We've been asked to analyze our ingame experimentation with capture the flag and compare to our freeze tag experience.

In the last post I briefly mentioned that freeze tag > capture the flag. I think it is this way because of the simplicity of the game. Freeze tag requires much fewer rules and elements to consider. Namely, you're restricted to one zone, you can't move if you've been 'tagged' and you just wait for someone else to come by to unfreeze you. Capture the flag is much more complicated and though we made a valiant effort in the class to play it as close to the rules as we could, definitely not everything happened according to plan.

While simplicity is a good argument for why freeze tag was better, there is also complexity that is a big part of 'fun'. The fact that capture the flag is more complex makes me think that it definitely has a larger potential to be fun, but in it's current state, it's just a soggy bowl of cereal.

I've run into quite a few snags lately and a few good points. The snags occurred when trying to contact the in-game GMs about their side of the story and getting the response that they aren't allowed to talk about it. I think if I actually stayed online long enough to get to talk to a GM in person, I would be more successful in persuading them to interview me outside of the game. Unfortunately, that length of time can take anywhere from a few minutes to quite a few hours.

On the plus side, I have one person who e-mailed me and I sent them a response saying I would contact them again very soon. I forgot to ask if they were 18 or older, but hopefully such is the case. The other is an EQII user that claims to be a former designer so I would enjoy the opportunity to interview them, even though it would require coming up with a new set of questions. :P

On a note about our in-game parlor antics... I think it can be best summed up by saying freeze tag > capture the flag.

One of my favorite fan fiction pieces just recently celebrated it's 1 year anniversary.
It's a coming of age story of a Tauren Druid named Horse who can shape-shift and follows (sometimes) the directions of his mysterious guides, 'the law'.
It's a really good story chock full of inside jokes and funny moments. I suggest you all check it out at
http://www.albatrosbits.com

After some council with Dr. D, I've decided it will be nearly impossible to talk to any of the game designers involved in WoW and EQII. So, I'm going to change my topic slightly and deal with the more administrative role of GMs in handling cheating and ensuring people follow the policies of the Terms of Agreement in-game.

To that extent, I have modified my 'boilerplate' message slightly.

To whom it may concern, I am a student attending Trinity University in San Antonio, Tx. I am enrolled in a class designed around web based multiplayer gaming where we participate in ethnographic research into the gaming community through EQII. I am currently working on an essay that looks at the methods that game administrators for EQII and WoW utilize in order to maintain order throughout their virtual world environments. I would like to ask you a few questions about your role in designing and implementing the rules that govern these virtual spaces so that I may better understand the impact they have on these virtual worlds. I understand that privacy is a concern and so I offer an e-mail address you may e-mail me at outside of the game with questions and at no time will you be asked to divulge personal information. You may also contact me in-game on this character if you wish. A copy of the finished essay will be forwarded to you if you wish and any questions can be answered by contacting me or the website [url to faq site].

I think I burnt out the power supply to my desktop tonight. It's only a hunch but hopefully that is the extent of the damage. Needless to say it was rather cumbersome to repatch my laptop as I have not updated the software for the last two months or so.

The game I was thinking of that might be adaptable to a virtual world would be something like Vampires. The game goes by many names I'm sure, but the basic gameplay is as follows:

1) A group of people
2) 1 person volunteers to be the vampire.
3) Group scatters like gazelle, vampire chases them down 1 by 1.
4) Those caught turn into vampires and in turn help chase down the remaining people.
5) Last person 'alive' wins.

I think this could be very easily adapted to a virtual environment since all it requires is a group of people.
I think it would be helpful if whomever was the initial vampire had some advantage over the typical player, e.g. stealth, sprint so to make the beginning of the game go quickly. Then the rest would just be a race to see who was alive.

I think everyone should be limited to one zone if we playedin EQII that way people can't just jump on a rider and then fly to some other zone or use their call of qeynos spell.

Now to go transfer my character from Hellscream to Thrall (assuming Blizz fixes their @#%#!)

