All Posts by vulgrin

Oh I agree, I just don't think people realize what kind of time that takes, or what kind of commitment it requires.  And in this day and age of ad based revenue models, I'm pointing out to possible authors that this isn't as good as it seems, and that your good writing and content is worth something to MMORPG.  This isn't some community site anymore - this is an advertising based publishing site.  Would you write for Time magazine for free?  (Ok, yeah, I'd do this once too - just to be in Time - but eventually, I need to eat.)

Sites need to get out of the mind-set that just because content written by its users is out there, it should be free.  Likewise, authors need to realize that their thoughts, time and energy are actually worth something besides a good feeling.

Mainly though, I'm just pointing out that this isn't as easy or as glamorous as it might sound.  If I were going to write game related material at this point, I'd go do it at Newsvine or a similar service where I get some ad kickback - that's all.

I've thought about applying to MMORPG for a long, long time.  I used to be a writer over at GamersInfo.net until I started to not have time to do full reviews.  (I wrote reviews and MMOG blog entries.)  So, I have experience and at least partly understand what it takes to be a game writer.  It takes a lot of time and a lot more energy than most people think. 

Even if you are loving the game you are playing - its not always as easy as "play a session, then write a blog." You have to try to remain interesting.  You have to try to find new things to talk about in a game that has you grinding out levels over and over.  You have to still do research by keeping up on the forums - which for some games IS a full time job.  (That's why they have community managers...)

So, I'm a bit dismayed that a site that has ads all over it, and is probably one of the prestige MMOG sites out there, can't throw writers some cash.  I'm not talking full time salaried positions with healthcare - I'm talking about royalties on ad revenue on articles.  See Newsvine as an example of this - as writers write articles, the articles' popularity helps dictate what kind of money came in due to the content.  Then that can be paid back to the writers.  In most cases, this in NO WAY covers the cost of time the writer uses to write the article - but over time it can be a nice little stipend for your work, especially if you are a popular writer.

Furthermore, MMORPG should cover the subscription fees for any of their "correspondents."  Either do this via deals with the MMOG itself - which happens all the time - or by using a little ad revenue to support it.

If you want true "volunteer" writers, then put up a community style system where anyone can write - ala 1Up.  I think that once you move past "masses blogging their thoughts" to "editorial process" you have to start offering SOMETHING to the writers who are spending their time.  A merit / percentage of ad revenue system is perfect for this because it awards your good writers and it doesn't break the bank.

Content is not free.  "Game writing experience" doesn't really mean a hell of a lot in the short to medium term - the world is already full of professional game writers.   If MMORPG.com is getting ad revenue from every page - so should the writers.

Well said my friend.

I myself put up with a LOT of stigma in high school thanks to D&D - being called a "devil worshipper" because of the games I played and the music I listened to.  But looking back on that now, I wouldn't have traded it for the world.  I wouldn't exactly call myself well rounded :) but gaming definitely helped me expand my imagination.  Now I'm quite successful, running my own business and doing really well at it.  I've met lots of crazy, mixed up, curious, happy, delightful people, gone to a lot of conventions, and basically had a great time being a 30-something old "kid".

Not to mention the fact that without people like Gygax, most of the games that we know and love would have never came to pass.  Even the non-fantasy games owe their props to Gygax because they brought the people together who MADE those games.  I seem to remember reading a biography of iD software a few years ago and those guys basically got together and made games because they played RPGs in a house by a lake.  Games brought them together, and they, along with many, many, many other people revolutionized and created an industry.

I got to meet Gary last year, at GenCon 2007, when he was outside the convention center talking with a bunch of fans.  If you didn't know anything about the industry you would have never known him from any other gamer there that day.  He was a normal guy with extraordinary vision and imagination.  I only got to mutter a quick "hi" and listen to him for a few seconds, but I'll cherish that moment forever.

So, hats off to Gary Gygax.  Roll a die, lift a mug, and realize that the world is a little bit dimmer than it was on March 3rd, 2008, but that his light carries on within all of us and will carry on forever.

I wonder how many of those 4 million characters are farmer spammers.  Its getting WAAY out of hand lately - with idiot farmers creating characters, spamming a region, then logging off and deleting the character.  They need to make sure to put some serious anti-spammer measures into place on the next release.

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"This," Jeffrey said of all of the work and planning that is going into continuing to expand and grow the content in Lord of the Rings Online, "is the beginning of a very long franchise."

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And THAT is precisely why I'm not going anywhere, even with all the nay-sayers out there already talking about LOTRO's demise. There is still a LOT of Middle Earth yet to explore.