Are you are one of those MMO players who is desperately trying to get into Champions Online‘s Open Beta phase before the launch on September 1?  Are you still having trouble playing the game, or simply patching the client?  Fear not, Cryptic has us covered.

Cryptic Studios has made good on yesterday’s promise to fix the various issues with its beta client.  For those of you who couldn’t use the launcher to obtain the patch, there is now a Standalone Patch available that should cure what ails you.  Those that downloaded a broken game client from Fileplanet can now snag a new client from the same website.  The new client comes with the fixes, and aforementioned patch, already applied.

I am still on the fence about the 6-month subscription.  How about you?

Please come join us in blasting some bad guys! *BANG*POW*BANG*

There has been many a rumor floating around the interwebs regarding a little game called World of Warcraft. The Rumors revolve around a highly anticipated third expansion. Although nothing points to new classes there are several rumored additions to the game. Here is a brief list of some of the rumors we are looking at;

1-New race and class combinations;
Human Hunter
Orc Mage
Night Elf Mage
Dwarf Mage
Blood Elf Warrior
Dwarf Shaman
Undead Hunter
Tauren Paladin
Tauren Priest
Gnome Priest
Troll Druid

2-New Races;

It has been speculated for some time that the Alliance will get the Worgen, and the Horde will be able to partake in Goblin culture with the Goblins. The Worgen are supposed to be Humans behind the Greymane Wall that have found a partial cure to the Worgen curse, which allows them to retain their human intelligence when they change into Worgen. This would explain the how and why.

According to the news, the player will be able to switch back and forth between the human and Worgen forms, making them essentially a shape shifter. Both forms are reported to be customizable. The horde will get the goblins. Hmmm. One side (the prissy, soft, and “pretty” race) getting shape shifting Worgen, Then the other side receives goblins…well seems very one sided. I for one do not see Blizzard favoring one side so blatantly. Unless there is a bigger surprise for the Horde that has not been leaked yet or this could be complete malarkey.

3-New Content

Old Azeroth is getting a makeover. Thanks to the sorcery we know as Phasing, old Azeroth will have a “cataclysmic” event or events that will change the landscape forever (or till the next expansion). Zones will be flooded, like thousand needles (might be an improvement in this case), Gnomes might free their home of Gnomeran (more alliance love), and some other changes possible.

All in all we will not know for sure till Blizzcon arrives later this week. These rumors will be confirmed, or denied. We just have to wait and see.

This article was first drafted sitting in my backyard in the sun. I have quite a large backyard by New Yawk standards but my out of state friends asked me where the rest of it was.

The evolution of technology is a wonderful thing that affords us many luxuries in life. We can now communicate with family members from a distance, transfer information at the speed of light and even travel (only with our sight and mind at the moment). As I was reading a book (gasp) yesterday, I noted a term that sparked my interest describing our new technological standards as “the digital living room.” This new living space comes with every bell and whistle known to man. A free encyclopedia, movies, videos, music and constant flow of media entertainment that making these new digital living rooms difficult to leave. Inside these new state-of-the-art residences also comes with synthetic worlds where one can also reside in. A world within a world that as we know them as MMORPG‘s, containing countless communities with many races and class choices to shed our day to day skin in. During this past summer I was an angel, a devil, a 25^th century hi-tech sniper, a marine, an old priest and even a moon jumping, pirate shooting space cowboy. Yeee haaawww.

I can tell you that it was all very entertaining and I met a tremendous amount of people. It gets very hard sometimes to leave these “worlds of boundless creation.”

“Enchantment_to wholly enter into a dream another mind is weaving” – Tolkien 1966

This is where many people like me that have suffered from the effects of video game addiction. Please keep in mind that I am not pointing fingers at anyone, calling anyone an addict. I am simply sharing my experience, strength and hope to anyone who might be able with identify with me. Please try to identify , not compare. If you feel that you might show signs of video game addiction, that’s for you to decide, not me.

These digital living rooms have become widespread and statistically speaking every household in America will eventually own a desktop pc, laptop or a television to connect them to other digital living rooms.

In Eastern countries such as Singapore and South Korea residents have opened 24 hour gaming facilities called PC baangs open to anyone to come and eat, drink and socialize. Their primary functions is to provide gaming outlets and for anyone to connect with their own digital living room away from their real living room. Bravo technology!

In South Korea, where video game addiction is most prevalent the Korean government has tried to limit the availability of these PC Baangs’ by enforcing a time limit on them. They have also adopted a testing system called the “K scale” to determine if the gamer is starting to develop symptoms of video game addiction.

