A Life All Its Own

MMORPGs. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. If you've spent any time playing video games, whether its been on the consoles or PC (Mac too), you've likely heard of this term. It now sits alongside other terms such as FPS (First Person Shooter) and RTS (Real Time Strategy).

A Second Life, A Second World

But just what are MMORPGs? You can infer much of what it is from the last three letters of its acronym: Role Playing Game. Like the old Dungeons & Dragons games, you create a character and play out a role. Though that role can be limited by game mechanics, you are often allowed to do what you want. You can roleplay (pretend to be your character in-game), you can "raid" (taking on hard dungeons with allies to get good loot), you can PvP (Player versus Player, where you and other human controlled characters combat one another), or you can just futz around for fun.

But you can do that in any offline RPG. The MMO, the massively multiplayer online portion, is just that. A massive multiplayer section. You will often find yourself playing alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of players on your server.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

You can create just about any character in MMORPGs, though they are limited by game mechanics. For example, in Anarchy Online, you could create male and female avatars of three of the game's four races (the fourth race had one gender). In World of Warcraft, you can create male and female avatars of all 10 races, though specific races had certain unique things (Draenei had facial crests, horns, and tails; the Forsaken were undead humans sometimes literally falling apart, etc).

So, you could be anyone. Even someone of the opposite gender. Of course, this can cause some...problems...in game, but it also teaches players to try and keep an open mind.

Online Anarchy

From here on I will speak mostly in terms of the two MMORPGs with which I have experience. Anarchy Online, made by Funcom, was my "first" MMORPG. I had tried out both Ultima Online and Everquest before, but neither truly grabbed me.

Anarchy Online is one of the few science fiction MMOs (the genre is dominated mostly by Fantasy style games), though it did have some fantasical elements (a dragon lived in a castle in one town, I recall).

Anarchy Online, though extremely dated by today's standards, is still worth a look. One can even play for free, though doing so causes the game to have some ingame ads on billboards

You are Listening to Gridstream Productions

One of my favorite parts from Anarchy Online wasn't even officially a part of the game. At least for a time. Gridstream Productions was an ingame radio station of sorts. You had to use a radio client to listen in, but you could talk with the DJs in game and even request songs. They had a number of DJs, many of whom had specialties. Former CEO Lan "Tarryk" Kozar often played hard rock, another former CEO "Veldron" played even harder rock, former DJ Otori would play dance and house, and so on.

Tarryk stepped down some time after I stopped playing, handing the reins to Veldron. Veldron has since gone "missing," though clues from the bio for new CEO Ashval points to him just being Veldron under another name.

GSP became big. Very big. Part of that was likely due to Anarchy Online having only three servers: Rubi-ka 1 (now named Atlantean), Rubi-ka 2 (now named Rimor), and a German server whose name I can't seem to find. RK1/Atlantean was the most populated, but they had a speacial bot script on each server allowing them to take requests from them all.

They also held parties. Despite the game having three sides, two of which were at war (Omni-Tek and the Rebels), they had parties where all were invited, though sometimes it was difficult to get to the club they were at. Most parties were held at their unofficial HQ, Reet's Retreat. GSP also were hired by numerous Organizations (player run groups) to help with parties.



GSP is perhaps the one aspect I miss most. Though it seems to have changed, having the in-game radio was a great thing, and made leveling and playing all the more fun.

I just wish they had it in the MMO I play now.

Welcome to the World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft, also known as WoW, is "this" generation's Everquest. Everquest, for those that don't know, was the 700 lb. gorilla of the MMO market. WoW is the 2 ton gorilla.

WoW, at last report, had 11.5 million players worldwide, and it seems to continue to grow. They just recently released their latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and though most would agree that WoW is starting to decline, it still has a number of years left in it, and at least one more expansion.

WoW is a sequel of sorts to Blizzard's Warcraft storyline. It continues from the events in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, and offered players a chance to change from the traditional RTS to the MMORPG. Everyone, even Blizzard, was surprised with the results.

WoW is often thought of as being in the fantasy genre, but it tends to be more of a blend of fantasy and steampunk. Thanks to the Gnome and Goblin races, there exist robots and machines in WoW. There are even technological ways to teleport from place to place (though magical means still rules it all).

The Draw

So why do so many people play WoW? And after so long? (The game was released in November of 2004)

Your guess is as good as mine, really. I play because I love the world, and even if some of the story is silly at times, I enjoy it. Others came for that reason and stay for the community. And others still...again, your guess is as good as mine.

That's the same draw with most MMOs, I think. You come in for your varying reasons, but in the end most stay because of the community that they grow attached to.

