Random News and Notes for a Thursday

If you post coffee memes, beware: your readership will explode.

Given that there's literally hundreds of coffee memes out there, why on earth I got a sudden explosion in views on PC when I posted a few of my favorites is beyond me. It's not like they're that new, either, but oh well.

I'm not above using one of the ones that missed
the cut for a few extra pageviews. What I find
disturbing is how close the 'After' picture looks like
David Tennant. From Laugh Lore.

***

Under the header of 'video games getting a board game treatment', there's a beloved Bioware franchise that has a boardgame in the works:

This landed in my Inbox on Monday
from Modiphius.

Yes, Modiphius is going to publish Mass Effect: The Board Game, a cooperative and story-driven boardgame designed by Eric M. Lang and Calvin Wong Tze Loon for 1-4 players. It sounds interesting at first blush, and given how Modiphius tends to have high quality plastic pieces in their games, this ought to look pretty too. Here's the signup page for more info and to receive emails about the release of the game itself. Just make sure you fill out the correct info for US vs UK/Europe so you end up with the correct website.

***

You know, the Dracthyr race in Retail World of Warcraft has taken some lumps for it's decidedly un-dragonkin-like look.

From Wowpedia.

I was perusing some RPG sites the other day, and I came across some artwork from RuneQuest that made me go "hmmm..."

Look vaguely familiar?
Found on Glorantha Bestiary, Pages 36-37.
Verified with my copy. Also found here at Artstation.

These are Dragonewts, as drawn by Cory Trego-Erdner back in 2016-2017, for the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary. 

In RuneQuest, Dragonewts claim to be the oldest sentient species and are one of the races found in the main starting area in RuneQuest, Dragon Pass. Now admittedly there's only so much an artist can do with the basic dragon design, but the reason why I don't mind the look of the Dracthyr is that they do evoke a similar look as that found in RuneQuest. The lore is obviously very distinct, but given that nobody seems to bitch about the lore of Dracthyr so much as that they don't look "cool enough", that's my two cents on the matter.

***

Finally, I wanted to mention a long departed podcast that really sucked me into RPGs back in the day.

Before "modern times" and the proliferation of podcasts in their current monetized form, Chuck Tinsley and Lonnie Ezell created the Dragons Landing Inn podcast back in 2005. They kept it going for about 126-130 episodes, and then Steve and Rob kind of picked up the mantle for a dozen episodes or so in a relatively unmoderated format until the podcast faded away. When I asked my brother-in-law what good RPG and gaming podcasts were out there, he said without hesitation "Dragons Landing Inn".

I've tried to find a better version
of their graphic to no avail.

With the tagline "Gaming Goodness", Chuck and Lonnie would espouse on RPGs, whatever the news was in RPG space, and eventually would broach RPG specific topics on running a campaign and having a rules set fit the type of campaign you wanted to play. Although the news is quite dated --it began in a time before D&D 4e and Pathfinder existed-- the old podcasts are still available via the Internet Archive at this link. I don't believe they're complete, as the original podcasts start at Episode 27, so you'll have to search the Internet Archive for individual episodes to complete the entire run of DLI.

I still have my old downloads of DLI on my desktop. I've dutifully backed up and transferred them over the almost two decades that they came out, and have no intention of ever deleting them. Given how podcasting has evolved as a format since DLI's heyday, it's refreshing to find a podcast in a raw, unmonetized state (and low bit-rate) still providing entertainment. 

EtA: Corrected grammar.

EtA: Corrected more grammar. Sheesh.

Raising a Pint in Salute

While longevity in a blog is one thing, longevity in a podcast is quite another.

The time it takes to publish a blog post is pretty minimal compared to the effort it takes to pull together a podcast. From a technical aspect alone, there's the design, the equipment/software, and the editing to create a polished finished product. While you can run both on a minimal budget, the hours spent working on a blog pale to those spent on a podcast.*

Therefore, I wanted to take some time to salute two podcasts that reached significant milestones: The Twisted Nether Blogcast and the Battle Bards podcast.

***

You may be cool, but not Blog Azeroth cool.

