Hey guys, I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday! I’ll be spending time with family and friends, so I probably won’t make any new blog posts over the next few days. Try not to miss me too much, and don’t worry! There will be many more blog posts to come. Thanks for all the support! Still want more Nero? Click on the link below and check me out on The Diecast’s YouTube channel. Peace and love! ❤
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkiU5vQ2-7d1JwRiDinJO8g
~A~
If you play MMOs at all, this isn’t really news to you, but it’s something that’s been on my mind lately since returning to World of Warcraft. There’s been a trend over the last few years of game developers “dumbing down” MMORPG-type games. I actually first took notice of it back when I was a regular player of City of Heroes. I had quit the game for a little while – only a few months or so. When I returned, I tried to find a group for “The Sewers,” which was the standard thing that people did to level up new characters. It was both frustrating and fun, but before I left you could almost always find a group to run with. Not so this time. I did the typical “LFG Sewer” post in the general chat, and was met with deafening silence. Thinking it was maybe a slow day, I tried again later. Same deal. It became clear to me that something had happened. Something changed. I soon discovered what it was. Something known as the “Architect System” had been added to the game, and what a bloody nightmare. City of Heroes would never again be the same. It was the beginning of the end. You see, what the Architect System did was add a way within the game itself for players to create instances (dungeons, if you will). It allowed players to choose what kind of monsters would spawn there, how many bosses, types of loot, amount of experience…Everything. I logged into the game, found the area where you go to engage in this architect business, and found myself thoroughly horrified. Everyone – and I do mean EVERYONE – was inside this one building in the game just creating and entering other people’s instances. There was nobody out on the street actually playing the game. No one out fighting crime, working on the storyline, being social…Hell, even the costume contests people would have in Atlas Park had dwindled away to nothing. The entire fan base of the game were huddled together in mindless instance grinding. I hung up my cape that very day. I knew it was the beginning of the end, and even if it wasn’t, such useless grinding drudgery was not for me. It was a sad day.
Even though I was disappointed that my favorite game had been butchered, I figured it was a fluke. Just a bad decision on their part. Surely no other respectable MMO would allow something like this to happen…Right? Well, this brings me to today. My current game of choice is still World of Warcraft, but I see the same dumbing-down syndrome slowly creeping over the land of Azeroth, just as it destroyed my beloved Atlas Park. Some would say that it truly began with the release of Cataclysm. It’s true – Cataclysm, while still a lot of fun, did dumb down the game in a lot of big ways. For me, however, I first noticed it in the tiniest of changes. Things like no longer having to carry flint and tinder to make a campfire, a reduction in the complexity of crafting recipes, no more ammunition, and no more having to level up each individual weapon type. No single one of those things by itself is a deal breaker, but all together I think those changes really took something special away from the game. It took away complexity. It removed depth.
It’s become clear to me that not everyone agrees that these changes are bad. A lot of people who call themselves “casual” players were very happy to find that they could now just log in and play WoW for ten or fifteen minutes and be done for the day, as if it were pong or something…And sure, there should be casual MMOs out there for people like that (it’s called Guild Wars, folks), but I think it was a big mistake for a game so wildly popular and filled with long-time, RP-type fans. Us role playing types want complexity. We want to be able to get lost in the game, and to feel like we have completely left the real world behind. Every time an RP element is lost – like say hunters no longer being able to carry swords with their bows – a part of what made WoW so great for so many people dies. I understand that casual players want to be able to get in on the MMO fun, but they have other games for people like them. Shouldn’t there be a game for players like me? Players who enjoy the journey of leveling and exploring the world, collecting useless trinkets, pets, and costume pieces rather than just dungeon grinding away to max level for “end game” content? No really. Is it such a horrible thing for there to be a game – even just ONE game – that caters to the hardcore RPers of the world, and ignores casual gamers altogether? One that just allows the game to be deep, and complex, and DIFFICULT to master? I know that the fan base would be smaller. I understand that. But the fan base would also be loyal. There would still be a lot of money to be made.
If a game ever comes along that can create the same experience that I felt up until about midway through Wrath of the Lich King, I will abandon World of Warcraft forever. I think a lot of people will. Blizzard is making a huge mistake. I wish they’d take a history lesson from City of Heroes. This will end badly. There would be no shame in going backwards and admitting to a lapse in judgement.
That being said, the upcoming expansion does look promising. It actually almost looks like a step back is exactly what Blizzard is planning to do. There may be hope yet. I suppose we will see.
~A~
Hi guys! Thanks for checking out my blog today! I have another rant a-brewing, but I thought I’d give you a break and keep it light for today. So I’ll just say I love you all, and I have posted a new video to The Diecast’s YouTube Channel. Show me some love and check that out. Click on the link below, and don’t forget to like, comment and above all please subscribe! Hope you enjoy. *^_^*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRXUpUt6Ixs
~A~
I want to take a moment to talk about copyright infringement as it pertains to YouTube. Apparently lately there has been some kind of major crackdown on the content of YouTube videos, in which the monetization of certain videos has been pulled due to what is only described by YouTube as “matched third party content.” YouTube videos that contain video game footage have been hit especially hard this month, and that’s a big deal for a lot of people. Gaming videos and game reviews are wildly popular on YouTube right now – both to produce and to watch. There are many YouTubers who make a portion of or their entire income from these kinds of videos. Was this a test on behalf of YouTube to measure user outrage? I do wonder. It is entirely possible that a much bigger crackdown is looming, something that could be disaterous for producers of gaming videos as well as the fans that love them.
