The Carnival of Gamers - Slashdot Edition

"Welcome, welcome, to the biggest show in town. For today only the Carnival of Gamers appears on your front lawn, and we've got quite a show for you. So, hurry up and step right inside, check out the booths and maybe win your lady a stuffed bear!" Today, Slashdot Games is hosting 'The Carnival of Gamers', a roving blog event that collects together some blog entries on gaming written during the previous month. The entries are all self-submitted, and cover everything from the legalities of online currency to the state of videogame reviews. This is a great opportunity to check out some sites you may not have had the chance to read before, and expand your thinking on gaming in society today. Think of it as a large quickies entry, grab your coin purse, and step inside.

One of the most common themes among the entries for this month's Carnival was the now 'standard' way we as gamers look at things in the game industry. Both gamers and non-gamers alike have specific views on how games are played, what games are, and the coverage of gaming. Perhaps because of the new year's turning, bloggers wanted to reflect on the way things are normally done.

Mu Productions, for example, has a piece on the future of Machinima, a unique way to 'use' games outside of the norm.

Non-traditional use of games is the center of Press the Buttons' reflection on the 'games can control pain' study that was recently covered here on Slashdot. Using gaming to keep your focus and push away distractions ... I think we've all done that from time to time.

The Game Chair laments the mainstream understanding of games on an airline flight. Does he play his PSP near a young person with 'killer games' in the media?

Tea Leaves challenges the 'hardcore' mentality with a reflection on casual gaming. In his view 'big-box dinosaurs' are an endangered species. Younger, faster, cheaply made casual games will have their day.

Speaking of dinosaurs, Design Synthesis is saddened by the lack of respect we give older games, relegating them to the bargain bin. Where are the gaming museums?

Non-traditional gaming doesn't alway have to be fun. Outside Looking In discusses the JFK: Revolution title and what it could mean, if it weren't a puerile exercise in headline-grabbing. Why not a JFK simulation, but one that could inject some fun into learning history?

On the topic of learning: Late Night PC talks about preparing for a trip to the Game Developer's conference (something I'm going to have to do pretty soon as well).

Psychochild wonders aloud what exactly is a game? As some other entries have already noted, they can be use for more than just 'fun', so what constitutes a game?

Cathode Tan considers games as narrative and games as art in a piece cogitating the often discussed dismissal of games by Roger Ebert.

On the topic of fun: Buttonmashing owns up to an on-the job-Nintendo fix. Nostalgia and pure fun combine in Nintendo's titles: how is that a bad thing?

Finally, on the topic of standards, we come to the topic of game journalism. We've been discussing that a lot lately on Slashdot Games, and three commentators bring up the topic this month in the Carnival. Videogame Media Watch author Kyle Orland digs deep into the 1up DO4 controversy. The Curmudgeon Gamer talks about the *1* problem with gaming journalism, and Continuous Play dispairs in a piece on the state of videogame reviews.

Turning now to virtual worlds, MMOFun talks the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to MMORPG communities. Those selfsame communities can turn on the hand that feeds them, a topic Man Bytes Blog covers in How I learned to Stop Leveling and Love the Nerf Bat.

For a humorous look at community gaming, Kill Ten Rats compares real-life work practices to Raiding. Raiding for the win, apparently.

When Julian Dibbell began talking about online currency being possibly taxable, I know many people desperately cried "Shh! They might hear you!" Play No Evil risks government audit by considering the legitimization of the virtual economy.

On a final general note, Virgin Worlds has a great post looking at some of the best MMOG podcasts around. Well worth listening to if you have a spare ear at work, especially to the sublimely amusing Taverncast.

Commentators couldn't resist talking about their favorite (or least-favorite) massive games, and our last selections this month are all about specific games. Heartless, for example, rips the blood-pumper from Dungeons and Dragons Online. The game, still in Beta, disappointed him by falling short of the pen-and-paper roots he was hoping for.

Darniaq talks about the recent Star Wars Galaxies NGE upgrade. He gives the new content and systems a thorough going-over, and finds both good and bad in the changes to the Galaxy far, far away.

I'll own up to it: I do some extra-curricular blogging myself. I couldn't resist making some doomcasting remarks about the original Everquest. The changes Sony Online seems to be working into all of its games leave but one option for the near future; In my opinion, a graceful shutdown of EQ Live has to be in the cards.

I've said before '5.5 Million people can't be wrong', and our last submissions this month are all about World of Warcraft. Top of Cool concurs with Blizzard's decision about gay guild recruitment in a commentary piece called 'Why Blizzard is Right'. Tobolds talks more traditional games with a Warcraft twist by reviewing the World of Warcraft board game. AFK Gamer has a great, humorous, piece about what he would do if given GM Power in Azeroth.

As you leave the Carnival, for the time being, one last post to consider: Scott Jennings takes a long hard look at the gap between casual players and hardcore raiders in Blizzard's hit MMOG. In his view the only way to fix the gap will require some major surgery. Read the post to find out what sort of stitching it will require.

