I sat in on Shut Up We’re Talking this past weekend, and the result is available for your listening pleasure over at the VirginWorlds site. Primarily we chat about MMO malaise, and how I’m a snooty bastard that hates fun.

Seriously, though: Last week I was thinking that this whole “I’m not really digging Conan” vibe was just me being a snob, but then I kinda-sorta got a taste of real game evolution. And now … I dunno. Gonna be hard to go back to Hyboria. Or Azeroth, for that matter.

I’m thinking in the meantime I’ll try rolling a healer class, see if that helps. Maybe it’s just that tanking isn’t my thing. We’ll see. Regardless, go check out the show and make sure to stay all the way to the end. Allll the way. Because me + embarrassing moments are always fun.

Despite being really quite busy, I have actually managed to get in quite a bit of Massive gaming this week. My statement earlier this week about AoC, despite the kudos, mentally prompted me to return to the game with a vengeance. I’ve got a video of my escape from Skullcrusher Mountain the early-game volcano, where the hilarious “Virgin Blood swap” happens. I’ve also got a video teasing a post I’ll have on Massively next week, looking into the game Silk Road Online. This free to play game is surprisingly fun, with a number of interesting game mechanics. Remember that bit about Eastern games coming in and eating the Western folks’ lunch? Yeah, this game is hella interesting.

To complete this bevy of YouTube footage, a two part piece showing our second go at Archeadas, the end boss in Uldaman. Unfortunately I let Brendan die near the end of the event, so it wasn’t as ‘perfect’ as our first go. I take total responsibility, I was distracted by an add and didn’t pay enough attention to the Mage’s health bar.

Of course, the game I probably played the most of this week (Warhammer Online) isn’t exactly going to show up in one of these Friday Film bits. Just the same, with luck I’ll have some footage to show on MV. I’ll be sure to link that beautiful imagery when I can. Read on below the cut for the videos and some shots from my week in gaming.

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I know I’ve said this before, but I think it’s startling how terrible a gamer I actually am. Despite my passion for this subject matter and my enthusiasm for the MMO genre in general, I’m really bad at one of the most important parts of actually being an MMO gamer: slotting a bunch of hours together continuously to do that whole ‘leveling’ thing.

From a practical standpoint, this is simply because I try to keep busy. My new work situation has me about 10x less stressed than even a month ago, but I’m still humming along with various projects. Massively, MMOG Nation, Random Dialogue, GameSetWatch, the occassional GWJ article, a wife, friends, family, etc, etc … whine, whine.

In any case, I’m still just at about level 13 in Age of Conan. I’m going to endeavor to play a bit more today, but I’ve got even more barriers between me and Conan’s fun. I really apologize, because this is going to sound extremely faffy and pompous … but I’ve kind of seen everything I need to. This is the real reason that I’m so bad at these games; once I’m out of the tutorial element I tend to find that there’s not a lot of incredibly new stuff This is a discussion I’ve had before with games journos and designers.

The deal, basically is that once you’ve been inside the machine and seen its guts its hard to really just enjoy the paint job. Now, I’m no designer. I don’t go into their part of the machine. But, the journalists have their own bit, and (despite best efforts) there’s lotos of exposed piping up in there. I’ve seen a lot of piping. So (in my mind) it’s hard to just enjoy the creamy outer layer Conan has to offer. Fundmentally, Conan is almost exactly like WoW, EQ2, etc. Beneath the real-time combat thing, it’s the same diku we’ve been playing since 99′.

That said, I’m really looking forward to WAR and WotLK. I had it pointed out to me recently that in my writing story plays a very critical role. If I like something, it tends to be because I really liked the story. Fundamentally I don’t care all that much about Hyboria, but I really like the tale behind Mythic and Blizzards’ offerings.

Maybe it’s actually not the pipes that distract me – maybe it’s the color of paint? Regardless, I’m not done with Conan yet. I’m playing more today, and I’m (at the least) grateful that we have a stopover here between PotBS and WAR.

For once I was over in the Goodjer neck of the woods, and I was actually talking about MMOGs! So I can post it here and not feel all guilty! Hooray! Ahem.

AoC and the hypemachine, this week on the GWJ conference call.

This week a very tired Shawn Andrich (stupid Age of Conan) slacks off on the show notes so he can go to bed. On the podcast we discuss hype, Age of Conan, why Michael Zenke is awesome and your sumptuous emails.

The early entry server list has been dropped on the official AoC site.

I’m going to be on Wiccana, and I invite you to join me.

