The Elf and Dwarf

http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/10/04/is-blizzard-exploiting-wow-players/

 The case is made in a new paper that MMO’s exploit their players by failing to provide real entertainment but instead by stringing them along with very carefully planned rewards, often not relevant to what the player wants but what the player percieves they need.  For example you “grind” through 10 levels from 30 to 40 in WoW, not because you are actually enjoying playing those levels but becuase there is a planned prize (Mount for example) waiting for you at the end of the grind.

 And you PAY for the priveledge of this grind.  The case made in the original article (go back a few links through WoW Insider) is that this is not only exploitive but borderline unethical.  The initial author makes the case that a game should be fun at all turns and that the carefully planned rewards should be part of that fun.  Instead MMO makers learn the thresholds people have for monotony and tedium and provide just enough incentive to start the next “grind”.

With all the talk about changing XP for the 0-60 game in WoW or the talk in other MMO’s about “grind levels” I’m forced to wonder if perhaps there might be something to this.

 What do you think?

So what are the best changes from books to movies?  Already we know that Dragons of Autumn Flame is headed to the “big screen” (well if you have a home theater), and we’re itching to pour some kudos on Stardust for making a “grown up” fantasy movie.  But what else has transitioned, in the sci fi/ fantasy genre’s from the paperback to the box office?  What’s your favorite?  What’d you hate?

This is what we’re looking at for our next podcast with so much already out there and we being simple followers of trends.  I had tha great idea of opening this up for some discussion before we get too into things and see what everyone that frequents this website thought as part of our pre-show discussion.  Feel free to discus your take on this all over the internet topic.

For me, I don’t think “addiction” is the right word.  That implies it’s a medical condition tied directly to the gaming.  I think compulsion might be better as I tend to see online gaming addictions more as symptoms of bigger problems.  How about you?

Since we’ve opened up the blog for discussion and sharing I thought I’d take a second to post some ideas about agreements we should have.  In education they now teach that you don’t have “rules” for your classroom, you have “expectations” or “agreements.”  Apparently the truth-in-advertising that would call them “rules” is passe.

So I thought I’d toss out some things we should be able to agree on:

1. Agree politely; disagree moreso.  If we can’t agree, we should do so with civility.  This is non-negotiable.
2. Our space, our bandwidth, our call.  As much as I’m a proponent of speaking your mind, please remember that this is our site, which we pay for out of pocket, and has our name on it.  Some comments will be deleted.  I’m not a fan of censorship, nor am I a fan of using the delete button to deal with people I don’t agree with.  However, this website is our little slice of the internet and I would prefer to keep it well groomed.  Things that could get a comment deleted include but are not limited to: profanity, harrassement, blatant and frequent disrespect for other posters, and spam.
3. Please read all comments before posting/ responding and if you are adressing a specific person, please refer to them while posting.
4. Have fun and don’t let the rules discourage you.

Thanks!