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Darkfall News - Post WWI Interviews - Blog Update
Posted by Jon Wood on May 14, 2009 | 33 comments in our forums
Paragus has updated his blog, reporting on the end of the first major war in Darkfall's sandbox world. In the entry, he interviews the top dogs on both the winning and losing sides.
Over the last 2 months, Darkfall's political landscape has been dominated by a massive server-wide war. In my article "Alliance Leader Interviews" one month ago, I tried to set the narrative for Agon's World War I against the Hyperion Alliance ruled by King Manus. Now one month later, it looks like the sun might finally be setting on the Hyperion Alliance. The server wide war consumed the community and reached into almost every corner of Agon.
Originally, the perception was that this would be a cold war in which both sides were mustering up as many allies as possible in order to defeat the other. Almost every weekend for the last month had multiple sieges going at the same time in a variety of locations, and at the start of every new week, players watched as the political and influence maps shifted around. Almost every single alliance in the game over the last month has watched their territory and influence shift as war started to literally tear the server in half.
Read the Post WWI Interviews - Blog Update
I really don't mean to sound like a jerk here and it could very well be that my perception on this is totally wrong, but it seems that most of the time there is a blog highlight, it's Paragus's blog and if it's a blogpost by Paragus, There is a pretty big chance the blogpost is about Darkfall.
There are a whole lot of different kinds of blogposts here on mmorpg.com about many different kind of subjects and games that, in my opinion,also deserve attention. I think it really wouldn't hurt if the "highlighted" blog could be a bit more..diverse, both in terms of author and subject.
I don't visit the News section that often so it could very well be that i'm totally wrong on this and that I just manage to visit at the wrong time, but it's just a thought
You're right in that we often draw news attention to Paragus' blogs. The reason for this is simple: Paragus writes professional quality blogs that report on various goings-on in-game. If you take a look at his few most recent blogs, you'll see that they are informing readers of something going on in-game. in this case, he discusses a major war and even interviews participants.
It's simple though, show me another blog by anyone else that is as professioonally written about any game and I will be more than happy to give it the same treatment.
Altho i usually enjoy reading paragus post's and comments on here im going to have to agree this is starting to get a bit fishy.
What I find funny is how much coverage Darkfall gets on this site....I belong to two other MMO gamesites and Darkfall is barely even a blip on the radar on either.......You'd think Darkfall has over a million players the way certain people go on about the game here.......
yes and not a review in sight either.
We are currently working on a review of Darkfall. However, we wanted to be sure that our reviewer had ample time to experience and repot upon the game. Many MMOs, especially sandbox MMOs, can not, in my opinion, be responsibly reviewed after a small amount of gameplay.
As to the coverage that Darkfall gets: Darkfall coverage gets read far more than coverage of many other games, that's just a fact. My job is to provide coverage that the community wants to read. The information that I have at my disposal to assess those wants are article views of which Darkfall gets many.
As to what other sites are doing in terms of coverage, simply put: We aren't other sites. We do not strive to do thigns the same way as other sites and frankly, if we were to do everything just like everyone else, very few of you would actually visit.
Such as real journalism.
Ill just repost from the other thread:
I have no issue with his blog.
But, you haven't just been spotlighting it, you have been posting it on your front page, weekly.
But you have like, what? 3 corespondents, and a blogger for one game? Little disproportionate to any other game. I know its all about the numbers, but the reason it gets so many reads is because of the shear number (weekly front page) and the fact that you treat them as news. Your fanning the flame to ramp up viewership (only site to do so BTW using this title). This has been the failing direction of the site since 2003. Instead of posting real content, that takes some responsibility, you pull from you reader base (like you do with most news, you pull it from the forums where the story's are really broken) and then plaster it up all over the front page, and completely dodge the bullet of having to take ANY responsibility for its content.
Conveniently.
You are saying, that the rest of the ongoing highlighted, but not spotlighted blogs on this site do not make the cut, and that's the only reason we get a weekly Darkfall spotlight?
Come on man. You already said it was because of the numbers, Darkfall is controversial, it gets reads. Someone would have to post some scathing shit, or about a more controversial game to beat out your reasoning.
Your preying on controversy, and getting your readers to do it, thus removing your staff from any responsibility.
You're right in that we often draw news attention to Paragus' blogs. The reason for this is simple: Paragus writes professional quality blogs that report on various goings-on in-game. If you take a look at his few most recent blogs, you'll see that they are informing readers of something going on in-game. in this case, he discusses a major war and even interviews participants.
