As if most of you people didn’t already know, I play MMOs. I usually only play one at a time, mostly because I honestly can only have so much of a good thing. It’s like having a steak. Some people like to eat steak every so often. There are people like me who are steak regulars.
And then there are the weight-challenged addicts who would probably keel over and die if they didn’t get their steak fix every day and who always want a better cut of it. And they’re always waving their meat in other people’s faces too.
I like those people, because it gives me a good measure of how much I should aspire not to play. Thanks, steakophiles!
Anyway, my choice MMO to follow and play right now is Mythic Entertainment’s Warhammer Online. Now, the poor overworked folks at Mythic seem to be doing ok, so far, but, well, there’s that inconvenient thing you have to deal with called “the community”. One that is armed with a computer, an opinion, and a huge cache of Cheetos and energy drinks nearby, right next to the bucket used during “marathon” gaming sessions.
Today’s fixation with putting Mythic’s stuff through a blender on “puree” comes from a curious thread talking about a possible shorter Open Beta and Head Start for the game. Oh, how the pitchforks came out of the woodwork for this one. Apparently, people felt misled that Open Beta would last longer than, oh, maybe 9 days or so, which is a number being thrown around right now. Damage control has set in and the thread itself has turned into the usual fun stuff – lawsuits, “you lied to us”, and “I quit”. I’m surprised someone hasn’t said it was like being slapped in the face.
Look, this was definitely a ploy. Mythic tricked us all right.
They’re tricking you into doing something good! I mean, let’s look at this. If you have a shorter Open Beta, that one month you suspiciously took off of work to deal with “internal family issues” can be sliced down. Certainly, with shorter Open Beta, you have more time to, you know, go out, shuffle to the local hangout (i.e. games store), and talk annoyingly long with the cashier about the latest news about the game. And with Open beta, you can finally get off the computer and get in that bathtub and take a shower. “Ripe” is not as enticing a cologne as “Irish Spring Fresh”, after all. There are people you’d like to date that you have to impress by yammering on about how your class is going to be soooooo overpowered at release.
Shorter Open Beta, in essence, gives you time to put more people you meet when you’re out of your parents’ basement on that IM list of yours, so that when the game finally hits and you are inevitably awed by broken textures, unfinished mechanics, and constant crashes, that you’ll have someone to treat as your sounding board. Friends who are marked as away that you can message are better than the “real” ones that somehow never invite you out or return your calls anyway, right?
Mythic Open Beta. Helping you help yourselves.