Kevin Stallard
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Ask Massively - Goodbye, Farewell, Amen.
NCsoft
So, I hold in my hand, the last envelope...
Dear Massively,
Aside from "Find a soft spot to fall when you hear your puller say 'Oops' " Do you have any last words of wisdom to impart before you leave?
-Grimthorn Redbeard
Ask Massively: Would you hire a gamer?
Should employers dismiss job applicants who play MMORPGs like World of Warcraft?
I'm not going to direct this answer to you gamers out there. You probably have a good idea of what my answer is going to be. This is for all of the corporate recruiters, hiring managers, and corporate paper pushers out there who think games like World of Warcraft sufficient reason to disqualify a job applicant.
Ask Massively: Is that *really* all there is?
I think you need to find out more to correctly answer the question. Is it the setting of the game (fantasy/Space) that is getting old or the MMO genre itself?
-LotroME
Now that I've had a week to think about it, it seems kind of silly to blame ennui on the entire genre, doesn't it? Are people tired of side-scrollers? First person shooters? Real time strategy? Sports games? This is an issue that needs a little more examination, and that's why I'm here.
Grab your shovels, kids. It's time to dig a little deeper.
Ask Massively: Is this all there is?
If, like me, you are seeking a break from your Wrath of the Lich King addiction, join me for another weekly installment of Ask Massively. If you are one of the two people on the Internet who play something other than World of Warcraft, feel free to look in as well. It is only a matter of time before you decide to join us in Azeroth/Outland/Northrend.(note: Please read this with a heavy helping of tolerance for snark and sarcasm. If you think replying to this with "HEY! THERE ARE OTHER GAMES BESIDES WoW, YOU KNOW!" is a good idea, You should pay more attention.)
Our question this week comes from someone who has reached a state of profound ennui.
Dear Ask Massively,
I can't seem to find a game I want to play anymore. Call it boredom, or getting a life or even getting old... But the fact remains, I am losing interest in mmo games. It isn't that I don't want to play games, I just don't seem to get the thrill I used to from them. I think we all remember some special moment when we felt that welling up of pride, or an audible "wow" escaped our lips when we saw something that amazed us.
I don't have those feelings anymore, every game I play seems to be a copy of a copy of a copy.. The only thing that changes is the landscape and the names of the mobs..
I was hoping that you could give some suggestions as to a MMORPG that have something different to offer. Something beyond fedexing the 10 rats I just killed so I can be told to kill this guy back where I started for 80 levels.
Tharkis
Ask Massively: Requiem for a Clean Slate
NCsoft
Dear Ask Massively,
I'm sure that you've heard by now that Tabula Rasa is going to shut down early next year. What now? It seems like only last week that the game was making so much money that Richard Garriott was taking trips into space. What about those of us who still enjoy this game? Don't we count for something?
-Ginny L.
Yes, Virginia, Tabula Rasa is going the way of Auto Assault and Earth & Beyond. As a subscriber, I am a little disappointed but not terribly surprised.
Having conducted a few "Post MMOrtem" sessions with fans at a certain convention in the past, I have heard some interesting ideas about MMOs that are shut down by their developers, ideas which could easily be applied to the brainchild of Richard Garriott.
Ask Massively: So? How is it?
Dear Massively,
I think you need to spend more time talking about World of Warcraft. In fact, I'm going to toss you a question that I'm fairly confident that nobody else has thought about asking this week.
What do you think of Wrath of the Lich King, so far?
-- Any one of about a gazillion emails in the Inbox
A special message from "The Ask Massively Guy"
WoW
Many of you, I am certain, have spent a considerable amount of time trying to decide what to do first in the expansion. "Do I level my main character to 80 first?" "Should I start playing a Death Knight immediately?" There have even been stories about the first person to hit level 80, or the first level 70 Death Knight, or the first person to reach Grand Master in each of the various professions in the game. While I can admire, to an extent, the enthusiasm of such players and the guilds and friends who support these types of players, I'd like to take a minute to go in a different direction.
Ask Massively: Isn't it ironic?
FunCom
In fairness, this question has been addressed to my colleagues at WoW Insider more than it has directly to me, but if nobody else is going to take it, I will. That's how we roll here at Ask Massively.
Dear Massively,
What's with all of the server fiascos in Blizzard-Land? The so-called "greatest MMO of all time" has apparently become beset by baffling bugs. (I know how you love that alliteration.) How come this hasn't been covered in nauseating detail?
-Alex A.
If I had 10 gold for every time that question has popped up in my inbox during the last 24 hours, I would own Dalaran.
Ask Massively: Wrath vs All Comers
Never let it be said that Ask Massively doesn't give everyone a chance to be heard. We believe that everyone should have a voice, and it is in the interest of providing that voice that we bring you the following question.
Dear Massively
I am SO SICK of all of the coverage of Wrath of the Lich King! I demand that someone at Massively write about something that isn't World of Warcraft related this week. Non-WoW players aren't interested in an expansion for a game that they don't even play. Someone throw me a freakin' bone here!
Sarah P.
Someone hasn't been paying attention, have they...
Ask Massively: Please make George Lucas stop
Dear Ask Massively Guy,
What exactly are "they" smoking over at the Skywalker Ranch, or wherever it is that LucasArts has set up shop these days? "Star Wars: The Old Republic will be bigger than World of Warcraft" ?!?!?! Is Jar Jar Binks working in their PR department?
- A. Soberman
At first, I didn't think this email was serious. Only the most naive and hopelessly optimistic game developer would announce a game, then claim it will dethrone the reigning King of All MMO's before the public even sees the first teaser trailer. If Lucas and friends are good at anything (and these days, I have my doubts), it is setting expectations which bend, but don't completely break, the rules of credibility.
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