Sorry for the lack of updates, but I guess when you just play an MMO and enjoy it, you don’t have a lot of blog-worthy stuff. Maybe I should pick up AoC….
Watching the blog space take in WAR has been somewhat interesting, in that if you knew nothing about MMO games you would think WAR was this alpha-status POS that everyone hates. On the flip side, if you are someone who has been around the MMO block a few times, you appreciate that the game actually works when it comes to being fun, and accept the fact that any new MMO is not going to have every last feature from all MMOs before it, while still scratching your head at some of the mistakes (no easy way to deal with gold spam, really?) I don’t think any other genre in gaming has quite the level of expectations or understanding that MMOs do. We both hate on the details and accept the major flaws, so odd…
Hardcore Casual 
The game does work. I think WAR will be very successful and with so many bloggers posting everything and anything about the game it might just reach those newbies that don’t know anything about MMO’s. If WoW hasn’t already scooped them up by now.
But the overflow of information on the game could drive people nuts. I mean, isn’t the saying, too much of a good thing can be bad for you? True that it worked great out of the gate this month, but I’m sure people will be screaming, what have you done for me lately in the next few months, especially if small bugs and fixes don’t get the attention they deserve.
People really liked AoC when it first came out, then the luster wore off and people started to recover from their day dreams about the next WoW killer and looked at the game with jaded eyes. Now people are turning their AoC collector boxes into paper weights and wondering if WAR is going to get them the fix they need.
But the MMO community is more vocal and full of fan boys. You didn’t see a lot of people blogging about all their escapades in Mario Galaxy or Metal Gear Solid 4. I think people are more critical of MMO’s because they have a month Sub they have to pay. You have to either love an MMO or hate it, there isn’t much in between when money is on the line.
All very true. It just seems to me that people are being a bit MORE critical of WAR than other MMOs, especially about the little stuff. One could say it’s easier to focus on the little stuff when the big stuff works, but it’s still somewhat interesting to hear.
I mean is a bad chat interface really worth blogging about? When you know in a patch or two it will be revamped? Or the gold spam that will likely be solved next week?
Just stuff like that, it seems to be that it’s at a much higher level than before.
I think people should be more critical as time passes. Mistakes that were made in 2004 should not be repeated in 2008. UI issues, lag and spam are “easy” targets in the sense that everyone can agree that those should be fixed, especially when the competitor has already shown how. Issues like class balance or other core gameplay elements are more subjective.
Oh, and one factor behind my criticism of WAR is that I also want WoW to be better. WoW, as it is, is already full of half-baked ideas that never get refined into full-scale features. Blizzard needs an incentive to develop WoW, and competition could offer that incentive. But the competitor’s product needs to be a credible threat, and WAR’s not going to be such a product if any real innovation gets overshadowed by lots of small things that as a whole discourage people from playing. And I can’t really blame them. Certain features are simply considered “baseline” by now, and usually for good reason. A clunky or buggy UI can get you killed, even if the game balance is absolutely correct. A spammed-to-oblivion chat prevents real people from talking to each other, undermining the network effect that makes MMOs so interesting. The worst mistake an MMO can make is to discourage you from making contact with your fellow players.
Agreed with Shalkis,
I still have a bunch of things I’d have liked to see changed / improved in WoW, but at this point they’ve gone in directions I just don’t care about. So there’s not much point anymore in me expressing what I think WoW could do, when Blizzard is looking pretty set and comfortable with where they are.
WAR on the other hand, is new and shiny and has the potential to be all that it can be, at least it seems so far.
“I mean is a bad chat interface really worth blogging about?”
I think so, or I wouldn’t have done it. ;) But I’ve been picking nits off UIs since Asheron’s Call, so at least I’m consistent in my concerns, even if I haven’t been officially blogging about it the whole time.
I take your point, totally — just wanted to devil’s advocate a bit. Though I agree: when the wider game is not only working but huge fun, we focus on the smaller stuff. We do that with books, movies, TV and all manner of other things too (sporting events, etc). Probably human nature — good news is no news.
Yea I think saying ‘worth blogging about’ was a bit off. I mean, we blog about really dumb stuff often (this blog certainly included). I think people got the overall point though, the game works, and since we don’t have huge fish to fry, we nitpick.