Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Blizzard Page 3 of 17

The MMO Times: Were You April Fooled?

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On April 4, 2016

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

overwatch_tracerIssue #142: April Greetings, Gamers! Another April Fools Day has come and gone and the Internet tried their hardest to April Fool us all. I humbly admit that I rarely succumb to an April Fools prank. In fact its probably been high school since I last fell for a prank; in fact you better have hard evidence if you want to tell me anything serious on 4/1 because I believe nothing! Every year I love to see what Blizzard comes up with, in fact one of the posts in this issue covers some of the best and worst Internet April Fools jokes.

If you’re into the whole NCAA basketball tournament stuff, I’m sure you’re bracket is busted by now and you’re back to video games instead of that athletic stuff (sweating is gross). So check out the latest news about some of your current and favorite games. Neverwinter has a warning for players, Superman plays WoW, Hearthstone talks about Old Gods, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch finally meet. There are a few fun and interesting articles to check out in this issue. KCGO.

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The MMO Times: The Madness of March

The MMO Times: The Madness of March

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On March 22, 2016

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Video-Game-bracketIssue 142: So March Madness is here which means “gaming” takes on a different form, for most. Personally, I don’t partake, I’m not a basketball fan, but madness is clearly the appropriate adjective. People are completing brackets who know nothing, at all, about sports. I just sit idly by waiting for baseball season to start (the official indicator that spring is here) and play games where I have some modicum of control. I know this post has some headlines that are a week old but this post was kind of set aside for other life-related tasks. Because Real Life Happens (RLH).

More Blizzard headlines in this issue. Their resume of popular titles means its quite easy for them to show up frequently. There are, however, other things to read about. How about Virtual Reality gaming? Perhaps more Tomb Raider content? Whether its Hearthstone, StarCraft, or XBox, hopefully there is something here that will be interesting news for you to peruse. KCGO

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Springing Forward

The MMO Times: Springing Forward!!!

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On March 10, 2016

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

spring-time-wowIssue 141: Greetings again, gamers!!! As we prepare to spring forward (March 13th DST starts) we start to see launch dates and beta announcements. Btw, is the US the only country that does the whole “spring forward/fall back” nonsense for Daylight Savings Time?? In any event, as the Daystar remains in the sky longer for us, we may only retire to our hovels later in the day (it is good to get outside sometimes) and when we do, we have a plethora of games we can play.

Obviously the big news is the launch day announcement for Overwatch so there are more details on that in this issue. While we are on the topic of Blizzard games, there is also interesting foreshadowing for Hearthstone. Valve is taking steps into the future and they are using Portal as the catalyst. Microsoft kills off another of its titles but a new multiplayer trailer for the New Doom is tearing some heads. KCGO

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Is Virtual Reality the Next Evolution in Gaming

Is Virtual Reality the Next Evolution in Gaming?

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On March 9, 2016

In Gaming, Technology

At the Consumer Electronics Show this year there was a rather predominate theme among some of the tech companies: Virtual Reality (VR). Microsoft’s Hololens, HTC’s Vive, the Oculus Rift are currently the big three in Virtual Reality. Gaming companies like Valve, are starting to experiment using VR in some of their titles (i.e. The Lab).

HTC Vive

HTC Vive

Activision, Id, etc have their R&D departments burning the midnight oil to find the next big breakthrough in gaming. So that begs the question: is Virtual Reality the next evolution in gaming?

I’ve had the unique opportunity to try out VR goggles, specifically the Oculus Rift and it’s not for these that are easily motion sick. It was really, really cool but it can make you sick rather quickly. Using that experience and my imagination, albeit limited, and injecting that into a game like Portal and an amazing world appears in my mind’s eye. I can only imagine what VR would be like in other titles (Doom, Halo, COD, etc). It makes me giddy like a school girl.

If you’ve read Ready Player One, it seems we are getting closer to living in a world where OASIS is reality but we are probably still decades away from strapping ourselves into full body gaming gear like Wade Watts and entering a virtual world to go to school, work and play games. (P.S. If you haven’t read Ready Player One, you need to read that now, especially if you were an 80’s kid).

So all the drooling and daydreaming aside, is VR where we really want gaming to go? We are all already pouring hundreds of dollars a year into subscriptions and expansions and new titles, do we really want to dole out a years worth of subscription payments to buy gear that might make you motion sick? Most of the time when I’m playing my games, I don’t want to be fully immersed. I prefer to be aware of what else is going on around me. I often have something playing on Netflix in the same room when I’m on my PC (assuming I’m not raiding or doing something else that requires my undivided attention). Also, being aware of my surroundings helps me remain aware of how much time has elapsed. My biggest fear of something like VR is losing complete track of time and space. I have a really bad habit of losing track of time just playing console games so the more immersive the game the easier it becomes to be negligent.

It’s the nerd-vs-the-pragmatist in me that leaves me wondering if VR will ever be worth the time and money investment. In fact, will VR even be viable for the average gamer instead of just the affluent gamer. I’m not going to be too quick to judge because if companies want it to be the next great thing then they will figure out how to make it more readily available for even the most frugal of gamers. Well, that and they have to figure out how to keep us all from throwing up after every boss fight.

What are your thoughts?

/cheers

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

BlizzCon 2015 – Liveblog

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On November 6, 2015

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

I have a Virtual Ticket for BlizzCon this year …

Here is the Legion Opening Cinematic that was at the end of Opening Ceremonies.

Should WoW Go Free-To-Play?

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On November 4, 2015

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

In my last MMO Times post there is a link to an article about Blizzard reporting the WoW subscriptions dropping to 5.5 million. The main point of the article isn’t about this drop in subscriptions but Blizzard’s announcement that it will be the last time they will disclose subscription numbers. This seems to have started a whirlwind of conspiracy theories. One theory in particular is that WoW is going Free-2-Play:

https://twitter.com/AdamHolisky/status/661616673393250304

If you recognize Adam Holisky, he’s one of the bloggers for Blizzard Watch (formally WoW Insider) but that doesn’t mean he has some inside knowledge. I think he’s just making an educated guess as to why Blizzard decided to stop reporting subscription numbers. There isn’t, to my knowledge, any evidence that gives this hypothesis any credence but if it were to happen he will have the right to say “First!”.

I’m doubtful that Blizzard will actually make WoW Free-2-Play. I’ll be honest, as much as I think it would be nice not to have to continue paying that subscription fee, I’m more of the opinion that WoW should continue with the subscription model. I’ve played games that started as a subscription and switched to a F2P model and you wouldn’t believe the trolls and troglodytes that swarm the servers. If you think the trolls (that pay to be there) are bad in Trade Chat in WoW, imagine what it will be like when they don’t have to pay money to make your life hell.

If Blizzard did make WoW Free-2-Play I can’t imagine it would be the only model; I can seem them going with a F2P model and a paid subscription model (much like other titles are using). I would almost want strict public channel and auction house rules such as a “Trade Channel” a F2P account cannot enter or an auction house that is separate from those with a subscription, because we already have people that make it a goal to ruin the economic value of the auction house by intentionally undercutting the lowest buy-out.

Blizzard has adamantly said they will not go Free-2-Play, but Bioware said the same thing and less than a year later changed their minds. Granted WoW has had a 10 year run, more than any other MMO game out there and leaking subscriptions is just part of the life cycle of any game. It could be that instead of trying to compare WoW to their other games, they are just going to report the overall health of Blizzard and Blizzard titles as a whole.

It’s an interesting theory and definitely a “watercooler topic” but I’m not going to hold my breath.

/For The Alliance!

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