Many thanks for reading, and I hope you find some of this month's contributors worth adding to your regular browsing habits. If you liked today's post, make sure and make the Carnival of Gamers a part of your monthly reading. Next month the Carnival will be setting up shop at the VirginWorlds blog, on March the 2nd. Until then, the midway is closed.

Biggest show in town...

"Welcome, welcome, to the biggest show in town."

"Nothing for you to see here. Please move along."

Wow, that was cool! When's the next one? :P

I would read this...

...but I'm too busy gaming.

Welcome back my friends...

Step inside! hello! we've the most amazing show
You'll enjoy it all we know
Step inside! step inside!

We've got thrills and shocks, supersonic fighting cocks.
Leave your hammers at the box
Come inside! come inside!
Roll up! roll up! roll up!
See the show!

Left behind the bars, rows of bishops' heads in jars
And a bomb inside a car
Spectacular! spectacular!

If you follow me there's a speciality
Some tears for you to see
Misery, misery,
Roll up! roll up! roll up!
See the show!

Next upon the bill in our house of vaudeville
We've a stripper in a till
What a thrill! what a thrill!
And not content with that, with our hands behind our backs,
We pull jesus from a hat,
Get into that! get into that!
Roll up! roll up! roll up!
See the show!

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend
Come inside! come inside!
There behind a glass is a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass.
Move along! move along!

Come inside, the show's about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart
Rest assured you'll get your money's worth
The greatest show in heaven, hell or earth.
You've got to see the show, it's a dynamo.
You've got to see the show, it's rock and roll ....

Soon the gypsy queen in a glaze of vaseline
Will perform on guillotine
What a scene! what a scene!
Next upon the stand will you please extend a hand
To alexander's ragtime band
Roll up! roll up! roll up!
See the show!

Performing on a stool we've a sight to make you drool
Seven virgins and a mule
Keep it cool. keep it cool.
We would like it to be known the exhibits that were shown
Were exclusively our own,
All our own. all our own.
Come and see the show! come and see the show! come and see the show!
See the show!

Holy Crap.

I have tremendous respect for anyone that R's TFA.

Activision's Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360

Anyone else having issues with multiplayer support with Call of Duty 2 for 360? Tremendous lag, 8 players maximum, no lobbies and other issues. The Xbox 360 is supposed to be a next gen console and the premier game is making it look like a relic from the 90s.

SOE

Everquest will eventually wind up with the EQ2 engine and servers, it might take them several years, but it will happen. It won't help save EQ, but it will make a pretty corpse.

EQ2 will basically be the training ground for changes to occur in the next EQ expansion.

SWG - I think NGE stands for Not Good, Everywhere. Fix the outstanding issues and you might have a game. Call it PlanetQuest.

Planetside - Here's what happens when you take a decent game and ignore it. Wait 6 months then say, 'oh, we're not ignoring you' and then go back to ignoring it. If Planetside was a house on fire, instead of putting out the fire, SOE would be busy debating what color the drapes should be.

MxO - Interesting game, expect it to be revamped to be just like EQ, call it EQ 1.5, virtual reality edition.

Microsoft a: Sony PlayStation 3 will be successful

Unexpected admission by top Microsoft boss about Playstation 3: "They'll launch, let's face it. They'll launch and it'll be very successful."

Read the entire thing at Spong, here [spong.com].

Games dull Pain

While I'm sure games dull pain (they did prove it in a study) but then again, pretty much any distraction works for males

They've proved that men have a much higher ability to shut out the world no matter what they're doing. Reading the newspaper, a book, playing a game, studying... anything that requires concentration.

I remember reading about it in one of those Ann Landers style articles. The question was "Why does my husband ignore me when I try to get his attention while he's reading the newspaper?"

Personally, I listen to my music loud, but when I'm reading a book, everything (music included) fades away into the background and I'm dead to the world.

Obviously, reading a book isn't feasible in an operating room, which is why I think games work much better to engage the mind & distract from the pain.

And yes, games help more than a family member to reduce stress/pain.

Hooray for the Carnival!

For those of who like these kinds of articles, don't miss the final link that takes you to the Carnival of Gamers HQ [buttonmashing.com], where you can visit past Carnivals as well.

I love articles like these that take a step back from the reviews and mechanics of a game and discuss some of the larger issues surrounding gaming.

Looking forward to more next month!

In response to the "Why Blizzard is Right" article

The blogger writes that WoW is rated T for Teen, and therefore any discussion of sexuality at all is inappropriate, because the minimum recommended age for this game is 13.

Personally, this just (once again) proves to me that this country was founded primarily by sexually repressed fanatics that were kicked out of Europe for being killjoys. (It wasn't that they were being persecuted because of their religion, it was mainly because they were obnoxious - if you live anywhere near the Bible Belt, you know exactly what I mean.) If you can't handle hearing about gay people when you are 13, you have no business being anywhere near the net.

On MMORPG Communities

This is in response to MMORPG Communities - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [mmofun.com].

His general concept is that PvP makes for bad communities. I disagree - lack of PvP doesn't magically improve the community. What determines what makes a good and bad community comes down to what resources are available and the competition for them.