MMOs have somewhat become the last domain of PC gaming. Though a few exist on consoles (Final Fantasy 11 and the Phantasy Star line of games, to my knowledge), most exist on the PC and Mac only. That may change as time passes and consoles become more like computers. We'll see.

Weekly Opinion - Rabid Fanning

Rabid fanning is just a term I came up with, right this instant. Was thinking maybe Fanboyism or Rabid Fanboys, but fanning seems to be a better term, I believe.

Though I feel that this has diminished over the last few years, it still exists in some way. There are fans of the various gaming systems that feel as though their's is the superior one, that their's is the king while the others are not fit to lick the scum off the boot of their company of choice's president.

Diminishing Returns

I mentioned that I feel it has diminished. While there is no way to keep track, to my knowledge, as one who often associates with other gamers, it is a feeling I've had. The "Console War" was probably at its hottest in the last Generation, with Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's Gamecube (some include Sega's Dreamcast, though I feel that was out too early and died before the others came into being).

Part of this change may be due to the games in this latest generation (belonging to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii) are reaching across platforms. Big hits like Grand Theft Auto 4 can be played on both the 360 and PS3, where once the GTA series played on only the PS2.

Though there are still exclusives (360 with the Halo franchise, PS3 with...actually I can't really think of any off the top of my head at this moment), the 360 and PS3 have become somewhat homogenized. But what about the Wii, you ask? Nintendo's targeting an almost entirely different crowd with their gaming system now, so they're almost out of the console race at this point.

All the same, though, you still have people who decry one system over the other, and refuse to back down. These people often refuse to listen to reason and back their system like a dedicated football fan backs his losing team.

The Why of Things

Just how did rabid fanning come about, though? The reason I think fits best is that this arose from kids from my generation only being able to get one console. Yahtzee of The Escapist said it best in one of his videos, but I can't find it (his videos are good to watch though. Be mindful, however, that he curses quite a bit, so his videos aren't exactly safe for work). Essentially, though, a kid could only get one console platform, and since he was stuck with it until perhaps the next generation, they either convinced themselves that the console was the best or just never tried the others and so never knew what the other consoles could offer.

The Outcast

There is one thing that most console players seem to be able to agree upon, though, and that is their dislike for PC gamers. Some just can't see the PC being a good gaming system, that the consoles are better. While the consoles have some advantages, and the PC have some disadvantages (check out my Piracy opinion post to see one such problem), the PC deserves to be counted among the 360, PS3, and Wii.

One can easily upgrade their own PC, thereby allowing them to continue to play new games as they are released, while console players may have to abandon their old platform in order to play new ones. This can be cost saving, if the PC gamer is careful.

But even PC gamers sometimes look down on their console gaming brethren.

Can't we all just...get along?

Why can't more gamers just see beyond the lines of their consoles and enjoy the fact that others are happy with their systems? Why do some have to be unhappy that former exclusives to their console can now be played on others?

I wish I had the answer, but I don't. While I would happily categorize myself as a PC gamer first and foremost, I absolutely love my Nintendo DS, and the Playstation 2 was one of the best gaming consoles, in my opinion. The Xbox line...I don't like too much, but eh, its there and people like it, that's good enough for me.

I hope that rabid fanning continues to diminish. We're all gamers. We all love the same thing. Why must we fight?

Game Review - Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead is one of the latest games put out by game developer
Valve Software, though developed by Turtle Rock Studios. Available for purchase of Valve's own Steam service as well as in stores, it has become highly popular. As of February 17th, it held the 7th top spot for sales from February 1st through 7th, and was the most popular game bought on Steam, beating out such favorites as Grand Theft Auto 4 and Counter-Strike.

I received it for Christmas, and have played off and on throughout.

Sole Survivors

In the game, you play as one of four set characters, survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Each character is different (essentially you have the grizzled war veteran, the bearded biker, the college girl, and the African American office worker), and reports say that each has a slight advantage with certain weapons (the girl, Zoey, is said to be slightly better with the dual wielded pistols, for example).

At this time, there are four "acts", each with four stages and a finale:

• No Mercy: No Mercy is the first, in which you start in a city, making your way to a hospital rooftop for rescue. You start going through an apartment, make your way through the streets into the subway, from the subway into a sewer, which leads to the hospital. The finale takes place upon the rooftop. More on the finales in a bit.
  
  
• Death Toll: You start out following roads in a wooded area, making your way into another series of sewers. These lead to a church, which leads into a town, and then to a large house for the finale while you wait for a boat.
  
  
• Dead Air: You begin in a sort of greenhouse, making your way to an airport for rescue. You go over rooftops, through a crane, through a construction site, the airport terminal itself, with the finale taking place around the airplane as it refuels.
  