Twisted Nether is a live blogcast that has just reached its 9th anniversary. Fimlys, Hydra, and Zabine run the WoW focused show --which is the face of Blog Azeroth-- and are frequently joined by bloggers across the WoW-verse. (Full disclosure: I was a guest on Episode 166, recorded live on April 28, 2012. Back then it was just Fimlys and Hydra running the show, and I'm very glad I got to know them through TN.) TN encourages listeners to join the live blogcast and comment in the live comment section, and while the recording time is frequently at odd hours for Eastern North America, I heartily recommend listening in on a live blogcast.

Through TN I've met several fellow bloggers who have since become friends, including Ancient from Tome of the Ancient. If you're curious about WoW comings and goings, I heartily recommend Twisted Nether for an entertaining look at WoW from people who love it so much that they run a live show in the late hours Sunday nights (EST).

However, I did learn one thing about a live blogcast: don't make a quip that can be construed as being awkward. In my case, it was the final question round, and I made a quip about not having heard these questions before. If you've heard Twisted Nether, you've heard the questions, so it wasn't so much as amusing as awkward, and I should have known better than to try to say that. Still, Fim and Hydra were fantastic hosts, and even though I no longer play WoW, if I'd the chance to go back on just to talk with them, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

***

Something about that lute reminds me of
the LOTRO Minstrel class. Just sayin'.

Battle Bards is an MMO podcast created by three people who truly love MMO music, and will be dropping their 100th episode shortly (if it hasn't dropped already. EtA: Here it is!!!).

While the music might be a minor aspect to MMOs in general, the thrill of that first loading screen with the stirring soundtrack blaring through the speakers is a fond memory to even the most hardened MMO gamer. To that end, the team of Syp, Stef, and Syl --the Battle Bards-- scour the MMO world for the interesting and unusual as well as comparing themes among various MMOs.

I've been a long time listener to Battle Bards, in no small part because a) I'm a music lover and b) my long time blogger friend Syl is a host. While I agree or disagree with the Bards' selections, I do find something interesting each episode. However, looking back at the podcasts, I believe that Battle Bards really hit their stride on their fourth episode, the interview with LOTRO composer Chance Thomas. Chance was an engaging guest, and the Bards performed a great job in exploring the music of LOTRO and the process Chance works through when composing a piece. At that point, the podcast became more than just a discussion about favorite pieces and began hitting on the nuts and bolts of the music itself.

The Battle Bards demonstrate in spades that all you need is a love of the music to explore the amazing world of MMO soundtracks.

*By comparison, the livestreaming of a game takes less effort. Once the software and equipment are configured, all you have to do is bring your creative self and play away. Once a livestream graduates into a vlog, however, editing begins to assert itself.

Changes

As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that you were gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
--from Nobody's Hero by Rush


Today, I had the duty of moving the links to Massively, WoW Insider, and the WoW Insider podcast to the Blogs in Mothballs section.

I wanted to make sure I grabbed this for posterity's sake. I still
regret not having done this for Righteous Orbs or The Pink Pigtail Inn.

The owner of Joystiq, AOL, has decided to get out of that end of content creation and is shutting down the domain. Collateral damage to that decision is that Massively and WoW Insider are forced to shut down as well.

According to Syp over at Bio Break (and Massively), Massively and WoW Insider were making money, but AOL decided not to be in the enthusiast gaming blog business.  By extension, it's likely that AOL would have been fine with that aspect of the business if they were making even more money.

This isn't exactly the first time a major corporation has decided to shut down and/or sell a division because it wasn't making "enough" money.* IBM got rid of their PC division to Lenovo. P&G sold Folgers and Jif. 3M sold off their boardgames division --which included Acquire and Facts in Five-- to Avalon Hill. The disappointing thing about all of this is that it smacks of a decision borne entirely from the finance department. I'm of the opinion that a little goodwill goes a long way, and the money saved by jettisoning Joystiq probably isn't enough to make more than a minor blip on the balance sheet.

Or this.

What Joystiq's shutdown is not, however, is a comment on video gaming in general. I'm 100% confident in saying this had nothing to do with Gamergate, the "MMOs are passe" trend, or anything resulting from a boycott (real or threatened). Last I checked, video games still command more dollars than movies or other forms of entertainment media, so if enthusiast sites like Joystiq are shut down, it isn't for a lack of broad popularity.

