Summer Plans

Summer officially starts for me this week, so I've been thinking about what I want to do with the extra time I'll have while I'm not teaching.  Of course, as any MMO affecionado knows, spare time means video games.  I decided I would like to sit down and think about my goals for this summer to see what I can accomplish.

Goal #1:

I would like to continue playing TERA quite a bit.  Right now, I have an archer and a warrior at level 41, and I think my first goal for the summer will be to get both of those characters up to 60.  I'm not sure yet about how much end-game I'll want to do in TERA, but I'm sure I'll at least give it a shot and see how I like it.

Goal #2:

Grab a couple more pets and maybe a mount from Darkmoon Faire in WoW.  I have been working on this steadily each week that the Darkmoon Faire is available, but I still have a long way to go.  I'll be working on this goal some this week, since it is once again time for the Faire.

Goal #3:

Work on alts in both TERA and WoW.  In TERA, I would really like to create one more character, but I'm not sure yet which class it will be.  I'm sure I'll have to play around with a few to decide on what I want to try.

In WoW, I've had a mage and a rogue sitting in the 75+ range for quite awhile now, but I've never put in the time or effort to get either up to 85.  I would really like to get both of these characters up to 85 sometime this summer before the release of MoP.

Goal #4:

If it looks like I will be successful with the above stated goals, then I'm thinking I might try out a new game or two.  I'm not sure what I might want to try; there are several MMO's that I've read about extensively but never had the time to play.  I've started characters on DDO, LotR, and Rift at different times, but each time my time and attention ends up somewhere else, so maybe I'll go back and pick up one of those again.  I also have my Sith Assassin sitting in the low 40's on SWTOR that may entice me back to at least finish that class story.  There are just so many options for this fourth goal; I'm just not sure what I want to do with my time.

Anyway, it looks like a fun summer of gaming.  I can't wait to get started.

Elder Scrolls . . . MMO?

So, it seems the big news for many fans of RPG video games is the official announcement of an Elder Scrolls MMO.  So far the reactions I've read have been mixed between those who love the universe and MMO's and want to see the two joined together and those who love Elder Scrolls but think any game in MMO form ruins it.  I am firmly in the first camp.  I have played through large sections of three of the Elder Scrolls games:

My first experience with the Elder Scrolls universe, and I absolutely loved it!  Sure, there were too many cliff racers and the graphics were a bit blocky (though awesome for when it was released), but I absolutely loved the open world and all of the options.

After playing many hours in Morrowind, I bought Oblivion immediately when it hit the shelves, and I enjoyed it as well.  Now, player housing had been added and the graphics were much better, but the story and gameplay were just not quite as intriguing as Morrowind.  Still it was a great game, and I really enjoyed it (I mean, I could become a vampire!  How could I not enjoy it?)

And of course, the latest installment, Skyrim.  Again, I purchased this one as soon as I was able . . . in this case a pre-release purchase through Steam, and as soon as I could I started playing.  Skyrim really brought together the good from each of the titles that came before it, and I thought (and continue to think) that it was a great game.

Now, I find out that Bethesda is not only thinking of releasing an Elder Scrolls MMO, but that it is already in the works . . . I love it!

I've read some complaints about how there is no way that an MMO can capture the same remarkable single-person experience that has been the hallmark of the Elder Scrolls series; however, I remember thinking the same thing before World of Warcraft first came out.  After having played all of the Warcraft games before it, I couldn't imagine an MMO that would work in that universe, but work it has.  So, I will definitely hold judgement this time on what is possible until I've read more about this project.

But, for now . . . Status: Hopefully Optimistic

Children's Week

As anyone who plays WoW should know, Children's Week is back up and running.  This is one of the annual week-long events that take place throughout the year, but this one is not intended to celebrate a major holiday.  Instead, this one seems to be more of a "feel good" event . . . with MINI-PETS!!

I have to admit . . . I'm a WoW mini-pet collector.  I love the little varmints, and I have been actively collecting them ever since the change that allowed me to have multitudes of them without taking up my precious bag/bank spaces.  So, with my addiction in full gear last night, I started the arduous process of finishing the Children's Week "fed-ex" quests so I could finally get the last two pets I had been missing from this event.

I was actually a bit intrigued by the "vanilla" quest line, since I recently switched my main character from Horde to Alliance.  I had never done the Children's Week quests (or any of the annual events) with an Alliance toon, and I actually got to see some stuff that I had not seen in the game before last night.

First, Westfall has changed.  Yes, I know many of the old areas changed with Cataclysm, but I wasn't really prepared for all the new buildings and fortifications around Sentinel Hill.  Back when the level cap was only 60, I remember spending many hours in and around Sentinel Hill looking for the always elusive "VC run".  Now, that fledgling waypoint has become almost a full-blown town.