I have spoken to a few addiction rehabilitation experts on this and they feel that this may be an effective way to divert some gamers from overuse but might also be a waste of time. “If someone wants to get connected bad enough, they will find a way.” – Dr. Wasser MD

My problem specifically is how much time spent connected to my digital living room is healthy, and at what point is it unhealthy by describing it as I’m happy here and painting it with a touch of the real life brush?

To quote myself, “I like the internet better than TV. It tells me what I want to know, when I want to know it. A constant flow of information at my fingertips, information is power.” I am honest, never said I was perfect.

“Life is a series of moments.” – Fred L

Speaking to my friend in California, who is a marine waiting to be deployed to Iraq is one thing. And I greatly enjoy these conversations, I would of course prefer “hangin out” with in person but the new technology makes this all possible and I appreciate it. However, spending time with some friends on the boardwalk in Long Beach is a totally different experience.

The sights, sounds and the mixture of people is a cornucopia of effects bombarding all of my senses at once. Not just the sight and sound of the new media in video games. That is all video games really are, an interactive media system created to entertain us, it’s really not that serious. Now that all my senses have been filled sight, sound, taste and even touch that I become intoxicated with the moment I am in, where I become truly happy. We are all different with different ways and means to make us happy. My angle is when too much of happytime diverts us from our primary purposes. That is when we (people who suffer from video game addiction) start sliding on the slope of ignorance is bliss that is where I get edgy and look for balance.

All the media in the world is great, but seeing an old friend who doesn’t have a digital living room comes up to me with a smile and a warm hug really makes me happy. That is one of real life’s shining moments that seem to lose some of its luster coming out of the digital living room. I love people and love life; I am exactly how I am as digital frank as I am in real life. A fun loving, easy going, playful and honest person that just wants to have a good time and live a normal life in an abnormal world. If you start coming out with some boolsheet opinion I am going to let you know how I feel and show you the facts, information is power to me. Sometimes I don’t come across very smoothly with it, and then again, I am always looking for balance. Keep in mind; it’s about progress not perfection.

“Honesty without tactfulness is brutality” – common.

My conundrum is NOT “technology is the devil”, I laugh to myself and know that evolution is inevitable. And it’s that NOT “video games are bad”; at this moment they are a powerful media outlet and getting stronger day by day. I believe in balance and equilibrium, searching for a way to reside in the new digital living room and not neglecting the sprawling fields of real life.

For some of the “normal” folks, the ones who just get on play for a bit, write, podcast, stream video, download new games, speak with other about games and then know when to leave. It is easy for them to say “self control silly” and make it sound so easy. Meanwhile for some it’s not so simple; the ones that struggle with video game addiction, some that have crossed the line into unhealthy play. For some of those that have entered the digital living room and don’t know when to leave can be very incapacitating, what are their choices?

Last time I checked being incapacitated is a disability; and addiction is viewed as a disability in the eyes of the American Government. You can receive benefits from Social Security if you are diagnosed as an alcoholic or a drug addict, why not a video game addict? Maybe society chooses to ignore the signs and the struggles, the stories and the scientific discovery. That is another can of worms in its entirety.

It’s easy to go with the grain, log into my digital living room and make believe it is all ok. I really wish I could, but the email I received today shows that I have helped one person. That made me happy. If anyone reads this who might be suffering from the effects of video game addiction, or a parent of a child who might be, please have hope.

And enjoy your day,

Frank

Nexon America announced this week that the MapleStory-based online card game, iTCG Online, has gone live and will continue testing until August 25.  The game is available for free, like the rest of the company’s titles, and requires no download.  iTCG Online is played entirely through a web browser and is the company’s first browser-based game.

In iTCG Online players will be able to chose one of four, Warrior, Magician, Bowman and Thief, select MapleStory classes for their main character.  Pirate and the new Cygnus Knight will not be made available at launch.  Players can customize their decks for free, and bolster their card selection via point-purchased booster packs or a trading lobby.

As a reward for their dedication, beta participants will randomly be given gifts by Nexon during the testing phase.

The company followed up iTCG’s announcement with Penny Arcade Expo plans.  Nexon America will use the purchased booth space to show off Dungeon Fighter Online, Combat Arms and a sneak preview for next year’s Dragon Nest.

Hi, my name is frank and I am a recovering video game addict. Amongst other things… Nerd, Geek, Loser and now Sanctimonious Freak.

