Project Lore

It's easy to be cynical when you play online games. Between the illiterate malcontents, guild drama, and unreliable party members, it can be tough to remember why you even started playing World of Warcraft in the first place. I mean, a man can only take so much Trade chat before he's driven to the crazy house! And that's not even getting into the additional stresses placed upon hardcore players like repeated encounter wipes, angry raid leaders, and the never-ending gear treadmill. It's a wonder that everyone who plays the game isn't a big ball of fuss. Well, its an easy page to skip over when you're looking for information about the game, but it's worth hopping over to the Story Archive once in awhile. Blizzard has found a few very personal player stories that they think exemplify one of the best aspects of WoW: the way in which it can bring people together. Yes, that's right. As much as the clueless pundits and self-proclaimed social scientists might want to tell you that you're wasting your time and alienating the people around you by playing video games, that is not necessarily the case. I'd argue that even the most angry, ornery person out there -- the type that likes to solo and makes no outward effort to communicate with others -- plays this game for its social nature. It's a great comfort to some people just to know that there are other people out there, whether or not they choose to interact with them. Guilds aren't just for drama anymore! But these tales are primarily about those who do openly seek out companionship, whether it''s in the game or from people outside the game that they'd like to get to know better by playing with them. One of the first stories details a whole family that was drifting apart, but finds love and warmth again while exploring Azeroth:

"We were growing apart in real life, each of us going our own ways to do our own things. My father's friend suggested to him that he play World of Warcraft with him. Dad saw this as an opportunity to have fun while bringing us all back together. It would be something that we would all enjoy, because we were all gamers at heart...

It may seem like a little thing, but truly gaming together can be an enjoyable experience for the entire family."

I think what's even more endearing about the yarn is that nor only do they come closer to each other, they significantly increase the size of their family by creating a guild, getting to know all sorts of new people that they would consider one of their own. While most of the stories focus on family and budding romantic relationships, one of the most recently added highlights the escapist nature of video games. Some would malign players who forgo the real world for a virtual one, but that would be ignoring those cases in which a person actually has a pretty good reason to do so. Take 50-year-old Crossfire from the Shadris server:

I am a stay-at-home grandma, while my daughter and her hubby are deployed to Afghanistan at the moment. I hadn't spoke with my youngest daughter in a long time, and when my youngest son moved in with us, we got his sister into it also; now we quest, raid, and just have plain old fun... I recently found out I have two tumors in my chest and will be having surgery on the 11th of September...of all days, and plan to be sitting and playing World of Warcraft during my recuperation. I am a survivor of breast cancer, and am praying that it hasn't returned, but if it has, I'll be playing 'til my last breath...! Overall though, I have learned to relax and have fun and use my brain for something other than the drama of real life. I can escape for a couple of hours and in the end I have no worries other than maybe the next achievement or leveling of a lower character.

I hate to pull so strongly on the heart-strings and all, but that's a pretty touching story. Not only is the game able to connect people together that have not spoken with each other in quite some time, it can also help with rehabilitation by taking one's mind of the things that ail them. Hey, we all know that Warcraft can be an excellent time-waster, but virtue can be found even in that. But, you might, ask: aren't most of these benefits true of all video games, especially social ones like MMOs? Well, maybe. I don't think it particularly matters which game people play as long as they can all enjoy it. But then, maybe that's what makes World of Warcraft so special. It openly caters to a casual audience. With an engaging story, lots to do, and a ton of ways to connect with fellow players, it's no wonder that just about anybody can pick the game up and have some fun. And the best way to bring any group of people together, whether that be a family or otherwise, is to give them a common goal to work towards. So maybe that's a 5-man dungeon instead of a camping trip (not that there's anything wrong with that, either). If you're ever feeling down about your World of Warcraft experience, I'd urge you to seek out the Player Stories page and peruse the archive. People can and do find happiness within the game all the time, and that means that you can, too. And maybe it'll even convince you to connect with that long-lost relative or pal. Tell them to pick up the game, create an alt, and go level with them for awhile. See what comes of it. I bet you'll have a good time! We here at Project Lore would like to hear some of your stories, too, if you care to share them. Please post them in the comments box below!

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PC peripheral maker Razer introduced a brand new mouse today called 'Naga' which is focused on MMOs (which coincidentally comes right before BlizzCon). Full disclosure, Project Lore has a video content partnership with the ZAM Network which is running a promotion along with Razer for this product.