Second, I never knew that a path to Old Ironforge had been opened below the throne room in Ironforge.  It was a neat experience to go down into the bowels of the city to find a diamond statue of Bronzebeard.  I've always been a sucker for hidden areas in games, books, movies, etc. and while I know this area is accessible to any Alliance character, it felt like I was finding a secret area.

Unfortunately, the Shattrath City quests were the same as I remembered from doing them in previous years, but they didn't seem to take me too long to complete (except trying to find a good way into Exodar . . . man, that place is remote), and before long I had the two pets I needed to complete the "Children's Week Collection" and bring my personal collection up to 173 pets.

Without further ado:

Whiskers the Rat!

and

Legs the, um, Swampwalker thingie??

Player Housing

I want player housing! I want it in SW:ToR, and horror of horrors, I want it in WoW. I know that many consider this no more than "waste of time fluff," but honestly, why else do I play games except to waste time. I want to be able to create my own domain and set it up the way I want. I want to have to collect items for my home from drops, or I want to be able to craft those items through a laborious yet rewarding crafting system . . . or both. I want to be able to place stuff in my home where I want it and make the place uniquely mine. I want housing!

I have always wondered why this isn't a priority for WoW and now also for SW:ToR, but I guess when you have over a million players (many more in WoW's case) without it, do you really need to fix what doesn't seem to be broken? But, I love housing.

I've played a few games with player housing, and every time, I find myself spending a lot of my in-game time on decorating and redecorating my home, not to mention the time I spend acquiring the items I use in this decoration. One game I've played with pretty decent player housing is Wizard101. This is very much a "kid-centered" game. At best, I can say that the combat is "cute;" the characters are "fun," and even the housing is not the end-all of how housing should be. However, even here, I have spent hours setting up my house to my liking.

Of course I had to choose the "Death" house as the perfect abode for my Necromancer, and I have worked hard to acquire all the requisite skulls, tombstones, and skeletons to make it appropriately "death-y." It is amazing how often I have repeated content, something that I'm not usually very keen on, simply to get a purely cosmetic drop for my home. Having a house motivated me to play this game long beyond the point when I would have quit otherwise. Even now, when I no longer have an active account and have no desire to reopen one, I still pop in occasionally to check out my house and bask in my decorating abilities.

Of course, anyone who has played Skyrim has had some experience with player housing as well. Yes, I'm aware that one can't really place items as he would want within the house since leaving and returning or logging out and back into the game must produce a high level seismic activity with the fault-line directly under my home, thus depositing all of my well-placed items into a heap of so much rubbish in the middle of the floor; however, I still enjoy having a place to call my own.

In fact, I've gone so far as to buy a couple different homes in Skyrim, and I use them both. I spend so much time moving things around, storing them in containers within my home, and organizing to my heart's content. I'm not even very picky about how player housing is implemented . . . as long as I can have a place to call my own and I can decorate it as I would like, then . . . then, I'll be happy!

WORLD of Warcraft

I've decided that real life should be more like video games, especially the online role-playing game that has had me addicted for the last five years, World of Warcraft. There are a multitude of reasons that real life should resemble this game a lot more than it does, but allow me to touch on a few that really resonate with me:

1. Portals and Hearthstones - I should be able to warp to my home location from anywhere in the world, instantly, and there should be people, who for a small fee, will create a portal allowing me to step instantly into any major city of my choice.

2. Quest Log - I'm pretty sure that I would get a lot more things done and remember things that I have to do if every time something came up, it was immediately recorded in my own personal quest log. Also, the quest log would present me with clues as to the best way to carry out my real life "mission". For example: **Quest Log** Buy new car battery. I now travel to Walmart on my trusty "Durango" mount, and alas, I realize that I don't know which battery to buy from the plethora that are available. I quickly check my quest log . . . ah, yes, that one; it says so right here!

3. Instant Gratification - In WoW, when I complete a quest, I am immediately rewarded with money, an item, or something else tangible. This should be true in real life. Every time I accomplish a goal, I should get some reward for it. Wash the windows? Receive a doughnut.

4. The ability to look up all your problems on other websites - For every single complex fight in WoW, there are multiple websites that tell you the best way to go about it. Life should be the same. When I come up on a problem in life, I should be able to look at a step-by-step guide to solving the problem. This would really make things so much easier.

and last, but not least . . .

5. The Ignore List - WoW comes equipped with an amazing feature called an Ignore List. If someone is getting on my nerves, I can simply type his name into this list, and voila! It is as if he never existed. I can still see him there on my screen if he is standing in front of me, but I no longer have to hear his incessant prattle about the most inconsequential things. I want to be able to ignore people in real life. I want to be able to completely mute those who bug me. This should be implemented soon!

There are many more things that I could list here, but I really think anyone reading this can now see why Real Life should be much more like the World of Warcraft.