It's simple though, show me another blog by anyone else that is as professioonally written about any game and I will be more than happy to give it the same treatment.
While I agree that Paragus's blogpost are of very high quality and it's clear that a lot of effort has gone into them, they feel more like editorial or feature quality to me then material you'd expect on a blog. There are many people who have very interesting opinions about different kind of games but simply don't have the time or ability to write such high quality articles you'd expect from the staff of this website.
I always thought of the "blog highlights" as a voice for those people.
If Paragus has such high quality blogposts that it needs to be highlighted every time he makes a post, why not just give him his own "feature", and have the blog highlights be a bit more diverse?
I'm just tossing out some thoughts here.
Such as real journalism.
Ill just repost from the other thread:
I have no issue with his blog.
But, you haven't just been spotlighting it, you have been posting it on your front page, weekly.
But you have like, what? 3 corespondents, and a blogger for one game? Little disproportionate to any other game. I know its all about the numbers, but the reason it gets so many reads is because of the shear number (weekly front page) and the fact that you treat them as news. Your fanning the flame to ramp up viewership (only site to do so BTW using this title). This has been the failing direction of the site since 2003. Instead of posting real content, that takes some responsibility, you pull from you reader base (like you do with most news, you pull it from the forums where the story's are really broken) and then plaster it up all over the front page, and completely dodge the bullet of having to take ANY responsibility for its content.
Conveniently.
I stand behind the content of the blogs that I put in the news section. A report on the goings-on of a major event in-game, along with interviews is newsworthy. If someone blogged about a major event like this in say, EVE Online, I'd highlight that as well. just ebcause you don't like a game doesn't invalidate it.
I take full responsibility for everything that is highlighted on this site. What you are refusing to acknowledge after MANY MANY posts and discussions, is the difference between a review or hard news piece and opinion. Hard news and reviews need to be un-biased. Opinion, by its nature, is biased.
Yes, we post all features in the newsroom. We have done so since this site was founded.
Also, as I have explained to you time and time and time again, Correspondents apply to write about various games. We don't have a giant pool of people to whom we assign games. If we get three Correspondents for Darkfall, great. if we get three Correspondents for ANY game, great.
There are two aspects to editorial content on this site: The first aspect is the hard news and reviews. Hard news is handled by either myself, another staffer or someone designated Staff Writer. The second aspect is opinion. Blogs and Correspondents are opinion. Seriously, you need to let it go.
*sigh* Yes, you're right, it's all a big giant conspiracy and it isn't at all that you're manufacturing controversey about something that has been reasonably, rationally and honestly explained to you.
I can not be more forthright with you or anyone else on this matter. I have been as honest as is humanly possible and if you choose not to believe me at this point, that's your perogative, but I am finished discussing it.
Way to miss my point bro.
How is it that I am the one that can't separate them, when i have been asking this site TO STOP TREATING OPINION AND OP/ED PICES AS NEWS!
Really now.
You can also stop trying to dismiss my very valid concerns with a wave of "You don't like the game". This isn't the case. Unless you would like me to start posting that your a fanboi and "Love you some darkfall". Really, do we need to degrade to this? Is the the last resort to this discussion?
I initially thought "Oh dear God not more space for DFO" and "Have I suddenly found DFO's new website" but then I read the blog and found it to be a very interesting read, if a bit long in the tooth.
I do try to read each news bit on the front page, I rush past the myriad of F2P items without a second glance though, but then I will invaribly be drawn like a moth to the flame to the ever present DFO articles to be found so frequently.
The drama, which is ever present makes for an entertaining read and ensures that DFO will still be capturing more news space than the game really deserves and that such a small player base reflects, when was the last time we saw anything from the likes of Neocron2 for instance.
However what this blog really did highlight was the scary addiction players tend to have in games that are trying to mimic real world dynamics, alliance wars require a huge investment of time, but players tend to forget the important things around them like family/health and thier jobs.
This blog really does show the dark side of a truly addicted player who is willing to ignore thier wives/husbands girfriends/boyfriends or children just to be able to spend extra time manipulating pixels.
I imagine that some are even logging in from work just to ensure they are able to check on thier characters and in-game situation.
People really need to get their priorities in order, otherwise the horror stories we used to see posted in the early days of MMO's will resurface again, and being a Manic depressive due to MMO gaming should not be considered a badge of honour for anyone within an MMO.
It was a good read, and an interesting article, i enjoyed reading each leaders viewpoint on the goings down as well.
