We've all seen them, we've all been whispered by them, beggars asking for silver or gold. I've seen many solutions to the beggar problem, anything from telling them where to go, telling them you aren't a bank or opening a trade and then leaving to make a sandwich...but this solution, is the best I've ever heard.
Big Red Kitty has got the right idea, on dealing with beggars. This is a brilliant idea. While carrying out this request, the young adventurer would stumble across quest hubs, several new zones, and collect a fair amount of random drops and pocket change.
This has got me thinking, are there similar type things one could collect in the other sub level 20 zones? No more will I send beggars away without a spark of hope. If they can work for it, the gold can be theirs. Not to mention the fact that a small pile of gold like that would easily cover the cost of a shiny new mount at level 30.
Brilliantly done BRK!
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Community. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
New Healer Community
PlusHeal.com is a new healer forum community started by bloggers who frequently discuss healing on their blogs. The idea is to get all the good info in one place, and also have a spot to discuss healing issues together.
I'm not a healer primarily, but my druid knows a thing or two, and can cast some mean HoTs when called upon. I think this new forum will be highly useful, and hope to see it do well. I've pointed all of my guild's healers over there and plan to look there first when anything healing related comes up.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Patch 2.4.3 and Hunter Love!
Grab your level 30 alts and head for the riding trainer! Patch 2.4.3 is live and apprentice riding is now available to level 30 characters. This goes for the Paladin and Warlock trained mount spells as well.
Wowhead has a handy, fully linked, version of the Patch Notes.
Wowhead has also announced the launch of some really cool new features for hunters, including a pet training calculator and a great chart for pet comparison. I personally love the 360 view of each pet model. All of these can be found here.
Wowhead has a handy, fully linked, version of the Patch Notes.
Wowhead has also announced the launch of some really cool new features for hunters, including a pet training calculator and a great chart for pet comparison. I personally love the 360 view of each pet model. All of these can be found here.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
A Better Community
Bell's post today over at 4 Haelz got me thinking about who I'm playing with. Over the past three years in Annarchy, I've met and become friends with some really great people, both men and women in a pretty wide age range. It's pretty cool when I think about it, these aren't necessarily people that I would have even come into contact with in a real life setting, simply because of that age/gender gap (never mind the actual physical space, since we're scattered all over the world).
It still doesn't just happen naturally though. Given the anonymous nature of the internet and WoW itself, it's still widely accepted that if you reveal to anyone that you are a woman, you can expect to be targeted with immature, and often rude behavior. This can range from the only mildly irritating, "girlz don't play video games!" (yes genius, we've heard it before, you didn't think it up) to the outright offensive "show me your..." The best way to fight this, I think, is if we (I mean everyone, men and women alike) simply stop allowing it. Just don't put up with it.
I chose not to, I created Annarchy with the purpose of being a safe place to play, where that sort of behavior just isn't acceptable. Our rules state that derogatory comments aimed at age/gender/race and religion are just not going to be tolerated. Everyone who joins knows it, and they are expected to conduct themselves in a mature fashion.
As far as age is concerned, it's an issue I deal with as a guild leader, but mostly in terms of trying to make sure that our younger members aren't exposed to language or discussions that they shouldn't be. We're a family friendly guild, and we're serious about keeping it that way. I think a lot of the reason that age (in the way Bell discusses it) isn't an issue with us, is because of the maturity expectation. It truly doesn't matter to me what the age difference is between me and another member, we can connect and play together without it being weird, because we all expect to be treated respectfully, and try to be respectful in return.
I've heard the "It's only a game, I don't let it bother me" argument, rest assured. But I don't buy it. It may not bother you to have someone be rude to you, or someone else, but if you don't speak up...aren't you condoning it? How about the person who wants to play and be accepted as a person, not treated like she's just a great target for jokes and immature comments? Wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to "let it go" and just not be exposed to the behavior at all? It sure makes my gaming experience better.
It still doesn't just happen naturally though. Given the anonymous nature of the internet and WoW itself, it's still widely accepted that if you reveal to anyone that you are a woman, you can expect to be targeted with immature, and often rude behavior. This can range from the only mildly irritating, "girlz don't play video games!" (yes genius, we've heard it before, you didn't think it up) to the outright offensive "show me your..." The best way to fight this, I think, is if we (I mean everyone, men and women alike) simply stop allowing it. Just don't put up with it.
I chose not to, I created Annarchy with the purpose of being a safe place to play, where that sort of behavior just isn't acceptable. Our rules state that derogatory comments aimed at age/gender/race and religion are just not going to be tolerated. Everyone who joins knows it, and they are expected to conduct themselves in a mature fashion.
