I don’t remember that last time I went somewhere and was asked how difficult I wanted my journey to be, but in virtual worlds, difficulty settings are becoming the norm.

Games like SWTOR, WoW and the upcoming Guild Wars 2, all have dungeon difficulty settings, mainly to allow casual players the opportunity to try out all dungeons without angering hardcore players. However, by doing so, at least in my opinion, it destroys player immersion into that virtual world.

I’ve only experienced dungeon levels in a few games, lastly in SWTOR, and they always felt like they weren’t part of the game. In SWTOR it felt like I was playing a mini-game of sorts, like PvP battlegrounds, that had nothing to do with the actual game itself.

To me, MMORPGs biggest selling point are the virtual worlds themselves, I think that’s why we all play them, to be part of a living, thriving world. Instances are bad enough, but when you add difficulty settings to them, it just completely destroys that sense you’re part of a living world.

The reasoning behind difficulty levels is straight forward enough, it’s to give all players, from the most casual to the most hardcore, the opportunity to try out all the game’s content, but is that right? If you’re a casual MMORPG gamer, do you think you should have access to every single dungeon in the game? Shouldn’t certain areas of the game need a certain level of skill and/or gear to complete?

Now, I’m not a fan of blocking content by gear restrictions either. Meaning, I don’t believe that dungeon A must be completed before it becomes possible to successfully complete dungeon B, but I do believe in some sort of gear requirement. I mean, you can’t walk into an end-game dungeon with average gear and think you’ll be able to complete it.

The difficulty settings seem to be just more rides for the theme-park MMORPG, where pleasing everyone and creating more content without really doing so, wins out to creating a real virtual world. What do you guys think? Do difficulties settings bother you or are you for them?

This story caught my attention earlier this week when it was reported that Curt Schilling’s gaming studio, 38 Studios, could not pay their employees this week and defaulted on their tax-payer funded loan to Rhode Island.

The more I read about this story, the more it inflames my nerd rage. First of all, where does the line start to receive a $75 million guaranteed loan to fund a video game company? Because if an ex-WoW player like Curt Schilling, with zero game industry experience can get one, I sure as hell am more qualified than he is.  The guy played Ultima Online, some EQ and WoW. If that’s all that’s needed, then I’m extremely overqualified. Cash please.

Second, since when did State governments start issuing loans to just any company? Isn’t that the job of banks and investment firms? Why is Rhode Island taking tax payer money and funding a video game company?

Now I know governements give out loans all the time, don’t think I’m naive, however I was under the impression such loans were given to companies that were in certain industries. Such as energy or construction, something that would have a positive effect on the state directly and it’s citizens. A video games company has no impact what so ever.

To add insult to injury, we then have 38 Studio’s asking for even more money so they can finish their MMORPG. I don’t have anything against Curt, he’s one of my favorite player’s of all time and I’m a Red Sox fan, but get the f*ck out. Are you kidding me?

I don’t want to see anyone not get paid, but that’s the risk of working for a start-up company. Tax payers should not flip the bill if the company cannot make money, sorry, but that’s how it works.

Personally I’d like to see every government official who approved this loan be fired or step down, including the Governor.  So far only Keith Stokes, the executive director of the RIEDC and architect behind the $75 million loan that brought the studio to the state from Massachusetts, has resigned.

SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a new column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindi, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios upcoming MOBA.

Lore: Anubis – Anapa in Egyptian – is the jackal-headed son of Nephthys and is most closely related with the Egyptian process of mummification and thus, the afterlife. The association is strengthened further in hieroglyphics, which sees a jackal, Anubis’ animal form, sitting atop a tomb. In addition to protecting those during their travel to Datu, the underworld, Anubis was the “Guardian of Scales”, weighing the fate of the soul of the deceased.

His parentage is complicated, changing depending on the timeframe and legend of the texts. In the earliest texts, Anubis was of Ra’s seed. Later texts claim the father as Osiris. A near-equal amount attribute his patronage to that of Osiris’ brother, Set. Murkier still, one legend claims that Nephthys used alcohol to seduce Osiris, another that his mother impersonated Isis for the same purpose.

Hit the jump for the rest of Anubis’ lore and how it’s used in-game. Continue Reading

The fifth chapter for Runes of Magic, Fires of Shadowforge,  is only weeks away and today Frogster decided it was time to reveal more information about the two new classes, the Warlock and Champion. Both classes are available only to the Dwarf race.

Champions have the ability to transform into a Runic Robot, which allows for additional magic and ability attacks and makes the champ very effective at taking damage.  Being a Dwarf, the Champion will have access to their blacksmithing skills, allowing him to equip powerful weapons and armour. Armaments embedded with runes offer even more protection without forfeiting mobility. The Champion is at heart a tank class, but with enough damage output to hold his own in attacking.

The Warlock on the other hand is a range attacker who is able to sap strength from its enemies.  Overall the Warlock is a support class who can aid allies with buffs, but if need be can take the role of a ranged DPS class.