Several of our own videos over at The Diecast were affected by this action. It seems that the big ticket items that cause monetization to get revoked are things like cut scenes, music, and the displaying of high profile logos like EA Games. This is easy enough to solve by simply turning down music volumes and skipping cinematics during playthroughs, but we have encountered this issue even on some indie games. What I would like to know is, who is this third party? Seems awfully vague and mysterious to me.
I suppose I wouldn’t be quite so bothered by it if I got a message telling me that EA or Blizzard or whatever game developing company has said they do not want me to use their content. I would still disagree with such a decision (I’ll explain why in a moment), but I would be able to accept it because the video game is their property. But this is John Doe making a claim against my monetization. This isn’t the game devs or even YouTube. Who is it? The fact that some party unrelated to the creation of the games is able to cause this to happen is just, well…Sketchy.
But, sketchiness aside – I have other issues with this whole thing. To begin with, if we are to follow the logic that nothing containing another person or company’s creative content can be used by anyone else, where is the line for that drawn? In theory, we could then sue people who use photos with certain landmarks or buildings in the background. An engineer could potentially make a claim against someone who had a jet fly by in the background of one of their videos. The world is filled with stuff. We don’t live in the wilderness anymore where everything is generic and belongs to no one. Things are inevitably going to start bleeding together. I don’t personally think that’s a problem. It’s not as if YouTube gamers are trying to claim any of the video game content as their own, and most of us will make pennies – if anything at all – off our videos. The Tobys and Pewdies are few and far between. In short, we aren’t really hurting anyone.
The YouTube gamer phenomenon could be a mutually beneficial relationship for all the parties involved. What a shame if this potential gaming trifecta were not to be taken advantage of by YouTube and game devs, as well as YouTube gamers. Everyone could make money, everyone could have a good time. As a fan of YouTube gaming videos, I can say with authority that watching these kinds of videos has only ever increased my level of interest in the video games being shown. I truly believe that there is no such thing as bad publicity for games, because quite honestly, even when it comes to the bad games…the REALLY bad ones…I have been inspired on occasion to buy them after watching my favorite YouTubers play them. Even if only for the shared experience, the laughs, the gamer achievement. I’ve also been reminded of old games I loved or never got to try, and been inspired to buy those as well. YouTube gamers are a good thing for game devs of all sorts, and Youtube gamer videos are good for YouTube. If a few nobodies like me happen to make a couple bucks, what’s the big deal? If anyone’s watching my videos, the ultimate cash winners are the game devs and YouTube. NOT me.
Is it just me? I feel like YouTube should defend the people who give their site a reason to exist. We didn’t create the site, but we made YouTube. We ARE YouTube. Seems like shooting yourself in the foot to come after us. Stay on our side, YouTube, and surely YouTubers and their fans will rally behind you in turn.
~A~
Wow! I was very surprised and humbled at the positive response I received for my first blog post. Thanks so much guys for your support! I really appreciate it, and I hope you’ll keep coming back and checking in on my blog. I have lots more topics planned and I can’t wait to share them with you. Please don’t forget to check out the YouTube channel that I am a part of, as this blog goes along directly with my activities there. Just follow the link at the end of this post, and look for me – Nerodia! And check out the videos featuring the rest of the members of The Diecast, as they’re pretty awesome too. Much love, guys! Thanks again! ❤
I suppose I should start this blog with an entry about what I’ve been doing and why. What I’ve been doing is creating gaming videos. If you haven’t seen a gaming video before, check one out. Whether it’s mine or someone with a bit more YouTube presence than I have, they’re very enjoyable. They are much more than how-to guides and gameplay footage. They can be relaxing, informative, entertaining and funny – often all in a single ten to twenty minute video. I’m absolutely in love with the genre.
As to the why behind my YouTube activities, I won’t lie. While I would love to be able to say that I came up with the idea independently of having seen other YouTubers do it, I can’t. In all honesty, the idea never would have occurred to me had it not been for the numerous hours my husband (Ammortis, also of The Diecast) and I have spent watching the YouTube gamer greats – PewDiePie, Toby Turner, Game Grumps and Steam Train, the Yogscast and Totalbiscuit. I felt inspired by these people who managed to find an outlet for what some might call a childish endeavor. Who doesn’t love video games? And these awesome gamers found a way to make gaming an integral part of their lives. I admire that a lot. I aspire not to duplicate a business model – lord knows I don’t even expect to earn a living wage at this, let alone achieve any level of fame from it – but rather to have a taste of that lifestyle. One of doing whatever makes me happy, even if that thing is playing video games.
Of course, sharing my gameplay with the world in a semi-creative way also has the effect of making me feel like I’m being productive while I play World of Warcraft…
~A~
Nerocast 