I avoid questing in MMOGs. It's not that I don't think it's worth doing the chores required to receive the rewards offered, but rather the fact that when I've accomplished a task, the task has not been achieved; the boss I defeated will have to be killed again, the urgent message I've delivered will have to be redelivered, and whoever follows in my footsteps will receive the same heartfelt thanks that I received; the same heartfelt thanks that hundreds – maybe thousands – have received before me.
That is the problems with today's MMOGs: They're turning more and more into single-player games with multiplayer options. Single-player games with lousy plots, repetitive gameplay and monthly fees.

The first time that Onyxia was slain in World of Warcraft, it was something that had never been done before, and it was celebrated. However, as it happens, Onyxia is still alive and well, even after having been killed over and over again since late 2005, and it becomes clear that in spite of our heroes' great deed, Azeroth has not changed.

Of course, in every rant about how shallow games have gotten, World of Warcraft simply must be mentioned, but it is by means an isolated phenomenon. Why, a good few years before WoW came out, I was dreaming of Star Wars Galaxies; dreaming of setting out across the sands of Tatooine in search of Jabba's Palace, the Sarlacc, Luke's homestead…
I got to set out, alright, but it wasn't much of a search; such points of interest are marked on your map, and when you activate them an arrow shows up on the UI to show the way, along with your distance to the object (so that you know whether or not you have enough time to make yourself a cup of coffee while your character auto-runs in the right direction), and just to be a bit extra clear on the subject these locations are marked by powerful beams of light that make the Bat-signal look like a cheap projector. Then, once you get there, you'll often get a little automated reward, just to stress the fact that you're supposed to visit these places.

I was hoping that Tabula Rasa would live up to its name and wipe the slate clean; to create a world that was alive and worth cherishing. How sad I was to see that in a game that bore the name of my liege, planets were not to be lived in; they were to be progressed through.

I hope now that Mortal Online will deliver on its promises; that I will be able to "live the free world"; that "history doesn't repeat itself". A key to acheiving this, I believe is that the developers really "create a world for you with a minimum of rules but with endless possibilities, meaning you decide the path and goals of your progress"; what I really want is not "content" in a common sense, but rather a world to live out my own adventures in, and tools to help me bring them to life. To this day, I find that the game in which this is best accomplished is Ultima Online, a strength of which is perhaps its age; it is from a time when technological wonderments such as World of Warcraft (for it excels in all technical matters; I shall give it that) were not possible, and it was really up to the players – not the developers – to make something exciting out of this online sandbox. Indeed, as it ages this game is losing the mainstream audience bit by bit, making the game more or less a haven for role-players.

In other news (well, really just in news), it seems Cryptic Studios will be taking over development of Star Trek Online, as has been suspected for a long time. Now, having read my rant about the futility of accomplishing anything in today's MMOGs, one might think that I would be worried that one of my favourite sci-fi franchises has fallen into the hands of the people behind City of Heroes; a game where having hundreds of superheroes fighting crime 24/7 isn't enough to ensure – or even affect – security. However, one should remember that Cryptic Studios is already working on one game targeted at fans of games like City of Heroes, and I hope that they will attempt to capture a completely different type of audience with Star Trek Online.
One thing about the STO pre-launch community is how common it is for people to state that they are hoping to meet their favourite characters from the series in-game; what are they hoping to get out of such an encounter? I have met Elrond, and I have met Darth Vader, and I've gotta tell ya… …it wasn't all that exciting to see these great characters utter a few lines of pre-defined dialogue. Now, if they are played by GMs who are excellent role-players, that's one thing, but I really, really do not want to see Captain Picard reduced to a broken record in uniform.

Another interesting discussion that is common on MMOG pre-launch forums is "Will there be marriage in-game?", shortly followed by the question "Will there be same-sex marriage in-game?" Now I ask: Why do MMOGamers of today want to reduce something as powerful as marriage to a game mechanic? Why do they want to leave their weddings up to the imaginations of game designers, rather than their own? No, if you ask me, weddings are perfect examples of events that players should be given the tools to organize themselves. That way, every ceremony will be unique, my experience will be one's own, and the developers can't take any credit or blame for allowing any sort of marriage (well, actually, I guess Cryptic will have to take a stance on the subject of Betazoid wedding gowns… …but hopefully this won't result in too big a controversy).

'IwwIj ▲ 'Iwmaj ▲ tlhIngan jIH ▲
Reading from our Religion textbook in Junior High, I accidentally confessed to Islam.
I wonder how common it is for Klingon school-children to accidentally become mated for life.