My study focuses on the methods that game developers and companies use to control their players. Specifically, I intend to look at terms of agreement, moderated forums, and in-game mechanics such as GM moderation. I would like to interview a few game designers as well as a few GMs in-game so that I may better understand their position and role in the game structure. Most likely my sources for these interviews will stem from Blizzard's World of Warcraft and Sony's EQII.

When interviewing the people I will give them my "Who am I?" speel and remind them that what they say can be completely anonymous if they choose, and that the final paper will be published on the web on our class website and that I can send them a copy directly if they wish it.

The boilerplate will go something like this:

"Hi, I am currently a student attending Trinity University in San Antonio, Tx. I am enrolled in a class designed around web based gaming where we participate in ethnographic research into the gaming community through EQII. I am currently working on an essay that looks at the methods that game developers and administrators utilize in order to maintain order throughout their virtual world environments. I would like to ask you a few questions about your role in designing and implementing the rules that govern these virtual spaces so that I may better understand the impact they have on these virtual worlds."

I hope to contact most interviewees beforehand via e-mail. I do believe it would be impossible to try and guess the GMs that are located on the various servers as their job requires them keeping a low profile.

This is a placeholder to remind me that I need to talk about a few things:
-Hotkeys
I love hotkeys. They're like little shortcuts in the games and allow me to do things at a speed definitely not possible with a simple mouse scroll and click. I wonder who was the first to implement the hotkey design. I know games had buttons, but I don't believe binding them to keys on the keyboard or joystick buttons was a feature until maybe the mid 90s? I think the most important thing about hotkeys is that it allows the user to become closer to leveling the playing field against the ai of the computer. I'm talking RTS games here. When you think about how a computer can virtually simultaneously send commands to 2 fleets waiting outside it's base to attack yours, and the user is restricted to using their mouse to select and command each ship, you have a decisive advantage for the ai.
Also, it gives the player an advantage over other players once they can memorize into muscle memory the various hotkey commands and a practical order for using them. Needless to say, I love hotkeys.

-AT&T video
We watched Connections: AT&T's Visions of the Future in my mass media class last week and the way it describes a utopian society built upon the quick and free flow of information was fun to watch. The movie was made in 1993 so a few of the things that were mentioned in the video have already begun to take shape in one way or another. One example were videophone devices that could translate languages. Another of the technical highlights of the video were portable handheld devices that could act as mini-machines that sure did remind me an awful lot like a future version of a PDA. Perhaps the most interesting piece of technology that they displayed in the video was a personal 'internet secretary' that could order chinese food, download information from around the world, contact clients, act as liaisons for out of office clients, and do just about anything that a normal person could do. Only these secretaries weren't real people and existed only online.

-Thoughts on the future of technology in society in lieu of ExistenZ and this AT&T movie.
Something I am somewhat frightened by is the abandonment of this world. People are already migrating to virtual worlds, and my fear is that when virtual worlds begin to mimic the real world to such a degree that a utopian society could be created within them, that people will willingly abandon the real world and instead insert themselves into the virtual worlds. Admittedly, not everyone will migrate, for I believe a large enough portion of society would opt to stay in the virtual world full time given the chance, and in the process give up their bodies to decay. I see a world full of opium addicted peasants who sit idly around all day and only 'work' long enough to afford more opium... only in my fear replace opium with realistic virtual worlds.

Phew... what a last 2 weeks. It's been a really rough time for me but I'm glad to think that I'm still around and kicking and that I'm decently caught up on most of my schoolwork.

Onto ExistenZ

I thought this was a very well laid out movie, a bit predictable at times (I guessed the ending the first time they jumped into the second level of the virtual world.) but it has a decent message. I think the message of this movie was basically akin to a Red Riding Hood cautionary tale about the dangers we will face as a society in the future. There is always lag time between the invention of new technologies and the governments to set up rules regarding its use. I could very easily see this movie taking place in a period of transition for this type of future technology and it is alarming.

