Iain Compton

MMO community connection:

Antipwn

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Iain Compton a.k.a. IainC, Requiel

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I have an MMO industry blog at antipwn.com/blog that has been going for a few years now. I am a games designer for an MMOFPS being released later this year and I worked as a community manager for DAoC and WAR in Europe before that.

Please take a minute and describe what your blog is about.

I discuss the inside of the industry, trends and game design topics

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I was born in Scotland and I grew up in a lot of different places.

Where do you live now?

The Black Forest in Germany

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

31-40

What do you do for a living?

I’m a games designer

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

A musician

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• I’m autistic.
• I am a huge fan of comics.
• I am a wargamer.
• I have lived in a warzone.
• I hate getting out of bed in the morning.

Chapter 2: Origins

What kind of games (if any) did you play as a child before you got into video gaming? Did you play with family, friends or was it more of a solo activity?

I played a lot of tabletop roleplay games which are, of course, a social activity. I also played a lot of miniatures wargames, CCGs and board games. I never really needed to play games as a solo endeavour.

What other hobbies and/or activities did you have as a child (sports, music, etc)?

Mostly I played games. Chess and D&D were the main ones.

Were you ever exposed to pen and paper role playing games? What was that experience like?

I played a whole lot of pen and paper games, mostly 2nd EdAD&D but also Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, MERP, WHFRP, Torg, DC Heroes, Rifts, Rolemaster, Palladium, GURPS, Twilight 2000, Traveller… You get the picture. Those were great times.

Did you read much as a child? If so, what did you like to read (books, comic books, etc?) Please list some favorite authors, titles, etc.

My mum was a huge fantasy and SF fan so I grew up reading Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, Anne McAffrey, Brian W. Aldiss and so forth. I read a lot as a kid and books were my retreat of choice when there was no-one to play a game with.

Would you say that any of these games or books had an effect on your later appreciation of computer gaming and ultimately MMOs? Please explain.

Of course they did. Games without narrative are lifeless to me. A game needs to have a commentary to be interesting enough to play. Even if that commentary is applied externally.

How were you fist introduced to video games? How old were you? What was the platform?

I played a lot of games on my Commodore 64 when I was a kid – probably 8 years old or so. My dad was a computer hobbyist well before most people even knew what they were, back in the days when games had to be typed out and saved on tape.

Did you ever play coin-op games at the arcade? What was that experience like?

Not really, they didn’t exist in most of the places where I lived.

What was the first video game you can remember playing that really made an impression on you? Please explain.

Eye of the Beholder, the original Gold Box SSi game. Stories in a computer game!

What gaming consoles have you owned in the past?

PS1/2/3, Xbox 360, Atari 2600, Sega Megadrive, 3DO, Nintendo DS. To be truthful I was never really into consoles, I preferred computers.

Chapter 3: Online

Were you ever exposed to MUDs? If so, when was this and what was the experience like?

A friend got me playing a hybrid fantasy/crime/SFgame which I played the hel out of for a couple of years. I found it fascinating and was turned on by the fact that the lack of graphics didn’t detract from the gameplay at all.

What was your first MMO experience? Again, when was this (a year please) and what was this like?

The first MMO I played was Dark Age of Camelot in 2003 when it was released in Europe. I had tried to play UO before that but I couldn’t get past the arcane interface.

If possible, list all the MMOs you’ve played extensively. Please start from the beginning and work your way up to the present.

DAoC, WAR, Eve Online, LotRO, Everquest II,

What is your current MMO of choice, or perhaps, what are your current MMOs of choice?

Eve Online

Which MMO have you spent the most time playing? How long would you say that has been?

DAoC without a doubt. I played it for five years pretty solidly and must have ranked up 250+ /played days.

Have you reached level cap in any MMO? If so, which ones?

DAoC

Loki taps you on the shoulder one day to inform you that you have fallen victim to one of his elaborate pranks. The world you’ve been inhabiting of countless MMOs to choose from and play has merely been a dream. In reality only one MMO exists. After laughing at you for a bit he decides to take pity on you and allows you to choose which MMO will remain. Which one would you choose and why?

Eve Online, it has the most depth of any MMO around.

Are there any MMOs currently in development that you are particularly interested in? Please explain.

I’ll play Aion when it releases. I like the premise and I’d like to see how the PvP is handled.

Feel free to share an interesting or amusing anecdote related to your MMO gaming experience.

I ran an event for DAoC in Europe where I ended up accidentally scamming the players who’d turned up. Eventually I gave all the money I’d stolen to the first newbie I encountered and ran a follow-up event where the players could capture me and put me on trial for my crimes.

Chapter 4: Preferences

At your peak, how much time per week would you say you spent gaming? How about now?

I used to play about 30 hours a week, nowadays it’s probably around 15.

When during the week are your regular play times?

Evenings, weekends.

Generally speaking, are you more of a social creature in MMOs (grouping to quest, joining guilds, etc.) or something of a lone wolf?

Definitely social. I hate soloing as it becomes a challenge to stave off tedium rather than a challenge to defeat the game.

Have you made any lasting friendships through your MMO experience? Please explain.

I’ve found plenty of strong friends through MMO gaming, I’ve even brought some of them over to this side of the industry table.

Before logging into a game, do you already have a course of action planned out in your head, or do you just sort of do whatever you feel like once in game?

Sometimes, most often I’ll just log in and see what my options are.

When playing MMOs do you tend to just play one at a time or do you take more of the smorgasbord approach?

I tend to play one as my main game which absorbs most of my time and I may have another one or two that I play as a change of pace.

Do you tend to supplement your MMO gaming with other PC, console or tabletop games?

Yes. Currently I’m playing Bloodbowl and a few other strategy games in between Eve sessions.

Are you something of an altoholic?

Depends on the game. I was in DAoC but not so much in WAR or Eve.

Do you find yourself multitasking while gaming (perhaps watching TV, talking on the phone, out of game instant messaging, playing another game, or even listening to a podcast)?

Eve lends itself to that quite well. In other games I tend to concentrate more on the game and try not to get distracted.

Do you find yourself having much MMO discussion off-line, perhaps with friends or family?

My wife plays MMOs too and all my colleagues work on an MMO so yes.

Have you ever felt that you game too much? If so, how did you cope with that?

I went and took a holiday without internet access.

Since you started playing MMOs, have you ever taken a break from the genre? If so, please explain.

Not really.

Chapter 5: Blogging

When did you first start blogging?

I have two blogs, one is an MMO industry blog which has been running for about 2 and a half years, the other is a wargames and miniature painting blog that I started earlier this year. I recently migrated them both to my own domain www.antipwn.com/blog/  from wordpress.com.

Why do you blog?

I like to think out loud and a few people seem to like discussing my thoughts with me.

Do you have a schedule or some sort of routine you try and follow when blogging?

No. I try and set myself a one update per month minimum but I don’t always meet that. Sometimes I update several times in a day though.

Is there some grind involved in blogging? If so, what is it and how do you cope with it?

Not really, because I don’t make myself write unless there’s something I want to write about. There’s no pressure for me.

By contrast, what do you find pleasurable about blogging?

I like to read the comments and discuss with the readers of my blog.

How many people offline know you blog?

Most of my friends and family.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try their hand at blogging?

Figure out what you want to write about and why people should want to ready your opinions. Then go for it.

What is something you know now that you wish you had known when you first started?

If you get no comments on a post, that doesn’t mean no-one read it.

Can you picture a future where you will hang up your keyboard and no longer blog?

Possibly, not for the foreseeable future anyway.

At your funeral, what song(s) would you have played as your corpse is set alight and cast out to sea on a funeral barge?

Sumerland (What Dreams May Come) by the Fields of the Nephilim.

Suzina

MMO community connection:

Kill Ten Rats

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Suzina is the name I carry for most of my games. It’s really just a “star-wars” version of Susan, but I ended up taking it into fantasy-based MMOs too.

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

Right now, I’m blogging for KillTenRats.com

Please take a minute and describe what your blog/podcast is about.

KillTenRats was started in 2004 as a blog where Ethic vented about MMOs. It’s now a place where multiple bloggers share their feelings about MMOs.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I’m from Orange County, California.

Where do you live now?

I’m in Orange County to this day.

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

21-30

What do you do for a living?

I am currently unemployed. (student)

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

Uhh, maybe computer programmer?

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• I have lived for a brief time in Thailand and Colorado.
• I have a Bachelors degree in Psychology.
• I’m married
• My longest lasting job was as a phone operator.
• I once had ran a show on campus focused on psychology.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

Two older brothers, one little sister, and a husband.

Chapter 2: Origins

What kind of games (if any) did you play as a child before you got into video gaming? Did you play with family, friends or was it more of a solo activity?

I played RPGs, pen-and-paper with my older brother. I also really enjoyed fighting-games once Street Fighter 2 came out and Mortal Kombat. In High School, I played a wide variety of console games and read EGM.

What other hobbies and/or activities did you have as a child (sports, music, etc)?

I hated sports and music as a kid…

Were you ever exposed to pen and paper role playing games? What was that experience like?

Yes, I very much enjoyed pen-and-paper RPGs. I loved the stories that were made, and I loved my characters. I used to cry when my older brother’s friend would purposely kill my character and take my stuff. Jerk!

Did you read much as a child? If so, what did you like to read (books, comic books, etc?) Please list some favorite authors, titles, etc.

The Hobbit was an early favorite for me. Other than the Lord of the Rings books, and RPG books, I didn’t read much. I did really enjoy the Age of Apocalypse and the Death of Superman series. I collected every issue in those story lines.

Would you say that any of these games or books had an effect on your later appreciation of computer gaming and ultimately MMOs? Please explain.

