Sideshow & Syrana

Larísa is working on a 2009 year in review post and she’d like to hear your nominations for in game and blog memories.  I’m still working on my nominations, but don’t forget to send her yours, too!

Fish is saying goodbye to WoW, but hopefully not to the blogosphere completely.  Thanks for all the fish, Fish.  Erm, you know I’m terrible with goodbyes…. Don’t be a stranger, ‘k?

Samodean has introduced a new series that I’m looking forward to: Comics For Noobs.  If you have questions you’d like to see him cover in it, be sure to send them to him!

Falconesse has a great post that expands on and examines a couple other posts regarding differences in armor sets on male and female avatars.

Rather than focusing on the differences between genre gamers, Fulguralis takes a look at skills we can carry with us into any gaming genre.

And last, but not least…

Did you know we have a fan page on Facebook? Hey, why not, amirite?

me⋅nag⋅er⋅ie [muh-naj-uh-ree]
–noun

I have added to definitions 1 and 3 today.  And my new alt allowed me to pay a bit more attention to some of the changes with patch 3.3. (continue reading…)

So, you’re sitting in your living room next to your decorated Christmas tree with a glass of egg nog and wondering, “I’d really like to listen to some Christmas music, but it needs some crunch to it.” Don’t fear, I have you covered. Not to sound like a Time Life commercial, but I’ve compiled a nice collection of some decent Christmas music for you hard rock and metal heads.

(continue reading…)

(Part 40) For the complete list of this series, please go here.

Aerissa wandered through the gates into Silvermoon City.  Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the sights and sounds of her capital city.  She couldn’t quite remember the last time she had been within its walls, but the magic of it never ceased to amaze her.  The buildings were intricately designed and vibrant with color.

Bending her head low and obscuring her face with the cowl, she walked along the streets towards the marketplace.  Despite her long absence from the city, she still knew its layout.  Aerissa couldn’t help but grin as she side stepped a lone broom sweeping the walkway.  Magic was useful for even the most mundane tasks.

Before reaching the marketplace, Aerissa turned down a side street and stood outside one of the magister’s libraries.  Peering in through the window, she couldn’t see many people inside other than a few magisters.  Satisfied, she walked in and pushed the cowl back from her hair.  She scanned several bookcases without any success before approaching an elf who was busy cataloging.

“E-excuse me?” she asked in a hushed tone, nervously running her fingers through her hair.

The elderly elven man turned to look at her, peering down his nose at her.  “Yes, Miss?” he responded politely.

She pressed her palm against her pocket, feeling the outline of the locket.  “I wondered if there was some information here about Lady Windrunner that I could read?” (continue reading…)

Oh my goodness, there’s not much time left for the Hearts, Hands, and Voices charity drive!  The community has been fantastic and we’re raising a lot of money for Child’s Play, which is awesome.  But, there’s some more money to be spent!

If you want to donate yourself, you can do so using the ChipIn widget on the right sidebar, or go to Azeroth United to check out the fabulous prizes you will be entered to win if you donate $10 or $20.

Otherwise, you can blame me on Twitter (for good or bad!) by adding #iblamesyrana to your blame tweet to help raise money.  Sideshow and I already donated our contribution for the first 500 blame tweets, but we still have sponsors!

Killing ‘em Slowly is sponsoring blame tweets 501-1000

Pixelated Executioner is sponsoring blame tweets 1001-1500

At the time that I’m typing this up, we’re still shy of 800 blame tweets for this mini-drive goal!

So go forth and blame Syrana!

So, we finally did it. We finally tackled Rock Band 2′s Endless Setlist 2 with our virtual band, “We Have Heads.” 84 straight songs with no stopping (except some pause breaks, cuz we’re gettin’ old.) I was completely insane and did the whole thing on Drums on Hard. Syrana was just as crazy and did it on Vocals on Hard. So, I can’t walk or raise my arms and she has no voice. We’re probably the saddest couple in the world. We should join the circus. But, we had to do it since Syrana said she would. (continue reading…)

So recently it was revealed that the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) MMO by Bioware will have the option of utilizing NPC companions.  (Check out this video interview for the full scoop.)

Apparently this is the apocalypse and the demise of the genre as well as false advertising as an MMO.  Keen is not the only one that seems to take issue with this.

The main point I pulled from Keen’s post was that the inclusion of NPC companions meant that Bioware is developing a single player game with multiplayer options rather than a massively multiplayer online game.

In the other posts I read regarding this (and the dislike for it) I couldn’t help but notice a point of view that was being missed…

Why can’t it be viewed as a multiplayer game with single player options?

That thought was then followed up with these:

Why does an MMO have to mean forced grouping at all times?

What MMO has forced grouping at all times nowadays?

Storytellers

But mainly what I saw as missed that MY ears latched onto during that interview was the part the NPC companions play in the story.

Dragon Age, anyone?

Story equals immersion.  Your companions will react to your choices…

There are going to be certain characters that will be integral to the Star Wars story, but won’t suffice as a simple quest giver.  And some… you just can’t expect to create.  So genre destroyer be damned, it sounds to me to be more of a vehicle of driving the story.  Plus, you’re more likely to listen to what they have to say than read quest test, amirite?

Anywho, in this post I am going to move forward with addressing the “single player games are trying to overthrow and destroy MMOs” argument. (continue reading…)

…how else can you explain waking up naked in a jail cell?

If you are just joining us or looking for a refresher the entire series can be found here.

Generation 2: Aerissa and Caleb

Brenden was barely at home anymore.  Even when he wasn’t touring, he’d take on smaller gigs throughout the city, as well as more and more fan-based activities.  He was going out for more meet and greets, autograph signings, and marketing meetings.  Aerissa barely had a chance to worry about what he was working on.  She had her hands full with the twin girls and a rapidly growing little boy.

To do something different, Aerissa decided to hold Trenton’s next birthday party in formal attire.  The guests seemed to love it, but Trenton didn’t.  He didn’t even seem to want to be outside for his cake.  She worried about him entering school because he seemed more withdrawn than his sisters.  Also, the girls were about to enter high school, so Trenton would be left to fend for himself.  Aerissa was at relieved that all her children mostly got along with each other.  She knew Syrana and Summer were complete opposites personality-wise – no matter how much they looked alike, but they managed to share a bedroom without killing each other.

After awhile, Aerissa did start to notice that Brenden was withdrawing from her and isolating himself while at home.  He’d choose to eat at a different table or watch television in another trailer.  He rarely slept in the bed with her anymore, often saying he fell asleep on the couch while watching TV.  Aerissa felt hurt, felt like she was losing her husband, but had no idea what to do about it.  Then, several months later, all those activities slowed down to practically nothing.  Brenden was home, but often moping on the opposite side of the compound.  She couldn’t get him to talk to her…

It’d been nine months since Brenden sought out Joanna, questioning where his life was headed.  He’d vented his fears, worries, and frustrations to her.  He knew she’d understand that he was meant for something greater than this city, than family life… she was the president of his fan club, after all, and he was going to be a huge rockstar. (continue reading…)

The Twitterati discovered a mystery:

Mortigan is missing!

The blog is no longer found.

The twitter account no longer exists.

Hopefully his Forsaken body didn’t fall apart.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of this warlock (did hunters take him out? is the Alliance holding him hostage?) please alert the Twitterati.  We are always concerned when a member of the community disappears into thin air.