Category Archives: Blogging

Highly overdue weekend roundup

“If I knew that tomorrow was the end of the world, 
I would plant an apple tree today.“ [Luther…not Lex Luthor]

In the face of doom and the end of the MMO world as we know it (…), it’s appropriate to focus on the fresh and new. It’s been a while since my last New Bloggers on the Blogroll roundup, so this Friday is dedicated solely to some great and new (to me) writers that have made it into my much tended blogroll over the past few weeks. And yes – you’ve probably encountered many of them by now, if you’ve in any way followed the NBI some time ago, but I do things in my own time and spreading the attention is never a bad thing. The blogosphere also never seizes to amaze in terms of surfacing older blogs I’ve never countered for some unknown and no doubt shady reason. Alas.

Without much more needless explanation, I’d like to highlight those few MM-O/game bloggers who have caught my eye more recently. They’re generally awesome and fulfill different criteria I am personally looking for – a variety in perspective, consistent, intelligent writing, creativity and a sense of humor. Alternatively, their site just looks pretty……err needles to say, pay them a visit sometime!

While I am pointing out places you should know, I’d like to make the MMO Melting Pot my special mention of the week: it’s come to my attention that the center of the geeky gamers bloggiverse, or Hugh’s MMO crossroad as I like to think of it, is still unknown to many a blogger and blogreader out there. How that’s even possible after 2 years of busy meta-blogging I don’t know, but anyway – if you’re in any way looking to follow the comings and goings in the blogosphere with more ease and are tired to miss out on some of the good stuff, the Pot is the place to go for some great reads and weekly highlights. There’s also ways you can actively contribute or just spread the word to make the Pot an even livelier, buzzing MMO blogging hub for everybody!

With that I’m off to the weekend to plant that proverbial tree, maybe even in The Secret World. To the rest of you I wish, as always, wonderful online adventures and many new beginnings ahead. Happy weekend everybody!

Round-up: All the Ways that WoW changed us

It’s been an incredibly interesting blogging week for me, ever since Monday’s post on how WoW changed my preferences as an MMO player. The topic resonated with many readers who left their very personal takes on the transformations they perceive in themselves, the changes of playstyle, attitude and expectations towards future games. WoW has been the dominant player on the MMO market for at least 7 years and its impact on all of us cannot be denied, one way or another.

Commentaries didn’t stop there though; many of you went and took the topic further, contemplating on all the effects WoW had on a social and emotional level, what it left you and maybe even helped you with in your lives. This aspect was also reviewed frequently in other bloggers’ responses which I found especially fascinating reads. Indeed, there would be much more to say for me too, from how WoW taught me things about myself, about people management or online friendships, down to affecting the way I speak and vastly improving my second language skills ever since starting to play.

So, for those who have missed some of the great, personal responses that have been published over the last few days, or those just starting to read about this topic, here’s what the blogosphere had to say about how WoW (and other MMOs) changed them on a personal level, as players and people:

…and Liore commented in humorously crisp manner how WoW has basically turned her into this “huge elitist casual player”.

It’s likely I missed somebody but these were the contributions I’ve come across. It’s certainly never a finished conversation – MMOs will continue to influence us and WoW’s legacy will echo through many of the games yet to come. Whether we feel that we’ve changed for the better or worse as gamers, what all these reads have truly illustrated for me is how big a passion we all share and what positive potential lies in online gaming and communities in general. Personal player testimonies like for example that of Wapsipinicon put all the hearsay, stereotypes and bad press about MMOs out there to shame. So, thanks to all who gave this interesting topic a much wider scope, commenters and contributing bloggers alike.

A warm and sunny weekend to all of you out there – inside and outside your virtual spaces!

The MMO Tribute and Weekend Blog Updates

I’ve spent the past few days skimming through an immense archive of MMO screenshots, from early beginnings in Final Fantasy Online (I don’t have anything older stored anymore) on to four folders full of WoW to different titles I’ve played whenever I was jaded with the game and those I’ve played after. Needless to say, it put me in a painfully pensive and nostalgic mood, reliving some of the time I’ve spent in virtual worlds, looking at pictures of old friends who are no more and remembering some of the epic fun and silliness we shared. There is nothing that sets such an MMO picture album apart from real-life photographs; I’ve been to Vana’diel and Azeroth, to Hyboria and Telara, I have lived there and all the memories are memories of real things, real experiences and emotions. It’s been a hell of a journey and I don’t regret one damn minute. When I close my eyes I can be anywhere I want to and that has always been my escape.