As far as age is concerned, it's an issue I deal with as a guild leader, but mostly in terms of trying to make sure that our younger members aren't exposed to language or discussions that they shouldn't be. We're a family friendly guild, and we're serious about keeping it that way. I think a lot of the reason that age (in the way Bell discusses it) isn't an issue with us, is because of the maturity expectation. It truly doesn't matter to me what the age difference is between me and another member, we can connect and play together without it being weird, because we all expect to be treated respectfully, and try to be respectful in return.
I've heard the "It's only a game, I don't let it bother me" argument, rest assured. But I don't buy it. It may not bother you to have someone be rude to you, or someone else, but if you don't speak up...aren't you condoning it? How about the person who wants to play and be accepted as a person, not treated like she's just a great target for jokes and immature comments? Wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to "let it go" and just not be exposed to the behavior at all? It sure makes my gaming experience better.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The How and Why of Annarchy
What follows is a post I wrote nearly a year ago on why I started my guild and the special connection it has to the greater community on my server. I'm reposting it here to give a little background to my readers who may not know the story yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has been a little over two years since I started the guild "Annarchy" on the Dark Iron server in World of Warcraft. Back then, I had no idea it would last this long, or grow as much as it has. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this much fun, or work. My reasons for starting the guild are probably similar to most people's, I wanted a place that was a little different than what was currently being offered, and rather than wait, I decided to create it myself. I could only hope that others would want the same thing, and would join me.
The difference in the starting of Annarchy, vs most new guilds is in the events leading up to it's creation, and in the connection to the larger community on the server that it still maintains.
It all began with a news post from Gabe of Penny Arcade announcing that he was going to start a guild on the Dark Iron server in World of Warcraft. Now, I had already been playing the game since beta, about a year. I'd tried different servers, and was in a guild at the time. The class I was playing wasn't very popular in groups (Old school hunter) so I wasn't having a lot of luck getting into the post 60 scene. I figured this was a chance for a fresh start, I'd roll on the new server, pick a class that was actually needed in end-game, and level up with the rest of the guild and community (since the server itself was also new) and have a chance to see content I hadn't been able to get into before. I also was a fan of the comic, so getting a chance to play with the guys themselves was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up.
Fast forward through the 300 person queue that was my first login to Dark Iron...
I got an invite into Knights of Arcadia, with Feathermyst, my druid. Guild chat was a zoo. The invites were still coming in, the hastily appointed officers were trying to maintain some sort of order, and the requests for membership were showing no signs of letting up.
I quickly realized I was probably going to get lost in a sea of new names. I was pretty shy, and there were literally hundreds of people, some already knew each other from forums and other servers, so how was a level 1 druid going to make friends and get to know people? I also knew I had a lot of time on my hands. We had just moved to a new state, and I was at home with a small child all day. They were looking for more officers, maybe that would be something I could do.
Within a few hours of my joining KoA, Fancy Lads was formed. Now, we weren't just one guild, there were two. How was that going to work? The second guild was quickly filling, and we were pushing the limits with over a thousand people...and still the invite requests came. Gabe and Tycho announced that the two guilds would be considered one, it would be an alliance, we would function as one big community.
Ok, this was interesting. There were still many people looking for invites, this whole alliance thing had been introduced, and I was still looking for a way to be useful, and get to know people. Add all that to the fact that the cursing, crude jokes and general behavior that one should expect in a community that is based around fans of a comic like penny arcade...were starting to wear on me. I mean, the comic is funny, and in a small enough dose not to be overpowering...but the dozens of people in guild chat were not nearly as "funny" as they imagined themselves to be. I didn't dare tell anyone that I was a girl...we'd already seen what happened in guild chat when someone revealed that information.
So, an idea was born. If we had enough people for two guilds, with more joining daily, why not three? Why not one for those like me who liked the comic, but didn't necessarily want to be bombarded with crude humor all day long? What if there was a place where it was not acceptable to torment the female players? How about a guild with rules.
In reference to the comic, I picked the name Annarchy, after a female character that I felt was a pretty awesome example of a girl gamer. She was tough, and she wanted to play! I also hoped that it would deter the most obnoxious and perhaps also serve as a "come here, it's safe" sign to other girls.
Still in KoA, I worked up the nerve, and went and talked to Gabe. I told him that I wanted to start a guild named after his comic character, that I wanted it to have rules and be girl friendly, and that I wanted it to be a part of his alliance. I told him we would adhere to his rules, and that I wasn't asking him to do any more work, simply for permission so I could do the work myself. I tried to make my case, so he'd see I appreciated what he was doing and offering, while at the same time showing that I was trying to bring something unique and - I felt - needed to the mix. He said yes.
Perhaps as a symbol of the courage and strength I felt I needed to embark on this project, I rolled as warrior, Featherwisp, and created the guild. I advertised in the public alliance channel, begged Winter to sign the charter (he wasn't sure he wanted to be in a girl guild) and soon had enough signatures - Annarchy was born.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has been a little over two years since I started the guild "Annarchy" on the Dark Iron server in World of Warcraft. Back then, I had no idea it would last this long, or grow as much as it has. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this much fun, or work. My reasons for starting the guild are probably similar to most people's, I wanted a place that was a little different than what was currently being offered, and rather than wait, I decided to create it myself. I could only hope that others would want the same thing, and would join me.
