Tipa over at Chasing Dings recently posed an intriguing question to her friends and readers: Does crafting have any place in the modern MMO? Before you have a kneejerk response to that, read her piece and consider crafting from a new angle.
“In real life, crafting is an outlet for explosive creativity,” she said. “Crafty people, in real life, make amazing things, astounding things, and they inspire other people to test their limits and try new things. But crafting in MMOs is just the opposite of that — you press some keys and out comes an item. Whether those keys make your character mime swinging a sword or swinging a hammer, the result is the same.”
Read on for more MMO blog essays, including the nuances of community management, obsession with EVE Echoes, and a possible misstep for Blizzard.
Contains Moderate Peril: More community management problems in LOTRO
“The upside of difficult situations, such as the one which SSG currently faces, is that they present an opportunity to learn. Sadly, SSG and Turbine before them seem to have a blindspot when it comes to reflecting upon their prior community relations disasters and adjusting their corporate behaviour accordingly.”
MMOQuests.com: My newest obsession is EVE Echoes
“There have been a few glitches here and there, but so far the launch has been incredibly smooth – and I’m having an absolute blast. I have a hard time believing that this is a mobile game – it plays incredibly well (I’m using my phone, but you can also use an ipad etc).”
Altar of Gaming: All of FFXIV’s collector’s editions digital items
“The official site doesn’t make it very easy to understand what kind of cosmetic items each one includes, so we’ve grouped them all below, providing screenshots for each one of them, in order to make your buying decision easier!”
Misdirections: Blizz, what the f*** are you actually thinking?
“Seriously, Blizz? Hundreds of thousands of people are dying, — thousands every day — people’s lives and livelihoods are destroyed, and real life plague is spreading uncontrollably in much of the world, and you think it is fun to replicate this in a f***ing game???”
Cosmetic LOTRO: Travel companion
“I also dug up an old retro shoulder wrap. I used to use these type of shoulders all the time years ago. Ten years ago they were the only decent model we had to create a Ranger outfit with. There are so many vintage cosmetic items in LOTRO that I still love using. Combined with more recent gear, they get a second chance to shine.”
Later Levels: Fishing in Elder Scrolls Online
“I have a long history with fishing in this game. I’d previously bagged the Morrowind Master Angler achievement during our 50-day challenge but failed to get the Grahtwood Angler title thanks to one lousy creature. I was struggling to get the Thrassian Eel and so, as you’re more likely to catch a rare fish when others join you, I enlisted the help of Phil. The only problem was that he ended up catching that flipping eel for himself every time we fished together while I walked away empty handed.”
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.