This, has nothing to do with my previous postings.
Hmm I really didn't read your responses at first but yes you have a very valid point, why is a Blog which represents an opinion piece posted as a news item when we have a Blog section on this website?
Could such opinion pieces please be regarded as such rather than news items in the future.
I wish every mmorpg out there had a blogger here on mmorpg.com as precise and committed as Paragus.
It really adds a layer of information which you can't get out of standard reviews or forum posts and with that, the highlighted blog feature of this site and the opportunity it gives to aspiring writers really is a potential diamond compared to many other sources of information.
p.s. Bloodworth, every mentioning of these kind of contributions on the front page has the words 'blog' or 'blog entry' as a part of it. I for one think that people know the difference between a blog, a review, a press release and an editorial piece.
Since not every game generates the page views that Darkfall does I wouldn't hold your breath.
Since not every game generates the page views that Darkfall does I wouldn't hold your breath.
Ok, things that I've said have been taken out of context. yes, pageviews do account toa point for why we continue to run Darkfall articles. That being said, if someone writes a simlarly well put together and professional blog about any other game and brings it to my attention, I'll be happy to put it up. If I could get someone of that quality blogging about in-game events in every game on our list, I would be a happy, happy man.
Ok, things that I've said have been taken out of context. yes, pageviews do account toa point for why we continue to run Darkfall articles. That being said, if someone writes a simlarly well put together and professional blog about any other game and brings it to my attention, I'll be happy to put it up. If I could get someone of that quality blogging about in-game events in every game on our list, I would be a happy, happy man.
Have you looked in your blog section?
Here is one.
I mean, Paragus blog even says he IS the Spotlighted blog, not to mention for every one of his blogs that hits the front page, there are three threads about it no less. What happened to cross posting/multiple threads rules?
Well written, yes. Well informed, no. For a game where the fanboys constantly tell players to do their research on the game I don't understand why the "star blogger" hasn't done his own research and insist on attacking simple questions and words as "troll dribble." Not once was I rude or attacking Paragus blog as "fanboy dribble" yet he felt the need to take a shot at anyone remotely attacking his "blogged game," sounds typical of the DF community, I'm noticing a pattern.
Link provided: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2814271#2814271. Please read my initial post, his reply, and finally my reply. Was I wrong? I already know the biased people will answer yes, so I digress.
Then, as expected, members from his guild proceed to make posts such as this to further incite more drama within the Darkfall forums: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235821/Affected-much.html. Why is it that all other topics instigating forum drama regarding the game of Darkfall get locked except for certain members? I'm just showing everyone why some people get the feeling of favoritism on this site. My reply to this troll attempt immediately gets reported multiple times www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2824944#2824944
And people on this site do misconstrue anything on the title page, here is a perfect example where a forum member takes the words of a "correspondent" and immediately spreads his false gospel as the article is some sort of unbiased glowing review: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/234646/MMOPRGcom-Correspondent-about-DarkFall-.html. This is just a small example, there are more drastic other examples but I don't have the time to further elaborate.
So the feeling of favoritism is pretty self evident. This site would have more well versed writers to turn blogger if they weren't chased away by the forum drama that plagues various sections of this website. I was disappointed for the last time. It's time to look for another MMORPG forum.
Ok, things that I've said have been taken out of context. yes, pageviews do account toa point for why we continue to run Darkfall articles. That being said, if someone writes a simlarly well put together and professional blog about any other game and brings it to my attention, I'll be happy to put it up. If I could get someone of that quality blogging about in-game events in every game on our list, I would be a happy, happy man.
Have you looked in your blog section?
Here is one.
I mean, Paragus blog even says he IS the Spotlighted blog, not to mention for every one of his blogs that hits the front page, there are three threads about it no less. What happened to cross posting/multiple threads rules?
MrB, what are you trying to say exactly? Have you even looked at the "highlighted blogs"? You link to vicarious existence, and when I look at the blog tab under highlighted blogs, it's the 4th one down on my screen, right under Paragus.
As to the moderation issues in the DF threads, I think the volume of flaming is so high, that there are probably bound to be more issues than the moderators can reasonably handle. Whether they are intentionally lax in enforcement simply because of the game, I really don't know.
Highlighted, is not spotlighted. Spotlighted here, seems to mean, posted on the front page.
Well written, yes. Well informed, no. For a game where the fanboys constantly tell players to do their research on the game I don't understand why the "star blogger" hasn't done his own research and insist on attacking simple questions and words as "troll dribble." Not once was I rude or attacking Paragus blog as "fanboy dribble" yet he felt the need to take a shot at anyone remotely attacking his "blogged game," sounds typical of the DF community, I'm noticing a pattern.