  
• Blood Harvest: You're making your way to a supposed safezone at a farmhouse. You start in the woods, leading to a series of tunnels. These tunnels take you to a bridge, which take you to a train station, and you finally reach the finale at the farmhouse.

Bloody Finale

Each act, campaign, whatever you wish to call it, ends with a finale. They all typically act the same, though they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Typically, you get a chance to fully heal and prepare, taking defensive positions. You usually have access to a single stationary chaingun. Though this gun has limited range, it will help with much. You call for help, and then waves of zombies come, more and more.

The difference in L4D's zombies is that they don't shamble. Oh no, they're more similar to the zombies from 28 Days Later. They run, they jump, they tackle. And mixed in are "special" zombies. There's the Smoker, the Hunter, the Boomer, the Tank, and the Witch. The last one is one to look out for.

The first four zombie types can show up during finales and throughout the levels. The witch will show up during the first four maps of an act, but not the finale. The Witch is probably the greatest danger, as startling her can get an ally killed quickly, if not instantly. She can be avoided, however, and you'll hear her sobbing long before encountering her. You can hear her sobs in the video below.



Playtime

I've played L4D in both single and multiplayer. Its a great amount of fun, though when playing with others it is important to have some amount of teamwork. While it is possible to handle things for a time on your own, you want, and need, someone at your back to cover you.

Final Notes

First, the game is fun, but you will grow tired of the maps after a time. Valve will be release a new mode soon, however, as well as some new maps. If nothing else, Valve is extremely good about releasing updates for their games. So while things may be boring after a time, give it a break maybe and return in a while, you should have new content.

And when you are in game, a suggestion about weapons. Though what you choose will be up to you, I myself tend to prefer the good old shotgun for handling the zombies. Though the assault rifles are good at dispatching them faster, nothing much is better than blowing zombies away the old fashioned way. I hate the sniper rifle, if only because I prefer to be in the thick of it. Also, if you get the chance, try out the dual pistols. While one pistol is ok, dual wielding them is great, and can handle quite a number of zombies if you're adept at aiming.

Weekly Opinion - Piracy

Gaming and Piracy go together, much like music and piracy. Like music, gaming is heavily impacted. However, the results from said piracy have gone in two different directions. Music pirates were once haunted by the Recording Industry Association of America. However, starting last December, the music pirate's boogeyman ceased their mass lawsuits. They are still suing some, but their days of suing people wrongfully accused are over.

Pirates and gaming are a bit different. To my knowledge, I've never really heard of a suit like the RIAA has done with music pirates. That may have something to do with the fact that the gaming industry does not have an RIAA of its own (its tried a few times, and certain organizations, such as the PC Gaming Alliance, are trying now). So it fell to the various developers and distributors to sue others.

Consoles and PCs

Piracy itself has seemed to have come down the hardest on PC games. Numerous developers have complained in the past about how games they release on the PC get pirated and they lose money.

While piracy exists on the consoles, from the research I have done, it is of a somewhat different sort. For them, it is more of a problem of exported games and mod-chips. As I am a PC gamer, I only know of those in passing, though to my understanding mod-chips often allow consoles to play games they otherwise wouldn't.

PC Gaming has taken a major hit with piracy. Some developers steadfastly refuse to make games for it now after bad game sales. Many of those that remain, however, are beginning to turn to DRM - Digital Rights Management. The problem is, many are getting quite zealous.

DRM and Controversy

DRM, Digital Rights Management, is exactly what it sounds like. It is a way for someone, whether it is a band, a music label, movie studio, or game developer, to protect their creation online. There are a number of ways to do it, ranging from keeping it from being ripped from DVDs (doesn't seem to work from what I have seen) to software installed in it to keep from being ripped, to software being installed to ensure it isn't pirated (this happens mostly in gaming cases). DRM is disliked by many as people often hold the opinion that, as they are the ones who bought it, it is their right to use it as they see fit, and attempts to keep them from, say, ripping a movie from a DVD in order to have it on their computer, is stifling them.

One of the best, most recent cases of over zealous DRM is the game Spore, released by Electronic Arts. Spore used a type of DRM known as SecuROM, a type of DRM that has caused problems for users in the past. SecuROM sometimes blocks installation based on the software a user has, even if they are innocent. SecuROM, for Spore anyway, at one time required the game to be authenticated upon installation as well as every time it accessed the internet (as one could download content).

The backlash was quite harsh. The game was ratings-bombed on sites like Amazon.com, EA and the Spore forums lit up with posters, angry over this. Some minor changes were made, but the DRM remained. Did the DRM live up to EA's expectations?