I’ve might have said variations of those words maybe a few thousand times over the course of the past 9 years. It and is sometimes hard to group those two words as my name and the word addict in a sentence. But I do feel that if the shoe fits, wear it. I am also very grateful for anonymity for some folks in virtual as well as real life are not understanding of the concept. Not for as much as ignorance, and there are some of the ignorant, but as the unbeknownst and the uneducated. Some people simply just do not know because they weren’t exposed to it. I don’t fault them or label them, neither do I label the people that seem to have a problem or even admitted to it. It’s not my place to judge, classify or label anyone.

“People who count do not judge, and people who judge to do not count” – common.

As I write this edition of Virtual Denial I will focus on fear. Fear is what I have found to be the common denominator amongst all addicts like myself. Fear of being labeled, judged and ostracized. Not by the born-again, bible thumping, finger wagging kind that bully the pulpit and tell you what or how to act from a religious standpoint. Fear from the other side of the fence, the “healthy” ones so to speak, the people who are quick to call us “nerds” or “geeks” or “losers” and even my new favorite: “sanctimonious freak”. I might keep it around awhile.

I’ve obvioiusly caught someones attention, now can we look at the 2 ton elephant sitting in the living room?

Names are a very personal and interesting part of character development. We choose them wisely and often get frustrated when we cannot get the one we want. Our name both in RL and virtual often is what proceeds us. It’s how we identify ourselves and how other people respond to us. Being in the virtual gives us certain freedoms and we can take certain risks on that identification process. Very easily can we mistake someone by the label floating over their heads and sometimes have trouble separating our mental label with the one we see. Some people work hard on their character so they don’t fall into any certain labeling characteristics: gimp, newbie, lowbie or even fag.

I spoke to Dan Bustard recently and one thing he did mention was the fact that Liz Woolley, the woman who lost her son to video game addiction and was running a “halfway house” for video game addicts. She introduced him as “the gamer”, instead of just as Dan. And eventually he left the house but took something with him, the fact as he didn’t like being called a gamer anymore. I don’t blame him.

For example, if a young lady has made a sexy character and just has had a bad day and is less than 100% amicable to us when we try to talk to them we label them bitch. Another example: when someone says something we don’t agree with we might call them asshole or moron or retard. All of which I have been called somewhere, somehow on the internet. If the shoe fits, wear it; oh well…I’ve been called every name in the book and sometimes vie for something original once in awhile. But this is the internet where people can take on random names and personas, with this added anonymity they feel empowered to say things they wouldn’t normally say in real life.

“The internet is an insane asylum run by the patients” – Unknown.

Part of this empowerment is what draws people to these online games as depicted in “Second Skin”, players’ view this as an escape and it affords them certain freedoms they don’t have in real life. At one point Edward Castronova describes a girl who hasn’t been able to leave the house a lot and climb the local social ladder; she turns to online games to feel as if she “fits in” and finds other people like her to become socially active with. Does that afford her the name as “gamer”, well according to the internet no, because she doesn’t play a lot of different games, she plays one. Now if she decides to spend all of her time online, shirking life’s responsibilities is she a loser? A geek? A freak? A nerd? Or do we slap some high brow scientific label on her as: “deep-seated underlying psychological problems which they use computer gaming to ameliorate in some self-medicating fashion” and shuffle off to eat a sandwich?

Not from my backyard.

There are some that will and some that won’t. I guess you actually have to “be there” to understand and to actually care. I was lucky because I was surrounded by people that cared and didn’t judge me or label me, they just helped. That is why I am here; I refuse to let this opportunity pass to speak out on something that I’ve been in contact with. Whether or not it helps one person or a million, I am only responsible for the effort, not the outcome.

At no point did I ever point my finger and say “you, you and you are all addicts”, don’t misread me or pick out what you wanted to pick out. I am just trying to help someone that might be having some type of compulsive behavior while playing video games. The feeling that I got was “not in my backyard” and that’s why I claimed denial. I was under the expectancy (my bad) that the community would acknowledge the presence of video game addiction. I was hoping for “hey, if you do play like they do it’s not what is intended as, it doesn’t have to be that way” … big mistake! And if you feel judged I am sorry, none this is aimed at anyone in particular, I just give examples of certain situations that I felt fit to make a point.

Some MMO players watched the movie with certain expectations, and were upset by the letdown of the movie not meeting their expectations. Just like I was from the community reaction, I am guilty as well but I have solutions. I went into it cold: Movie + MMORPG = Watch. I keep it simple. There were some very positive angles, successful relationships, strong friendships, new life and recovery.

And still to this moment people refuse to acknowledge that there are fellow “gamers” out there that are struggling with the same type of behavior as depicted in a “true-story” movie. Most hide their behavior with the fear that they might say something about it or let on they have a problem only to be labeled and called names by their peers. I know I did.