Honestly, none of these affected my appreciation of MMOs, except for MUDs. I began mudding’ when I was in High School. I became a world-builder for a mud early on and I have a lot of fond memories about the experience. Muds were my first MMO if you will. I think perhaps, X-band may have influenced the way I think about MMOs as well. I used to play online with my Super Nintendo using a device which let me play over the phone line. Because you could form clans and send-email, a lot of the same drama happened between players.

How were you fist introduced to video games? How old were you? What was the platform?

My first memories of video game playing are on my NES. I competed in a chocolate-bar selling contest to win one of the consoles. That was awesome.

Did you ever play coin-op games at the arcade? What was that experience like?

My favorite coin-ops were fighting games. I still love the rush of a good fight at the arcade, although those happen so rarely these days.

What was the first video game you can remember playing that really made an impression on you? Please explain.

My memories are foggy… I think it depends on how you define “an impression”. But the first game to make me cry… really really cry… was Lunar the Silver Star Story for the Playstation. FFVII didn’t move me, and I still haven’t finished that game.

What gaming consoles have you owned in the past?

NES, Super NES, Genesis, N64, PS1, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Dreamcast, Wii, … damn… is hat all of them? I guess I’m a PC gamer and Hand-held gamer on top of that, if those count.

Feel free to share a story related to your gaming experience as a child.

When the Nintendo 64 came out, I didn’t have one yet. I stood in Toys R Us and played the demo of the game all day. The demo-system didn’t automatically reset back then. I actually got enough stars to beat the game just from my time standing there and getting stars.

Chapter 3: Online

Were you ever exposed to MUDs?

I first started playing a mud called Vampire Wars around 1996. It was a full-PVP game with no level cap. Later on, I played another PVP focused mud called Cythera. The people I met in Cythera are still ones I’d consider my friends today, were we to ever meet. I went on to write code for that mud, and it was a very enjoyable experience. Mud Coding was probably my most early exposure to anything that resembled computer programming. There was a lot of high emotion in those communities… and I actually quit the Mud primarily because there was too much drama.

What was your first MMO experience?

My first MMO was Ultima Online. I first heard about it from my Model United Nations teacher who was hyping the game up before it released. I was accepted into the beta. Most of the time, my brother and I referred to the game as “Ultima Offline” because it was down so much. During the beta, I remember standing in line with other people to kill a rat so that I could level up my skills. Sometimes while waiting in line, someone would come by and kill the person battling the rat and run off. I remember thinking, “This game sucks!” There were some interesting memories from that time, like when Lord British died due to a bug/exploit. But overall, I really didn’t like the genre of MMOs back then. I had no interest in playing the game when it went live.

If possible, list all the MMOs you’ve played extensively.

• Ultima Online – just beta
• Everquest 1 – for just a couple weeks, I played a druid and got to about level 6
• Star Wars Galaxies – I played SWG both during beta and when it went live. When it went live, I made master Architect, and quit the next day. It was a huge let-down.
• FFXI – I got my Monk/Red-mage to level 20 or so…. but groups were not fond of my class choice, so I got frustrated waiting for groups, and quit. I knew it was a good game… but I hated being unwanted by groups.
• Everquest 2 – level 35 Defiler – From this game onward, I pretty much always played a healer. No more being left out of group for me!
• Star Wars Galaxies again – This time I went back to Star Wars Galaxies to enjoy the space update. Lots of fun… but it was over quickly.

…. I took a couple years off from MMOs at this point.

• Star Wars Galaxies again – medic/90 My husband’s brother started playing, and that dragged me and my hubby in again. This time, we got to the end-game and really really enjoyed mastering the end-game content. It was a blast! I also had some other level 90 characters like a 90 officer. We ended up purchasing multiple accounts for this one.
• LOTRO – One of my guild-mates from SWG played Lotro, when we had done everything there is to do in SWG, many of us made the switch to LOTRO. Currently I have two lvl 60’s who have enough radiance for the watcher.

What is your current MMO of choice, or perhaps, what are your current MMOs of choice?

Lotro – It’s by far the best designed mmo I’ve played so far.

Which MMO have you spent the most time playing? How long would you say that has been?

I’ve probably spent the most time in SWG. Maybe a year or two if you add up all the time together.

Have you reached level cap in any MMO? If so, which ones?

SWG and Lotro. Both games where I reached the cap are also games where I had multiple capped characters.

Loki taps you on the shoulder one day to inform you that you have fallen victim to one of his elaborate pranks. The world you’ve been inhabiting of countless MMOs to choose from and play has merely been a dream. In reality only one MMO exists. After laughing at you for a bit he decides to take pity on you and allows you to choose which MMO will remain. Which one would you choose and why?

SWTOR!!! Ok ok… I havn’t even played that one yet. I guess Lotro. There’s more to do, more to see, more to enjoy, and the pvp is more fun. It’s a world I could see lasting longer than other worlds, provided you’ve got the right guild.

Are there any MMOs currently in development that you are particularly interested in? Please explain.

SWTOR!!!! I’m really excited about Star Wars, The Old Republic. My guild mates keep talking about it as well. We’ve even started writing up our roleplay for the new guild in SWTOR and I’ve been learning flash just so I can make a web-site for our guild when it comes out.

Feel free to share an interesting or amusing anecdote related to your MMO gaming experience.

… There’s so many stories, it’s hard to think what to say. I suppose one I haven’t shared with anyone yet, is the story of my hype for SWG. I like to get myself hyped up for an MMO before I play it. Even if it’s already been out, I like to read up on the backstory of the world it takes place in, so I can feel really immersed when I first play. When SWG was supposed to come out, I hyped myself up too much. Because I was too hyped to do anything that wasn’t somehow related to SWG, I actually learned out to make games in RPG maker and created a game about waiting for SWG to come out. Yes, a game about waiting for a game to come out. The gameplay consisted of “attacking” customers at a coffee shop with pastries and mocha’s for a few rounds, then walking home on the world-map while dodging cars and dogs to get home and check if the game was out yet. Every time the player got back to their house, they found out the game was delayed for yet another day, which meant one more day of working at a coffee shop. Needless to say, the game was modeled after my real life at the time.

One shot: Hudson

MMO community connection:

Hudson’s Hideout

Please take a minute and describe what your blog is about.

My blog is really just about my adventures in any MMO or game that I try. One week it may be about a particular MMO, the next it may be a wargame or single player RPG. I also cover comic books when the mood hits me and talk about movies and home entertainment. Most often I find myself discussing the TRENDS of players in online games and the personalities. I like to break down player types and blog about the moods and personalities I see. I usually avoid main blog-osphere drama and skip the big topics because sometimes I really just do not care and let the bigger boys and girls fight about that stuff.

What was your first MMO and what was that experience like?

My first MMO was Ultima Online, back in 1997 or 1998? I cannot remember. At any rate it was interesting to say the least. I really did not get what I was doing and between lag and the fact that I did not devote enough time to understanding how the game worked I eventually gravitated toward the more upscale 3D Everquest 1 when it launched. In fact I still have the original box that states a 3D video card is needed to play it. So even though UO was my first dip into the water, I consider Everquest 1 the true game that hooked me. I don’t count Diablo 1 or Diablo 2. I am 39 and have been gaming a while but get really addicted to MMO’s because they change and run 24 hours a day plus provide a social environment.

Can you recall that first MMO “Wow!” moment?

Landing on the shores of the newly released Ruins of Kunark expansion back in 2000.  Zoning into whatever zone that was connected to Qeynos Hills (West or East Karana) amazed me because that zone was so large and wide open and just stretched out forever in front of me.  It took me months to be bold enough to even stray off the road in that zone.

At your peak, how much time per week would you say you spent gaming? How about now?

At my peak, most likely during the EQ1 years and then when WoW launched, I was married and she gamed as well. Back then I was easily playing 25+ hours a week. Now, I would say that I am down to 8-12 a week if that. I spend a lot of time now finding things wrong with MMO’s or just finding them flat out boring.

Do you tend to supplement your MMO gaming with other PC, console, or tabletop games?

I sure do. I am into the XBOX 360 and used to be heavily into Warhammer 40k miniatures, Warhammer Fantasy, and Warmachine. I was a regular GenCon Indy attendee from 1995 to 2007. I also used to play Fantasy Flight boardgames like Decent and Tannhauser. Now however, many of my friends have moved or do not have time for face to face gaming so most of my time is spent on the PC or console.

When did you first start blogging?

I started blogging in June 2007 when my blog was Wife Agro. I later changed to my own domain and renamed it Hudson’s Hideout. I needed more flexibility and blogging options plus my blog had a name that was the same as a gaming podcast and I did not want to step on any toes. Before blogging I ran a gaming review site called Game Addict and also had several miniature gaming club sites I maintained.

Do you have a schedule or some sort of routine you try and follow when blogging?

Not at all. I write off the cuff and like it that way. Many times I just throw up whatever I am thinking about and let it ride, sometimes I even write the article on the fly. I always try to get at least one post a week in however, and always do something on Monday.

Would you say there is some grind involved in the process? If so, what is it and how do you cope with it?

Not really a grind, but if you are not careful you will end up blogging the SAME thing as another blog and will not find out until Google Reader parses those RSS feeds (I am lazy and go that route that check all the blogs). Several times last week for instance everything I wrote about popped up somewhere else or was covered on a podcast. I find there is grind more in defending your article from annoying commenters than actually posting one. Sometimes people just do not understand the point you are making.

By contrast, what do you find pleasurable about blogging?

Posting my adventures and my stories. Once you look back, and I have 2 years of history, you can really look at it as a diary of your life and gaming times.

Would you care to share a particularly memorable moment from your days of blogging?

My Guild Leadership 101 post blew up around the internet back in October of 2007. It was called “Waiter, there is drama in my guild…” and it lashed out at terrible guild leaders everywhere and was talked about on many sites. I enjoyed the feedback I got and even had some requests to put it into a PDF and give it out to people.

