A Toast To Old Friends

Writing a blog can sometimes be a terribly weird experience.   I generally want to write for *me*, first and foremost — I write about whatever interests me, which includes whatever games have caught my attention and are entertaining me that month, as well as topics that spark my interest.  It’s death to any writing project when you try to write for an audience above yourself, methinks, because you lose your distinctive voice in trying to give the faceless crowd what you think it wants.

This is all to say that there’s no rhyme or reason to Bio Break.  I write a lot, to be sure, but that only echoes what’s catching my eye or imagination that day.  But there are plenty of topics and news items I let slip by, because I either don’t care about them, or don’t have anything new to add to the conversation.  I’ve never pretended that my opinion and thoughts are anything great or insightful, and I really hope that nobody ever takes them as such.  Just the words of one hobby enthusiast to another.

So the weird part is when what you’re thinking and writing impacts someone else’s feelings and experiences in their own gaming world.  A recent commenter here left me this thought-provoking note that I’ve been chewing over for a few days now:

It was a great year, and having started following you from the WAR blog, I’m glad you shifted into all things MMO. Its been fun reading of your adventures and reactions to various games.

Good summary of 2009, but I can only hope that it means you`ll stop railing on the games you left. As you wrote, you realise that there are still many of us playing the games you left – which might mean we`re deluded or something, but it also might mean that we`re finding them fun, challenging and fulfilling. I`m sure you recognise the reaction you get then when you do your lists and continue to bring up the same old arguments and reasons why you left. Honestly, if you haven`t played the title in a few months, just walk away and forget about it.

Looking forward to your analysis on new MMOs for 2010. I might even venture into a new one based on your thoughts and review. Thanks for all the effort you put into the blog- I for one have enjoyed following you, and will contunue to do so!

Take care,

-Vesta
(Enjoying WAR! as my only MMO )

To Vesta and others who feel the same way, I want to say — rock on.

First of all, I’m not trying to write a blog to be all things to all people, and while I generally try to be more optimistic and positive than negative, sometimes where my head is at on a topic isn’t always sunshine and daisies.  As I write for me first and foremost, I want to express those things, and I feel that it would be dishonest for me to ignore them because it might ruffle feathers or what have you.

So why “rock on”?  Because you SHOULD enjoy the game you’re playing, and you should NEVER let someone else influence you or make you feel as if you’re not liking what you actually are.  This is why I have abandoned reading official forums, for their sole purpose is to make you hate whatever game you’re subscribed to.  I may have my past with WAR and fairly strong feelings on the topic, but I never have said (hopefully) that nobody should play it, or that you’re wrong to enjoy it.  It may be disheartening for you to not hear me talk highly about a game you love — and trust me, I understand how that feels when I read others doing the same to what I enjoy — but that’s reflecting me, not aimed at you.

I’m always open to being challenged on any point of thought on a MMO, however, and I appreciate the spirit of Vesta’s comment.  If you don’t like a game, say your piece and move on.  I get it.  When you have old or limited or no experience in a game, then caution and restraint is called for, even though we all tend to be highly opinionated on any given topic.  And one of my resolutions for this year is to keep that in mind, as well as the fact that all MMOs have their happy, content players, even though some may try to paint those games as having “failed” and are “dying” and what have you.

In conclusion, Vesta — and others who may echo this sentiment — I can’t promise to never talk about a past MMO, or if I do so, to always couch my words in a positive light.  That’s just not honest to my writing.  But I do promise to consider how people feel who play these games, and to let a grudge or gripe go when I’ve said my piece, instead of chewing it up over and over again.  I’m not here to be a grumpy fart, as that gets tiring to both read and write.

And no matter what, if you like a game, play the snot out of it, and I’ll cheer you on.

Even if you play Darkfall.