* Topic

* Hodge (if there is one)

A bunch of Podgies are joining the Pig and Whistle to play with Luke, and I will not be one of them. There are the regular reasons: better things to spend my money on, but they aren’t the reason I’m not going to play. I’m not playing because Massive Multi Online Role Playing Games lack one essential element that I need. Role playing. I have long criticized the moniker MMORPG because I don’t think there is any RP involved. You never are asked to make a choice based on character. You’re never given options at all. Every question involves you either taking something somewhere (incredibly irritating if you just came from there) or killing stuff, usually killing stuff. You have no response options to NPCs and cannot derive any outcome other than the linear quest-giving build they were designed for. The game is much more Diablo 2 than it ever was Warcraft, only using the Warcraft world–which may explain the “world of” in front, eh?

I have no interest in MMOs (I was going to play AoC because it was Conan, not because it was an MMO and now I wonder whether WAR will be worth my time since it will most certainly have the same failing) and will not until someone comes along and finally offers the RP in MMORPG. Until then, I hope you have fun, but you’ll find me elsewhere.

You may remember me talking about going home and installing WoW right away because I had an itch to scratch.  Despite better judgement, that’s exactly what I did.  I rolled up a warlock on Kirin Tor and dove in head first.

Since this was my first time playing with a computer that was actually decent, I was amazed at what WoW looked like with everything maxed.  I could finally see spell effects and all the litle details.  It’s gorgeous.  I actually like the visual far better than Age of Conan.  Sure, AoC is technically superior and there are some nice views with all the settings turned up, but I found AoC lacked a strong art design.  The enemies all lacked characters.  Everything was pretty much just a generic monster or generic humanoid.  It had the feel of the classic Conan stories spot on, but it lacked character.   WoW, despite an aging graphics engine, oozes character.  Plus I can run it without turning the settings down at all.

I also noticed a lot of little improvements that made questing a lot easier and money much easier to make.  I have to say my initial re-welcoming left me with a nice taste in my mouth.

I’m now past the two-week ceiling that haunts me with every MMO I play.  And the main reason isn’t the fact I like the graphics better or that there’s lots of good tweaks…it’s because I’m finally part of a good guild.

See, my buddy Shawn runs the Pig and Whistle Society on Kirin Tor (alliance side).  The guild started on rpg.net but has grown far beyond that.  Besides knowing a handful of folks on there in real life, there’s a bunch of folks I know from various internet fora.  So it feels familiar.   And here’s the kicker:  They actually talk.   Most guilds I’ve been a part of are nearly silent other than when there’s grouping.  The occasional “Hi!” or “Gratz on the level!” fill the channel, but that’s it.  Here the nightly conversation range from The Song of Ice and Fire, to Ducktales, to talking about the current tabletop rpgs we’re in, to actually talking about the game itself.  You don’t feel lonely in the Pig and Whistle and if you do, you’re doing it wrong.

(Note: Oddly, not much chat takes place on the guild channel itself.  99% of talk occurs in the rpgnet channel)

There’s almost always a ton of folks on, even in the late hours in which I play, and I’ve always had nearly immediate help when I’ve needed it.  Need help killing Hogger?  Someone’s right there.  Need some Gold Flecked Gloves from Deadmines?  Someone’s just a few minutes away.   I’m finally getting to experience the social aspect of this game and I see why people keep coming back. This is in stark contrast to my earlier forays with guilds in WoW and AoC where I might as well have been playing Oblivion there was so little communication.

It also doesn’t hurt that Shamus Young just started playing with P&W and brought a ton of other new people.  That means there’s a lot of other low-level folks to group with, in general.  They’re also starting a Lowbie Night where everyone plays low-level alts to help the new guys out.  It’s awesome.

Will I stick with it?  I can’t say for sure.  I can say that I’m having more fun now with an MMO than I have ever had.

So don’t be afraid to join up.  On Kirin Tor join channel rpgnet and you can get into the guild in a matter of minutes.  Join me and some other forum members in the fun and help keep me playing!

*We hotly debate our experiences with MMOs

*Here’s the horse-kicking video

*Griefing

*Edition Wars – The best thing on the internet every decade or so

*Joe introduces The Hodge Live

*Closing out with our original theme, as promised.