SOE welcomes the POX Nora crew to the family … with a naked chick.

What is it with half-dressed women representing MMOs? Are guys just not representative of MMO players? That doesn’t seem to really jive with what I know about the online gaming scene … maybe it’s just the group I run with, though.

Brooke Pilley, probably better known to you as Snafzg over at the Greenskin blog, is the latest addition to the Massively.com blogging family. Brooke has signed on as a full-on blogger, and he’ll be touching on everything under the MMO sun … not just Warhammer. That said, his in-depth knowledge of Mythic’s flagship product is going to see heavy use on the site. I’m really pleased to have him aboard. Make sure to go give him a welcome at his announcement post:

If you want to look for the brightest spot in all this, consider that you now have an “inside man” on one of the biggest MMORPG news sites with Warhammer Online as his primary agenda. I’m really excited to try my hand at writing “newsy” pieces about games other than WAR as well. Actually, I’m just excited all around. Part of that is that I now get to learn about certain details like tomorrow’s big 1-29-09 announcement in advance. All I can really say is that it’s going to knock your socks off!

A while back Steve Danuser put up a post weighing in on the fate of Tabula Rasa. His was but one of many, with Scott, Damion, Eric, and Adam all putting in their two cents as well. I can’t hope to add anything to this discussion that hasn’t already been mulled by these guys, but I do want to clarify something that Steve links into. He says, “So if these guys are so smart, and if making a AAA epic fantasy MMO is a solved problem, then why did so many games have a rough year in 2008?”

“Making a AAA fantasy game is a solved problem” is something I said in my 2008 MMO wrapup on Gamasutra, and it’s something I’ve said frequently in the past. And I mean it. AAA fantasy games are ‘solved’, the formulae is complete, development and iteration on that particular niche of the niche market can stop now.

I never said anything about making one being easy.

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Has anyone noticed that the d20 is gaining a lot of ’street cred’ of late? I’ve been tabletop gaming for the better part of my life, and know a bunch of guys and gals that can claim to have been playing or running D&D since the white box days. That said, tabletop gaming has always been very much a sub-sub-culture. The videogamers look on us as slightly off wonks who would rather ‘put on their wizard hats’ than throw down with Chun-Li. And there’s some truth to that, of course, but I’ve long thought that hobby tabletop gaming was worth the effort. I love running games, and the times I’ve been able to play have always been a lot of fun (limited though they may be).

Recently though, the Fourth Edition resurgence has really made an impact. 3E did this to some degree too, but I think the still-inaccessable quality of the rules made it a harder sell. And, of course, back in the early noughties the web was only dimly waking up. It was alive and kicking, of course, but it wasn’t the vibrant part of our everyday lives the way it is now. As a result, I’m really getting to see the impact of 4E a lot more closely, and it’s a good one.

Probably the most visible impact is the PvP/Penny Arcade/Wil Wheaton triumvirate of d20 goodness. That first session with Scott Kurtz, Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik, James Wyatt, and Chris Perkins was … well, as a longtime gamer it was a ton of fun to listen to. But more importantly I think it was a ton of fun for PEOPLE WHO HADN’T GAMED before. A lot of people, frankly, didn’t know what we did when we sat down to game. Having it ‘live’ in their headsets with a bunch of really nice, normal guys made it not only approachable but really appealing. I honestly wonder how many new D&D players that single podcast spawned.

And, of course, the PA guys have really been following that up. Comics, posts, commentaries on the experience. Gabe starting his own campaign was probably a watershed moment for more gamers. “If he can do it, etc.” Wil has done a lot on his site as well, talking excitedly about his experience and continually talking about nerd-adjascent awesomeness. Good, rich times.

I’m not going to ruin this by being a “where were you five years ago” snipe. I think it’s great that so many people are coming to tabletop gaming, and I wish WotC the best of success. If you yourself are interested, here are some links you might want to check out:

• Dungeons and Dragons
• Shadowrun
• Gnome Stew
• Robot Viking
• Gaming Report
• Board Games With Scott

Highlights:

• I missed MMOG Nation’s 3rd anniversary. Again. Sorry!
• It’s really freaking snowy in Wisconsin.
• I’m working on a fun post about the ‘next’ EverQuest.

Just got this via email:

Dear Michael Zenke:
Your account has been removed by the Vimeo Staff for violating the Terms of Service of Vimeo.com

Reason: Uploading game walk-throughs, game strategy videos, depictions of player vs player battles, raids, or other videos that simply depict individuals playing a video game. We hope you find a video host more suited to your needs. If you believe this was an error, please send a civil response to this email and we will work with you, assuming you are correct.

Regards,
Vimeo

Here’s what I actually sent them:

Dear Vimeo,

No, you’re absolutely correct. “Videos that simply depict inviduals play a videogame” were all I had in my account. Under the terms your site operates, my account was entirely due for removal.

However, I want to note two things. First, I find it a bit offensive that videogaming  should be looked on as somehow ‘beneath’ the notice of your website. Machinima and in-game activities are a rich part of gaming culture, and the dismissive tone of your email to me here is very frustrating. Why videogames and gaming activities are somehow ‘not good enough’ for your site is somewhat beyond me.

Second, I just recently obtained an HD camcorder. Given the (previously) pleasant experience I’ve had with your site, I was planning to spend the money required to move my account to premium status. Now that you’ve removed my account, you’ve also removed my interest in doing so. Your choice to view videogaming in this light has, as of today, cost you money. Please take that into consideration as well.

Thanks for your time,

- Michael Zenke

Here’s what I want to say to Vimeo:

Fuck you. Fuck you and the horse you road in on, you pretentious ‘art-loving’ prats. Gaming’s not good enough for you, eh? Well, gee, I guess I’ll just have to go spend money with one of the other hojillion video-hosting services out there. Sucks to be you! (raspberry)

I’m so glad I’ve grown up so much over the last few years.

Cameron Sorden is an inspirational writer. Cam started writing about MMOs about two years after I did, and about a year after I began MMOG Nation. That said, I think some of my best writing came as a response to things he’d written. Working with him at Massively was a pleasure and an honor, and I’m extremely proud to consider us friends-through-the-internet in that way that a lot of people become.

He’s given his wave and a bow over at Random Battle, signing off on one of my favorite general-topic MMO blogs out there.

I want to give one last thank you to all my faithful readers and my fellow bloggers. It’s been great getting to know you all, and the discussions have been fun. I’ll miss writing about the games, and I look forward to watching the insanity from behind the scenes again for a while. Take care, have fun, and maybe I’ll see you around sometime (in-game or otherwise).

Thanks for all the hard work and earnest opinion, Cameron. Hats off to your success with Amazon, and best wishes for the future. You’ve earned it.