Have you ever considered branching into podcasting?

I would rather podcast than blog. I need a partner and someone that has time. I used to be on the radio as a DJ back in my college days and I would run a podcast that would probably really go after the MMO industry and definitely not be fanboyish.

Are you pleased with where your blog is in the MMO blogosphere?

Pretty much yes. I feel that for the most part I get my points out there before others but because I am a relatively unknown blogger I get glossed over. That is ok though since I really do not consider myself a sellout and I try to stay under the radar for the most part.

If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you do anything different?

I would not have changed my original domain.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try their hand at blogging?

Blog everyday to start, or at least 3 times a week. I will not link a dead blog in my blogroll I like to see people active and putting up information. Twittering does not count. If you have time to Twitter, you can expand on that and blog. Do not try to force MMO topics, blog in your comfort zone.

Can you picture a future where you will hang up your keyboard and no longer blog?

Yes, if I had a monthly dedicated podcast co-host. Or if the industry continues to be as stagnant as it is.

You wake up to a world where you are the head of a company developing an MMO. You have unlimited funds and resources available to you. Please describe the kind of game you would make.

For sure I would do a sci fi game on the vein of Warhammer 40k since it has a rich universe from its games to its literature. It would be very combat oriented much like Dungeons and Dragons Online and not feature too much hotbar spamming. Quests would be in the game but not the focal point. Exploration, scouting enemy movements, and taking part in AI raids that focused on mass battles would be the order of the day. Class nerfing driven by PVP whiners would not be in the game, and the factions would be at war constantly much like Warhammer Online. I woud love to see Planetside meets DDO but I know that lag and twitch factor have to be balanced. The entire thing would take years to develop and there would be a lengthy open beta period to make the changes the press and players complain about.

I would also like to implement a communications link quest system that provided RANDOM daily quests as the character was out and about and they would come in like a urgent communiqué. This keeps players out and about but allows them to divert what they are doing on the fly. Make it techy and make it slick.

Larísa

MMO community connection:

The Pink Pigtail Inn

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Larísa

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I run a WoW blog since february 2008: The Pink Pigtail Inn.

Please take a minute and describe what your blog is about.

It’s about World of Warcraft the way I see it. Quite a lot of personal rantings, sharing thoughts and opinions. Not so much of guides, news and useful information, actually non of it.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I’m from Sweden, where I also live.

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

Turning 42 this year.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a trained journalist, but been working in PR/Information quite a few years now.

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

Nah… I’m not the kind of person who walks around in life regretting things.

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• That I run a blog of my own.
• How I WoW, what the gaming is like.
• That I was a punk rocker when I was young.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

I’m married since 23 years and got two teenage daughters. Noone else in my family is a gamer, which is a problem, especially since this passion of mine turned up so late in life.

Chapter 2 : Origins

What kind of games (if any) did you play as a child before you got into video gaming? Did you play with family, friends or was it more of a solo activity?

Not much of gaming at all. What is a bit related though is that I’ve been reading science fiction and fantasy since I was a child and that I’ve been active in the so called science fiction fandom, giving out stencilized fanzines, which could be seen as a sort of equivalence to blogging.

What other hobbies and/or activities did you have as a child (sports, music, etc)?

Rock music and reading. I’ve never been much of a social or sporty person. More or less a typical geek I guess.

Were you ever exposed to pen and paper role playing games? What was that experience like?

Not very much to be honest. But know quite a few role players. I could very well have ended up as one, I think I would have enjoyed it.

Did you read much as a child? If so, what did you like to read (books, comic books, etc?) Please list some favorite authors, titles, etc.

Yeah… I’ve lost count how many times I’ve read Tolkien for instance. I still re-read it every three years or so. Asimov, Simak, Bradbury and Clarke were heroes of my childhood.

Would you say that any of these games or books had an effect on your later appreciation of computer gaming and ultimately MMOs? Please explain.

Definitely. I come from the literature fantasy and sf movement and I feel very much at home in gaming now because of this. I find the same mentality among many players.

How were you fist introduced to video games? How old were you? What was the platform?

I had very little experience of video gaming before I started to play WoW in 2007.

I was introduced to it by my younger sister, who told me I should try it since she thought I’d love it. “I don’t have time for such a thing”, I told her. “There’s ALWAYS time for WoW”, she replied. So I bought the game in the Christmas 2006 and installed it a month later. That was a pain – it was basically my first computer game ever if you don’t count a few sessions of Lemmings and a little bit of Civilization. I was very proud when I finally entered the world.

I the beginning the idea was to have it as a project together with my teenage daughter. But she soon lost interest in it, while I got more and more caught. My sister who made me start in the first place stopped playing long ago.

Did you ever play coin-op games at the arcade? What was that experience like?

nope

What was the first video game you can remember playing that really made an impression on you? Please explain.

Civilization. Pretty early I had a gaming session when I completely lost track of time and that scared me a bit tbh. I didn’t touch it after that.

What gaming consoles have you owned in the past?

none

Feel free to share a story related to your gaming experience as a child.

In the beginning of the 1970s my father worked at a laboratory where they had a huge computer, big as a room, with a brain smaller than a counting machine today. I was just 5 or 6 years old, but he made a small program to keep me occupied when he was at work during a weekend. It contained some kind of lottery and a few other things. Everything was printed out on a paper. And I remember how thrilled I was. It was a magic gaming experience, in all its simplicity.

Chapter 3 : Online

Were you ever exposed to MUDs? If so, when was this and what was the experience like?

nope

What was your first MMO experience? Again, when was this (a year please) and what was this like?

World of warcraft in the beginning of 2007. But to tell me about the experience… that’s a bit overwhelming. I’ve been doing that on my blog for about 350 post by now… I was the noobiest of the noobish when I started, didn’t know how to move my character at all, felt slightly sea sick, didn’t know about things as repairs, questing, what the game was about. The learning curve ever since has been huge and is still going on.

If possible, list all the MMOs you’ve played extensively.

Easy question for me! I play World of Warcraft, where my main is a lvl 80 mage. I’ve also got a lvl 80 rogue and an upcoming little druid.

What is your current MMO of choice, or perhaps, what are your current MMOs of choice?

WoW

Which MMO have you spent the most time playing? How long would you say that has been?

WoW

Have you reached level cap in any MMO? If so, which ones?

WoW

Loki taps you on the shoulder one day to inform you that you have fallen victim to one of his elaborate pranks. The world you’ve been inhabiting of countless MMOs to choose from and play has merely been a dream. In reality only one MMO exists. After laughing at you for a bit he decides to take pity on you and allows you to choose which MMO will remain. Which one would you choose and why?

Oh, I guess I’d been happy if WoW could remain for some while longer… J That’s where I have my character and my guild and everything I’ve invested in the game. I actually doubt that I’d bother to start another one.

Are there any MMOs currently in development that you are particularly interested in? Please explain.

Being an old Star Trek fan, I can’t help being a bit curious about what it will be like..

Feel free to share an interesting or amusing anecdote related to your MMO gaming experience.

Read my blog!

Chapter 4: Preferences

At your peak, how much time per week would you say you spent gaming? How about now?

Don’t want to think too much about that question… Too much time I would say. Maybe something like 20 hours a week or a little bit more?

When during the week are your regular play times?

Two out of three nights of tue-thur-sund 7.30 pm-00. Two or three extra nights from 10 pm and a few hours onwards. Sometimes a couple of hours daytime during the weekends, very irregular, depending on what’s up in rl.

Generally speaking, are you more of a social creature in MMOs (grouping to quest, joining guilds, etc.) or something of a lone wolf?

I’m social. If it wasn’t for guild life, raiding etc, I would probably not be playing WoW anymore. The game in itself isn’t that interesting.

Have you made any lasting friendships through your MMO experience? Please explain.

Don’t know yet! I have some friends in game, but if that will last when we’ve all moved on? I don’t know.

Before logging into a game, do you already have a course of action planned out in your head, or do you just sort of do whatever you feel like once in game?

I think I mostly have a pretty clear idea about what to do. Much of my playing, the raiding, is planned. And apart from that I’ve always got some projects I’m working on, such as achievements, levelling an alt etc.

When playing MMOs do you tend to just play one at a time or do you take more of the smorgasbord approach?

Never played anything but WoW.

Do you tend to supplement your MMO gaming with other PC, console or tabletop games?

Nope.

Are you something of an altoholic?

Nope.

Do you find yourself multitasking while gaming (perhaps watching TV, talking on the phone, out of game instant messaging, playing another game, or even listening to a podcast)?

If I’m questing or grinding on my own I sometimes listen to a WoW related podcast. But apart from that I need to keep my focus on the game, I’m not skilled enough to do a lot of other things at the same time.

Do you find yourself having much MMO discussion off-line, perhaps with friends or family?

No, since they don’t like my WoW playing I avoid to bring it up much.

Have you ever felt that you game too much? If so, how did you cope with that?

Well, if you ask my family I play too much. I try to negociate, compromize and make real life work as well as possible side by side with my gaming. But it is a challenge.

Since you started playing MMOs, have you ever taken a break from the genre? If so, please explain.

No.

Chapter 5: Blogging

When did you first start blogging? Please take us up to present with all of your projects.

February 2008.

Why do you blog?

I answered that when I once did an interview with myself.  I’ll cut in a reply from there:

Blogging has given me back the fun of writing. I’ve been writing professionally so long that it had lost some of its lustre. But this is done out of pleasure, without any pressure. It’s free and it’s fun and I can combine writing with my favourite hobby – WoW. But I also appreciate the social side of blogging, as well as I like the social side of the game. I didn’t have any knowledge about the Blogosphere when I started. Now I’ve grown into it and it feels like an extra guild to me. I love how we comment on each others blogs. It’s a wonderful network.