A second subject I was thinking about while watching this movie dealt with the role of death in this virtual environment. It was commonplace and almost expected. The only person who truly seemed afraid of their life was the programmer at the very end of the movie. When death did occur in the virtual world, the other characters continued moving on as if nothing happened. Dr. Delwhich made a joke about how this parallels the idea that when you're running around in EQ2 how you can kill a skeleton in the middle of a pack of them, and the rest just seem to go about their business. While he was only joking it was a very good analogy. Death appears in a mild format in most of our virtual worlds today and it is rarely ever permanent death. That is why I don't see a link between today's games and violence. However, if our virtual worlds truly became as immersive as in ExistenZ then I do think there would be some connection between death in the game and psychosis that arise out of being exposed to it as often as it appears in games today.

Those were some pretty long-winded sentences.

This post was spawned by a 2am run to Walmart to pick up some ant poison for our room.
1) I do not understand poisons in EQ2. Someone will have to explain it to me someday.
2) DDO starts tomorrow for those who have preordered. Nerds and Geeks everywhere, REJOICE!
3) The talk today was actually really informative and enjoyable, I hope we get a chance to have a lecture by Dr. Steinkuehler again.
4) This video made me laugh really hard, and it reminded me of myself during that "Summer of CS" between 9th and 10th grade. (Followed the next year by the Summer of TFC... those were the days *sigh*)
http://www.thatvideosite.com/view/437.html (Warning! Page might contain ads that are NSFW)
5) I haven't begun my Roleplay in EQ2 yet. I really should get on that.
6) and most importantly, the weather better perk up tomorrow, or at least stay the same, because it's been 4 weeks now since I've played ultimate. I've already gone through withdrawl pains and I'll be damned if that is one addiction I'm going to lose.

After the servers went down and made the game unplayable in the evening I took a break from EQ2 to play some WoW and then decided I wanted to go back to EQ2 and I ended up having the most fun I've had with the game in awhile. I guess you could call me an achiever because I really wanted to make lvl 18 and finish this writ I had that involved killing skeletons in Stormhold.

I managed to finish them both. The stormhold one was more fun though for me at least because I could take the skeletons myself if we were 1 on 1, but I'd die if I got an add. So it was fun sneaking my way through a lot of Stormhold searching for a lone defiled squire that I could kill. I died a few times but eventually completed it and I have to say that I really enjoyed being able to do it on my own.

Right now we're interviewing Dr. Steinkuehler in EQ2 and it certianly a little livelier (at least in-game) than our interview with Dr. Bartle. I think part of that stems from the class being more comfortable with the format of the interview and the interface. Looking around at the people in the room though I can sense a slight amount of boredom. Interesting though that hardly anyone is talking in the classroom and we're all chatting away in-game. Hah, imagine the future of online courses taking place is virtual classrooms that are made to look like stereotypical desks/chairs/chalkboard type of thing. The crazy thing is the technology is available and I'm sure someone could make it.

Funny stuff.

I'd like to know how the good Doctor, views the role of games in teaching youth about hierarchy between players and whether these are skills that can be brought to the real world. An example of this hierarchy could be a guild leader or raid leader giving orders to a regular member of the guild/raid or a community accepted leader (such as a pvp battle commander perhaps) and their inherent rank up on others.

I think this could also lead into other questions about online games giving youth culture the ability to take these positions of power and effectively mitigate orders to their older peers.

I originally wanted to do a paper topic on how people interacted with simulated home environments because I think the idea of having a unique room is really cool in EQ and other games.

However, after thinking a little more on the topic I think I would prefer to research methods of administration and control over players in-game. By that I mean, how games go about promoting an ordered environment instead of letting the system decay into a social nightmare. Thinking about it on the top of my head right now I can think of a few methods common to most mmo's, such as: GMs, forums, real world social norms, terms of agreement, Warden. I think this is a really interesting topic because I believe it would be possible to apply the information garnered from game models to real life. Is it better to put more control with the players and let them enforce themselves or provide some sort of overreaching control on the system that enforces order? Perhaps some combination of the two might prove best. Sounds like a philosophical debate more than science o.O

More to think about after tests tomorrow.
-Starch

I met a strange man the other day while I was cruising around the Queen's new Isle. He seemed a learned fellow, human (surprisingly... I didn't realize they had any distinguishing attributes), and a paladin of all things. However, when he spoke there seemed to be great intelligence behind his words and a past that almost seemed older than his physical features would allow.