Not in the slightest. Within 9 days of release (Spore was first released in Australia on September 4th, 2008), the game had been pirated over 171,000 times. Effectively, the DRM failed in keeping the game from being pirated. All it did was make legit buyers into suspects.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

That is what gets me the most about DRM and video games on the PC. Some companies, like EA, seem to treat real buyers as pirates, even though we aren't. I understand that they need to protect their interests, no argument there, but I draw the line at being held guilty before being proven innocent. I bought the game with my own money, I don't want to be restricted by how many times I can install the game, locked out of installing it because of one type of software I have, or what have you.

However, while this angers me, I can also kind of understand why some are so heavy handed. They're losing money, and it seems that nothing they do can help. But at the same time, I should not be held accountable for something that I am not doing.

Some companies have done away with DRM entirely (Stardock, off the top of my head). Good for them. But I don't see that happening with every company.

Unfortunately, piracy will continue, there's no denying that. I just hope that game developers will at least try to realize that not all of us out there are trying to steal games.

"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong" ~ Dennis Miller

Shadowed by Time - Homeworld

If you ask most PC gamers to name one of the famous Real-time strategy games (a game typically played from an overhead view where you control numerous units and resource management), you'll get a number of recommendations: Age of Empires, Starcraft and Warcraft, and maybe a few others from out of left field.

One that you may rarely hear, but deserves a place alongside those greats, is Homeworld.

Originally developed by Relic Entertainment, Homeworld was a breakthrough when it was released in 1999. While other games, such as Blizzard's Starcraft, "looked" 3 dimensional, they never made use of one of the dimensions, that of the up or down axis. To be fair, Starcraft did make some use of it, in that flying units could only be attacked by other flying units or ones able to strike air targets, but that barely counts.

Relic eschewed the idea of basing the game on the ground and went to the final frontier, space. They weren't the first, however. Even Starcraft took place partially in space. But Homeworld made use of it. You could direct your fighters to attack from below, above, and any other direction you could think of.

And it mattered, too. The more powerful units, such as the deadly Ion Cannon Frigate, could only fire in one direction (in the Ion Cannon Frigate's case, directly ahead of it). This left ships vulnerable in certain locations. If you weren't careful, your fleet of corvettes (small strike crafts suited to attacking larger, slower ships) would be chewed apart before they even reached their target. But if you attacked from a location that the secondary guns (or even the primary ones if they were located in the righ tposition) couldn't cover the ship from, you could easily destroy it.

In other words? Pay attention.

Emotions

One of the things the original Homeworld was known for was a good storyline. Among those who play it, many particularly remember one stirring scene. I won't spoil it here, but the scene makes use of Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei (the choral portion accompanying his famous Adagio for Strings). To this day, even 10 years after I played it, whenever I hear that sad, somber song, I can recall the scene in my head. One of the few times I felt goosebumps for a game.

A Game Divided

Homeworld offered something that a number of its fellow RTS games offered: Different sides. While both played through the same story, which side you chose, Taiidan (right) or Kushan (left), would impact certain units you would get as well as the overall design of yoru fleet (Taiidan being more insect-like and Kushan being more rounded). In the following sequels, though, it was made canon that the "correct" race to play was the Kushan.



Sequels

So far, Homeworld has had two sequels. Homeworld: Cataclysm, developed by Barking Dog Studios, and Homeworld 2, developed by Relic Entertainment.

Homeworld: Cataclysm, I feel, gets a bum rap from other fans of the game. Though I'll admit that the story doesn't seem to fit in anywhere (Homeworld 2 has no mention of the Kiith Somtaaw, the Clan of Hiigarans [formerly the Kushan] that you play as), the story itself is quite good, if maybe a little cliched. A relatively small clan forced off their homeworld and mining for a living, one of the three major ships for the clan comes across a relic. Their actions with the relic unleashes a biomechanical nightmare known as the Beast. Homeworld follows their exploits as they battle it, slowly turning from a simple mining guild to a force to be reckowned with.

I love the original Homeworld, but it does rank up there as one of the toughest games I have ever played. That may just be my experience, but one of the first missions, after you gain full control and start making your way "Home," I constantly lost against an enemy fleet of Ion Cannon Frigates. They would turn my ship into metallic swiss cheese. Took me a few years break before I finally pushed through.

Cataclysm is a bit easier. There are still hard missions, missions that will make you sweat, but it is, on the whole, easier. I also found the new units of the Kiith Somtaaw to be a refreshing change from the old Kushan.