And of course I love my guests. The comments you give me, the support, the link love… It gives me daily inspiration to keep going. Lately I’ve got a few letters from people who say that I’ve inspired them to start blogs of their own. I can’t understand in what way, perhaps it’s that I’m an example of that you can blog even if you’re quite an ordinary player and not an expert in any sense. Anyway, it’s amazing to hear and makes me very happy.

Another great bonus of blogging is that it improves my English. I’m aware of that my readers have to put up with a lot of errors, but I feel that I’m developing. When I began I sort of translated my thoughts from Swedish. Now I switch over to thinking in English while writing right from the beginning. That’s a huge step forward.

Do you have a schedule or some sort of routine you try and follow when blogging?

Not really. But I try to have at least 3-4 posts a week.

Is there some grind involved in blogging? If so, what is it and how do you cope with it?

No grinding. I’ve always said to myself and the readers that this is a day-to-day project. I’m not trying to make a living from it. I write for my pleasure and if I find one day that I’ve got nothing more to say I’ll stop.

By contrast, what do you find pleasurable about blogging?

I enjoy the freedom and I enjoy expressing myself. Doing it in English is a challenge, but it’s still fun. And I love the networking dimension of it.

How many people offline know you blog?

Hardly any at all. My sister knows about it, but that’s about it I think. My family doesn’t know.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try their hand at blogging?

Be patient. Don’t’ expect that you’ll get any feedback or many readers for long. It will probably take months before someone will find you. Write from your own pleasure and don’t worry about subscribers and such. Comment a lot on other blogs and be sure to take good care about the ones that come to your blog, writing replies to their comments. In this way you’ll slowly build an audience.

What is something you know now that you wish you had known when you first started?

I wish I had started blogging in English, using one of the platforms right from the beginning. As it was now I started in Swedish using a bad, non-standard tool, and it took me a ton of work, actually grind, to translate the posts from the first months to English and move it to Blogger. I could have been without that.

Can you picture a future where you will hang up your keyboard and no longer blog?

Oh yes. When I stop playing I definitely will. Maybe before, it depends on for how long it remains fun.

At your funeral, what song(s) would you have played as your corpse is set alight and cast out to sea on a funeral barge?

Hm… not entirely sure about that, pass.

SmakenDahed

MMO community connection:

Random Ogre Thoughts

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

SmakenDahed

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I’m just a gamer who blogs about random things that I feel like writing/venting/ranting about.

Please take a minute and describe what your blog/podcast is about.

It cannot be categorized. I talk about games, politics, hockey, odd events, games, and what ever else pops in my head. I’m not in it thinking I’m a journalist or part of the media and I’m not out to save the world, I’m just trying to stay sane and blogging is a good release.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I was born in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) and spent the first 18 years of my life all over (and off) that island.

Where do you live now?

I am currently living in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada).

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

31-40

What do you do for a living?

I do software testing. My official title is Senior Software Verification Specialist, Lead. My job entails manual testing, automate testing, performance testing, load testing, security testing and probably some other types of testing I can’t think of at the moment.

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

I wouldn’t change my job, but I would gladly change the content I test to something more… fun.

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• I’m proficient in three different styles of martial arts
• I have taken courses on writing
• I have a wicked temper
• I am surprisingly patient (which is good, given my temper)
• And … I think my memory is already starting to fail me.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

I have a wife, two boys here. I’ve got a mother-in-law (who is driving me crazy), sister-in-law (…) and brother-in-law from my wife’s side. On my side I’ve got two uncles, one aunt, three cousins, my sister and her husband in the area. Rants about the mother-in-law and her antics almost have legendary status on my team at work.

Chapter 2: Origins

What kind of games (if any) did you play as a child before you got into video gaming? Did you play with family, friends or was it more of a solo activity?

I played a lot of games with my older brother and his friends, but also spent an equal time alone playing with various toys. I got into RPGs at a really young age (eight) and haven’t really looked back. When I didn’t have my nose in a book I was usually out getting into trouble with friends.

What other hobbies and/or activities did you have as a child (sports, music, etc)?

I got into martial arts around the same time I got into RPGs, the main reason was that my mother was going back to school to become a microbiologist and some of the evening courses where in seedy downtown neighborhoods. My dad tends to be an all or nothing type of guy so he signed the whole family up. I was a first degree black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate at about 12 or so. Other styles I picked up were Shirynjiru Kenkokan Karatedo and Jiujitsu.

I spent a lot of time outside playing, exploring and getting into places I probably shouldn’t have been.

Were you ever exposed to pen and paper role playing games? What was that experience like?

I was eight years old and it was a lot of fun. It was pretty simple, monty haul/hack and slash, but good fun. I’ve played a fair number of RPGs over the years, though my favorite has to be Shadowrun. I’m currently playing a P&P session with a group of guys every Wednesday night (I think it’s almost been 10 years if not close to 11 now).

Did you read much as a child? If so, what did you like to read (books, comic books, etc?) Please list some favorite authors, titles, etc.

I read comic books and novels. I was reading Tolkien at eight but was also reading a lot of Piers Anthony’s Xanth series. I usually read what ever my parents had around at the time. For comic books my favorites were X-Men, Spider-man, Ghost Rider and Rom the Spaceknight.

Would you say that any of these games or books had an effect on your later appreciation of computer gaming and ultimately MMOs? Please explain.

Definitely. I always loved using my imagination and thought it would be great to be able to play these types of games on computers so I could play them when ever I wanted (as in, not needing to gather friends together and organize actual sessions). Eventually, I got into thinking of how great it would be to play these games online and quite some time ago I got talking with my brother-in-law about how cool it would be to have a massive, online virtual world to play in with all sorts of people from all over the world. It was funny, we started planning how it could be designed and he found Ultima Online was just released. It was a lot of what we thought would be cool (from reading the instructions) but we never bother playing it.

How were you first introduced to video games? How old were you? What was the platform?

Atari, I think. My uncle had Pong, but I don’t really remember it. I can remember playing Space Invaders, Night Driver and Combat at my uncle’s place. I think I was 5 or 6 years old – I don’t really remember.

Did you ever play coin-op games at the arcade? What was that experience like?

Definitely. There were tons of arcades where I was growing up, we had one place that was about five minutes walking around the corner from where we lived. I played all sorts of games there, half of them I can’t remember the name of. I also spent a lot of time just watching others play as well.

What was the first video game you can remember playing that really made an impression on you? Please explain.

Wizardry I on the Apple 2 (actually, a clone called Golden 2). It used 5.25″ floppies and you had to swap disks for saving and stuff (my dad was a hero when he bought as second floppy drive!), but it was in 3d! Heh. I was about seven or eight and the damn ’small humanoids’ picture scared me. Pretty silly thinking back to it.

I learned about farming there (thanks Dad!). We would farm the Murphy’s Ghost statue room for +1 magic weapons and stuff. He also showed me some minor exploits like creating a back up disk for characters, loading characters, giving all their gear to one other party member, renaming them, then transferring over the back up so you ended up with an infinite amount of gear to sell off. He also taught me about mapping and things like that.

I still remember a good number of spells. ‘di’ was the rez, ‘dios’ type words were for healing, ’tiltowait’ was the big nuke. It amazes me what I remember about older games. Oh, I still have coordinates memorized for the garrison room in the Castle in Bard’s Tale – the room with four groups of 99 Berserkers? I used to teleport up there with some hefty tanks in the first ranks, two sorcerers and fill the last slot with a character I wanted to level. I’d then just Mind Blade the four groups with the two sorcerers and by the end of the fight the 6th slot character would get a ton of levels. (From the entrance coords were 2 up, 5 north and 12 east – that’d put you at the door).

What gaming consoles have you owned in the past?

Atari, Sega Genesis, Nintendo, Playstation, PS2, Wii, and PS3.

Feel free to share a story related to your gaming experience as a child.

I remember playing D&D with my parents, it was only one session but I remember it like it was yesterday. The module was Palace of the Silver Princess and I was playing a Halfling (basic D&D the demihuman races were classes heh). We came across a long hall where there was a storeroom and a kitchen. My father listened at the door of the kitchen and heard what sounded like goblins making a bunch of noises. He made us all go back to the storeroom and roll some kegs of ale to the kitchen door, then knocked and hid back in the storeroom. After a couple of hours we checked on the room and could hear the goblins singing drunkenly in the kitchen. We open the door and attacked, taking advantage of their drunken state. It was a lot of fun.

Chapter 3: Online

Were you ever exposed to MUDs?

I heard of them from the brother of a girl I was dating. He was pretty into them though his sister was telling me he was getting too into them at the expense of his school work. I thought it was sort of weird that people could get so into something like that when it was just text. Marriages? Politics? Weirdos…

What was your first MMO experience?

EverQuest. It was the year it came out, though several months later. I couldn’t tell you the year. I was previously playing online Quake 2 in a clan organized by someone who became a really good online gaming friend (over 11 years now). We were a little frustrated by a mishap during a tourney and felt the clan we competed against took advantage of their position as organizers to turn what should have been a win into a loss. Some other folks had been talking to my friend about EQ and we decided to give it a shot.

Man, the subscription fee was a big hurdle for me to over come. I wasn’t used to buying a game then having to continue to pay monthly to play.

We started Erudites, he insisted on playing an Erudite because it was the best caster race and he wanted to play a Wizard. I was easy going so I made an Erudite Paladin (ouch). We played for several hours and go hooked pretty quickly after figuring out how to do stuff. Toxx Forest was a load of fun especially given the darkness and lack of nightvision. We had all sorts of fun doing some quests, exploring, dying, trying to find our corpses.

I’ve been hooked ever since.

If possible, list all the MMOs you’ve played extensively.