Pewter recently examined what makes “the soul” of an MMO which is not an easy mission. It’s a question that can only be answered individually, what it is that draws each of us to virtual places and what we seek there. I once attempted to name that magic that makes games compelling to us, that draws us in so completely and utterly like only the best of them achieve. Where does the soul of an MMO lie? To me it’s many things come together, as it is no doubt for everybody (if not necessarily the same ones): it’s atmosphere and setting, a sense of world and scale, it’s in randomness and freedom, balance and cooperation. Longterm, the social component has the power to change everything. I am also a sucker for shiny art and beautiful music, but then you knew that already.

However you like to call this soul of adventure, I’ve found it there preserved in my screenshots, a decade of fun and wonders documented – a decade of me made up of different pieces. And it hit me that for each of those worlds I’ve visited, I left something of myself behind. That is the painful nostalgia, that’s what it means to truly immerse yourself in an MMO – it doesn’t come for free. We are all paying a tribute.
And maybe that’s why as the years pass, the longing increases and the older we get newer games make us feel less and less. For every world we’ve traveled, we leave a part of ourselves behind…until there’s nothing left to give. “When I was young I was a fool…”

The gallery is up and new blog is shiny!

My gallery is finished now and I’m very happy with it. It was initially only meant for my recent GW2 beta pictures but I’ve always wanted an online documentary that shows all the places Syl has been to and to go drown in nostalgia whenever I feel like it.
Unfortunately I haven’t found too many screenshots of the older games – I’m especially missing my Age of Conan folder that I seem to have lost. I realized too, that I haven’t taken nearly enough good screenshots in Allods, but then I’ll be back – I am always back to Allods.

Since I’ve spent so many hours picking pictures, I’ve finally also tackled another big to-do on my list, which was re-designing the entire blog to make it feel more personal to me and expressing the MMO / gamer thematic. The assorted screenshots were a big help and I absolutely love the new look and header image! This might get me to stick to blogger for a while longer, absolute pain in the ass that it is sometime.

Speaking of which, naturally the overhaul made me lose my blogroll again – this is the third time in a row now and I’m sick and tired of it. I finally found a way to store the links for good (doh), however I had to reproduce all of my blogroll pages manually (from memory) again and I am still missing at least 10 blogs on it. There’s only so much I can remember out of 55 links. So, in case you’re one of my blogroll users or find yourself missing all of a sudden – it’s quite possibly not intentional and I hope to restore the last few over the coming days. Letting me know is also much appreciated.

A good weekend to all of you out there paying the MMO tribute – and yes, one day I will tackle the even bigger headache that is switching my blog over to wordpress!

NBI – Different ways to contribute

I’ve noticed people on twitter asking how they could show their support for the ongoing NBI which no doubt you must have noticed by the amount of blogger advice currently being offered all around this colorful bazaar we call the blogosphere. Maybe you feel like adding another voice to the list of topics where bloggers share their personal experience and helpful tips – maybe you feel reluctant about this or dubious how to possibly contribute anything that hasn’t been written already. The reply tweets included a link to the NBI forums and how to sign up for becoming a sponsor. What if you’re not looking to sponsor though but support the cause in a different way?

I remember when I started blogging; I had been a reader of the blogosphere for some time before that which was partly an inspiration to open an MMO blog (not my first blog ever, but my first gaming blog). I remember reading some blogging advice at the time by Larìsa and Matticus among others and helpful as they were, I knew that in the end I had to find my own way of writing and doing things. I knew I needed to give myself a chance to experiment, to not heed any rules or famous do’s and don’ts and most of all to screw perfectionism. Truly. I don’t believe in guidelines much; I believe in authenticity, learning by doing and that any type of blog has its audience. The only mistake you can make (technical aspects aside) is to try and copy someone else. In general, the world would be a much better, happier place if people learned to compare less. That’s what some bloggers mean when they say “write for yourself”. And be patient.