My point is, if you or anyone you know that has exhibited signs of compulsive internet or video game use there is no one that can really decide if you have a problem except yourself. If you did watch “Second Skin” and felt that you identified with some of the players, there is nothing wrong with you. There are other people out there like you and it is possible to live a normal, responsible life and play games online. Or even if there is something else you have a problem with, you are not alone and don’t have to live in fear of being labeled or judged. We are just different and there are a lot of people out there like ourselves.

Sanctimoniously yours,

Frank

Frogster surprised many when the company disclosed Runes of Magic Chapter II – The Elven Prophecy during the past E3.  Due to the title’s youth many expected the publisher to hold off on additional content while other issues, stability and optimization chief among them, were worked out byRunewaker.  Of course if MMO gamers are known for one thing, it is their insatiable hunger for additional content.  And thus Frogster will deliver the final piece of Chapter II on September 15.

Unlike most content patches, The Elven Prophecy will be added to the F2P MMORPG over time, not all at once.  Frogster did not state when the “multi-stage launch” would begin, or how the content will be divided, just when the final content will be live.

German, French and Spanish players will have the opportunity to purchase a small bonus that faithful day.  A boxed version of the second chapter will be made available at select retail stores for €9,90.  It will include the basics,RoM on a DVD, and exclusive material such as a Manticore pet, a printed manual, a poster-sized world map of Taborea, a “starter kit” worth 10 Euros and a time-limited mount (Thunder Wartiger).

Exactly what is addiction?

Some non-profit self-help fellowships feel that addiction is a disease. Either spiritual, mental or in the form of a physical allergy. It comes down to the simple explanation of lack of control of oneself. One example I’ve read: “Addiction”, when a single behavior starts to transform from business-as-usual to out-of-order. – (clark,scott 2009)

The medical nuts and bolts of addiction can be summed up as: the ability to impact neurochemical changes in brain chemistry. The chief neurotransmitters responsible for this brain “high” are most likely dopamine and norepinephrine. – (Greenfield, 1999)

It’s at that point when a simple action or process starts to become a habit and create certain unmanageability in your life. Unmanageable to me is not taking care of life’s responsibilities in order to continue said action or process and feeling unpleasant repurcussions. In this case we will choose video games as our medium of choice. It doesn’t matter what game, genre or brand name; simply a software game run by either a computer or video game console.

I choose ambivalence because I don’t want to waste my time on defending this game or that, just take the whole ball of wax at face value. Just keep it simple.

Recently the movie  ’Second Skin‘ a documentary about players of mmorpgs from different walks of life. You are shown gamers out of game and how they run their lives while playing their video games. There was a scene where a trusty band of four brothers, who lkive and game together are waiting on a long line in order to buy the latest expansion for the “game of choice”. After they buy their games you see them discussing “how long will it take until I pass out”. That sends off bells and whistles in my head where there might be some type of unmanageability in their lives due to their gaming “hobby”. I fail to see where doing ANYTHING until I pass out is healthy, it takes me back to certain memories of “who can drink the most until we pass out”. It is that type of Fraternity-esque behavior that has made plenty of headlines of death by alcohol poisoning.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that gaming is a hobby and a healthy one as well. Andrew, writer for Of teeth and claws recently posted asking if gaming was either a hobby or entertainment. For me and many other players it starts out simply as entertainment, more interactive than television and more longevity than movies. Slowly developing into a hobby, where you make it part of your gaming hobby to write about it, forge long lasting friendships and possibly make it into a career. “Games can even help us stay emotionally healthy but gamers need to understand how to balance their play.” – (Allison, 2006)

Where does a healthy hobby turn the corner and turn nice people into “raging nerds and meth-heads” as some were depicted in ‘Second Skin’? Let’s take a look at Ivan Petrivich Pavlov and his wonderful dogs. Through his experiments on dogs to test the digestive systems of mammals he discovered how his dogs were “conditioned” by certain stimulus. Very simple, the dogs were conditioned to associate being fed inadvertently by lab coats, then by a bell. When the bell rang, the dogs responded as salivating and became please that they were being fed. It was a reflexive function to the stimulus upon conditioning. Just like we are conditioned by the games we play.

Tobold wrote a stellar series recently on “Why we play”, covering aspects as rewards, gameplay, challenge and character development. These four factors really have no bearing on one another in forms of addiction; they all are derived from the same type of conditioning. How many times in your gaming career did you say ,” Ding!” or “____ boss is down!” or “We won!”, only to be rewarded by congratulations from fellow gamers or teammates that ensued to a feel good feeling. Accomplishments in gaming is what fires off all those pesky neurotransmitters and chemicals in your brain to keep you focused on “getting the next one” and “keeping you there”. Liz Liz Woolley who runs On-Line Gamers Anonymous said in Second Skin, “You are part of their corporate strategy.”

