, so long as it is depicted in a healthy, non-gratuitous fashion. But, that would be impossible. No fun in that, right?

Well unfortunately, ANY sex, being it, oh woe, a bare nipple or two, is seen as the most taboo, and untouchable subject in our culture today. Why? Far right, over-zealous, fundementalist religious doctrine and orginizations. Now, i'm not saying religion is bad. God's no. But listening to heretical, half-witted, biased, and close-minded preaching is. They make having sex out to be sinful, yet God said to us, "Go forth, be fruitful, and multiply." The big dude told us to bang like rabbits. Why then, does the Church want us to remain celibate, want us to hide the oh so dirty, yet heavenly mandated action? Control. They wish to protect through control. Control what one sees, and all they will get is what you want them to. Simple, tyrannical, and frighteningly achievable. All we need is a scapegoat.

Video games. This generations newest hobby is the last generations newest whipping boy. rock music was before that, tv before that, comics before that. It's a phase. And i'm sure will pass in time, but not without some damage being done to an otherwise harmless hobby.

To say showing sex in video games is bad, is kinda odd to me. Seeing that we have it on primetime, public access, free television. We have it in our music, on the pages of our magazines. Yet no one touches them, why? Money. They have money, they have power. We, the gaming industry, are still young compared to them. And we, unfortunately, do not have as much precedence in constitutional law as they do. But we can.

We have to speak up. We have to open our mouths. We, as gamers, though fiery, often loud folk when it comes to devs wronging us in games, don't do enough, or say enough when people with real power attempt to. We need to defend our constitutional right to both free speech and free expression. Video games are an art form, and as an art form, are legally protected by the Constitution of the United States. To keep our mouths shut, is to undermine our hobby and something we care about.

Leave our games alone, I say.

And that is the first RPM of this Broken R0m.