Here’s an interesting thought for the day: Is there a gaming middle class, one that exists between those with plenty of money or time? In An Age posits that there is — and that this “middle class” is getting the raw end of the deal.
“If you fall somewhere in-between, then you essentially get the worst of all possible worlds: pwned both by the time-rich players able to dedicate more time than you, and the money-rich players who buy every advantage,” he writes.
While you digest that and perhaps come up with a response of your own, check out some of our other featured MMO blog essays. Thoughts and opinions concerning Dark and Light, FFXIV, DDO, and more await you below!
MMO Bro: The strange saga of Dark and Light
“Dark and Light struggled to live up to this ambition. It languished in beta testing until investors, hoping to finally see some return for their money, pressured it into launch in 2006. Reception was not good. The game was obviously unfinished, with poor graphics, incomplete features, and numerous bugs.”
Aywren Sojourner: It’s official — I love my FFXIV squad!
“Me being me… this is far better than running with randoms. I know I’ll catch flack for not being social in an MMO. But I still strongly dislike running dungeons with a random party of unknowns — I’ll do it if I have to, but I wouldn’t choose it over running it solo like this.”
GamingSF: Puzzling a solution in DDO
“So rather than give up, or immediately check the wiki, I thought about what I could try to get past it. I completed the remainder of the dungeon, handed in. A quick trip to the marketplace to visit a friendly potion vendor and I took the quest again on the next higher difficulty to try again. I’m well versed enough in D&D to know that potions of bull’s strength will give my character a chance at opening stuck doors. That turned out to not be enough either as my rather waif-like Elven Artificer wasn’t strong enough still. Rather than give up however, I did some more thinking while my character rested at the shrine. If you can’t go through a door, what about over it?”
Grimoires of Supremacy: You know what’s missing from WoW?
- Let us have some neck items that actually show up on characters! Not just necklaces either, but things like ruffs! Ascots!
- Player housing for the love of god.
- PANDAREN WARLOCKS.
Lina’s Biscuity Burrow: Labeling RP as light, medium, or heavy is futile
“I am sometimes asked what kind of roleplaying I engage in myself. I am usually at a loss for an answer. The reason is that no-one really knows what the labels mean. Or rather, players interpret the terms differently.”
Contains Moderate Peril: Game graphics — a question of aesthetics and personal taste
“Gamers often have preferences regarding graphics based on far more emotive considerations. One must never under estimate the power of consumers personal preferences and tastes. We are a species that rightly or wrongly, place a great deal of stock on aesthetics.”
Every day there are tons of terrific, insightful, and unusual articles posted across the MMO gaming blogosphere — and every day, Justin reads as many as he can. Global Chat is a sampling of noteworthy essays, rants, and guides from the past few weeks of MMO discourse.
