A Green Mushroom

I haven't done a link dump post in a while and this week I read a bunch of really interesting posts.  Here they are for your perusal. Kill Ten Rats : Time outweighs the price of entertainment. Elder Game : Fun loops and gameplay loops. Systemic Babble : Complex vs elaborate games. Killed in a Smiling Accident : MMO combat is based too much around the UI. Killed in a Smiling Accident : Concern for the MMO blogging scene. Support the Indie Game documentary by checking out their Kickstarter page and donating!

I'm finally getting some time to write this weekend.  I'm working on a couple posts that I'm really excited about.  While I refine them, I present to you my backlog of gaming related videos I've been meaning to share.  Enjoy.  

Hey everyone, it's been a really long week.  No chance to write whatsoever.  Just wanted to post this awesome video in case you haven't seen it already.  It's by one of my favorite effects guy online, Freddie Wong .

After another long week of not much gaming, I thought the least I could do is bring you an awesome game related video. With my limited spare time this week I have been re-reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  It's a wonderful fantasy novel and I think the author has a promising future ahead of him. I finished it up last night and now I'm about to dive into the second novel in the series, which was just released.  Besides that I've been playing a little Pac-Man Championship Edition DX and anticipating the release of Dragon Age II next week.  Hopefully you'll see more on those topics from me soon.

 Patrick Rothfuss is one of my favorite upcoming authors.  His first book The Name of the Wind and is a must read for all fantasy fans.  In anticipation of his new book releasing in early March I thought I would link to one of his awesome gaming posts/comics.  Also, be sure to check out the video this week, it is truly epic. Patrick Rothfuss on the art of the game .  The comic at the end of the post is especially awesome. Syp at Biobreak has interesting stats on the average age of gamers . A cool short story that one of my fellow bloggers drew my attention to.  Don't miss this epic Skyrim video.

Lots of good stuff for you today.  Let's get to it. How Minecraft ruined World of Warcraft . How to make sandbox MMOs . Sign-up forms keep a player base low . Pay attention to your kids, not the raid . More thoughts on family and gaming . Which is better classes or an open skill system ? A passing thought from one John Scalzi . History of Gaming from Florian Smolka on Vimeo .

I don't usually do a post devoted entirely to one video, but this one blew me away.  It's a short (10 min) film about virtual world building.  Watch it.

I have MMOs on my mind this week.  Here are some good posts on the subject. Syp on our MMO choices during the coming winter. WoW Insider has a good resource for those returning to WoW for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion. Of Course I'll Play it give us a vision of the future of MMOs. This video reminded me of why I love language.

Time for another edition of Sunday reading!  I haven't posted one in awhile, so I have a bunch of links for you today. First up is Spinks with an extremely insightful post on globalisation, consumerism, and F2P in realation to MMOs. Seraphina had a great anti-aliased column that inspired me to try minecraft. Spinks strikes again with a few thoughts on achievements and Cataclysm. Ars Technica looks at how game prices have changed over time. Their conclusions may surprise you. And, of course, what happens when yogurt takes over the world . Here are some TF2 characters dancing.  Enjoy.

 I found an awesome blog this week called Geeks are Sexy .  It's worth checking out if you haven't ever heard of it.  The site is all about technology news and other random things geeks can appreciate.  My brother also pointed me toward an interesting article about game length. The Witness devs on why long games aren't always satisfying . Geeks are sexy feature on how games miss the mark with women.  The video this week is for those of you who appreciate the Konami code.

A couple quick links for you on this lovely Sunday. Sirlin has an in depth analysis of StarCraft 2's ranking system . Tobold asks why there is so much virtual murder . A short article on hype from Spinks. Also, the Guild Wars 2 Manifesto video was pretty interesting this week.  Take a look at the manifesto and in-game footage via Joystiq.

A quick link version of Sunday Reading: Professor Beej on the way reading makes better writing . A crazy (but interesting) Sony patent. Is the game industry really a happy place ? A deeper analysis of the FFXIII story. In honor of the StarCraft 2 release here's a cool lego stop-animation video.  