Tobold from what I read is a brilliant writer and very intelligent;  I am sure that every time his posts get a good comment, “kudos Tobold!” a certain chemical in his brain goes off and he feels good. He should, because he puts forth the effort to research and actually sit down and write his columns. Just like gamers do put forth the effort to achieve and strive for the next accomplishment. Whatever it may be, the new sword of “holysmackdownness” or the blinky new spaceship (that is my guilty pleasure right now) we all have one driving force to play these games, it makes us happy.

“The Price of Microtransactions” column attempts to discover the cost, if any, of free-to-play (F2P) titles.  Most F2P titles are just that, free-to-play, but they offer objects for players to purchase.  Often these items are purely cosmetic, such as extra costumes, character customization options or non-stat armor modifications.  However, there are items that are more than cosmetic or “convenient” to own in today’s MMORPGs.  Especially for those who want to be in the title’s upper echelon.  The cost of those useful items are why we are here.

In a pre-launch Runewaker interview the founders of the company stated something along the lines of ‘you’ll never be able to purchase an uber sword’ in Runes of Magic (the interview was taken down when GetBuffed.com went into “database mode”).  And that is entirely true.  Runes of Magic’s Item Shop, called a Diamond Shop after the real-money transaction (RMT) currency, contains no weapons of mass destruction.  True to the founders’ point, the Diamond Shop offers few must need items for the average user, except the pricey permanent mounts. Continued…

It’s lunchtime.

After listening to Leala rant on Spouse Aggro about it and reading Hudson’s post on the stereotypes of the movie ‘Second Skin’,  I realized they were in a state of virtual denial.

By no means am I calling anyone an addict or that the movie was perfect, but it hit home on a few fronts.

Second Skin did leave much to be desired and there was some parts that should of been elaborated on to greater extent. But overall I got the gist of what they are trying to say. Please watch it for yourself on HULU.

This has been stuff I have been reading about for years.  Now that it’s finally hitting home, I feel that the community is choosing to disrepute it, file it and ignore it. Chalk it up as “stereotypes” and “this movie should of beens”. It just showed you the ugly picture of video gaming addiction and you did not like it.  Sorry, not everything in the real world is as pretty as the virtual.

I am not going to let that happen, not for me or the movie, but for that maybe one person that is struggling with video game addiction. Which is my one and only motive. I realized that it is a real growing problem and I will prove it; the academic society realizes it so why not the actual ‘MMO community’ as well?

One reason is that it’s easier to stay in fantasyland where everything is fun and happy… PLEASE DON’T BE A BUZZKILL. No, I’m not going to tell you that gaming is bad, that it’s the devil and to throw your Xbox away. I am just going to tell you the truth about gaming addiction through my series titled “Virtual Denial“(tm) and offer a message of hope to anyone that may be struggling with video gaming addiction.

So for all the healthy gamers, the perfect gamer, the ones that think they don’t have a problem this might not attest to you. But if you know of anyone that might fit the bill of the classic “Second Skin” stereotype, the loser, the geek, the classic gaming nerd that plays for 12 hours straight. Before you label them and shuffle them off, please point them to this direction.

I like the fact that people are pooh-poohing it and coming up with excuses and rationalizing (rational lies) unhealthy play patterns. Rings true back to the days when alcoholics were put in insane asylums and fed belladonna to withdraw. Also the Rockefeller laws that wouldn’t let two addicts share the same space lest arrested; it made holding fellowship meetings impossible. It’s a good sign in my opinion.

Video game addiction is real and it’s time to stop sticking our virtual heads in our virtual holes. I think it was high time that we got honest about it.

Corny old joke: Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

Yours truly,

Frank

Dungeons and Dragons Online, Eberron Unlimited is in its closed beta phases. However the NDA has been lifted and I write this review fully aware that certain aspects of the game are subject to change before launch.

I have to admit; when this was a subscription based game I totally ignored it. But since they decided to turn this title to the free-to-play/RMT market it’s been getting some attention. I wrote a two part article on how some community players felt about the change, and even got some feedback from Jerry Snook of DDOcast, a podcast dedicated to Dungeons and Dragons Online.

I was surprised and excited to receive the invite for the closed beta test in my inbox, so I quickly downloaded the game. Lucky for me I already had a Turbine account through LOTRO; I was good to go in a matter of a few hours. And even more surprisingly enough, I actually liked the game and spent about 20+ hours on it.

Using my new GPA system, this is how I felt about it…

Continued…