Homeworld 2, I barely played. Though given decent ratings throughout, the bit that I did play didn't feel so much like the Homeworld of old. I never had any problems with managing units in the first two, but this one felt cluttered, confusing. And this was with me being older and better able to manage things, to boot.

Rising from the Ashes

Now and again I hear of rumors of a new Homeworld sequel. Although I was largely disappointed in Homeworld 2, I can't deny that it has my attention. Given how the gaming industry seems to be focusing on sequels a bit as of late, it is possible for a sequel to be made. But I fear that I will hold it up to incredibly tough standards. We shall see.

Jim Loveno Speaks to Students - Temporary

Kyle Beaton
Jim Loveno Presentation

Feb. 12, 2008 – Jim Loveno, online editor for News4 Washington, met with the George Mason students enrolled in Online Journalism yesterday. Along with Professor Steve Klein, Loveno introduced the students to the revamped NBC4 Web site in addition to his background.

The Web Site

Loveno, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, explained to the students the new setup. He emphasized the missing “smiling personalities” that once adorned the top of the page. Replacing the personalities was an interactive display window. The display was intentionally modeled after that of the display browser in iTunes. The display allows readers to scroll through stories and images.

Additionally, Loveno explained the change in philosophy that came with the new website. Where once the Web site simply rehashed stories from the broadcast, nbcwashinton.com posts content a viewer may not see on TV. The content had more “snarkiness” as Loveno put it.

Loveno also mentioned that the basic design of the new NBC Web site is in use by several other cities, including Chicago. The design, he revealed, was also color coded, corresponding to the colors of NBC’s mascot, the Peacock.

Personal History

Nearing the end of the class, Loveno dove into his background. Loveno began as a sports editor for The Daily Collegian, Penn State’s own newspaper. Loveno continued to focus on sports after college, working in Pittsburgh. During this time, the internet was starting to grow. Loveno and two friends started up a hockey Web site, LCS Hockey.

Originally little more than a newsletter, LCS Hockey grew. Loveno likened the Web site to The Daily Show in that it had actual news but also had “smartass comments” and was “snarky,” a trend he would later bring to nbcwashinton.com.

Three years ago, Loveno made his way to the Washington, D.C. area to work with the local NBC affiliate.

“Become as experienced as you can in all sorts of forms,” Loveno said near the end of his presentation, advising the students of how to prepare for the journalism world at large.

Violent games, violent tendancies?

A common argument that pops up following a school shooting is that the person who did the shooting and killing played violent videos games, listened to violent music, and so on.

I'm not going to deny that there is some link between violent entertainment and violence. When I was young, my mother made me stop watching the cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as she noticed I was getting a little uppity.

However, many in the media and the world at large seem to think that video games turn kids into desensitized murder machines.

A good case of this is the Virginia Tech shooting, perpetrated by Seung-Hui Cho. Shortly after the tragic shooting, many claims were made that he played games like Counter-Strike and other "first person shooters."

Thing is...he didn't play those games.

Sonic the Hedgehog

As people began to try and understand just who Cho was and what were his motives, they were also beginning to find out just what he did for fun. His roommates, when asked, said they never really saw him playing video games at all.

The Virginia Tech Review Panel released their findings in August '07. Chapter IV, the Life And Mental Health History Of Cho, also made note of the games he had played in the past.

"...and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog. None of the video games were war games or had violent themes."

Cho was a disturbed individual. He was not trained to be a mass-murdering robot.


Gamers

Even with revelations such as that, many still cite violent video games as warping people, turning them into machines of death. Countless studies have been made, some showing that there has been a correlation between the rise of violent video games and school shootings, and others showing exactly the opposite.

The fact that many seem to miss is the fact that, for some of these games, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, play them. Going back to Counter-Strike, Valve, the company behind the game and the game it was modified from, Half-Life, released some data last December.

According to reports, the original Counter-Strike alone sold 4.2 million copies. Add in the units sold of a spinoff, its remake, and the X-Box port, that number reaches 10.7 million copies.

If games like Counter-Strike turn its players into murder machines, then surely we would've seen far more shootings than the ones we have seen.

The reason why some people just snap and shoot others is pretty simple, I think. Some people just become unhinged in some way. Whether its due to some imbalance already present, bullying, or some other factor varies. Many of these shooters would have benefited from some sort of intervention, some sort of counseling. In some cases, such as Cho, they even did get some counseling (though from reports he didn't get much or very good counseling), but still snapped.

Games may be a factor in these individuals, I won't try to deny that. But the same can be said for movies, music, books, too.

Yet people still jump to blame games when something happens. Perhaps with time, as video games become more accepted, that will change. As a gamer tired of being stereotyped as a powder keg ready to blow, that change can't come soon enough.