Because AOL shut down Joystiq with such a short lead-in time (and according to Syp there was originally supposed to be NO lead-in time, just termination notices), there was almost no time to get a successor site up and running. It is also likely that AOL will retain the rights to the names "Massively" and "WoW Insider", so any replacement site that the writers might want set up will have to come with a different name.**

***

It sucks to be in this situation, to be terminated so suddenly. I can really empathize with the writers since I've been in their situation, having been fired from a sales job back in the early 90s right after my college years. There's always the self recriminations that you hear when you're lying awake at night, wondering if you'd have done something differently this wouldn't have come to pass. Even when you tell yourself you did nothing wrong, and that is often quite likely the case, you can't keep that inner critic quiet. It nags at you, picking at the scab of your humiliation, and it won't. leave. you. alone. EVER.

At the same time, I make no bones about the fact that I stopped reading WoW Insider long before I gave up WoW itself. The first nail in the coffin was the shutting down of The Daily Quest, which I used to find interesting new blogs to read. When Chas and Tam from Righteous Orbs and Larisa from The Pink Pigtail Inn shut down their blogs there became precious few clearing houses for new WoW blogs, and TDQ filled that void for a while until it simply stopped being written.***

Next, there was the shutting down of the class bloggers. While I wasn't so hardcore about the game and the raiding emphasis that a lot of the bloggers took, I appreciated their expertise. And I would be lying if I didn't say I was thrilled to see Vidyala --someone I actually KNEW both in and out of game-- as the mage blogger. I'd read her blogs from the beginning --courtesy of Tam from Righteous Orbs-- and I was insanely proud of her to get the mage gig. But cutbacks being what they were, her time at WoW Insider was far too shortlived.

Finally, there was my decline in interest in the game throughout 2014, culminating in allowing my subscription to lapse. I'd poke around the site once in a great while, but the "all WoW all the time" nature of W:I really didn't hold the interest of someone who had moved away from the game.

***

I wasn't about to forget Massively either.

In the end, I suppose that this sort of change will lead to something new. No, I'm not sure what, but I can't imagine that the creativity that Massively and W:I had will simply vanish into the ether. The writers still play games, and they have that burning need to share things with others.

So it's not "goodbye." Not really, anyway. It's more "until we meet again".





*If Joystiq were making more money, AOL would have likely sold it to some potential buyer instead of simply shutting it down. My guess is that AOL felt that the process of selling was a money loser for them, so killing it was more cost effective. [You can insert whatever your thoughts are about corporate bean counters here.]

**AOL might even retain the rights to some of the column names, too. I've not seen the ownership agreements, so YMMV.

***I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that PC had been highlighted a few times on TDQ. Each time it happened I found out about it due to the sudden spike in readership, from the traditional 50-100 people reading the blog to a few thousand. I've discovered that when THAT happens, you suddenly don't need coffee that morning.


EtA: relapse:lapse.  tomato:tomahto.  Sheesh.

You Could, You Know.... Ask...

The MMO music podcast Battle Bards had two listener request shows recently.  When they put out a call for requests, I forwarded along my pick to Battle Bard Syl of MMO Gypsy:

The Theme for Rohan, composed by Chance Thomas*, and featuring Taylor Davis on violin, encapsulates what I like the most about the Riders of Rohan soundtrack for LOTRO.  It's very straightforward, yet the playing is very emotional. The Celtic overtones, with the bodhran and tin whistle, add to the emotional impact of the music.

In addition to the pick, I'd also griped to Syl about my inability to find any MMO sheet music out there other than WoW's.**  Syl took my commentary and added it to the feedback section of the second podcast. Battle Bard Syp, also of Bio Break, suggested a couple of things, but the one which was a classic 'Doh! moment was to simply contact the composer(s) and ask if sheet music was available.

Of course, I'd been operating under the assumption that the game companies owned the soundtrack (and the sheet music), but hey, it was worth a shot.

I contacted Chance Thomas, composer of LOTRO's more recent soundtracks, and asked him if sheet music was available for purchase for any of the pieces.  He wrote back to let me know that while most of the music was owned by Warner Brothers, he was able to give me the solo violin part for Theme for Rohan.

The mini-Reds were excited.

My oldest informed me that a few notes in the piece go too low for her oboe to reach, but I don't think that'd deter her from making an attempt at it.