I remember therefore how happy I was when my first posts received some reactions, be it another blogger stepping by to say hello or leaving a short comment. Every blogger starts out the same way, alone – so receiving comments is like an acknowledgment of your existence at first. They prove that your blog is getting attention and that there are readers, real breathing people, even if the big majority of them are silent. I will always remember my first post ever and the people commenting on it; and up to this day the comments we leave one another, the insightful discussions that spring from one blog to the next, the linkbacks and exchange are what makes blogging such a rewarding experience. Blogging is a social medium that thrives on more active interaction and social dynamics. As with all good things, establishing such channels and bonds takes some time but they are worth it.

This is why I try to make small welcome round-ups on MMO Gypsy every now and then; to put the spotlight on newcomers (newcomers to me) that caught my attention and in memory of how it feels to start off. There are more bloggers who regularly do this too, like Spinks, Tesh, Liore or of course Hugh from the MMO Melting Pot who does not only share linklove daily but features specific newbie blogger round-ups. When I have less time or don’t manage a list myself, I try leave a comment and /wave on blogs I spot for the first time. That’s no chore for me or ‘job’ – but then I am lucky in that I enjoy leaving comments (long ones too as some of you might know!) on other people’s blogs as much as I love to write my own articles. The two inspire each other.

And this is what you can do for the NBI too, without specifically signing up as a sponsor: visit newcomer blogs and leave your blogging neighbour a note, a warm welcome or heads-up! Have a look at the collective topic where they’re currently signed up (and where you can also find short blog descriptions usually). There are many different blog focuses and you will easily find a few that might correspond with your personal preferences – or maybe you like picking some at random and see where it takes you.

http://www.lioreblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/nbi.jpgThis is what Syp’s initiative is about, highlighting newcomers. Besides receiving tips, it’s a wonderful way for them to get some exposure and attention, to feel seen and part of a greater circle of real and approachable people (most of them anyway!). That’s where your support comes in, very directly at the roots of the idea. Hopefully, some of this will make a more lasting impact in the blogosphere, too – the month of May won’t last forever, but there will always be newbie bloggers around the block. By visiting them, commenting on an interesting point or including them in a round-up, you are actively contributing to what makes the blogosphere a vibrant and dynamic place to inhabit, full of interesting encounters and crossroads. All in only a few minutes.

This is not exclusive to older bloggers, by the way: whether you feel like a freshman or not, visit your next or favorite blogs, let them know you exist (don’t be shy!) or link to articles you enjoyed reading. Before you know it, attention and feedback will find you – what you send out will find its way back to you and more (and in different ways than you might think).

Monday musings on phony media, SWTOR, birdchat and wishing it was Friday already

Last year’s media controversy regarding the mass murders in Norway, has resurfaced once more among bloggers. I commented on the ludicrous claims in July 2011 and how angry it makes me every time newspapers and TV channels pull the video gamer card when such exceptional human tragedies occur somewhere on the world. Redbeard, Tobold and Gordon have each voiced their concerns in the past week and I briefly wondered about the timing. Around here, the news have gone very quiet for some months now, as is the way of the world. We are shocked, we cry out wringing our hands, we pay our condolences – and then we move on with our lives. The court of Oslo has a task at its hands now nobody would envy. How do you punish such evil a deed?

I managed to install the free trial of SWTOR this weekend, thoroughly uninterested as I am in both TERA and Diablo III – and a jolly club we are. I’d rather not rant too much, but it turned out to be the longest download in the history of mankind, after lots of initial sign-up troubles (sorry we don’ like your email address, try yet again!). Anyway three hours of gameplay in, I feel SWTOR has done nothing to win me over and everything to confirm my bias. So I’ll stick to the good which is the shared quest scenarios, the audio conversations and choice options…..and of course the Chiss! What a great race, they definitely did something right there. In a way it’s a pity SWTOR came out this late – I would probably have enjoyed it more 7 years ago when it still would’ve been nice looking and innovative.