• EverQuest
• Asheron’s Call
• Anarchy Online
• Dark Age of Camelot
• Planetside
• City of Heroes (Villains)
• Star Wars: Galaxies
• Asheron’s Call 2
• Guild Wars
• EverQuest 2
• World of Warcraft
• Dungeons and Dragons Online
• Vanguard
• Tabula Rasa
• Age of Conan
• Warhammer
• Lord of the Rings Online

I think I’m forgetting one or two.

What is your current MMO of choice, or perhaps, what are your current MMOs of choice?

I am currently playing World of Warcraft where I have a level 80 Ret/Prot Paladin in mostly T7 (or T7.5) gear. I’ve started an alt to play along side my five year old son (refer-a-friend).

Which MMO have you spent the most time playing? How long would you say that has been?

Everquest. It’s hard to say how long, but probably a couple of years in total.

Have you reached level cap in any MMO? If so, which ones?

I don’t look at hitting level caps as all that big a deal because I know it’s a matter of time, however, I have hit the level cap in EverQuest, EverQuest 2, World of Warcraft and I was really close in VG before I threw in the towel.

Loki taps you on the shoulder one day to inform you that you have fallen victim to one of his elaborate pranks. The world you’ve been inhabiting of countless MMOs to choose from and play has merely been a dream. In reality only one MMO exists. After laughing at you for a bit he decides to take pity on you and allows you to choose which MMO will remain. Which one would you choose and why?

At the moment, I’d have to say World of Warcraft simply because I’m playing it with my son and I’m having a lot of fun watching what he does and has fun doing. I’ve recently bounced around trying out some of the older MMOs I left behind and they were fun for a bit, but not something my son is interested in; while WoW has him hooked (at least as hooked as we allow him to be).

Are there any MMOs currently in development that you are particularly interested in? Please explain.

I’m curious about Champions Online and DC Universe, but those will probably just be a distraction. One in development would be Copernicus (38 Studios). I enjoy a lot of what the people involved in its development enjoyed or created so I’m hopeful about that one. Star Wars: The Old Republic is another one I’m interested in but I don’t think I’ll be swept up by it.

Feel free to share an interesting or amusing anecdote related to your MMO gaming experience.

I mentioned a long time gaming buddy, we started in Quake2 but moved into EQ. We bounced around from game to game for a bit until we heard SOE was releasing a brand new server that did not allow transfers – enter Stromm. He convinced me to give it another go – a real go at it this time because it was going to be the last time we ever played that game.

With that in mind, I created an Erudite Cleric named Fabinusar (the same name that was randomly generated for my very first character; an Erudite Paladin). I figured it’d be the first name I used in EQ and the last. He created an Ogre Shadowknight named Conflict. We duoed a lot of the content, adding the odd person into the group here and there. It was the first time I played a Cleric, usually I played the tank role, so it was a lot of fun. I was excited for every spell and every time I got a new one I had to try it out to see what I could do with it which meant rearranging my spell bar every time.

That added a little chaos to our sessions.

Before he was able to Feign Death, I used to use Lull/Pacify type spells to single out a target which he’d pull. It worked so well we’d hit dungeons with just the two of us.

We were in Upper Guk working our way into the Jail area. We were setting up to Lull and pull each one of the five or six mobs in the center of the Jail room. Now I just had access to Stun so I put it on my spell bar wondering what sort of use I could get out it.

Guess which spell I cast instead of Lull?

A lovely train ensued. The corpse recovery run was pretty fun too (I never carried a second set of gear).

Chapter 4: Preferences

At your peak, how much time per week would you say you spent gaming? How about now?

30-40 hours then, about 15-20 now – if I’m lucky and willing to sacrifice sleep (which I am).

When during the week are your regular play times?

I tend to be a weekend warrior; I play Friday night and usually weekend mornings. I do hop on after 9pm for a couple of hours when I feel up for it. That’s usually when I do my farming or tradeskilling. The guild I am in raids from about 8pm to 11pm Tuesday, Thursday and Friday so I try to make those when I can.

Generally speaking, are you more of a social creature in MMOs (grouping to quest, joining guilds, etc.) or something of a lone wolf?

All of the above. If I’m tired, I tend to just fall into what ever I’m doing and run about solo. When I’m more awake I’ll group up or build groups to hit what ever or I’ll pop into some PVP, BGs or otherwise. When I’m in a guild, I do try to be social, though I tend to miss a lot of chat if I’m into a dungeon or raid.

(My gaming friend would say I miss tells too, and it’s true. I’ve had to use ChatAlert type mods to put certain chat channels right in my face – the little pings in games like EQ2 doesn’t always work)

Have you made any lasting friendships through your MMO experience? Please explain.

Hell ya. One I’ve already babbled about (Frank: Airstrike, Damogoth, Kaldonar); met in Quake2 LMCTF when I was organizing my clan’s side and he was on the other team. We were in email contact setting up a time and date. I was a little nervous contacting people outside the clan because I was expecting to get some corpse-humping asshat but the guy was completely polite, understanding and pretty easy going.

The match came about and my side was horribly overmatched (being more in to RA2 and not really being organized for CTF). The end result of a 30 minute match was a 3-0 loss to my clan. It would have been worse but I held their flag through most of the match. They capped twice when they finally got me and a third time when another clanmate was carrying the flag. I got hold of it again and kept it for the remaining time (I think I had it for about 28 minutes).

They were good sports and good winners.

In the following weeks I’d occasionally end up on a LMCTF server (I didn’t play RA2) where he was playing sometimes on the same team and sometimes not. When we were on the same team we’d dominate with me on D and him nabbing their flag. When we were on opposing teams we sort of canceled each other out.

End result was we had a lot of fun and played really well together be it defense or offense. He ended up asking me if I wanted to join his clan and after some thought I did. Eventually we formed our own then went into EQ together.

In EQ I met up with another guy I’m still playing games with today (Chris: various names starting with Cel). Frank had actually met him and we all got along eventually tried other games together.

Before logging into a game, do you already have a course of action planned out in your head, or do you just sort of do whatever you feel like once in game?

I usually have some sort of plan. Farm, tradeskill, explore, PVP or do some instances. I’ve often planned what we’ll do for a session ahead of time and invited people by sign up.

When you have less time to play, you want to spend more time playing and less time waiting or trying to build a group so I like to get that sort of thing out of the way before hand.

When playing MMOs do you tend to just play one at a time or do you take more of the smorgasbord approach?

Yes and no. I usually don’t subscribe to more than one MMO unless I’m starting to get bored of the one I’m playing in which case I’ll sub to another and play it at off times. I’d rather get somewhere in one game than halfway in a bunch of other games – that’s just me though, I don’t force my expectations on others.

Do you tend to supplement your MMO gaming with other PC, console or tabletop games?

Again, when I’m getting bored I’ll binge on some other PC game or console game. I play D&D with a group of friends (almost) every week for about 10 years now so my MMO gaming is on top of that.

Are you something of an altoholic?

Only when I’m first starting a game and when I first started playing a MMO. I’ll experiment with all sorts of classes to see what I enjoy. At the moment, I tend to focus on a character until it hits the cap then I might create an alt to play with. I currently have about five alts in WoW but I also have a max level Paladin (Ret/Prot) who raids.

Do you find yourself multitasking while gaming (perhaps watching TV, talking on the phone, out of game instant messaging, playing another game, or even listening to a podcast)?

I sometimes listen to a podcast or music but no, I usually focus on the game when I’m playing (spouse and children permitting). I might have online radio streaming a hockey game to me or I might have the TV on with hockey going in the background, but I’m not watching it (it’d hurt my neck to see the screen from where the computer is).

Do you find yourself having much MMO discussion off-line, perhaps with friends or family?

Not so much anymore. I talk about it with my son, in my blog but not so much with my friends.

Have you ever felt that you game too much? If so, how did you cope with that?

Yup, I have felt that way but I don’t feel it ever goes on long enough to impact work or my social life (generally, I play a lot when I’m on vacation). I don’t? It’s a hobby I enjoy. It gets pushed aside if I need to do work or if I need to go to family events or if I need something more important than entertainment.

Since you started playing MMOs, have you ever taken a break from the genre? If so, please explain.

Yes, I’ve taken a few breaks here and there. The most notable was before the EQ Stromm server was released. I didn’t touch a MMO for several months until my bud got me thinking about it. I’ve taken a few other breaks but never really for any particular reason.

Chapter 5: Blogging

When did you first start blogging?

The blog started in October of 2006 with my first post being about boredom with currently available games. Surprisingly enough, I’ve lasted another three years and survived my boredom.

Why do you blog?

It’s an outlet. I vent about various things, talk about some interests or topics of interest or share things that just seem a little screwed up. I don’t guarantee quality, I don’t guarantee researched posts, but I do promise you’ll get my thoughts on things (often my thought process). My blog is my own, I don’t do it for anyone else but I do like arguing with commenters even if I agree with them.

Do you have a schedule or some sort of routine you try and follow when blogging?

Nope. I just blog when I get a moment and have something to unload or a thought on something.

Is there some grind involved in blogging? If so, what is it and how do you cope with it?

If it took effort then I wouldn’t be doing it.

By contrast, what do you find pleasurable about blogging?

Just getting things out of my head and out there, whether people read it or not. I do get a kick out of how people react to it.

How many people offline know you blog or podcast?

Very few actually. There are three guys that also blog from my D&D group that read my blog from time to time and another one that doesn’t. There is an online friend (Chris) that reads it from time to time (I even posted a review of his for NWN2: Storm of Zehir which actually gets a bucketload of hits). Aside from that? No, I like to keep somewhat anonymous so I can rant and vent and be a jackass.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try their hand at blogging?

Focus on the goal of the blog or podcast but don’t be shocked if you never see any comments – any idiot with a computer and internet connection can blog (I’m living proof!). Do it for you, not for others.