*Congrats to Chance for his invitation to conduct Theme for Rohan at the Utah Symphony!

**I've since discovered an arrangement of some Age of Conan pieces in a suite for wind ensemble, but the cost is over $395 EUR, which is a wee bit out of my price range.


EtA: Got my commentary order messed up.

The Law of Unintended Consequences is Alive and Well

Steve Rogers:  How do you know about this, Beast?
Beast:  I am an agent of S.W.O.R.D.  Also.
Steve Rogers:  Anybody else here an agent of a clandestine specialized covert operation and forgot to bring it up?
Spider-man:  I'm a level 27 Rogue on World of Warcraft.  Does that count?
--From 2012 Free Comic Book Day "The Avengers:  Age of Ultron 0.1"



Sometimes I get my thinking done doing something very mundane, such as cutting the grass.

Of course, when I do cut the grass, I've got my earbuds in to muffle the noise from the mower, and that means I've either got music or a podcast on.

Not too long after I mentioned that I didn't have the time to listen to podcasts in a previous blog entry, I began to make time.  I have a small collection of regulars in the pencil-and-paper RPG and WoW areas, but I'm always looking to find a podcast with an interesting voice.  So, while I pushed the mower along late last afternoon, I listened to the 2 GMs 1 Mic podcast* and became acquainted with the term "murder hobos".

According to one of the hosts of the show, it's a put down of one aspect of old-school style RPGs:  your characters move from place to place and kill things.  I chuckled at the definition, because not only would characters from old-school RPGs qualify as murder hobos, but those of most MMOs as well.

Seriously.

When was the last time you walked into an instance and didn't kill just about everything?  (No, wipes don't count.)  Of course, the complexity of interactions beyond the absolute basics keep higher level actions out of the reach of most MMOs., so it isn't quite a fair comparison.  We, as players, can interact more between each other (or with a DM) than we can with computer NPCs.  And with NPCs programmed to perform only certain duties, it doesn't take very long before interacting with an NPC gets boring.

This got me to wondering whether the "biggest beta ever" for MoP is a good thing or not.

Getting all of the annual subs into the beta is a good thing from a polish and bugs standpoint, but what about from a freshness standpoint?

Some of the beta testers have been playing for over a month now, and we can expect this beta to continue for the foreseeable future.  However, how many of those beta players will find themselves burning out on MoP more quickly than if they'd not been in the beta?  Could Blizz be feeding the beast by getting everyone into beta so that they'll have seen everything (or enough of it, anyway), only to discover widespread apathy a month or two into release?

Before anyone starts telling me how awesome and cool beta is, I'll point out one thing:  I worked in software development for five years.  I've been through about six or seven development cycles on a product that took well over 300 developers worth of effort.  By the time the product went Gold, we were utterly and completely sick of working on that release and looked forward to the next release.**

If that happens to developers who (supposedly) like to code, why wouldn't it happen for beta testers?

Think about it:  people will have effectively been playing MoP since April 2012.  Those of us not in the beta won't get to try it out for several months (or later); while MoP will be fresh for us, it'll be old hat for the testers.

And how long did it take before people started complaining about things to do in Cata or Wrath?  A few months?

I'm not sure what the consequences of the beta will be (other than a polished product), but what I am sure of is that people wouldn't have thought of them beforehand.



*I've only listened to part of one episode so far, but it's pretty good; I'm willing to listen to a few more podcasts before I decide to pick it up or not.  The hosts do use colorful language, so this isn't the sort of podcast to listen where little ears might hear.

**One of the statements that would cause the most anguish in a developer were the words "I need you to work bugs on the current release for a few months."


EtA:  It's "agent", not "ancient".  Stupid auto correct.  @#$&!

Redbeard Boards the Twisted Nether Blogcast

Yes, you read that right.

I will be a guest on this Saturday's episode of the Twisted Nether Blogcast at 8 PM PST (11 PM EST).  Stop on by and enjoy the show!

(Hopefully, Hydra and Fimlys will make me sound better than I really am.)

To listen to the live stream, go to twistednether.net/live and join in the chat room.  See you there!

EtA:  For people overseas, the time is 3 AM Sunday GMT.  London is 4 AM Sunday,
while Melbourne is 1 PM Sunday.