A Return to Blogging

For those of you who follow me, you know that I frequently publish content on MMOGology.com. However, that site is primarily dedicated to the academic analysis of online gaming communities. I have a lot to say about video games and not all of it is always academic in nature. So, I have decided to resurrect this old gaming blog of mine, where I will talk about all things gaming that are not academic in nature, including reviews, frustrations, and sweet, sweet, loot.

Way back when, an eternity ago, it seems, I got my start when the Internet was still somewhat small by blogging about my gaming passion. Back then, I was a stay-at-home mom in my mid-twenties, and I hadn’t gone to college yet. Though, if you scroll through old posts, you will see when that journey began. I have always had a love for writing. It made sense back then for me to channel my passion for this new found world of MMORPGs into this blog.

That blog turned into freelance writing gigs, and eventually led to writing for sites like MMORPG.com and other gaming channels, as well as non-gaming related websites. It wasn’t a ton of money, but it was a fair amount of pocket change for doing something I would have done anyway. It picked up quite a bit of notice, and the gaming blogger community was pretty tight.

Engadget even mentioned me once! I went by an old gamer tag then, and that was, apparently, the pinnacle of my career.  A side note: in-house crafting was also a very, very bad design idea. It was implemented later, but in guild halls. This resulted in an empty, soulless world. Who would think that one would miss AFKers standing around showing off their gear, but it actually makes a world feel alive, just as a bustling crafting hall does. Goes to show that not every big idea is as brilliant as it seems once it’s put into motion.

Back then, I was specifically known as an “EQ2 blogger.” I spent a decade playing that game and volunteered as a guide. There weren’t as many gaming related news sites, and bloggers were often invited to review games, go on pre-release tours, and Q&As. I had a few community managers on my AIM. For you youngsters, that was AOL Instant Messenger. These days, I use Google Hangouts, mostly. I had even co-hosted a podcast for a short period. That was a lot of fun, and I wouldn’t mind doing that again. I think it would be better this time around. I have A LOT more to say.

Looking back through my old blogs and articles, it’s interesting to see how much I’ve grown as a writer and as a person. I’m glad that I never deleted it. It really was a start to an interesting journey for me.

So, what am I playing now? I’m kicking it in Tyria, mostly. This weekend, I plan on catching up my story, and I’ll update on that here. As for MMOs, I feel like we’ve hit a dry spell, especially for us old timers. Eek, I’m an old timer! I was not an old timer, the last time I posted on this blog!

But back to the point, everyone got caught up on trying to hit that new age (younger) audience, but things weren’t jiving and the conglomerates kept failing.  For instance, stop trying to make MMORPGs into battle royales. And while we’re on the topic, can we also stop with the FPS-style targeting. Yuck. Different markets. Is a battle royale an MMO, sure. Is it or should it be an MMORPG? Not in my opinion, but maybe I’m just an old timer.

But, for me, Guild Wars 2, unless you are up to playing one of the old MMOs, is the last bastion. It has enough remnants of what once was, but enough new conveniences mixed in without over doing it to keep me satisfied until something new this way comes. And that something new should have the soul of something old. Hello, Pantheon?