In other news, I finally succumbed to joining the birds club. I officially have a twitter account, ya rly. I had to open a work related twitter recently for a company I’m freelancing for and actually liked how easy it let’s you stay on top of updates and releases. I don’t expect to chat there much and I am still a cautious client, but I do see the advantages of link exchange – and of course being able to follow my favorite developers, writers and bloggers with more ease. So for now, I will have a look at this. The proof is in the pudding.

How I wish it wasn’t Monday! I have a job interview this afternoon and another on Wednesday, so I’m feeling somewhat nervous for no good reason. I deeply dislike the drill – which is ironical as my future job will include interviewing applicants. But then it’s a big difference what side of the table you are sat on. Seems a fitting analogy for our entire existence on this planet: it all comes down to what side you are on and what clothes you are wearing. If they ask me about my weakness again, I’m going to tell them that I’m a bad liar. Gotta love the room for interpretation.

This Guild Wars 2 beta weekend cannot come soon enough. All responsibilities have been canceled and the fridge will be stuffed with pizza and Coke Zero (the greatest gift since the electric toothbrush). Oh the glory of playing MMOs! Happy soon-to-be Friday, everybody!

Few essential reads – For everybody

I had a special weekend challenge ready for today, but I decided otherwise and pushed the post back to draft. It’s been a rather hectic week for me and in the blogosphere too, there were many ups and downs where the ever-returning topic of feminism was concerned. And return it must – as has become very obvious from some of the voices and comment sections I’ve read through (yes Matt, every drop counts!).

I’m not going to write my own personal article here though, on why I think sexism and systematic discrimination are still rampant in our society; how tired I am of derailing discourse; or how I came to hold my current beliefs and outgrew the stereotype of a judgmental geek girl who was only ever friends with boys. Maybe I will one day, but today is not that day.

Today, I want you to do me a favor – whoever you are, wherever, woman or man reading the MMO Gypsy: I want you to go through a shortlist of links to blog articles I consider most valuable, essential reads on the topic of feminism, covering a large ground of recurring questions and potential misunderstandings. I know that every smart and intelligent person is on a private search for wisdom and most of us are honest in their wish to learn and understand each other. I won’t tell you what to think of any of the articles or what you should do with them. All I wish is that they become a consideration, a part of whatever personal outlook and tone you settle for in the future. I promise that they will be worth your time, no matter where you go from here.

Many of these posts have been linked on various blogs this week and they cannot be re-posted often enough. They’re the kind of reads that I send forward to friends and return to when my own words fail me. I often feel that my words fall short and don’t do these matters enough justice, for several personal reasons. However, I’ve been immensely grateful for the strong voices on feminism and gender equality in the blogosphere and many invaluable insights offered over the past years. I have been able to perceive the kind of blind spots within myself I never knew existed. Some of these revelations have made me sad and most have made me very humble. All of them however, have freed me one way or another. Free to make my own choices, more informed choices. I will keep making mistakes but at least more of them will feel like my own.

The following links are me saying thanks to all the thoughtful and relentless bloggers out there, gracefully sharing their insights on complex issues, never backing down in the face of adversity and near-paralyzing amounts of “unpack”. I raise my hat to you.

Essential reads on the topic of gender, social equality and feminism

I’ve taken the liberty to add a few selective “teasers” to what each article may answer and for whom it might be first stop. You should of course absolutely read all of them.

What is feminism? Why are all feminists so angry? What about the men? Please educate me!
Finally, a Feminism 101 blog – A basic introduction and FAQ.
Derailing for Dummies – Tactics to avoid when discussing feminism or anything else for that matter.

What is male privilege and why are you all so negative? I’m new, can you help a guy out?
Feminism for dudes (from a dude) – Indispensable advice for subject rookies.
Dear Apple Cider – An open letter from a male reader. 

Does our society still need feminism? I’m a woman and I don’t see the problem!
FYI, you’re a Feminist 
Oh, we haven’t had a feminist post for at least a month
Feminists all the way down

A restful weekend to all of you – the bold who dare to speak and the wise who know when to listen.

On (Im-)perfection

When discussing the effects and burden of self-imposed perfectionism recently with a fellow blogger, that crippling mindset many of us writers are no stranger to, I remembered two beautiful pieces of wisdom I had come across some time ago and that are very much worth sharing.