Razer goes on to describe it:

The Razer Naga is the ultimate Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming mouse that shifts the balance between keyboard and mouse by putting an unprecedented number of in-game commands in one place. A multi-button thumb grid and Razer’s MMO game interface add-on combine to place every command you need in the palm of your hand. An ergonomic form shaped to maximize ease of use lets you game in comfort for hours on end. With the Razer Naga, you will Get Imba.

The Razer Naga, Razer's new MMO Mouse

As a fan of Razer's mice (I use the DeathAdder) I'm a little taken aback by this device. It seems extremely bulky and almost too big for it's own good.  Positively thinking though the keys look like they have a nice size especially at seventeen buttons. One of the features I have loved about Razer mice is their comfort. The DeathAdder fits perfectly in my hand and is not overly complicated with buttons (which this mouse won't be able to claim). Thankfully all the buttons are fully customizable via Razer software, although how it handles macros remains to be completely seen.

While this isn't the first MMO mouse (and not even one that has features specific to WoW) the Naga looks to cram as much as possible onto one device. The last MMO mouse (the WoW MMO Gaming Mouse from Steelseries) was met with mixed reviews, especially because of it's initial price at $99 (while this has come down a bit) and it's handling of macros. The price of the Naga is $79, which means consumers will need to be serious about picking this up.

Until we get our hands on it (which we should at BlizzCon this weekend) we can only speculate at this point. I'm being cautiously optimistic, but I generally like simplicity in my mice. Interestingly, they are marketing the mouse as "Be Imba" (be imbalanced) as if this mouse might give the player an unfair advantage over another because they're using this mouse.

What are your initial thoughts on the mouse? Will you consider picking one up? Are specialized mice necessary?

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Activision Blizzard CEO Robert "Bobby" Kotick on Thursday said he is "optimistic" about the future of the game industry as "a very low cost form of entertainment, if you look at the dollar-cost-per-hour." CNBC interviewed Kotick, who was in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the relatively secretive annual Allen & Company media mogul conference. Here's what he had to say about Activision Blizzard stocks performing above expectations in a down economy:

While Kotick does not speak specifically about WoW, there were some pretty interesting aspects to the interview that I wanted to elaborate on a bit because they can be applied to our favorite MMORPG. The journalist interviewing Kotick first points out that Activision Blizzard (and Electronic Arts) stocks were performing well Thursday. That's just a snapshot in time showing the trading levels at that point in the day, but if you look at the levels over the past six months or so, you'll see that the values have been rising steadily. Not surprisingly, the stock market apparently was on the minds of many Thursday who attended a panel on the economy at the conference. Although not an expert on the economy, Kotick pointed out that the availability of new hardware and the diversity of gaming experiences combine as a way to satisfy a lot of different entertainment needs all in one punch. As Kotick puts it, "While I'm relatively pessimistic about the economy, I'm very optimistic about the ability for video games to satisfy entertainment needs of consumers." And since we've been talking a bit about the future of WoW lately, I also found it interesting that Kotick said he's been looking at his expectations for Activision Blizzard over the next 5 to 10 years. He said that increasing production values, more effective in-game social interactions and the physical aspects of gaming "are really great catalysts for expansion of our audience; and we're still in the early days of markets like Western Europe, (and) in China." So perhaps WoW (or the next MMO) will be more of a world-wide audience? It seems that Kotick is hinting at that thought, which seems like smart business to me (more subscribers = more $$). Also along the idea of more money, Kotick said that lower the price of hardware, "the more consumers will be willing to purchase (it)." Makes perfect sense to me. Of course, a PC is a pretty hefty pricetag for someone just to play a game. But one would assume most people would have their computer for other uses, as well. What does everyone else make of this interview? Can you think of any other ways in which Kotick's ideas may be applied to WoW or the future of other Activision Blizzard MMOs, or do you think his points were too general to draw any real conclusions?

