Myst Online - Real Innovation

I got to hand it to Cyan Worlds. They have truly done something that may very well cause a revolution in how we play MMORPGs. Cyan Worlds, the creators of the famous Myst series, released some time ago Myst: Online. This was to be an MMO version of their popular series. However recently the company has hit it pretty hard financially. The game was first dropped by Ubisoft and then by GameTap.

Once Cyan Worlds got their IP back, the hardcore fans of URU(Myst Online) decided to stick around as Cyan Worlds held only one solitary server up for its fans. They called this project MORE(Myst Online Restoration Experiment). For the longest time, due to even more financial setbacks everything was quiet.

Until this bit of news. Myst Online Goes OPEN SOURCE! Click here for their official announcement.

So what does this mean for YOU as a gamer? Expect a lot of mods and addons by players to an MMORPG. For some this is simply a dream come true. All the freedom of player/fan modification to an MMO is truly mind bloggling when it comes to possibilities. However this could also be the destruction of URU. Depending on how the modders swing it, it could either be a breath taking achievement...or a complete disaster.

I'm really looking forward to see how this project develops. Depending on its success we could see more MMORPGs releasing their sources, truly changing how we play the genre. Don't believe me? Go check out the large variety of "maps" in StarCraft and WarCraft III. While the game is an RTS*real time strategy*, many of the custom player-made maps range from RPGs, Defense Maps, and other unique maps that really don't fit a genre like Aeon of Strife.

I'm really looking forward to this.

Richard Bartle fights World of Warcraft Torture

A few weeks ago Richard Bartle, co-author of the very first MMO known as MUD(Multi-User Dungeon), took up arms against Blizzard for the "The Art of Persuasion" quest in World of Warcraft. The quest involves using an item called a Neural Needler upon some chained up wizards to get some information. He was then immediately swarmed by trolls/flames/insults/etc in comments and emails upon his complaint toward Blizzard for the use of torture.

A week later he responded to a large number of comments, even those of the trollish variety from Kotaku. You can read his original post here and him defending his position here. I have to say a large number of the comments really make me pause about the apathy of gamers.

Author's Note - You may read my FULL post over at NegativeGamer . It's a great site...because I said so.

World of Warcraft Sex...wait...WHAT?!

A very enlightening post by Tenfoldhate has given me the shock of the day. While this HAS to be some type of prank, part of my soul tells me it's not. I wouldn't be surprised to find that is a completely legitimate proposal. Has World of Warcraft invaded our mainstream life so much that there are now fetishes about it?!

My god..

At least there are not television shows and movies with brief cameos of the game just to give nerd smiles..

*Goes to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still...*

Paladin, Stranglethorn Vale. Watch the movie and you'll understand what I mean.

*sigh*

WoW has taken over our lives.

You can read the full "request" here at Craigslist . I would advise that it contains strong language and isn't for kiddies. You have been warned.