Hmm, yes… well, I doubt mine is the first blog to suffer neglect due to the behemoth that is Twitter. I’ve not had much to say lately that hasn’t been able to be encapsulated in the brief medium of 140 characters, plus I haven’t touched EQII for months. I have been playing a lot of Free Realms mind you, trying to determine whether my four-year old is competent enough yet to be able to enjoy it (that’s my excuse anyway!). She’s perfectly au fait with the flash-style games on Nickjr.com (or .co.uk anyway) but I can’t help that think the slightly more advanced pace of FR, plus the need to read quest texts and display the kind of patience that four-year olds aren’t generally known for, makes me think otherwise. We’ll see I guess. Meantime, if you see a Prezzer in there (or in any game really), that’s going to be me, so say Hi and we’ll ‘research’ (ahem) some quests together!
The transition from slow, romantic mood music to Fletch-on-Skates-in-Bearded-Disguise-Out-to-Crack-The-Case-Once-And-For-All at the start of the final act of Fletch.
Question: At the end of Star Wars IV: A New Hope when the gang are dishing out medals to each other for a job well done, are the assembled troops in the hall actually hearing the celebratory music as they do so? And if so, do they also hear it as it transitions into the familiar Star Wars theme? And, therefore, is the Star Wars theme a known and recognised piece of music within the Star Wars universe? And if so, what does that do for John Williams’ royalties?
One of my unofficial hobbies, pointless though it may be, is having fake conversations with the spam MSN/AIM chat bots that occasionally flick up when I start my computer in the morning. I know they’re all automated, but a small part of me hangs on to the hope that somewhere there’s a confused, somewhat alarmed spam marketeer sitting watching my responses and wondering what’s happened to the planet he once loved.
For example:
11:57:15 alfonsokelley49: hello??
11:58:12 Prezzer: alfonso!!!!!!! long time no see buddy? how’s it hanging? still afflicted with the herpes?
11:58:13 alfonsokelley49: vdsgu Yo prezzer
11:58:25 Prezzer: yo? what are you, twelve?
11:58:27 alfonsokelley49: whats up…
11:58:53 Prezzer: the usual, the judge gave me 75 years all told, still, i did brutally murder those nuns so she had a point
The upward key change three-quarters of the way through the Superman II theme.
One thing I have discovered from all my Football Manager Live playing is just how well-mannered, well-meaning and well wicked (guy) an MMO community is capable of being. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve lauded long and hard in the past about how EQII’s collection of virtualists are amongst the very best in the business when it comes to friendlioscity and helpfulability, it’s just that with FML there’s a very specific social mechanic at work that warrants further expounditurisation (sorry, I’ve obviously unknowingly swallowed a fake-word thesaurus at some point today. I’ll try to keep myself in check).
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. A couple of half-hearted attempts at travel comedy notwithstanding, it’s just been damned hard to find either time or, indeed, energy to sit down and dictate something to be entered by the team of faithful manservants I have on hand to carry out my earthly whims at any given moment.
Life has been busy, both work and personal, some good, some great, some devastatingly terrible and some nerve-shatteringly tense, not in that order. But the one overriding reason behind the lack of wit, banter and anecdotal amusements is simply this – I haven’t been playing EverQuest II since some time last year.
Hello faithful! I’m back from my over-lengthy vacation to the magical, mystery world that is Japan – fully rested, fighting fit, and counting down the days till we go back next year. Business as usual, really. In keeping with the finest traditions of globe-trotting bores, I thought I’d share some of my holiday photos with you, in order to help share some of the wonder and majesty that is the land of Nippon.
Caveat: I’m not the world’s greatest photographer, so apologies if some of the shots are a touch out of focus and whatnot. Hopefully I won’t lose too much of the flavour of the country. Click on and let us begin our journey…
My not-so frequent updates will become even less so for the next two weeks or so as I’m about to jet off on holiday for a fortnight to the golden fabled land of Japan to see the wife’s family. Paradoxically for a country that is by all measurable standards living in the future of us all, my technology access levels will actually be severly limited while there – precious little internet near where I’m going, so my thoughts on the election, the EQII expansion and whatever else springs to mind will have to wait.
Not that I seem to have been playing m uch EQII lately as it is. Not by choice, I hasten to add. Even though I haven’t logged on since before the guild halls went live (I know, I know), I still remain as firmly convinced that this is the single best fantasy MMO out there by miles and will be returning shortly after I get back. I blame pressures of work and the addiction to the beta test of Football Manager Live.
Anyway, have fun, see you on my return, and I’ll be sure to take loads of photos of the giant robots and post them as soon as. Because we all know there’s nothing more fun that sitting through someone else’s holiday snaps… even if they do feature random Godzilla attacks and cosplay girls.
It may be early, but the results are starting to pour in and based on an exclusive NutsInNorrath poll of the three guys I passed between the tube/subway station and work this morning, the next president of the world/United States of America is officially…
1 vote – Barack Obama
1 vote – Sorry I can’t stop, late for a meeting
1 vote – Didn’t I get a restraining order on you last time…?
So, there you have it. At 17:36 GMT this station is officially declaring Ralph Nader as the next president of the United Federation of Planets. All hail the king!
Seriously though, go America! Go vote, go make a future we can be proud of!
Between madness and desire lies obsession. Between addiction and dependence sits compulsion. Off to the rear side of eternity, and a little to the left of fate, sprawls immersion.
All of which is a fancy European perfume advert type of way of saying I’m hooked on a new MMO. I’ve mentioned it once or twice around these parts – Football Manager Live. Now, if you’re not British/European and/or have no interest in non-American sports (or sports in general), you’re probably not going to find much for you in these next few paragraphs. Sorry about that. But if you ever wondered if it was possible to turn Microsoft Excel into an MMO, baby have I got a game for you!
… I have never heard of, let alone watched, As The World Turns. Just in case yesterday’s post left any of you wondering. Now hush, momma’s stories are starting…
The most rumoured in-development MMO title of all time was finally made official last night. Bioware (KOTOR, KOTOR II, some other non-KOTOR but still jolly good RPG games) are officially working on an official Lucasarts-approved MMO game in the official Star Wars official universe. Officially.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is the name, KOTOR Online is presumably the game, and according to Bioware, they’re going to be taking the whole concept of MMO gaming, mashing it into the beloved sci-fi universe, and doing something completely new with it…
Cool!
Actually, the ‘new’ is that it’s going to be heavily story-based for an MMO, and if anyone gives good Star Wars story it’s Bioware (it’s certainly not George Lucas, that’s for sure – ZING! Heyyy-ohhhhh!).
Stargrace over at MMOQuests was recently very kind enough to respond to a comment of mine on her site about playing Vanguard. Basically my thrust was to ask what, if anything, VG would offer me that I’m not already getting from EQII. In fact, her response was so measured, thoughtful and reasoned that it merited an entire post. Indeed, she did a good enough job of selling me on her own passions for playing the game that I’m all but resolved to give it a try, although not immediately as I want to give the LOTRO 45-day trial a fair shake first.
One aspect of Vanguard that does interest me strangely is the diplomacy system. I’m all for innovation in the online gaming arena, and a card game conversation mechanic is something I haven’t seen since Republic: The Revolution – a much underrated, if a little unwieldy strategy game from a bunch of genius developers called Elixir a few years ago. There, conversation was handled with a basic form of stat-based card game, the results having effects on your rise to power in the former Soviet satellite. And I gather it’s much the same in Vanguard, minus the trip to a Siberian gulag if you choose to bribe the wrong person.
Going Nuts In Norrath 
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