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A series of trademark requests that Blizzard Entertainment recently filed may indicate the possible name and lore of the next World of Warcraft expansion. Wednesday, Tumblr blogger Supererogatory revealed that Blizzard is seeking trademarks that would include computer games, paper-based products and online games with the name "Cataclysm." For all we know, that could be the name of Blizzard's super-secret project under development, a new MMO or something else completely unrelated to WoW. But given the name's relationship to the Maelstrom, some people (including myself) speculate that this could be the name for the next WoW expansion. There's been a great deal of speculation for a long while now that the next expansion will relate to the swirling vortex of power that lies between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, the Maelstrom. To refresh your memory, the Maelstrom was created in a huge world event at the end of the War of the Ancients, thousands of years ago. Often referred to as the Cataclysm or the Great Sundering, it all started with the destruction of the Well of Eternity. The giant explosion that this caused ripped Azeroth asunder, destroying most of the land mass (previously there was one giant continent, Kalimdor) and reshaping what little remained. In place of the Well of Eternity now lies the Maelstrom, a constant, thunderous reminder of the peaceful times that now are lost to the world. It also is implied that the giant storm is slowly drawing in the surrounding land masses. It could even eventually swallow all that remains of Azeroth. What more could you ask for in a conflict? Another noteworthy, though perhaps coincidental factor: WoW.com pointed out that the WoWcataclysm domain expired on June 26, the same day that the trademark requests were filed. Interesting. There also have been a lot of guesses that the next expansion could be related to the Emerald Dream, the realm of Dragon Aspect Ysera. That speculation was flamed by several blue posts that hinted at the area as a possibilty for future development, but I haven't seen any new, official mentions of that for at least a couple of years. Let's see if we can glean a little bit more information for what the Trademark would encompass by reading the details of the applications, which were filed June 26. According to the documents posted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website, the three requests are classified to cover:

• Computer game software and related instruction manuals and guides sold together as a unit; downloadable computer game software; interactive multimedia computer game program; mousepads
• Comic books, computer game strategy guides, trading cards, coloring books, adhesive stickers, rub-on transfers, notebooks, stationery-type portfolios, posters, greeting cards, calendars, instructional leaflets in the field of computer games, computer game instruction manuals, catalogs in the field of computer games, advertisement boards of paper or cardboard, photographs, art prints
• Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line computer games; providing computer games that may be accessed via a global computer network; and providing on-line information in the field of computer gaming entertainment

It certainly sounds like an MMO to me. So what does everyone else think? Would you be all for some maelstrom-based content for the next expansion? Do you think that's what all this information points to? What else do you think the trademarks could be for?

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Have you ever made fun of the Alliance for having to go to bed early, or being kicked off their computer by their mommy? Or dealt with someone who had a squeaky, barely pubescent voice on Ventrilo? Rejected someone from your guild for being under the age of 18? When I think of age discrimination in WoW, these are sort of my "go to" examples, but then I came across a post on the official forums that made me stop and scratch my chin. It was a badly-worded, not to mention obvious, attempt at trolling; something not worth recreating here. But it did turn the issue on its head and resulted in a heated firestorm all too typical of internet zeitgeists. Pulling from my dubious inspiration, I pose the question: are we too old to be playing this game? From those of us who have just entered college to those of us who've earned tenure for teaching it so long, are we playing a game meant for tweens? For the zit-faced, brace-grinning stereotype that has represented the child-like "gamer" for decades? Let me speak in simple terms: Most of the people I play with are in their mid-20s or older, some have wives or husbands, and just as many have kids. These are men and women with families and jobs and other obligations who nonetheless take a period of time out of their day to get online with a bunch of other yahoos from around the world to yak in guild chat or take on raid bosses. The obvious answer, of course, is that you're never too old to play games. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there are more people 18-and-older playing WoW than there are under. Though the research dates back to the game's launch period, Nick Yee's 2005 study posits that the average player age is 28.3, well above the legal standard of adulthood. And don't take online bloggers like Gaming Granny (50+, has probably played/tested more MMOs than you have) or Old Grandma Hardcore (73, mostly into console fare, but as into the hobby as they come) for granted. Grandma Hardcore probably isn't the only retirement age gamer kicking your hairless tush out there. They're the real deal and not to be trifled with! It goes to show that age is not the restriction, perception is. Instead, there is another, deeper issue lurking just below the surface: why World of Warcraft? What power, what draw does it have on older generations of either lapsed gamers or those that have never touched a controller in their life? WoW, for all of its hardcore playerbase, is probably one of the greatest casual gaming phenomenons this side of Nintendo's Wii. Now, that's being somewhat disingenuous, considering that some of the best and most experienced players I know are some of the ones I mentioned leading the family life, but let's face it: a good chunk of the game's 11.5 million+ subscribers fit snugly into the mold. WarCraft has several things going for it. First, it's computer-based, which is instantly attractive to a population increasingly familiar with the way these machines work. Console gaming offers a more "closed" experience, but in doing so, divorces itself from overlapping with other daily activities like surfing the internet, typing e-mails, or doing grunt work at the office. It takes time to figure out the more complex aspects of WoW, but an active understanding of the keyboard and mouse makes easing into the control scheme a heck of a lot more managable. In my travels around the internet, I've also found that older geeks, programmers, and technophiles tend to be hardcore computer gamers, sometimes at the total exclusion of their console bretheren. Second, it's a replacement for a social life. It's a sad fact of reality that when you work as hard as most adults do, there's little time or desire to go and hang out with friends (assuming you actually have any you consider that close). Your WoW buddies, however, are always there. Both in- and out-of-game communication tools make it easy to hold conversations and the convenience of running a 5-man dungeon with a few pals often outweighs the effort needed to round up real-life acquaintances for a night on the town. World of Warcraft serves as a portal to a sort of social life not easily afforded to folks post-college. And that's not even taking into consideration the latent competition aspects. After all, socializing is as much about contest as it is getting along. PvPing, or simply racing to the level cap with a friend, can be just as rewarding as playing a game of one-on-one basketball. For those adults unable to leave the house due to physical disabilities or family/spousal obligations, Warcraft can serve as a great substitute for scratching that competitive itch. Third, it's a good distraction! With it's wealth of content and cheaper entry fee, WoW is a wonderful substitute for more traditional past-times like watching CBS' primetime lineup, and when you're not raiding, it doesn't make undue demands on your time. It's easy for people log on to chat or run a few dailies while they do house-chores or take care of the kids. And speaking of the younglings, playing Warcraft can be an excellent way to connect with your kids. That's right, questing together to replace tossing the ball back and forth in the front yard as the primary way for a dad to spend quality time with his son! Heard it here first! When you add these three aspects to WoW's innate fun factor, it's not hard to see why more and more adults are turning to MMOs as a way to spend their free time. Ageism may be alive and well, but I believe there's absolutely nothing shameful in being an older player. There is nothing in the game's lore or content that suggests outright catering to a teen-specific crowd. As for the younger people reading this? Showing just a little bit of respect can take you a long way with your gaming elders. After all, you don't magically become a mature adult on your 18th birthday, no matter what the government might think. In fact, I've played with many-a-married-couple who've stormed off and ragequit a guild for the silliest, most purile reasons. Certainly, age is only the basest of factors in determining who is capable of being a reasonable person! Readers, do you agree or disagree? Have you ever encountered family members, co-workers, or other people your age that have questioned why you spend so much time playing "stupid computer games?" Ever caught lip from a younger player online? Or, quite simply, as an older individual, what about WoW has drawn you in so much? The discrimination works both ways, so younger players feel free to chime in with your own observations! But, let's try and keep it civil, OK?