So today, this post is dedicated to all you fellow creative minds: afflicted by nagging self-doubts, ever battling in front of their PC, staring at articles way too long before daring to publish, worrying over details of no consequence. And yet doing it again and again, overcoming their misgivings, taking heart putting their thoughts out there each week.

A ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of the work they produced. All those on the right would be graded solely on their works’ quality.

His procedure was simple: On the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the quantity group; 50 pound of pots rated an A, 40 pounds a B, and so on. Those being graded on quality, however, needed to produce only one pot — albeit a perfect one — to get an A.

At grading time, the works with the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity.

It seems that while the quantity group was busily churning out piles of work — and learning from their mistakes — the quality group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of clay.

Think about this in your own life, even if you’re not using clay. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. But you can’t practice if you think only of perfection. Practice is about making mistakes; perfection comes from imperfection.” [source]

——————————————————————————————–

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.
 
So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
 
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.
 
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” [source]

 

A wonderful weekend to all of you out there – the imperfect and those still learning to be.

Winter wonderland and weekend links

Ever since my move end of January, it’s been a record cold winter here in Switzerland (yes, that is where I live – no, I don’t ski and I don’t yodel, there are goats across the street though), with returning temperatures between -15 to -20 Celsius. This means that when the sun breaks through the mists on a crisp morning, the world is bathed in dazzling brilliance. Winter person or not, I love the sound of cracking snow under my boots and feeling my cold cheeks tingle.

And then of course – the mountains! I had forgotten how much I missed them. I’m not a big hiker, yet all my childhood and teenage years I have lived in viewing distance of the mighty alps; later I moved away to city lights and traffic jams, to shopping rush, expensive streets and shallow people. A few years in that environment have almost wrecked me, but I’m finally out and back among the sane and solid. A couple of hundred people applied for the old apartment, of course. Good luck in the rat race.
Now, I’m looking at one of the most famous and majestic views this country has to offer. I live close to blue lakes and mountains that are ever-white, even during summer time as people go swimming and BBQing at their feet. The city I grew up in and love is only twenty minutes away. I’m home.

Since we keep enjoying such beautiful winter vistas from the new veranda and the weekend has almost arrived, I decided to share a few glimpses with you (and because Tesh shouldn’t be the only one with cool winter photographs!). An exclusive view from the living room (from east to west, all images expandable), as the sun is setting here in the heart of Europe –

Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau; possibly the most well-known mountain range of the country.
Thousands of international tourists visit every year.
My personal favorite: the majestic Niesen.
A massive pyramid mountain that inspired a great many local artists.
The Stockhorn with its peak beacon completes the panorama to our west.

 

Weekend link love

As has become a regular thing on MMO Gypsy, it’s time again to share a few new links of fellow bloggers / sites I have come across lately and found interesting, or who have contacted me to say hello. I usually collect these until I have at least 3-4 recommendations and since Hugh from the Melting Pot has published a similar round-up just recently, I decided to include them as well. As always, if you’re on the lookout for newcomers in the neighborhood, pay them a visit sometime!

  • Avatars of Steel – long-term reader of the blogosphere, the author has finally taken up her own pen and is blogging from the perspective of a “raid guild leader and game tourist”, who successfully manages to combine her gaming passion with family life.
  • MMO Attack – a general MMO news portal that has launched but recently. An ambitious project, attempting to join the league of other general resource sites – Kirk & Co. can certainly use some support and feedback!
  • Hypercriticism, where Milady is joining our ranks of general MMO critics and has managed her debut with quite a buzz already.

 

A warm welcome to all of you and of course best of luck and fun publishing!
To everyone in general, I wish a wonderful weekend – be it out in the snow or elsewhere!

Enjoy your Vorfreude while you can

In late 2004 when I was running my very first blog on the interwebz, which was not at all about games but all the “dear diary” type of trivial things happening in my life at the time (everyone had one of those even if people won’t admit it), I published the following entry:

This is going to rule so so much!!!

A screenshot of beta Syl and me all hyped out about World of Warcraft, a game I highly anticipated for over a year. I had no idea if WoW was really going to be all that – but gawd, did it look friggin’ fabulous and now I even had an idea of how it played! Which led to me being even more hyped and making sure everyone on my message board knew, notorious killjoys included. Looking forward to WoW was almost as good as WoW. And everything that followed after its actual launch was well, more than worthy.