Link provided: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2814271#2814271. Please read my initial post, his reply, and finally my reply. Was I wrong? I already know the biased people will answer yes, so I digress.
Then, as expected, members from his guild proceed to make posts such as this to further incite more drama within the Darkfall forums: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235821/Affected-much.html. Why is it that all other topics instigating forum drama regarding the game of Darkfall get locked except for certain members? I'm just showing everyone why some people get the feeling of favoritism on this site. My reply to this troll attempt immediately gets reported multiple times www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2824944#2824944
And people on this site do misconstrue anything on the title page, here is a perfect example where a forum member takes the words of a "correspondent" and immediately spreads his false gospel as the article is some sort of unbiased glowing review: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/234646/MMOPRGcom-Correspondent-about-DarkFall-.html. This is just a small example, there are more drastic other examples but I don't have the time to further elaborate.
So the feeling of favoritism is pretty self evident. This site would have more well versed writers to turn blogger if they weren't chased away by the forum drama that plagues various sections of this website. I was disappointed for the last time. It's time to look for another MMORPG forum.
So from the few highlighted blogs on this site, you mean to tell me that Paragus' blog is the only one that makes it to the title page top right corner under "Our latest features" ? This is a sincere question, I am at work an between 3 different stock market monitors I'm having a little trouble viewing pages :)
Granted, there's no definition of "spotlight" posted anywhere readily accessible, so I'm attempting to discern the definition from what I see in context. It looks to me as though posts get spotlighted, and not really blogs themselves, although spotlighting can certainly draw more attention to the blog as a whole. Is Paragus wrong to use the term on his blog? There doesn't seem to be any rule against a bit of puffing. Could some people misinterpret it as meaning something beyond what it means? Perhaps, but it doesn't really seem to be all that out of line.
I did a quick search on "spotlight", and it doesn't look like it happens terribly frequently. A lot of spotlighting of articles about VG was done around the time of VG's release, so I'm guessing it happens more frequently when there's a lot of buzz about a game, and maybe that's why a post about Darkfall was chosen in this particular case - not only is there a good deal of positive interest, but there's also a lot of negative interest, which, when added together, create an enormous amount of buzz.
Well written, yes. Well informed, no. For a game where the fanboys constantly tell players to do their research on the game I don't understand why the "star blogger" hasn't done his own research and insist on attacking simple questions and words as "troll dribble." Not once was I rude or attacking Paragus blog as "fanboy dribble" yet he felt the need to take a shot at anyone remotely attacking his "blogged game," sounds typical of the DF community, I'm noticing a pattern.
Link provided: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2814271#2814271. Please read my initial post, his reply, and finally my reply. Was I wrong? I already know the biased people will answer yes, so I digress.
To say "insist on attacking simple questions and words as "troll dribble." is a gross exaggeration of what I read there; you asked him four questions and you got four forthright and elaborate answers. The only thing he referred to as "troll dribble" was you stressing how Aventurine set the bar at release "SO LOW"
Then, as expected, members from his guild proceed to make posts such as this to further incite more drama within the Darkfall forums: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235821/Affected-much.html.
"Members from his guild"? I didn't know he was to be held accountable for what his guildies wrote. Should he?
Why is it that all other topics instigating forum drama regarding the game of Darkfall get locked except for certain members? I'm just showing everyone why some people get the feeling of favoritism on this site. My reply to this troll attempt immediately gets reported multiple times www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2824944#2824944
What you wrote is anyone's guess since your post was moderated. But rest assured; I got an infraction today as well for defending Paragus in the thread that calls for his blog's removal from the highlighted section while the OP's post remains unchanged.
My first warning so far and the edited part wasn't so very bad in my opinion. But, oh well ... life goes on for me without comparing people to infamous dictators :) Oh, this link wasn't about Paragus' contributions and their value or lack of value either, right?
And people on this site do misconstrue anything on the title page, here is a perfect example where a forum member takes the words of a "correspondent" and immediately spreads his false gospel as the article is some sort of unbiased glowing review: www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/234646/MMOPRGcom-Correspondent-about-DarkFall-.html. This is just a small example, there are more drastic other examples but I don't have the time to further elaborate.
It seems you are on a wild witchhunt now. We started out discussing Paragus' merrits or lack thereof, let's stick to the topic at hand.