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Kotaku just came to the realization via Official Blue Post (tm) that one of Blizzard's projects, their unnamed next-gen MMO, is an entirely new franchise, which means it's not Starcraft, it's not Warcraft, it's not Diablo, it's not Lost Vikings, it's not Rock n' Roll Racing, and most disappointingly it's not Battle Chess. Zarhym says, in response to a poster wondering why Blizzard hasn't started advertising for their new MMO:

We have nothing to advertise for the new MMO because it's a shell of a game thus far. We've already stated it'll be a brand new franchise, which means the lore, art, and game play are being developed entirely from scratch. It's an overwhelming process, but a process through which we excel. Our track record supports this.

So, they're working on all new stuff. They have two fantasy titles releasing along with a Sci-Fi future title, so what's next? Where will their new MMO end up being set? The wild west? An apocalyptic future? A realistic contemporary world? Ancient Egypt? A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? Canada? I'm thinking none of the above, because Blizzard has a way of surprising us all. Nevertheless, it may end up being a battle between two Blizzard MMOs at the top, with some players unable to tear themselves away from WoW, but many making the transition to their new property. What do you think? Are you getting tired of the Fantasy MMO? Are you looking forward to Blizzard's new title? Where do you want to see it set, and what do you want it to include? How many question marks fit in one post?

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We know Blizzard is developing a third expansion for World of Warcraft. We know they're developing Diablo III, Starcraft II, and a nameless next-gen MMO. As it turns out, they're also developing a fifth project that will use a completely new engine built from scratch. Silicon Alley Insider reported on a post on DIII.net as they discovered a few job listings filed under "Unannounced Project," which is a different category from the "Next-Gen MMO" that has been used for Blizzards upcoming unnamed MMO. A couple of days later, there was confirmation that the job listings were for a game that had previously not been mentioned:

The job openings mentioned in this newspost is indeed a brand-new game that has not been mentioned before. 1. This brand-new game is not a World of Warcraft expansion, and it is not related to the Next-Gen MMO. 2. In the present, the brand-new game is using the World of Warcraft engine merely for testing purposes. 3. The Client Software Engineer job opening is to hire the person that will have the responsibility to develop an engine from scratch for this game.  This new engine will be built depending on the skill and interest of the person hired for this position. Whether this game is based on the three major franchises (Warcraft, Starcraft or Diablo) or a new IP, that remains unknown.