That’s not the point though. Sometimes games we really look forward to and get excited about will deliver, in very rare cases more than in our wildest dreams. More often they will not though and it doesn’t matter one bit. I’ve talked about the term “Vorfreude” before and I’ll repeat myself on what a great feeling it is. Sure, hypey people are annoyingly pink-glassed at times; they just want/need something to be great, so they choose to focus on (or talk about) the good aspects more than bad ones. Sounds pretty okay to me. Maybe they also have a gut feeling, the way I had 8 years ago about an upcoming MMO by Blizzard Entertainment.

Either way, anyone should be able to appreciate (or at least tolerate) a little hype by his fellow geek. Take it with a pinch of salt maybe. And if you can’t, well…..you’re a cynical grump that needs to remember how to feel excited and euphoric about something well in advance, no matter the risks – you know, it’s called hope. If things go pear-shaped, you’ll be disappointed either way and you know it. Let yourself catch some euphoria sometime – it’s healthy.

Where I’m going with this is that nobody should have to justify himself for hyping a game he is looking forward to, just like nobody needs to excuse himself for being too critical on his blog. God knows, we’ve been through a drought in the MMORPG corner  – and if you’re waiting on GW2 there’s still some way to go. In the meantime, what else are people supposed to do and write about, if not about all the good (they hope for) or all the bad (they dread)? We might as well all close our blogs during times such as these (ignoring you happy SWTOR people), if we’re not allowed to theorize and occasionally nag, panic or hype about upcoming titles.

We don’t know how GW2 is going to turn out. Admittedly, things are looking damn fine at the moment, but still – we simply don’t know! So, our Vorfreude might be the best thing about GW2; we are safe and well here in the land of assumption where everything is still possible. Our Vorfreude might be all we get.

…And we might as well enjoy that.

P.S. “Hyping / hypey” is used synonymously to “being excited or euphoric about something” in this post for the term has no negative meaning to me personally.

P.S.2: Expect a lot more GW2 hyping (and a little griping too) on this blog here over the coming weeks – “there is one (more) hyper yet in the blogosphere who still draws breath!”

P.S.3: To all the apathetic and grumpy: */cookie* 

P.S.4: Happy weekend – all ye past, present and future hypers!

Blog updates and 2011 honorable mentions

I have been fighting with myself for many months now about switching Raging Monkey’s to wordpress or not; or rather, I have been struggling bigtime with blogger – mostly for still not featuring the most essential feature: individual commenting / replies. For years it has cracked me up how blogger would not add this to their top priorities and how, after having had the probably most abysmal service in terms of customer care and responsiveness forever, very little changed after the Google takeover. I cannot recall how many hours I spent looking at wordpress templates this winter, although I was still reluctant to make the switch for various reasons.

Also, I had this strange hunch: “what if after so many years, they introduce a better commenting system right after you switch to WP? It could happen – think how annoying that’d be!”

And so I didn’t. And so they did. I couldn’t believe my eyes yesterday when blogger comment sections were suddenly showing up with individual reply links! That settled the decision for me (because overall I’m still happy with blogger’s simplicity) and also finally gave me the kick to update Raging Monkey’s overall blog appearance. Still true to its original, minimalistic template, it now comes with a slightly more polished, fresh look. And best of all: threaded commenting! Blogger bloggers rejoice – it’s alive!!!

My honorable blog mentions for 2011

It’s tradition on some blogs and networking sites to hold nominations and blog awards towards the end of the year; the MMO Melting Pot has taken up the Piggies this winter (are they finally all out?) and other blogs have either posted their nominees of the gaming and blogging world or run their very own “awards”. I’m not too big a fan of the term “award” honestly; in general I find it rather problematic and often presumptuous. However, the idea behind nominations is fun and personally I appreciate annual summaries and honorable mentions. It’s basically just another way to spread link love and that’s why I’ve decided to present my personal blog(ger) mentions for 2011 – to look back, to give kudos and recommend further. I’ve linked newcomer blogs a couple of times before, but never actually dedicated a post to my most frequent reads!