So the feeling of favoritism is pretty self evident. This site would have more well versed writers to turn blogger if they weren't chased away by the forum drama that plagues various sections of this website. I was disappointed for the last time. It's time to look for another MMORPG forum.
So long, mate. But wherever you end up, try not to take things too personal.
edit: and take it easy with the conspiracy theories. There are not many sites which allow so much freedom as here. The huge amount of negative posts, and I mean the nasty, up close and personal kind, is AMPLE evidence of that. I think you are really exaggerating to speak of favoritism on this site in regard to positive information versus negative information on Darkfall. If you were right the thread which calls to remove Paragus' blog from the highlighted section would have been removed right away.
Hey at least you're finally admitting that keeping the advertisers happy is more important than providing truthful content about mmorpgs. How's that completely unbiased, totally honest review of Darkfall coming along?
This seem's to be getting out of hand really. Stradden, as a Managing Editor, you need to watch what you say to the public. This is the reason your post's have been viewed out of context. If this is your site, I would suggest taking these issues with certain people to Personal Messages and if they continue blasting them in public, enforce your forum rules about it. I would also state that you need to bite back how much information is displayed about DarkFall on the main page. The reason it's so talked about and viewed, is because it's become the only thing to read about on your main page. If you have so many articles coming out about it, fall back to maybe one or two. Also, you need your other correspondents to step up in your other games and start posting articles or get rid of them. I'm sure there are many on here who would love a chance to post articles to you for review if given the chance. You need to basically go through your staff and find out who's not doing there job and get rid of them.
I'm not going to say anymore because this thread should not be here. It's a blog update, not a news update. Create another area if you want to have an area that shows blog updates. Peace!
Hey at least you're finally admitting that keeping the advertisers happy is more important than providing truthful content about mmorpgs. How's that completely unbiased, totally honest review of Darkfall coming along?
No he isn't.
Here merely says that Darkfall articles receive a lot of attention. That doesn't mean that they aren't being truthful, it's that they are providing articles on the subject the readers are interested in.
It works like this on every single website. Go look up on websites such as Gamespot and IGN and see how much coverage games like Killzone 2, Halo 3 and Gears of War get when they get near release. Tons! that doesn't mean they are suddenly "Selling out", it means they are providing articles about games their audience is interested in.
Do you even realise what you're accusing them of?
I think Sessler from G4 explains it best:
http://g4tv.com/thepile/videos/36553/Sesslers-Soapbox-Killzone-Mailbag.html
Skip to the 5:13 mark.
I know exactly what I'm accusing him of--linking tons of questionable op/ed pieces on the "News" page becase DF gets a lot of attention at this site. He said they generated more page views which is a marketing term used in online advertising.
When this site first started it was awesome...it was the single best place on the internet to come and have honest discussions with other gamers about mmorpgs but unfortunately it's turned into nothing more than an extension for mmorpg developer marketing departments and it shows not just in the stories that are carried on the front page but in the moderation policies as well.
Do you really feel like DF gets extra special attention on this site? From what I can tell, it's not listed as a top game. There's nothing on the front page news section about it. Yes, Paragus rants is listed as one of the feature blogs, the only one of 9 on the list about DF.
Yes, I also see that His blog entry is a highlighted blog, one of several. I also see that it is on the list of top rated blogs. That rating is given by the readers as far as I can tell. But those are the only spots that it appears. I don't know how you intend to make them remove it from the top rated section. I can see that the top rated section and the highlighted blogs go hand in hand.
As far as I can tell, there appears to be an objective and fair standard in selecting the blogs that are highlighted. So, are you suggesting that the blog be removed entirely, or hidden away because you dislike the subject matter?
When people here speak of "Highlighted" blogs, they aren't refering to the section on the blog section of this forum, they are refering to the amount of times a blog post gets mentioned into the news section.
You have to realise that there is a small group of "career Darkfall trolls" who do not play Darkfall, have never played Darkfall, but who simply want to see it fall.
Regardless of how objective mmorpg.com's editorial policy may be or how high quality Paragus' blogs may be, anything that can be construed as positive Darkfall coverage runs directly contrary to their anti-Darkfall agenda, hence the complaints.
Excellent blog post by the way, I am playing the game and this blog filled in some blanks in my political knowledge.
And doesn't this just depend on how many page views it gets?
And doesn't this just depend on how many page views it gets?
And they get more page views because they are featured in the News section instead of the Blogs section where they belong. Read back a few posts where Stradden admits why Darkfall gets pimped so much...