Project Lore

His WoW-inspired lyrical creations each have started out as karaoke fodder "on stage, in front of a bunch of people in a bar that have no idea who Arthas or Sartharion are, and just stare at me like I am insane." Ryan Myers has been dreaming up the parodies in his head for years, he said, but it was just within the past couple of months that he decided to act on the impulse. I first heard "Ninja Raiders" at the end of The Instance!, episode #141 (apparently I missed "Action Bars," which was played on episode #140). And the response was immediate. That night, I logged onto my main, got on Teamspeak, and sang along every time someone started belting out, "If you like it then you should have rolled need on it," and "QQQ♪..." Then I sought out the video, which Ryan made with his and his guildies' characters, along with "the assistance of a Party Grenade to make unwitting passers by part of the dancing shots," he said. Apparently, I wasn't the only one enthralled. Ryan said he has gotten an "overwhelmingly positive" response to those two songs, and also to "Clint Felwood."

"After that episode came out, Ninja Raiders seem to spread like wildfire, through forums and trade chat. I'm guessing it was a little more successful since it is a real 'video'. I was a little embarrassed when it became popular... it's the first video I've made, so there's a lot of rookie mistakes in there, like leaving the cursor on the screen and whatnot. I'll be going back to make videos for the other two, so hopefully those will look less amateurish."

Here's a little more about the man behind the lyrics, 30-year-old (with "the body of a 29 1/2 year old") Ryan Myers, from the suburbs of Chicago, Ill. Project Lore: How did you get into WoW?

"I've been playing for about 4 years. I downloaded the free trial just to give it a shot, though I was determined that I would never 'buy some stupid game that you have to pay for each month'. Well, you can see how well that plan worked out for me."

PL: What are you working on in-game?

"My main is Ember, an 80 night elf rogue on Aerie Peak. Though I have also been leveling a draenei shaman. I've been messing around with the Argent Tournament a bit, and just starting to get into Naxx (we have a very casual guild of just a few friends, so we're a bit behind). My friends have actually yelled at me to 'stop being creative and play more.' "

PL: How did you start making parody songs?

"I've been writing them in my head for years, but it's only recently that I started recording them. I didn't think anything would come of it, I just recorded 'Action Bars' while really bored one day, and then decided to send it off to the Instance just for the hell of it. I didn't think they'd ever even play it."

PL: Is anyone else involved in the creative process?

"No, though I do have to say that my wife gave me the first line of 'Clint Felwood' (if I didn't mention that, she'd kill me). Otherwise, it's all me. Except of course for my poor guild, that I force to dance while I film them."

PL: What kind of reaction have you gotten so far from anyone who's heard the songs?

"The reactions have been overwhelmingly positive... it seems like my only harsh critic is me. I know that my voice isn't the greatest, and I sing off key a little, so I get super self-conscious about that. But people don't seem to mind, they just dig the parodies. I always assume everyone will hate them, but that's never the case, thankfully."

PL: What's your favorite song you've done so far?

"Action Bars is still my favorite... not only because it was the first one I did, but also because it's about rogues, so obviously I identify with it the most. It's funny, I used to listen to the original song 'Handlebars' (by Flobots) all the time, but the other day when I tried to sing along with it with the real lyrics, I couldn't do it... I kept sliding back into Action Bars."

PL: Are any of your lyrics based on RL experiences?

"Ninja Raiders definitely, especially the 'hunter weapon' part. I've been part of some pugs where it is just mind blowing what some people will roll on. And I have heard the response of 'QQ more' on more than one occasion when someone was asked about their ninjaness... so I couldn't help but put it in as my own little revenge."

PL: Do you have any other upcoming songs that we can listen out for?

"I've got a couple bouncing around in my head, so there's definitely some on the way, I just haven't decided which one will be next. Ultimately, I'd like to have at least one song for each class. I'm heading to E3 next month, so I have made that a deadline for myself... I will have at least one more song and one new video done by then, if not sooner."