What is something you know now that you wish you had known when you first started?

I can’t really think of anything. I guess that means I know it all?

Can you picture a future where you will hang up your keyboard and no longer blog?

Blogging is so easy (and free therapy), I can’t imagine stopping. I could picture changing the content of my blog but I couldn’t imagine stopping.

At your funeral, what song(s) would you have played as your corpse is set alight and cast out to sea on a funeral barge?

Say Hello 2 Heaven, Temple of the Dog. I love that song.

Ardwulf

MMO community connection:

Ardwulf’s Lair

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Ardwulf, after my first Vanguard character, and my first MMO character that I felkt any attachment to. I started writing about MMOs (on the old, old GAX site) under that name and it stuck.

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I’m a blogger and avid gamer. I’ve been playing Roleplaying games of the tabletop variety since 1981, and of the online variety since early 2007. I enjoy hearing myself talk, so I started writing about games almost immeditaely.

Please take a minute and describe what your blog/podcast is about.

Mostly it’s a journal of my own online adventures, interspersed with commentary about various games and the hobby in general.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

Born, raised and have always lived in Ohio, which is another name for an especially pernicious kind of purgatory.

Where do you live now?

In a little town about ten miles north of Akron at the moment. I’ll likely be relocating to Columbus some time in the next year.

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

31-40. I am a doddering old man by the standards of the hobby.

What do you do for a living?

I’m an SAP analyst in the automotive field, at least until I get laid off.

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

Astronomer. Carl Sagan makes guest appearances in my dreams. Although I actually AM rerolling my career, kind of – I’ve just started going back to school with the aim of getting a programming degree.

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

I do talk a little bit about myself on the blog, but not a ton, under the assumption that orcs and dragons are more interesting than me. But let’s see:

• I’m published in the tabeltop RPG field, with a couple of minor credits.
• I’m a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval recreation outfit. Every summer we dress up in funny clothes and hit each other with blunt objects. Yes, I own a kilt, and occasionally wear it, although not in general circulation.
• I am vigorously political, which is something I DON’T get into on the blog, since a good rule for keeping conversations polite is not to bring up politics or religion. I do not, however, fit into either the right-wing or left-wing pigionholes we Americans like to squeeze everybody into.
• I have too many hobbies. Another one is leatherwork. I can turn out a very sharp-looking belt, or a passable piece that’s more complicated. The best thing I ever did was a heavily tooled sword hanger based on a 15th-centry pattern.
• I got soemthing in my eye right at the very end of Titanic.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

I have a wonderful wife who I am pleased to sometimes play World of Warcraft with, and two cats, who I call Buddy and Hairball. Mrs. Ardwulf calls them by other names.

Lady Sinaea

MMO community connection:

RingCast

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

My name is Astara, but in the podcasting community I’m known as Lady Sinaea.

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I started podcasting as Shawn Schuster’s co-host on GuildCast, which was all about Guild Wars. These days, my main show is RingCast, which focuses on Lord of the Rings Online. I also have another show called Not Your Average Gamer, which is my outlet to talk about basically anything I feel like, whether be it about gaming or not. I have also appeared on several other podcasts as a guest.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I was born in San Francisco, but I don’t live in the city. I grew up and currently live in Silicon Valley.

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

28, 21-30

What do you do for a living?

My official job is doing insurance billing in a medical office, but we’re currently understaffed. So, I cover reception, do diagnostics tests, help oversee physical therapy–you name it–all in addition to my regular work. It’s a miracle I find time to game and podcast at all.

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

That’s something I’m still trying to figure out. If the perfect career jumps out at me, I’ll let you know.

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• I like to climb in/on things that I’m not supposed to, rather than walk around them.
• I met my husband through GuildCast.
• I type online in full sentences, with capitalization and punctuation.
• I hate firearms because I get a huge adrenaline rush and a sense of power when I handle one.
• I find it hard to like myself, even though other people do.

Crookshankz

MMO community connection:

The Gaming Goob

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Crookshankz

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I started blogging about MMO’s by accident really. One of the SOE dev’s (Grimwell) posted on his blog a “hard core challenge” asking people to only allow your toon to die 7 times and then delete him. And, you had to blog about your adventures. I took up the challenge and lost interest in it, in roughly a month or so but, I kept the blogging. I found it a good way to kill time at work. I started at crookshankz.blogspot.com and ended up changing over to http://thegaminggoob.wordpress.com where you can find me now.

Please take a minute and describe what your blog/podcast is about.

My only real theme is MMO’s. Mostly it is a diary of what I did the night before or what I plan to do in the future in an MMO world. Sometimes I will gripe about aspects of games that annoy me but, I’m not opinionated enough to do that regularly.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

Up until the 4th grade, I lived in Glenn, Michigan (close to Saugatuk). Then my family moved to Davenport, Florida and I lived there until my 20’s.

Where do you live now?

Deltona, Florida.

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

31-40

What do you do for a living?

My fancy title is a Network Operations Center Technician. Mostly I just answer the phone here and there, and kill time in a small, dark room with no windows.

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

I’m currently trying to reroll, to become a teacher.

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• I once tipped over my high chair as a baby and cracked my skull.
• When I was 8 I wrote a full length Batman Comic Book
• Spending most of my day on a phone makes me not enjoy built in voice chat in games.
• I am horrible about cycling through hobbies.
• I enjoy drawing, painting, play the guitar and ukulele and write. All very poorly.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

Once upon a time I was married to the Wicked Witch of the West. I got tired of waiting for a house to fall on her, so we divorced. Afterwards, I met my current, wonderful wife and have an awesome stepson (age 11). I feel I am truly blessed with the best family I could ask for.

Chapter 2: Origins

What kind of games (if any) did you play as a child before you got into video gaming? Did you play with family, friends or was it more of a solo activity?

Pre 4th grade I was all about some baseball. I either played with my cousin who was quite a bit older or my dad. We had to use “ghost men” to stay on the bases for us. 4th-7th was 4 square at school and High School I could be found every day at the local basketball courts.

What other hobbies and/or activities did you have as a child (sports, music, etc)?

As a child? hmmm. I played video games back then quite a bit. I was an avid comic book reader, collected baseball, basketball cards. I’d also wrote and drew quite a bit.

Were you ever exposed to pen and paper role playing games? What was that experience like?

I tried quite a few times to play D&D. Back in my High School though I had a hard time finding people to play with. So trying to play usually consisted of me and 1 other person and we spent the time just rolling random characters.

Did you read much as a child? If so, what did you like to read (books, comic books, etc?)

As a child I read quite a bit. Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown and A Wrinkle In Time. I was also an avid comic book reader. (I was taught to read by Spiderman).

Would you say that any of these games or books had an effect on your later appreciation of computer gaming and ultimately MMOs? Please explain.

I guess in an off way. Reading when I was younger taught me an appreciation of the Fantasy Genre. I read a lot now and they are pretty much all either Fantasy or Sci Fi. On the same note, all the games I play are either Fantasy or Sci Fi.

How were you first introduced to video games? How old were you? What was the platform?

When I was very young, my uncle had the original Pong. He would let me play it when I would go over and visit. I must have been maybe 4 or 5ish and still vaguely remember it. I also remember being a bit upset when I was 6 because my Dad was willing to pay $275 for an Atari 2600 but wouldn’t buy me a $7 toy (my priorities were confused back then).

Did you ever play coin-op games at the arcade? What was that experience like?

I use to play coin-op games like crazy. My dad use to work late night at a resort at Disney World. When I hit 15 or 16 he would get me into Disney and I would run around there until it closed. Then I would go over to his hotel and he would give me a roll of quarters. I’d play until he got off work. I did that once a week for a few months. Even when I was 20, and working at the local mall. I knew a guy who worked in the mall’s arcade and he would give me free games. So I’d go in there and play Street Fighter II during my lunch breaks.

What was the first video game you can remember playing that really made an impression on you? Please explain.

If I can still remember playing Pong at pre-5, I would think that counts.

What gaming consoles have you owned in the past?

Atari 2600, Commodore 64 (if that counts), NES64, Game Cube and the Wii.

Feel free to share a story related to your gaming experience as a child.

I when we first got our Commodore 64. We would go and buy Compute! Magazine (I think that was the name of it). And in these magazines you’d get pages of code for games to type in. You’d type it by hand, then go through and recheck it, save it too cassette tape and then execute the program. That was how we first started gaming on it. The process took days.

Chapter 3: Online

Were you ever exposed to MUDs?

My MUD experience is really limited to null. Early days I did play almost all the InfoCom text adventures. Zork, Planet Fall, ect, if those come close to counting.

What was your first MMO experience?

My wife worked on me quite a bit to give EQ a try. At the time, I played FPS’s and was afraid I’d get sucked into MMO’s. Wouldn’t you know it, I finally gave in to my wife (was there any doubt) and got sucked into MMO’s. If my /played is accurate that was early 05.

If possible, list all the MMOs you’ve played extensively.

• Everquest ~ 53 Monk, 53 Druid
• Guild Wars ~ many 20 builds
• Everquest 2 ~ 80 Shadow Knight, 80 Conj, 80 Troub
• Wizard 101
• Runes of Magic

What is your current MMO of choice, or perhaps, what are your current MMOs of choice?

Right now, I am MMO of choiceless. I’m just randomly playing various MMO’s waiting for something I’m actually intrested in.

Which MMO have you spent the most time playing? How long would you say that has been?

I’ve spent a good chunk of my MMO time playing EQ2.

Have you reached level cap in any MMO? If so, which ones?

Guild Wars, and Everquest 2

Loki taps you on the shoulder one day to inform you that you have fallen victim to one of his elaborate pranks. The world you’ve been inhabiting of countless MMOs to choose from and play has merely been a dream. In reality only one MMO exists. After laughing at you for a bit he decides to take pity on you and allows you to choose which MMO will remain. Which one would you choose and why?

