IAP's and the decline of video gaming

IAP games are designed in a way that 80% of their revenue comes from the 20% of gamers that are addictive types -- be it gambling or avarice. They may not even be particularly affluent as addiction plays no favorites,  it if they are then all the better -- the rich pay so we all can play. But is that true?

 These games use social shaming as a twisted "keeping up with the Jones's" scheme. Visit your "friends" farm/castle/city/hatchery and see just how destitute they are. You can then send them a gift to help alleviate their Dickensian state. Let's not even start looking at the Pay Per Kill aspect.

ESO Morrowind - Can you say rehash, hold the hash?

The new Morrowind expansion is a shameless cash grab and an uninspired re-packaging of the same old Skooma.

Honestly, I was playing the beta and already thinking I'd never pay more than $15 USD, when I was handed the exact same "my brother/lover is addicted to Skooma" quest I'd received years ago in Auridon when I snapped.

Brain dead ESO players already addicted to the pointless repetitvie "busy work" that is the game may enjoy Morrowind as a fleeting respite from, well, ESO, but this Skooma head will definitely not buy this expansion.

/Julian

Labour Pains

If you have to "work" on your "relationship", you're most likely working at the wrong job, or your union sucks.

-- Thus spake Juliathustra

Windows 10 Dole out, erm, Rollout July 29, 2015

PSA -- Windohs 10 rears its head (for better or worse) July 29th and if you're a DOSile type running Windows 7 or 8, M$ is offering a free upgrade path. My advice is to "Act Now". Although Bill and Co. have been quoted as saying the free upgrade will be offered for an entire year, the realities of Redmond often contradict their rhetoric.
Click on the happy windows icon on your notification bar to "reserve" your place in line for the dole out, erm, rollout.

Racism in Harry Potter

There was a big uproar over Cho Chang, but I haven't haven't heard mention of  the possibility of racist intent in naming a Black man Shaklebolt.  Even his first name, Kingsley.. A King in Chains, ah such rich imagery.

Another black character is Angelina Johnston. Angelina sounds a lot like Aunt Jemima to me. G

Julian's Dragon Egg Recipie Game of Thrones Inspired

I just thought of a wicked recipe.

1.) Hard boil some eggs

2.) Inject them with a fiery hot sauce.

3.) Crust with oats and some funky spiced lamb like a scotch egg and BAM!

Lamb cause dragons love lamb

Elder Scrolls Online - ESO what a TWOT

A Total Waste of Time, in the true sense of the phrase.

The millions spent in producing this colossal fail would have been much better spent combating poverty, or creating viable bio-plastics, or developing a new acne cream.

IMHO, it's derivative and very poorly executed. Taking a single player game and converting it to an MMO simply does not work. Different market-base, different play-style and a very different revenue stream.

I will pay once to play a quality TES game - and enjoy it. I will not pay a monthly tithe for a sloppy conversion of a single player game.

Conclusion: a blatant attempt at a cash grab by rehashing a marketing model which is "so last decade".

Chance of success: 3 out of a ridiculously large number.

Jogu the Drunk at Mokesh's farm

This guy is too much. 

Luckily I think he can breath underwater.

Mokesh - The Iron Chef

Mokesh made Iron Chef today. Rather whimsical as I spent so many years in real life as a practicing Cuisinart :-)

Mokesh Iron Chef

Captain Doren Can't KIll Evade Bug MOP

Seems only a hunter's fire traps can harm Captain Doren once he is evade bugged.
I've done it on Mokesh as well as with a guild member named MortalWounds.

Oceanographer Achievement - Mokesh - I wuv my Winter Squid

About Time I finally got that one. I actually forgot about the Winter Squid. Once I grabbed that baby the Giant Sunfish was a cakewalk. my First cast off of the coast of Swamp of Sorrows netted me the Squid (I'm aware netted is a terrible verb to use in this instance, but punny happens)  and my first cast of the coast of the Isle of Quel'Danas awarded the Giant Sunfish.

SWtoR Sucks and is Fail

Well, after getting 3 characters to level 50, I think I can safely say: this game blows. Forget the fanboi StarWars shite - the game is early 1990 regurgitated MMO schlock.

What a waste of time an money.

Blizz the Jawa companion - poke at Blizzard

Its funny that SWToR has a bounty hunter companion named Blizz, when in fact it's BioWare that's scrounging the MMO desert for scraps.
Long live Blizzard Entertainment. Accent on the entertainment.

Darth Yss Won - Elected to the Dark Council

Love me, hate me; but all shall serve me.

Lord Yss

The only thing I fear, is pear cider: its' effects and its' absence.

SWTOR - what passes for professionalism

Back for cataclysm

Ok like who didn't come back to at least take their tired 80's to 85.
The new content is pretty neat, and still able to runs on an older processor, though havin an i7 certainly helps.

Hunters seem to have received some love. My dos and general performance in BG's is certainly better: Mokesh is often back on t of the leader board or at the very least top hunter. Still Beas master specter, but actually liking it now.

Noisy is now 85. Only 5 other toons to go

Legolamb Ding 80

Well I did it in about 12 hours of back to back Eye of the Storm BG's. It was the weekend battleground and it was the fastest 79 - 80 grind ever.

Legolamb hits 78 and gets a new suit

My warlock Legolamb hit 78 yesterday - donned his self-created Frostsavage PvP armor set and proceeded to kick ass till level 79.

I may try for 80 toady as leveling in the battlegrounds is crazy fast.

Legolamb on his Frosty Flying Cqarpet

Why is the WoW expansion Cataclysm only 5 levels

The official "story" from blizzard.
Why is the level cap increasing by five levels (to 85) instead of 10 as in previous expansions?

We decided to focus on providing more end-game and maximum-level content for players. We learned a lot from Wrath of the Lich King, and want to ensure players have more content to experience right away when they reach the new cap of level 85. We’re also putting a lot of time and effort into reworking the level 1 to level 60 content. We’ve learned a lot designing the previous expansions and felt we could apply those lessons to improve the leveling-up experience. Creating alts has always been a popular pastime for players, and we wanted to ensure Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms remain a vital part of the game world.

Here's my take on it:
They want, in part at least,  to ensure that what happened to Burning Crusade after Wrath was released doesn't happen to WotLK after Cataclysm is released. That being the ability for level 80 players to go in and trash any level 70 end game content without even breaking a sweat. Although it will still be possible to solo some of the Wrath instances at 85, those extra five levels would have made level 80-81 mobs a grey con and the instance a cakewalk.