I keep a very active, regularly updated blogroll though, so in that way I’m already giving out recommendations every day. Still, I’d like to turn the spotlight on a few fellow bloggers I appreciate for various reasons, and who’ve been blogging alongside me (some longer than me, too) through the past year. I’m also taking this opportunity to give thanks to all of you who have been providing me with wonderful reads and inspiration and for active, interesting debates. So, without any further ado, here are my honorable blog mentions for 2011 in no particular order –

Most solid content provider / allrounder
Some bloggers excel at starting discussions in the community, writing frequently on various topics, if not always too in-depth or long. I use several such blogs as a resource for ideas or simply to keep myself in the loop on more general topics. One blogger who keeps managing this task with consistency after such a long time is yes – Tobold, as boring as it might sound! Despite not always agreeing with him, I appreciate his analysis and frequent counter-voice to teh l33t kids.

Best game design analyst / critic
My honorable mention goes to Nils here whose astute, rational (often plain mathematical) analyzis of many an MMO design topic and grumpy veteran blues have inspired some great discussions and also smiles over the past year. We’ve somewhat lost him to the world of politics lately, but I’m sure he will return as soon as there’s anything interesting happening in the world of MMOs! 😉

Biggest game design insight
When it comes to profound, professional insight on game design, we are lucky to call both Tesh and Psychochild our blogging neighbours. They’re the ones that will make you feel terribly “young” as you browse through their archives and realize that they’ve already written about your latest design epiphany 5 years ago on their blogs. Consider each a goldmine for interesting MMO design reads and discussion.

Great player commentary and writing
Some bloggers I appreciate for their unique, authentic voice and dedicated writing. Both Shintar and Stubborn will regularly make you smile, grieve or nod along enthusiastically as they share their personal gaming experiences and perspective very openly and honestly on their blogs. I will even read topics on alt-play or SWTOR for their intelligent and well-structured thoughts (!)

Wittiest / funniest / most comically enlightened blogger
If you happen to be a more regular reader on my blog, you will know that I’m drawn to the ironic and cynical. Not just that, I love laughing at things (especially when laughter is the alternative to crying horribly) and I consider well-delivered, witty and subtle humor a high (and most courageous) art – be it in literature, movies/theater or song. There’s no middle ground for the comical: you can only deliver or fail horribly in making others laugh the right way, while working it into layers of meaning.

Two bloggers who have not only managed this balance brilliantly but consistently for a long time, are Klepsacovic and Melmoth. If they’re not already on your reader, now is the time to do it!

Best (formal) writing
A similar class of writing that makes actual blog focus secondary, is masterful storytelling as much as elaborate and eloquent writing. Again, kudos go to Melmoth here for being such a distinguished writer (with a dose of very British charm). I would also like to mention Rades for his fascinating, well-researched (and voluminous!) storytelling of WoW lore (which I’d otherwise never read).

Most missed bloggers
There are a few bloggers who have either completely disappeared in 2011 or gone very quiet; they have left very sad, noticeable gaps in my daily blog reading. A warm /wave goes out to Gronthe, Issy, Scrusi, Epic Ben and all those with “more wit than honesty, (…) more villainy than virtue, more passion, more revenge and more ambition, than foolish honour and fantastic glory”. You are deeply missed.

Newcomer’s welcome
While I’m at it, I would like to give a (in places belated) greeting to a few newcomer blogs who have caught my attention in more recent weeks/months. Pay them a visit sometime!

  • Doone and Ahtchu who both appear to join our ranks of general MMO critics / design analysts.
  • Flosch of Random Waypoint; an “ex-hardcore raider” providing general commentary and design analyzis on various MMO topics (and he has awesome plushies!)
  • Play from Play:Life Game Style, a personal game commentary blog that also focuses on mastering gaming as a passion while maintaining a “healthy lifestyle”.

That was it for my 2011 nominations! Cheers to all of you out there who make this blogosphere an interesting and lively place – and of course: happy blogging in 2012! 

P.S. Due to my template update, I actually lost my entire blogroll and also the image I thought I had stored of the old one (duh)….I believe I was able to reinstall most of the links from pure memory, but should you spot a grave oversight or yourself missing there (which totally can’t be because you’re awesome!), please give me a heads up! 🙂