Uhhh….Star Wars: The Old Republic? Right now, I’m not that into any one particular MMO so that mean ole Loki can take all his MMO’s and just leave me a pile of money

Are there any MMOs currently in development that you are particularly interested in? Please explain.

The Old Republic has my geek DNA pulsing like crazy! Also, I really think it’s about time that 38 Studios starts giving up some info on the game they are making. 38 Studios has such an all star cast, and if they can’t make a kick butt MMO I will have to consider not gaming ever again (no pressure guys).

Feel free to share an interesting or amusing anecdote related to your MMO gaming experience.

I think this posting was the closest thing to an anecdote I ever wrote. It’s fairly lengthy for this format but, if you get a chance, it will explain the goober in me.

Chapter 4: Preferences

At your peak, how much time per week would you say you spent gaming? How about now?

I shudder to think at my peak time. Maybe 5-6 hours per day on my weekdays and 10-15 per day on my weekends at my peak. I try to justify that much time as both my wife and son game as well so, we were all playing together. No one was being neglected. Now, maybe 10-15 per week.

When during the week are your regular play times?

Friday – Monday’s usually 9:30ish pm – 11:00ish pm and Tues – Thursday on my days off when I can find the time or the interest.

Generally speaking, are you more of a social creature in MMOs (grouping to quest, joining guilds, etc.) or something of a lone wolf?

Me being a shy person, I play alot with just my wife and I. Every now and then, I will join a guild that I click with most of the people in it.

Have you made any lasting friendships through your MMO experience? Please explain.

Yes. That’s why you find me going back into EQ2 for instance. I love the people in my guild there and we resub for a month just so I can say hi to them. I have quite a few of them on my facebook and I’ll keep in touch that way or via emails here and there.

Before logging into a game, do you already have a course of action planned out in your head, or do you just sort of do whatever you feel like once in game?

Just depends on how into the game I am. When I was hardcore EQ2, I usually had my time spent out. Now I’ll log in with a generic goal but not really a game plan.

When playing MMOs do you tend to just play one at a time or do you take more of the smorgasbord approach?

Right now I’m doing a Smorgasbord approach. I’m in between mmo’s just killing time until a game shows up that I’m actually interested in.

Do you tend to supplement your MMO gaming with other PC, console or tabletop games?

Here and there I will. The family gets into some Guitar Hero and Sims 3.

Are you something of an altoholic?

Huge, Huge, Huge. I never understand how people always play just one class without ever trying anything else. When I start playing an MMO, I’ll fill up my character slots with everything I may be interested in playing. And then just through playing them all I will start gravitating to what I actually like playing the most. I’m also big into matching Race, Class and name. If one of these things are off, I’ll have to remake the toon. (I’m just weird like that).

Do you find yourself multitasking while gaming (perhaps watching TV, talking on the phone, out of game instant messaging, playing another game, or even listening to a podcast)?

Not really. Sometimes I may listen to a podcast if I’m crafting. Usually though, I just game.

Do you find yourself having much MMO discussion off-line, perhaps with friends or family?

All the time. I’m surprised none of them have just told me to “Shut up, you’re rambling about non-sense”

Have you ever felt that you game too much? If so, how did you cope with that?

I’m fairly no-nonsense. When I feel I’m gaming too much, I just game less.

Since you started playing MMOs, have you ever taken a break from the genre? If so, please explain.

I have tried but, usually I just go back to MMO’s in a matter of days.

Chapter 5: Blogging

When did you first start blogging?

As I stated I started crookshankz.blogspot.com when Grimwell posted his hard core challenge. Later I switched from blogger to wordpress and changed the name to thegaminggoob.wordpress.com. On hind site, the name kind of makes me feel like a goob but I’m think I’m pretty much gonna stick with it.

Why do you blog?

Because I simply don’t have enought time sinks.

Do you have a schedule or some sort of routine you try and follow when blogging?

Not really. When I game, I just write about it. When I don’t game, I don’t.

Is there some grind involved in blogging? If so, what is it and how do you cope with it?

Nah. My blog is fairly laid back. When it feels like a grind I simply don’t blog.

By contrast, what do you find pleasurable about blogging?

I blog so I’ll talk about gaming less.

How many people offline know you blog or podcast?

The handful I actually talk to.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try their hand at blogging?

Figure out why you want to blog and what type of blog you want to write. Use that as your guide lines.

What is something you know now that you wish you had known when you first started?

Your wife will pick on your misspelled words and poor grammer.

Can you picture a future where you will hang up your keyboard and no longer blog?

That time is definately coming soon.

At your funeral, what song(s) would you have played as your corpse is set alight and cast out to sea on a funeral barge?

Rainbow Connection?

Jenna

MMO community connection:

OMG-RL!1!

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Jenna. Funnily enough, this is also my real-life name.

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I am the co-host of OMG-RL!1!

Please take a minute and describe what your blog/podcast is about.

Shawn and I give our advice about real life to gamers who don’t mind putting their problems out there for all the world, or our three listeners, to hear. We strongly recommend that people take this advice because we have gathered it by making every single mistake possible in our lives.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I was born in Underwood Hospital in Woodbury, New Jersey. I grew up in West Deptford, NJ right next to Woodbury, NJ.

Where do you live now?

Now I live in Harrisburg, PA. This is the state capital of PA. You should know that.

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90

I am exactly 35.

What do you do for a living?

I am a computer programmer. YAY! I love it!

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

I would be a computer programmer. YAY! I love it!

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

Isn’t this like that Facebook thing? And since most people reading this have no idea who I am, aren’t there many random and non-random things that are not known about me? Oh well. Let’s see.

• I have a statue of Mickey Mouse dressed as a Jedi.
• I’ve lived in 7 states.
• I once hung myself from a tree (do not do this).
• I have two Doctor Who scarves knitted by two different men.
• I’m not that good of thinking of truly random things about myself.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

I am an only child, which I highly recommend to everyone. My Mother and Father are actually the best parents on the planet. No, really, that’s actually official.

Copra

MMO community connection:

Bullcopra

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is your name (your online persona/alter-ego, what have you)?

Copra Jor-El, which is a combination my pen and paper players put together years ago. Copra from Skyrealms of Jorune (wise, teacher) and Jor-El (father of Kal-El) after our firstborn was born.

What is your connection to the gaming/blogging/podcasting community (your chance to plug yourself here)?

I play, comment and blog about WoW. That’s about it. http://bullcopra.blogspot.com/

Please take a minute and describe what your blog/podcast is about.

“ABOUT WORLD OF WARCRAFT AS SEEN BY A SOCIAL, CASUAL GAMER DAD”, that’s what it says at the blog.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I was born in Tampere, Finland, but moved to Helsinki very soon after that. I’ve lived most of my life in Helsinki, only the last few years about 130km north from there in a small rural town.

Where do you live now?

See the earlier answer…

Your level (age) is somewhere in the range of (pick one): 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89

31-40

What do you do for a living?

Purchasing in a chemical distribution company

If you could reroll your career, what would you be?

Most probably veterinarian, teacher or scientist

List five random things most people don’t know about you.

• I can sing, contrary to my looks
• I’m very serious, contrary to the goofing I’m showing outside
• While I enjoy company, I prefer solitude: sometimes even the family is too much.
• I can cook, too, and have a diploma to prove it.
• If I’m not a master of something right away, I lose my interest in doing it. However, at this age I’ve taken it to challenge myself with this trait. Thus I’m still blogging, even though I didn’t break Tobold’s visitor count in the first month.

Feel free to discuss any family you have here.

I’m married with four kids and four Irish Wolfhounds. The life is as quiet and peacefull as you can imagine, no great big surprises there. I’m also from a big family myself, and I’m playing WoW nowadays with my two brothers, who have their own families.

Chapter 2: Origins

What kind of games (if any) did you play as a child before you got into video gaming? Did you play with family, friends or was it more of a solo activity?

When I was a child we had a month long summer holiday at a summer cottage of my grandfather’s which was out there in the middle of nowhere, by the sea. The cottage didn’t have any electricity, so the pass time in the evening was playing games. Cards, board games, word games, you name it. As amazing as it seems, this trait lived well beyond the summer vacation time and we played quite often at home, too. At later age I was introduced to computers and only after that I found pen and paper roleplaying, which is still my main reference point in my gaming.

What other hobbies and/or activities did you have as a child (sports, music, etc)?

I have been an avid reader the whole of my life, so reading and sports don’t mix too well: I have always been lousy at sports. However, I sang in a couple of choirs up till 16 years of age, at which time some other aspects of life started to play bigger part in my free time…

Were you ever exposed to pen and paper role playing games? What was that experience like?

Like I mentioned earlier, I have been quite active in pen and paper RPG’s. In fact, I worked in a local game shop (the first one in Finland) for about 6 months, at which time I devoured a huge amount of lore and background from several games. The first game I ever played was Metagaming’s old and devoid “Into the Tunnels” (I think), but soon after that experience I bought D&D (the red box) and started to GM games to my younger brother and his friends. The group changed and evoved over the years, as well as the games chaged. But the love to this form of story telling hasn’t changed.

Did you read much as a child? If so, what did you like to read (books, comic books, etc?) Please list some favorite authors, titles, etc.

I read quite a lot: in fact, my parents remember me reading always as a kid. I didn’t have any favourite authors at that time, I just consumed literature. I read everything from historical stories to scifi, from agent stories to crime and mystery. Later, when I switched to English language literature (at the same time I dug deeper into the RPG material and learned to trust my language skills at around 15), I found the author who has since remained my favourite: Gene Wolfe. And of course H.P.Lovecraft, whose works cast a sizeable shadow over the RPG campaigns I devised…

Would you say that any of these games or books had an effect on your later appreciation of computer gaming and ultimately MMOs? Please explain.