Most of the initial conversation was your typical history dialog. I for one can tolerate history, sure, but I'm a gnome, and my attention span is about as large as my height! I'd much rather here about current tinkerings or plans for future machinations. However, something he said early on did pique my interest. I've been a fan of the alchemical arts since I was young and so I always enjoy going into a lab and doing a little research. However, he mentioned that I shouldn't just do research for the sake of doing research, but I needed some point behind it. I mean, I've always thought that building a bigger bomb was reason enough! I suppose I should think more about what I want to do with my research (other than test it out of course.)

Other than that, being a seemingly philosophic fellow, I asked him about the nature of governance in our world, and he mentioned that rule by the gods was best. However, he warned that the gods themselves have restraints, and should they act out of line their power might be stripped away from them. I'm not quite sure how a god might lose their power in an instant like that, but I suppose it's possible. I have lost power in my workshop quite a few times...

-Freyda (fledgling gnome tinkerer)

I'll edit this later, but for now my question is:

Since the last edition of your book, "Designing Virtual Worlds", many exciting changes have happened in the development of Massively Multiplayer Online games. What major revision would you make to your book in light of these new changes?

The word that I think most aptly describes the change in the last patch regarding the new starting zones would have to be clean. I understand in that sentence it isn't grammatically correct, but the whole process and first few levels seemed cleaner to me than in the original version. Perhaps I am somewhat influenced by Blizzard but I enjoyed the layout and description of each class type as they were all arranged nicely for me at character creation. (I'm a sucker for good layout.) Otherwise, the actual character creation didn't seem all that different.

Upon arriving though, I immediately began on the island and in the presence of the 'island tour guide'. I liked the layout of the various information npc's that told you about death, collection quests, combat, and other aspects that everyone gets introduced to in the beginning. The layout of the island was exactly the same as the original, and I found that funny. I enjoyed the coherent story behind what was happening on the island and though I could never seem to actually be able to click my way into fighting the nefarious mastermind behind the poisoning of the Qeynosian island, I'm sure I could have taken him on and granted myself access to the city eventually.

Also, this time around I started gathering right away and everytime I leveled I maxed out my various collecting skills. Don't know why, perhaps it was relaxing after doing WoW all night long. Regardless, it leads into my absolute favourite part about the new change... I start off with a 12 slot bag. That made me really happy. :)

-Starch

Environments are a very important part of any experience. With MMOs I think this is especially important in providing an entertaining experience for each user. So I find it interesting how I have come to be part of two different guilds in two opposite ends of the personality spectrum.

The Vindicators as near as I can tell is a very friendly, family-style oriented guild with emphasis on being polite and respectful to others.

My WoW guild, Nightmare Walking, is vastly different. To put it bluntly, we pride ourselves on being the "assholes" of our server. (Hellscream for those who care.) We have many members who have been put on suspension for "insensitive language" and various other infractions. However, within the guild we're all friends, same as the Vindicators.

I guess there are a lot of factors that determined the separate paths my guilds have chosen but the biggest ones would have to be the decision by each to regulate, or not to regulate what was being said in the guild and outside by the guildmates. NW refuses to censor any of its members believing that if you have an issue with them that you should take it up with the person and not the guild. Then, as the membership base grew and considering the typical male college age or recent graduate age of WoW, the reputation naturally developed.

Whereas, with the Vindicators, proper language is to be expected. I understand this and can readily agree to this principle. I think it's interesting though when you think of it in terms of low-level censorship for the sake of order. I'm not sure if censorship of any sort is desirable (not including the obvious fire in a theatre example) but I suppose that guilds are designed with this principle in place and by agreeing to join the guild you agree to it's charter (constitution).

I think guilds are a great example of a microcosm of society in that respect. Just as we have to agree to give up certain rights for the sake of order by the government (why murder is illegal) guilds often enforce their own constitutions to create order within their structures.