And here we have some of Ryan's favorite lyrics from each song: Action Bars: "I've won about a million Arathi Basins make druids AFK in exasperation they all try to heal with their restoration but I just respecced to assassination" Ninja Raiders: "I need no permission, did I mention everything is a hunter weapon... don't tell me that you don't secretly want to be just like me and need every boe that you see" Clint Felwood: "the boomkin aura, I'll bust it out for ya the fauna and flora all call me destroya" So is anyone else a fan? You can bet I'll be waiting for Ryan's next lyrical nugget. In the meantime, go download MP3s of each song at his Web site, Roboguzu Entertainment. Share the love with your buddies, and let us know what you think!

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The Guild is a very popular web series, if you still haven't seen it, I would suggest taking a gander over at The Guild's website at watchtheguild.com. The series follows a fictional guild called The Knights of Good playing a unidentified MMORPG. Most people take World of Warcraft as the MMO in question but they still haven't specified what game it really is. The show mostly zooms in on the character of Codex who is played by actor Felicia Day who also happens to be the main writer on the show, and yes she does play World of Warcraft in her free time. The series follows Codex and how her guildies have plagued her love life and her normal day to day living. The Guild is just finished it's second season, but don't be afraid this would be a great time to get your feet wet and get caught up with the series. During the  agonizing wait between season two and season three you can also find the newly created guild podcast "Knights of the Guild". The podcast is run by two members of the crew. Jenny, the lead production assistant, and Kenny, behind the scenes editor, tag team the podcast. The first episode had some interesting interviews, information about the show, and it really is just another way to get some behind the scenes action out to the fans. The podcast will come out monthly, so during the wait for the next season we can still get our fix of The Guild. You can find The Guild on Xbox live, Zune marketplace, and you can also stream it through MSN video. Don't forget to follow The Guild on youtube, twitter, facebook, myspace, and flickr. As you can tell there are a lot of ways to support our favorite web series. What would you guys think of making The Guild into a 30 minute TV show? Could this show work on prime time TV? With shows like The Big Bang Theory riding high on geek fandom and shows like The Office using a mockumentary style it wouldn't be a hard stretch to see a web series like this hit the small screen.

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Via JoyOfTech.com

By now, common readers should realize that I am a bit of a numbers freak. In my past life I was a min-maxer, but I have overcome that addiction and now focus most of my number crunching abilities on the open market and the Auction House. In doing so, I have managed to have thousands of gold in reserve - after learning my Cold Weather Flying – for my level 80 abilities and whatever else I (sorry begging guildies) may need. Now if only I could turn my digital success in WoW to meatspace success...

This thought process and this hilarious comic lead me down another road though. How much real world value has World of Warcraft cost me? The answer, $588.64, just over half of my mortgage. Don't forget, I did quit the game for a bit. The worst case scenario for a single-boxer as of now, would have the gamer buying each Collector's Edition, and paying the highest monthly fee of $14.99. That would run just shy of $1,000, at $959.47, although I highly doubt anyone has allowed that to happen. As the comic points out, investing that may have been a smarter idea, but the service that WoW offers is far more cost effective than an iPhone in my opinion.

Friends go nuts about their iPhones, acting like it is the best thing since the Internet, but really how often do you use its bonus features – the ones that make the unit and monthly fee so costly?  An hour a day on average, maybe two?  The iPhone service (and cell phone subscriptions in general) are way over priced for what they offer. Don't even get me started on the text messaging plans...For its part, WoW (and really any MMO) packs quite a bang for its buck.

Apples to Oranges you say? Fine, let's do some entertainment to entertainment comparisons. Over the course of my 4+ years of playing, I have saved hundreds of dollars thanks to WoW. How you ask? It is actually quite simple. If you are spending an hour or so a night in Azeroth, you can't be doing other, more costly, things. For instance, I started making meals at home and ordering in rather than going out to dinner. I would Netflix DVDs or watch TV rather than hitting the movies (two movies cost ~$20 in Philadelphia). I largely stopped playing other games. Yet, I managed to balance WoW and my social life well enough to continue being invited, and more importantly attending, friend and family functions.

Ponder on that for a bit. How much have you spent on your little hobby, but more importantly, how much has it saved you?

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