The difference in the starting of Annarchy, vs most new guilds is in the events leading up to it's creation, and in the connection to the larger community on the server that it still maintains.
It all began with a news post from Gabe of Penny Arcade announcing that he was going to start a guild on the Dark Iron server in World of Warcraft. Now, I had already been playing the game since beta, about a year. I'd tried different servers, and was in a guild at the time. The class I was playing wasn't very popular in groups (Old school hunter) so I wasn't having a lot of luck getting into the post 60 scene. I figured this was a chance for a fresh start, I'd roll on the new server, pick a class that was actually needed in end-game, and level up with the rest of the guild and community (since the server itself was also new) and have a chance to see content I hadn't been able to get into before. I also was a fan of the comic, so getting a chance to play with the guys themselves was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up.
Fast forward through the 300 person queue that was my first login to Dark Iron...
I got an invite into Knights of Arcadia, with Feathermyst, my druid. Guild chat was a zoo. The invites were still coming in, the hastily appointed officers were trying to maintain some sort of order, and the requests for membership were showing no signs of letting up.
I quickly realized I was probably going to get lost in a sea of new names. I was pretty shy, and there were literally hundreds of people, some already knew each other from forums and other servers, so how was a level 1 druid going to make friends and get to know people? I also knew I had a lot of time on my hands. We had just moved to a new state, and I was at home with a small child all day. They were looking for more officers, maybe that would be something I could do.
Within a few hours of my joining KoA, Fancy Lads was formed. Now, we weren't just one guild, there were two. How was that going to work? The second guild was quickly filling, and we were pushing the limits with over a thousand people...and still the invite requests came. Gabe and Tycho announced that the two guilds would be considered one, it would be an alliance, we would function as one big community.
Ok, this was interesting. There were still many people looking for invites, this whole alliance thing had been introduced, and I was still looking for a way to be useful, and get to know people. Add all that to the fact that the cursing, crude jokes and general behavior that one should expect in a community that is based around fans of a comic like penny arcade...were starting to wear on me. I mean, the comic is funny, and in a small enough dose not to be overpowering...but the dozens of people in guild chat were not nearly as "funny" as they imagined themselves to be. I didn't dare tell anyone that I was a girl...we'd already seen what happened in guild chat when someone revealed that information.
So, an idea was born. If we had enough people for two guilds, with more joining daily, why not three? Why not one for those like me who liked the comic, but didn't necessarily want to be bombarded with crude humor all day long? What if there was a place where it was not acceptable to torment the female players? How about a guild with rules.
In reference to the comic, I picked the name Annarchy, after a female character that I felt was a pretty awesome example of a girl gamer. She was tough, and she wanted to play! I also hoped that it would deter the most obnoxious and perhaps also serve as a "come here, it's safe" sign to other girls.
Still in KoA, I worked up the nerve, and went and talked to Gabe. I told him that I wanted to start a guild named after his comic character, that I wanted it to have rules and be girl friendly, and that I wanted it to be a part of his alliance. I told him we would adhere to his rules, and that I wasn't asking him to do any more work, simply for permission so I could do the work myself. I tried to make my case, so he'd see I appreciated what he was doing and offering, while at the same time showing that I was trying to bring something unique and - I felt - needed to the mix. He said yes.
Perhaps as a symbol of the courage and strength I felt I needed to embark on this project, I rolled as warrior, Featherwisp, and created the guild. I advertised in the public alliance channel, begged Winter to sign the charter (he wasn't sure he wanted to be in a girl guild) and soon had enough signatures - Annarchy was born.
Single Player to Rule the World?
The debate of Single Player vs. MMO seems sort of silly to me. I play MMOs for the social aspect AND content, and single player games purely for content...maybe that's the answer right there.
The people over at www.aoedipus.net have decided to show us what WoW would be like, as a single player platformer, at least graphically ;) They've taken some creative (and crude) liberties with their lore in a game they've (aptly?) named "WTF?!" There are two player choices, a blood elf priest and a gnome rogue. I personally enjoyed the use of super mario "jump" sounds. Currently the level cap is at 10, it will be interesting to see if they develop it further.
Sources: Massively & Broken Toys
The people over at www.aoedipus.net have decided to show us what WoW would be like, as a single player platformer, at least graphically ;) They've taken some creative (and crude) liberties with their lore in a game they've (aptly?) named "WTF?!" There are two player choices, a blood elf priest and a gnome rogue. I personally enjoyed the use of super mario "jump" sounds. Currently the level cap is at 10, it will be interesting to see if they develop it further.
Sources: Massively & Broken Toys
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