I wonder what country would be most analogous to Nightmare Walking in the real world. o.0

-Starch

Having been finally unofficially recognized by some of the Qeynos militia I took it upon myself to interview some of the local citizens of Qeynos through the guise of everyday conversation to listen in hopes that the information might put me in the up with the militia headquarters.

One of the more noticeable citizens I interviewed that day included a mage by the name of Paxpacis. By contemporary standards she is young for having so much power at such an early point in her life. She mentioned that while she is not honing her magical arts she practices the guitar. Perhaps one day we will share a drink in the tavern and she will play songs of cheer and happiness. She mentioned a famous bard troupe by the name of 'Mana' that is one of her inspirations for practicing her guitar. Looking through some files later on I discovered the secret identity of these lyricists (I am a rogue afterall) and I shall endeavor to pay them a visit sometime in the near future.

Another facet of my interview with Paxpacis that made it unique was the discovery that she was in fact doing research of her own, for whom, or what purpose I do not know. However, her cryptic language confused me when she mentioned a "person's psyche outside of this world" and "the game influencing dreams". I am not sure if this information was intentionally or accidentally given. One thing I know for sure is that it will certainly warrant further looking into and possible surveillance should the guard deem it necessary. The possibilities for her research though is startling and could very well be a powerful tool in whomever gains control over it.

Aye, perhaps once I find out more the Captain will officially recognize my talents and I can utilize Qeynosian resources in an attempt to find my brother.

-Qeyda

It's been roughly 2 weeks since I was found adrift and lifted out of the ocean by a band of merchants. I hold no recollection of the time before I was dragged from the water but I have clues as to my lost memories.

I am a dwarf. I am strong, stout, proud, and determined. As is respected in my race, I have many scars and tattoos that depict the battles against enemy and common foes. I am woman, and a widow. My husband died in the last orc campaign nearly 15 years ago and since, I began working the streets perfecting my skills of sneaking and combat. I work best with daggers because I can wield them with deadly accuracy. My foes are often caught completely by surprise and defeated in a few deft manuevres.

I am also a sister, and I remember searching for my brother.

I do not remember what caused my ship to crash or being rescued. I remember the island, these crude weapons. They are not like my daggers at home. I am nowhere as strong as I could be with these inferior weapons. They will take time to get adjusted to...

In the meantime I will become stronger, I will find out what happened, I will confront whoever stands in my way and I will find my brother.

I will do all of these things and so help me, no one in this city or anywhere else had better get in my way, for if they do, they will meet the sad song of steel slicing quickly through their gullets...

I will find my brother. I will...

-Qeyda

My first impression from this game wasn't very positive. I downloaded the Trial of the Isle version before the end of the last semester and spent about 2 hours patching it before I was finally able to play the next day. Once I finally got into the game I was very confused by the interface system. My body has muscle memory from the World of Warcraft UI and so I kept fumbling over buttons. I would press "C" to open up my character screen and crouch instead. It took some getting used to before I began to use the inventory key. Also, the system of interacting with the NPCs is slightly different in EQ2 and that took some getting used to. My first character was a scout and I got him to level 5 before I decided I had had enough and uninstalled the game in frustration.

When I played for the first time since being back from the break, I created a mage and this time it was more enjoyable. I figured out how the bag system worked in the inventory. Before, I was very confused by how we only had 5 inventory slots. I progressed the mage up to level 6 and sent her to the evil city of Freeport. There I got acquainted with the local refugee square thanks the map key which I discovered. Unfortunately, I again spent much frustration trying to gain citizenship to the city of Freeport because I forgot to accept the quest. That's one observation that I don't particularly enjoy - the way some of the quests are given to you from drops. Once I discovered how the citizenship quest worked and I gained up a few levels I began the adventure archetype quest and I have to say this is the most fun the game has offered me yet. Reaching lvl 10 and becoming my adventure class on the mage and scout were both intense experiences that I had to put a lot of thought into because I'd only get 1 chance to decide with each character which path they wanted to follow.

All in all, I'd have to say this is a very difficult and confusing game. However, for those who can discover its secrets and mechanisms I think this game has a lot to offer and is rich in variety.

-Starch