US Servers (Early Access 17th of May)

PvE Servers
Set
Dagoth
Zug
Omm
Derketo
Thog
Wiccana
Gwahlur (recommended Oceanic)
Anu

PvP Servers
Tyranny
Bane
Deathwisper
Bloodspire (recommended Oceanic)
Doomsayer

RP-PvP Server
Cimmeria

So here’s the deal: I’m a godless, soulless, technocratic transhumanist. Comments I’ve made in previous posts may have hinted at my love for technology. I like fantasy fine, yeah. It’d double coded, magic is all wonderful; I love World of Warcraft. All these things are fine.

Ultimately, though, my love has been for science fiction since I was a wee tot. Heinlein, Aasimov, Clarke, Stephenson, Gibson … these are the folks that I think of when I go to my happy reading place. As has been noted many times by NPD sales, developers, and money-men, I’m in the minority. Apparently the idea of surgically implanting a stainless steel port into your skull, in order more easily connect with a computer, is something not everyone enjoys. In space no one can hear you scream, and it’s hard to love a robot.

I’m tired of it. The Sci-fi ‘niche’ is a fantastic venue for creative thinking, and it’s an incredibly evocative milieu for gaming. Here are my five reasons why science fiction makes for a better setting than fantasy …

Update: Welcome io9 readers! Make sure to check out Grimwell’s fantasy-oriented response to this post, and my podcast followup to get the full discussion.

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It’s been an amazing year in MMOGs. I think 2008 is going to be just as big a deal, though … and in some ways maybe even bigger. As I did last year (relatively well, I might add) I’m going to try to call some shots. Again, I’m just a guy and this is all in good fun. But I’ll keep myself honest: we’ll see how I did this time next year.

So then:

1. Is It Cold In Here or Is It Just Me? – Wrath of the Lich King won’t come out in 2008. We’ll have a firm release date (of early 2009) for the expansion by late summer, and there are as-yet-unannounced features slated for the content update. Blizzard has Hydralisks to fry this year.
2. Nickel and Dime – The concept of RMT and microtransactions will continue to gain acceptance with North American gamers. This will be reflected commercially by further successes for MapleStory and Nexon’s other games in the US. Other companies will begin to consider alternatives to the flat subscription fee, even if outright RMT/microtransactions aren’t yet on the table. At least one newly announced game this year will feature a non-subscription schema.
3. Call Me Agent Smith – The Agency is going to go over like gangbusters. A flat box fee with only microtransactions for further goodies is going to make a big impression … if it can make it out this year. Sometime mid-to-late summer would be perfect. This could even be one of the killer apps for the PS3 this year. Which is good, because it needs it. FreeRealms, on the other hand, is going to have a rough go of it. Without clear player understanding of what exactly this humor/fantasy MMOG thingie is, it’s going to take some time for it to take off.
4. WAAAAUGH For the Win – Warhammer is also going to be a big hit … though it perhaps won’t be everything that EA is hoping for. Long-term MMOG fans are going to fall in love all over again just the same. By the end of the year the house that Jacobs built is going to be very happy for all the extra hard work they put in. Conan will be a much less resounding success. It’s not going to fail, but Funcom is going to end 2008 more than a little bit frustrated.
5. Sunglasses At Night – The CCP/White Wolf game is going to be big news this year, as they announce the scope of the world. It’s not going to be everything that World of Darkness fans would have hoped for, but there will still be a lot of happy gothsicles.
6. Out of Left Field – One of the newbie studios (Carbine, Red 5) is going to announce a project that will really excite and surprise Massive fans. 38 Studios will announce what they’re doing, and it won’t surprise anyone … but it will be somewhat interesting.
7. Pushback – There’s going to be yet another major AAA title whose release date is pushed back to late in the year. One of the big games that we think is going to come out in 2008, won’t.
8. The Age Gets Darker – WAR’s release will be a very dark day for the already dimly-lit Ages of Camelot. Their emulation of Mythic’s older game’s defining feature, coupled with a better PvE experience in essentially every way, will see a lot of players heading for the hills.
9. The Legacy of McQuaid – At some point, Vanguard players are going to get tired of waiting around for ‘the good’ to show up in their game. Expect to see some of Vanguard’s best features showing up in EverQuest 2.
10. With the Brim Pulled Way Down Low – We’re going to see another live game close up shop this year, and an in-development title will slip into the unseen depths as well.
11. Way To Cast – Another MMO dev or publisher will join Blizzard and SOE in making an official podcast.
12. Coming of Age – Tabula Rasa is going to maintain a steady playerbase throughout the year as folks enjoy the new and exciting flavour. Turbine will continue to not report LOTRO’s subscription numbers, for a reason.
13. Okay For Serious This Time – BioWare will announce what they’re making in Austin. For reals, guys. C’mon! :)

2008’s Winners: Warhammer Online, The Agency, MapleStory, New Studios

2008’s Losers: Dark Age of Camelot, Vanguard, Age of Conan