Definitely so: my computer gaming has always been a search of the story and puzzles. Not to say that I would hate FPS’, but I just don’t see the point in them. Heretic II was one of the few FPS kind of games I’ve liked, but that comes from the strong story line.

The same goes now with WoW: the lore is deep and the quest lines –when applied to the game- picture the stories and the world very neatly. I think the stories and their presentation is a huge part of my enjoyment in the games.

How were you fist introduced to video games? How old were you? What was the platform?

I think I saw this one coming… I was introduced to videogames by a friend of mine when he got some of the first Atari consoles home back in late 70’s: I must have been less than 10 years then. My first computer was Commodore VIC-20 and it was quite something, at least for the time being and for as long as it WAS the homecomputer. Then came C-64 and Atari ST. I got VIC-20 when I was 14, and it’s been constant downhill ever since…

Did you ever play coin-op games at the arcade? What was that experience like?

Of course: the first coin-op’s I played were the good old Space Invaders and sorts. And they completely blew my mind away: I must be somehow addictive and self-competitive personality, as I had to always improve my score. I didn’t care about the high score list, my own score was the only one I was comparing to.

What was the first video game you can remember playing that really made an impression on you? Please explain.

For the fore mentioned reason it was a game called Radar Rat Race for VIC-20: totally addictive maze run in which I always had to beat my own score. The tune still haunts me…

What gaming consoles have you owned in the past?

Not so much gaming consoles nor computers, since RPG’s took my time pretty completely during their time. We’ve had PS1, PS2 and that’s about it.

Feel free to share a story related to your gaming experience as a child.

My addiction to the VIC-20 was such that I took the darn machine with us to all our travels and trips, even to holidays abroad for the next year or so. My biggest challenge with it was to find how to hook it up with the hotel tv and whether I needed an adapter for the electricity. And that done: I was at ease.

Chapter 3: Online

Were you ever exposed to MUDs?

I tried MUD or two when I was studying, but didn’t find them attractive enough. Sure I had lived through the text based computer games like Zork, Planetfall and such, but for some reason or another the MUD’s themselves didn’t catch me.

What was your first MMO experience?

My first MMO experience was WoW. The year was 2006, and I joined a gaming community I had joined a year and a half earlier for a browser based game. I first joined for the trial, which was just then introduced to the game, and because the guild I joined with was based on US servers I had to purchase the game online.

What it was like?

It was like all my pen and paper RPG dreams had just materialized and been given life to. I connected with the world immediately.

Due to being a miser and the fact that it was next to impossible to play with the guild due to time difference, I quit the game after a few months. Only to play on a private server over at EU side. From where I transferred to official server on which a friend from the same community I mentioned earlier was also playing.

And –like they say- the rest is history.

If possible, list all the MMOs you’ve played extensively.

• WoW: several toons both in US and EU servers.
• EQ2: Some toons on Antonia Bayle
• TCoS: two test toons.

That’s about it.

What is your current MMO of choice, or perhaps, what are your current MMOs of choice?

WoW. I loved the time I played EQ2, but the lack of population and social contacts makes me shun from it.

Which MMO have you spent the most time playing? How long would you say that has been?

This is getting boring: WoW definitely. On EU server I have about 57 days /played, on the US I think something like 20.

Have you reached level cap in any MMO? If so, which ones?

None so far: I have started so late and I’m so interested in the stories that my playing has been less about levelling. So I have taken my time to do quests, finding the continuing quest lines and digging the content.

Loki taps you on the shoulder one day to inform you that you have fallen victim to one of his elaborate pranks. The world you’ve been inhabiting of countless MMOs to choose from and play has merely been a dream. In reality only one MMO exists. After laughing at you for a bit he decides to take pity on you and allows you to choose which MMO will remain. Which one would you choose and why?

I would most probably wish that he would take them all away, because I don’t know the field so well to make such a decision. I can only ponder over WoW and EQ2, and for because I like the originality of EQ2 I would choose it. Most probably I’m not playing it because my brothers play WoW and it’s one of the few social tools we have in common.

Are there any MMOs currently in development that you are particularly interested in? Please explain.

Earthrise for it’s background and approach. SWOTR definitely. And naturally the Blizzard’s secret project, especially if it’s connected with the recent Cataclysm-registration… that would sound promising.

Feel free to share an interesting or amusing anecdote related to your MMO gaming experience.

It’s kind of sad, but sometime ago we had a discussion with the kids that everyone is good at something. To this my son, 7 years then, said loud and clear –like kids to with truths-: “Daddy, you are the best in playing WoW. Better than any of my friends fathers.”

Knowing the fathers of his friends, I doubt anyone has ever even heard about WoW (before the Ozzie commercial, that is)…

Chapter 4: Preferences

At your peak, how much time per week would you say you spent gaming? How about now?

20 at peak, when I tried to level up to the 60 raid content. 10 currently on average.

When during the week are your regular play times?

One weeknight and weekend nights. Sometimes more, especially if the weather is horrible.

Generally speaking, are you more of a social creature in MMOs (grouping to quest, joining guilds, etc.) or something of a lone wolf?

My Bartle reads as ESAK, with high emphasis on the exploration. But social aspect is extremely important: I hate solo questing and I generally keep the LFG tool on always when I know I have few hours to play and commit to the group. However, the more WoW is designed to be soloed with fast forward, the less the people are taking time to group: it slows the progress down. And the End Game is out there at level cap. Sorry, the content.

Have you made any lasting friendships through your MMO experience? Please explain.

Not through MMO, but through gaming, yes. In WoW I haven’t been in a coherent guild before joining the current one, and I’ve been in this one so short time that I haven’t really made any connections yet.

Before logging into a game, do you already have a course of action planned out in your head, or do you just sort of do whatever you feel like once in game?

Both and. I usually have a plan whether I try to actively group for instances or if I quest on. If I have some interesting –or not so interesting- quest line open, I will try to finish it before continuing to grouping. But then again, when I’m out of quest lines and not willing to group, I can easily goof around and just explore the areas, find new places or work for achievements.

When playing MMOs do you tend to just play one at a time or do you take more of the smorgasbord approach?

I commit to one. I have pretty little time to play, so I cannot spread that time across a large amount of activities. Besides it brings a sort of feeling of continuity, like a serial rather than miniseries’.

Do you tend to supplement your MMO gaming with other PC, console or tabletop games?

No.

Are you something of an altoholic?

Yes. Currently I have two main played characters, but I have other characters over three or four servers to suit my tastes.

Do you find yourself multitasking while gaming (perhaps watching TV, talking on the phone, out of game instant messaging, playing another game, or even listening to a podcast)?

Not as such. I may be talking on the phone or discussing with people at home, but I don’t see that differing from chatting with people online.

Do you find yourself having much MMO discussion off-line, perhaps with friends or family?

Not much, but some: as I’m playing pretty keenly with my brothers, our discussions at family reunions and such tend to turn into WoW from time to time. And all the others are either bored or crossed for some reason…

Have you ever felt that you game too much? If so, how did you cope with that?

Yes I do. But then again, I have other hobbies to which I commit to with similar intensity: the direction changes from time to time and I rather play MMO’s than watch TV. This way I at least get the illusion that I’m doing something instead just consume something in braindead state.

Since you started playing MMOs, have you ever taken a break from the genre? If so, please explain.

A couple of times actually. Both times it has been a bit hard to use all the spare time I have already acquired, but then again the return has been as difficult.

Chapter 5: Blogging

When did you first start blogging?

September 11, 2008. Good grief. That is the first post date on Bullcopra, and it marks the beginning of my blogging. After that I have launched another blog, Fast Enough to Catch the Lure about my other love, Irish Wolfhound Lure Coursing, which I wanted to separate from the gaming blog.

Why do you blog?

I blog because that is the way I can vent my thoughts about my gaming and WoW. I have also been writing earlier, so this blogging helps me with the urge to put words one after another in a meaningful way. It seems that from time to time I strike a chord in the WoW blogosphere, too, so my thoughts are not necessarily just rants or rephrasing of earlier posts.

Do you have a schedule or some sort of routine you try and follow when blogging?

I should have a schedule, but I don’t. Then again, I write when I feel like, and because I don’t do any theorycrafting –at least yet- there is no need to be on the vein of things going on in PTR or the raiding scene.

Is there some grind involved in blogging? If so, what is it and how do you cope with it?

The grind is when you have a blank page and blank mind. What to write about, or just should I just leave it for today. Because I have no schedule, I can easily pass.

By contrast, what do you find pleasurable about blogging?

Commenting and commenting comments. The discussion which my posts can create from time to time, whether it is a note on another blog or comment in my own: the interaction with the readers, that is what is the reward for me (in addition to the eased feeling in my mind after I push the publish-button).

How many people offline know you blog?

To be honest, none. But then again, I haven’t been asking from my friends, neighbours nor relatives. But as far as I know, it’s not that popular here in cold North.

What advice would you give someone who wanted to try their hand at blogging?

Write. If you have a topic, write on the topic. Split posts into several smaller ones if you notice that there are several issues in one post. And re-read your post at least twice before posting: Mr. Typo is always there. And he’s not your friend.

What is something you know now that you wish you had known when you first started?

I should have made a tighter overall topic to my blog: the description I have now has come to be through evolution, and it has saved me a lot of time and headache since. I should have defined my blog’s purpose better. And tighter.

Can you picture a future where you will hang up your keyboard and no longer blog?

Yes I can: it will mean that I will become irritated and bad tempered for a while, until I start writing again into my desk drawer.

At your funeral, what song(s) would you have played as your corpse is set alight and cast out to sea on a funeral barge?

Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounod. Just to remind the people left behind that life as we know it shouldn’t be so hard and death shouldn’t be considered so sad.