If it were not for the horrible level grinding the game requires I would easily proclaim Final Fantasy XI as the greatest MMORPG ever made, simply because of the sense of community it creates.

WHAT?! Sorry, but, no. Having played both World of WarCraft and Final Fantasy XI, I can say that World of WarCraft easily has the better player community. People in FFXI are petty and cruel. Since the "horrible level grinding" (no arguement there!) requires you to play with other people, making any small screw-up will easily get you blacklisted in a wide section of the community. If you play with gear that's "too poor" or don't play your class perfectly or just have bad luck, expect to get yelled at, and have your name spread among the various guilds (linkshells in FFXI) in the game as a player to avoid. Good luck dealing with the level grind after that happens!

I've never had any problems in WoW when it came to dealing with other people. Why the difference?

It all comes down to opportunity.

As most people know, you can play WoW through to endgame without having to group. It relies heavily on instances to get the best gear - you play through an instance to get the best stuff. FFXI places most of the gear as rare drops off rare spawns, until end-game where it becomes instanced too.

The FFXI community forces you to have the best gear, or else you get blacklisted and can't find groups and can't play. Because the best gear can only be gotten from rare drops off rare spawns, there's incredible competition for these resources. With no PvP, this competition frequently turns to a tactic called "monster player-kill" where one player attempts to get the monsters to attack another player. The game was recently patched to disallow this (again, they tried before) and I don't know how successful they've been.

So with these limited resources, the community often devolves into fighting with each other for them. Since you can't literally fight, it's just a race to get the monster first. Much drama ensues as different guilds compete for the same limited resources. They both try and get the spawn first, people get angry, and shouting matches occur. In the end, you can get banned from groups simply by being friends with someone who got to a spawn first.

Compare this with WoW. You have ninja-looters and griefers in WoW, of course. However, thanks to instancing, you can simply avoid them entirely while playing the game. You don't have to worry about them. This makes the community a much friendlier place, since players generally don't have to worry about other players stealing a rare resource from them.

Guilds work to help themselves get the rare items without competeing with other guilds. People are friendly. People will help out.

Compare it with FFXI, where the game forces people to compete with each other for these rare resources. People get nasty. People refuse to help.

It's the competition for limited resources that makes a community unfriendly. When everyone is an enemy, potentially winning some important item before you can, the community is going to be unfriendly. When other players are just other players to talk with, you get a much nicer sense of community. I think the faction v faction play in WoW helps that too, since you're all on one side against "the enemy", as opposed to FFXI where it's effectively every player for themself.

Pen and Paper D&D game....

Every time another AD&D ruleset game comes out, you see the same thing:

The game, still in Beta, disappointed him by falling short of the pen-and-paper roots he was hoping for.

I don't think some people will be happy until the games start printing out character sheets after every round.

Hmmm....

Play the new AD&D ruleset based online game! Follows the rules so closely that you'll think you were playing with pen and paper!

Features for the new AD&D online game:
-Use your webcam to scan the number from the actual die you just rolled! (dice not included)
-Must wait 5 minutes after every command to see what happens next!
-Get actual PrintOuts(tm) of your updated character sheet after every round, showing your new hit point totals along with everything else that didn't change!
-Electromagnetic hex board moves your crappy little miniatures for you! (crappy little miniatures not included)
-GameMaster personality plugins! Watch your computer grab it's stuff and walk out of your house in a big huff! (What happened to all the Cheetos?)
And so much more!

ganes games games games games games games games

for heavens sake - out of 27 stories on the front page, ten of them are about games. That's just too many. Slashdot editorship: could we have a bit more balance please?

Okay. Seriously now. . . What's going on here?

I think we've had enough 'news' about games to last us several weeks.

Has 'Zonk' been given some sort of mandate? Are Slashdot's advertisers not feeling confident in their reach for some sort of imaginary target audience?

For goodness sake.

There's an utterly fascinating real world going on out there. Talking about video games leads to video game addiction. What is Slashdot trying to become?

Computer games are masturbation for the mind.

Can we drop the games stories, already?

-FL

GLBT decision

The anti GLBT-friendly teambuilding decision from Blizard sounds like blaming a woman for the fact she was raped based on the clothes she was wearing at the time.

Thanks to Zonk

A big thanks out to Zonk for organizing this ... I've hosted a previous Carnival before and it's a decent amount of effort coordinating all the incoming submissions and making sure everything gets set up correctly. Great job, and hopefully we'll see your moonlighting blog ways show up on future CoG's.

Sorry, Blizzard is still wrong.

If you're going to allow explicit heterosexuality (what? I'm just talking about characters marrying other characters!) you can't forbid homosexuality without being bigoted. “Given that this is a game which Blizzard expects to be played by teenagers as young as 13 years old, what place does a discussion of gay sex have in such a game?” is a straw man argument.

Blizzard's basically saying, “Sorry, but our customer base has a high percentage of bigots. We'd rather lose your custom than theirs.

(Which, of course, it could be argued that they have every right to do. But that doesn't make it right.)

Re:wow

Yeah. That pretty much sums up a lot of the articles. Just WoW.

Re:The Carnival of Gamers - Slashdot Edition

"wretched".