Chatting about MMOs in real life can be an interesting challenge, and one that I typically can avoid in favor of RL topics that are more relatable to the general population. But when games become a default way to fill our free time, it can lead to some awkward moments with friends and family curious about what we’ve been up to.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be related to the stigma that gaming tends to carry, although that certainly is a related topic. But regardless of that, I find that it can be a challenge to explain an MMO world to someone who has never experienced anything like it. Usually, such conversations go something like this:

Friend: (Finishes explaining the details of a date she went on the night before)… So, what have you been up to?

Me: Oh, not much. Lots of work around the house. Yesterday I was able to take a break and get in some gaming.

Friend: Sounds like fun. What kind of game, like Farmville or Angry Birds or something?

Me: No, World of Warcraft. I’ve been leveling through the new expansion’s content and running some dungeons.

Friend: (wide eyes of confusion)

Me: It’s a lot of fun. You get to form groups and play with other people, and find new items to power up your character, explore the world and collect pets and armor, things like that.

Friend: (clearly doesn’t understand even with the simplification of game terminology) … … Sounds fun?

Well, you can’t always win, I suppose. I’m clearly not ashamed of the fact that I enjoy gaming. I write, and tweet and Facebook post about it. I want to share my experiences with the people I care about and revel in the details. But then you risk completely losing your audience, like comedian Nathan Anderson up there. Sometimes, even when put into the clearest of words, it’s just that nothing can explain the experience of an MMO better than actual gameplay.

I suppose that’s part of what makes writing about WoW so enjoyable for me — I get to relate things that I enjoy or that irk me about the game to an audience that understands, can relate and sometimes even writes back. So, thank you for that.

How do you explain your MMO experiences with friends and family who don’t understand? Or do you avoid the topic altogether?

The industry is young, and 2011 was a mark of success throughout when the Court System ruled that video games indeed are a form of art, and therefore, protected by the first amendment. That strengthened the industry as a whole, giving reinforcement to everyone that video games are indeed as practical a source of entertainment as movies, comics or books are.

However, just as our year of a great victory came to an end, two blocks of legislation came to the industry’s attention that threaten all we have gained in respect and strength in the years past: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and its sister bill, PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act).

Many companies and websites have banded together to combat the dangerous measures the U.S. government is investigating to combat the cyberworld in the name of “piracy protection”. While, yes, piracy is bad (and we do not support it at Lore Hound), these recent proposed acts have far more reaching effects than just piracy prevention.

Red 5 Studios, makers of the upcoming FireFall made an official announcement this morning, declaring itself as an endorser of a new legislative movement group on behalf of the gaming industry: League For Gamers, properly acronymed as LFG.

Laguna Hills, CA – January 17, 2012 – Red 5 Studios™ today announced the League For Gamers (LFG), an organization with the lifelong mission of promoting games in a positive way, spreading the passion of gaming and protecting gaming interests in politics. Red 5 will shut down Firefall and its website on January 18^th in a 24 hour show of solidarity, encouraging gamers, developers and all industry supporters to join LFG and stand together against misguided and overbearing legislative initiatives such as SOPA, (Stop Online Privacy Act), and PIPA, (Protect IP), in order to perpetuate and continue industry growth.

The League For Gamers was founded on January 14, 2012 by Red 5 Studios and its CEO, Mark Kern, through a $50,000 pledge. It was established as a true alternative to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and its subsidiary organization, the Video Game Voter’s Network (VGVN).

“The VGVN and the ESA claim to represent gamers and developers, but they have turned their backs on them by supporting and funding legislation such as SOPA and PIPA,” said Mark Kern. “Developers such as Red 5 Studios and other game makers no longer have an organization to represent their true position on this kind of destructive legislation. LFG’s first action will be to petition the ESA to withdraw their support from PIPA, which still looms large in the Senate.”

While it was announced on Monday that SOPA has been “shelved” – for the time being – its sister bill PIPA is still an immediate threat to the gaming industry and online freedom. The Senate is scheduled to vote on PIPA January 24^th, leaving one week for gamers and developers to add their support and get the attention of representatives. Interested parties can join LFG and its ESA petition at the following link: http://www.leagueforgamers.org/2012/01/17/help-lfg-join-now/

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Disclaimer: The views of the writer in no way match the views of rest of the Lore Hound crew. In fact, they are just as disturbed by this post as you are.

People like to dabble in role-playing, right? We automatically assume certain roles in our day-to-day interactions, we occasionally imagine ourselves as different characters living in fictional universes, we role-play during sex… and where was I? Oh yes, role-playing.

Today, I’m going to role-play an armchair game designer. And not just any game designer, but a jaded, angry, border-line maniacal fellow who wants to bludgeon you with a vicious-ass trout. Get ready because this is going to be a rant of sorts, and boy, do I have an axe to grind.

Recently, a number of gaming-related portals have posted PvP Impressions for Star Wars: the Old Republic. Turns out, the new mechanics in the game allow fights to last longer due to a lack of burst damage at mid-levels, an anti-crowd control measure for each class and an unusual approach to tanking. With regards to the latter, in most MMORPGs, the various taunts and aggro-related skills for tanks only work in PvE, with no consequence for enemy players. However, SW:TOR’s PvP mechanics make active use of those skills by having a slightly different effect. A taunted player, for example, will do -50% less damage to everyone besides the person who put the effect on him. Another example is the guard ability, which will allow tanks to take damage instead of enemies.

SWTOR seems to be taking a page from Warhammer Online, which has made use of some of the mentioned tanking mechanics for PvP. There is ‘nothing’ wrong in borrowing good ideas from other sources, provided they can be implemented into your game, right? Right. What really strikes me as odd are the people writing about their SW:TOR experience and commenting how fresh these mechanics felt. Come again? Continue Reading

Ready to fill your starving MMO news feed, the Live Cast is back with episode 3 to cover the past few months of gaming news. Tune in here (or our FaceBook page, or our Livestream page) at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST).

Below the  video embed is the agenda we have planned, but always keep in mind that what we discuss may be 100% different from what’s planned – according to what you, the viewers, decide. See you then!

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