Killed in a Smiling Accident has a post about how developers need to listen to complaints early - especially during beta - before they turn into a bigger issue. There was an interesting article on Joystiq about how a game developer brought in a screenwriter which helped them adjust a ton of aspects of their game.  It's an interesting read for anyone who likes to investigate how movies and games intersect. Gnarcade

"Why wasn't level X or opportunity Y presented to me earlier? If this thing is so much fun that it's going to cause me to bleed candy from my tear ducts, why haven't I done it yet?" -Seraphina Brennan That was my favorite quote in the last couple weeks.  Read the article , it's great. Systemic Babble wrote about steam as it relates to piracy prevention .  He makes some sound points about making the benefits outweigh the hassle of DRM. No more healers in Guild Wars 2.  Everyone is going to be accountable for their own healing, and I think it's a good thing.  Also, check out the massively article on the same subject . If you have any interest in SWTOR then you should read this hands-on preview from a bunch of different perspectives.  It covers many different classes and situations as well as talking about including better AI in MMOs. For your Sunday viewing pleasure, I present Super Mario Bros graffiti speed run. As always, enjoy your Sunday.

It's time, once again, for some Sunday reading.  I haven't written a Sunday reading post for a few weeks, but I saved up some links that are particularly insightful. Church of Pangoria has some interesting thoughts on the questing conventions that we all take for granted.  He has some great ideas about minor tweaks to questing in MMOs that could improve the experience substantially. I have two articles from Kill Ten Rats for you.  The first is about balancing the new quest system in Guild Wars 2.  It's a solid analysis of the problems that might happen because of public/organic quests that GW2 aims to have. The second is about how niche the MMO market truly is.  He has some great advice that developers should keep in mind while creating MMOs. This last link is my favorite.  It discusses how to win with a marginal advantage in competitive gaming.  It applies to everything from Mancala to Chess to StarCraft.  Thanks to Systemic Babble for...

Tobold discusses the new quest system for Guild Wars 2.  The quest system has me more excited than anything else I've heard about the game. Tobold started an interesting series this week about his perfect MMO.  The post on raiding is particularly interesting. Beej has an frustrated post about the effect of gearscore on grouping in WoW.  The post has an ongoing discussion in the comment section, feel free to join the fray. Sunday Viewing this week is a MMO in its purest form:

This was an overwhelming week.  I got married and started my crazy summer work schedule.  I'm providing you with Sunday links anyway. I'm trying to stay in the Wordcount Blogathon 2010 by posting every day in May.  Half way done.  I hope I hang in there.  I'm extremely tired and worn out right now. Tobold has an epic EVE Online review made up entirely of comments people have posted on his blog.  A lot of EVE players got extremely worked up about Tobold's impressions, so he used what they had to say to prove his point.  It is remarkably well executed. Syp posted on earning your wings instead of being handed everything on a silver platter.  It is one of those stale MMO conventions that needs to be spiced up. Enjoy your Sunday and this Star Trek clip from jandrewedits.

There is an amazing TED talk by Jane McGonigal about the power of games.  In it she talks about how much time people are currently investing in online gaming, what this means for our culture, and where it can lead us.  Here are a few statistics she presents: 3 Billion hours each week playing online games 5.93 Million years playing World of Warcraft so far. Average gamer spends 10,000 hours playing online by age 21. Compare this to 10,080 hours a child in the U.S. will spend in school from 5th grade to high school graduation with perfect attendance. Watch the full TED talk below.

Tobold had one of the most interesting posts I've seen in months.  He asked his readers if they were a "loud and proud" gamer.  The question centers around how often people talk about their gaming hobby with those around them on a daily basis, be it friends or colleagues. Also, some Sunday viewing.  Enjoy this pixel Armageddon. PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN. Uploaded by onemoreprod . - Independent web videos.