In Legends of Norrath, my new priest deck has lost to Zobek twice now, once to his scout deck and once to his fighter deck.  Tweaking is underway.  We’ll see how that works this week.

So, the shorthand:

Zobek: 2
Kendricke: 0

Grrrrrr….

Greetings, readers -

As Kendricke has recently pointed out here on the Tracker, there’s some new faces coming on board - so without further ado, allow me to introduce myself!

My name’s Aaron, though around here and most other parts you’ll get to know me as Zobek. I’ve been playing video games for close to twenty years now, starting with my dad’s Atari 2600 and followed up with just about every other system from then until now. A few years back, a friend of mine got me into online games with EverQuest Online Adventures on the PlayStation 2 and the rest, as they say, is history.

These days, you’ll most often find me as a gnome in the lands of Norrath in EverQuest II, happily tinkering and babbling on about incomprehensible bits of tickerdoodles and wishcogs and span-o-matics…. a habit soon to be transplanted here. From game mechanics to roleplay to egghead discussions about the psychosocial aspects of MMORPGs, I’m happy to converse on many a topic.

This’ll be the first time for me to ever do regular blogging - not to mention that I’m still getting accustomed to the WordPress system - so while it may be a bumpy ride at first, I’m looking forward to the journey!

If you aren’t going to say something directly to someone’s face, than don’t use online as an opportunity to say it. It is this sense of bravery that people get when they are anonymous that gives the blogosphere a bad reputation. 

-Mena Trott, Times Online, 12-06-06

Power of the People?

Read enough forums long enough and you’ll start to notice the patterns.  You’ll see posts on the same subjects over and over again.  Sometimes you’ll see multiple versions of what essentially amounts to the same basic idea being debated across several different posts on the same page.  Even within a discussion, you’ll start to see multiple posts from the same individuals basically rehashing their own arguments again and again.

As players, we take it on ourselves to try to not only suggest or critique ideas, but we try to do so loudly and often, as if post counts are an indication of strength. 

So why do we do it?

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There’s some great guides out there for Legends of Norrath.  In fact, I’m sure we’ll see some pretty incredible guides coming out in the coming months and years which will be the end-all, be-all of great guides.  I’m sure you’ll see card lists and strategy guides and all sorts of other guides that will pinpoint all the various combinations of killer cards which can be used to DOMINATE your opponents. 

This guide is not those guides.  This guide is not anything close to those guides.  This guide assumes you have never played a CCG before and have no idea what you’re supposed to do in Legends of Norrath. 

Welcome to LON1101.  Please take your seats…

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It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a question of finding a sickness you like. 

-Jackie Mason

I’m sick.  No, I’m really sick.  I’m also not the only one. 

I’ve been dealing with this since FanFaire, and wouldn’t you know it, at least five members of my guild are still dealing with similar symptoms.  The doc says it’s a bacterial infection which has found a home in the warm, moist linings of my throat and lungs.  I’m on antibiotics, codeine, and even an inhaler.  Apparently this particular bug takes about 3-4 weeks to fully run its course.  Awesome.

And yet, even this has me thinking about MMO’s.  Is illness something that could be done in such a way as to enhance an MMO experience?  Or is it just an annoyance which impedes gameplay?

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Well, I’ve managed to fanagle a few folks I know into coming onboard and helping out.  You should start to see the first new faces on here throughout this week. 

We’ve picked up a few Everquesters, a couple of Warcrafters, at least one disillusioned Vanguarder, and even a Second Lifer - all of whom bring a different perspective to the table. 

In fact, we probably couldn’t be more different.  Ages of our writers range from just in college to those who have kids just about out of college.  Income brackets range from near poverty to well into six figures.  In our ranks, you’ll find a near starving artist and a trial lawyer; a truck driver and a respected physician. 

What we share in common is our passion for MMO gaming.  We play these games to have fun, in whatever form that “fun” takes. 

The site’s going to evolve a bit.  As such, it won’t be long before we shed the whole “Kendricke” name.  The site’s bigger than just me now.  We’re working on the new name right now, but since we’re a new collective, give us a little time to kick the tires and test drive the concept a bit before we drive it off the lot. 

I’m looking forward to the changes.  I hope some of you are, too.

True interactivity is not about clicking on icons or downloading files, it’s about encouraging communication.  

-Edwin Schlossberg

Back in the “good ole’ days” of classic Everquest, there weren’t any custom chat channels.  If you wanted to run a raid, you either ran it in guildchat, or you took over an open channel like /shout or /ooc.  I remember seeing a Temple of Veeshan heal chain coordinated in /auction once. 

In a game which was essentially taking all its cues from chat heavy MUD’s and Diku’s, Everquest made it hard - harder than it needed to be to communicate with other players in those situations where communications was most needed. 

Even outside of raids, there was no private channels guilds could use to talk with applicants, and friends who left your server effectively left the ability to talk with you…ever.

Then one day, SOE wisened up. 

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Noble life demands a noble architecture for noble uses of noble men. Lack of culture means what it has always meant: ignoble civilization and therefore imminent downfall.

-Frank Lloyd Wright

I’ve been playing a lot of “Civilization IV:  Beyond the Sword” lately.  I’m still a sucker for turned based strategy games, and the Civilization series has pretty much always delivered for me.  Even the short-lived Alpha Centauri and Call to Power off-shoots scratched the itch just fine.

One thing I really loved with the series, starting with CivIII and moving into the various iterations of CivIV was the concept of “culture”.  It’s a pretty nebulous thing in the Civilization worlds, but it represents so much more.

Culture is a powerful concept in reality.  Throughout history, entire civilizations have been completely subjugated, often through cultural domination driven first by military conquests.  Though, often enough, armed threats weren’t even necessary.  Cultural strength alone was often enough of a tour de force to overtake a people.

So, what has this to do with MMO’s?  In a word: everything.

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Happiness isn’t something you experience; it’s something you remember.  

-Oscar Levant

I bought Everquest for $1.50 last night.

The box is still sealed and in great shape.  It’s one of those old PC boxes, so big you can’t figure out where to put it.  On the front, it has the “989 Studios” nameplate in the bottom left corner.

It was one of the most bittersweet purchases of my life.

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As surprised as I am to say it, it looks like we’re going to be expanding a few things around here. This little blog’s about to grow a bit, and I’ll be bringing a few new writers/reviewers onboard to help out.

Interested in hearing more? Read on…

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