Blizzard has expressed plenty of interest in starting a new franchise, so it wouldn't be too surprising to learn that this new project was completely unrelated to their other works. On the flip side, it would be interesting to see a new Warcraft-related game. What could it possibly be? What are your thoughts? Excited at the prospect of new Blizzard games every year? Nervous that Blizzard may be spreading itself too thin? Silicon Alley Insider sees it as a great new revenue stream for Activision. I just can't wait to see what else Blizzard has up its sleeve.

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Marvel announced this week plans to develop at least two new MMOs, joining a growing list of possible competitors to WoW. A few months ago, iTZkooPA posted on whether Blizzard should be worried about other MMORPGs that already have been released. It looked like, at that time, they weren’t too concerned. Maybe they had no reason to be. Since then, WotLK became the fastest-selling PC game of all time (beating out the Burning Crusade expansion, which previously held that title), and propelled WoW to a base of 11.5 million subscribers. But there’s a long list of upcoming MMOs that are still a ways from hitting the market. Do these pose a challenge for Blizzard’s dominant stance in the market? It seems to me that several of the upcoming MMO titles depend on an already-existing fan base. Let’s take a look at the Marvel announcement for an example:

“Gazillion's new licensing agreement with Marvel calls for the development and publishing of MMO games featuring Marvel's iconic universe super heroes. The first game in development is a casual MMO for younger audiences based on Marvel's Super Hero Squad property. Super Hero Squad features an exciting, super-stylized look for the greatest Super Heroes, including Iron Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Thor, Fantastic Four, Captain America and many others.”

Undoubtedly, Marvel has a built-in fan base already salivating over the possibilities. And some of those fans also may play WoW. So would a Super Hero Squad MMO pull WoW players away? Perhaps some, if they don’t want to pay two monthly fees for games. (Marvel hasn’t yet stated whether the new games will have a monthly fee. I’m guessing they will.) But WoW’s fan base also might not be excited about a game proposed for “younger audiences.” This is just the first of what Marvel has announced, though, and subsequent games such as the “major new Marvel Universe PC and Console MMO” may pursue the franchise’s not-so-young audiences, as well. With team members from Blizzard, Pixar and Apple, I’m sure they’re well aware that an MMO done well can reach a much wider audience. A lot has changed since my first introduction to MMORPGs through Ragnarok Online many years ago. It looks like MMOs are becoming the popular thing to do. Or perhaps I should say the profitable thing to do (especially when superheroes are in the mix). Several other companies with pre-made audiences also have jumped onto the MMO bandwagon prior to Marvel’s announcement. Sony Online Entertainment is developing a DC Universe Online, Lucasarts and Bioware are working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, and let’s not forget about the LEGO Group’s upcoming MMOG, LEGO Universe (which has revealed its own interpretation of /chicken). With as-of-yet limited details on what any of these games will entail, it’s difficult to say where their place will be in the market. Perhaps that will be determined not only by the new games’ strengths, but also by what Blizzard continues to bring to keep WoW audiences enthralled. So what do you all think? Will these games’ pre-made audiences be enough to propel them into the mainstream? And do any of them sound intriguing enough to pull you or your buddies away from WoW?

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I have played my fair share of MMOGs. Many of them I only played for a few months, such as Ultima Online, Everquest, Asheron's Call, Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa. I can only truly say that I've been a hardcore player in World of Warcraft, sticking with it for years after its release – and still counting. But all of those games have at least one thing in common. And I don't mean that they have each sucked days of my life from me. As either a hardcore user or just a casual player looking for a new MMO world to immerse myself in, I always get tired of MMO music. After the first few hours, my hands will systematically reach for Control + M to see if that near-universal hotkey was added to the UI. More often than not, the combination will drop the soundtrack instantly. Finally, I am able to continue on my wolf/alien/bear/horde killing ways without hearing the same piece of music for the xth time. It isn't that I don't enjoy the music. In fact, I have shown my love for game music on numerous occasions. This is normally where I note some way to fix the problem. Unfortunately, I do not really have any suggestions on how a company could render the issue, other than constantly producing more tracks. Obviously, that is not really feasible in a business sense. At least, not unless the company is releasing the tracks as part of a large content patch or expansion. Perhaps the greatest screensaver ever created got it right. I am of course speaking of EVE Online. EVE works around the problem by incorporating an MP3 player into their client. This allows players to listen to their own soundtrack without having to alt-tab all the time. For EVE, the addition actually fits their game, but I doubt the citizens of Azeroth would listen to Journey or Tool during their hunting expeditions. What to do...

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