Achievement (Hate), Exploration and Mystery

The epic quest of kill ten rats has humble beginnings. Once upon a time the explorers of virtual worlds received hardly a hint of where to go or what to do but such are not the times we live in. Those who embarked on this journey before Blizzard’s time will remember that era of glorious uncertainty but early WoW players too, know how considerably the questing experience has changed over the course of a decade. The “kill ten rats” of yore and the “kill ten rats” of today have precious little in common.

Kill ten rats: a history of epic questing

Year #1
Player X overhears NPC talking of a special breed of rats with silver pelts that may exist “somewhere”. Player finds said rats by accident one day. Player kills rats, loots five pelts in 30 minutes. Player feels special. Wahey.

Year #2
NPC asks player X to find rats with silver pelts and deliver them. Player finds said rats one day, thanks to friendly advice in zone chat. Player kills rats, gets money in return from NPC.

Year #3
NPC asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn northwest of the inn. Player finds said rats after some searching, kills rats, gets money in return from NPC.

Year #4
NPC with an exclamation mark asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn northwest of the inn. Also, there is a yellow marker on the world and mini-map. Player finds said rats, kills rats, gets money in return from NPC.

Year #5
NPC with an exclamation mark asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn northwest of the inn. Also, there is a yellow marker on the world and mini-map. And the rats sparkle! Player can’t miss rats, kills rats, gets money in return from NPC.

Year #6
NPC with an exclamation mark asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn northwest of the inn. Also, there is a yellow marker on the world and mini-map. And the rats sparkle! And the fastest route is now also indicated in red on the world map! Player can’t possibly miss rats, kills rats, gets money in return from NPC.

Year #7
NPC with an exclamation mark, now also indicated on the mini-map, asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn northwest of the inn. Also, there is a yellow marker on the world and mini-map. And the rats sparkle! And the fastest route is now also indicated in red on the world map! And the player has epic flying mount of ludicrous speed. Player can’t possibly for the life of him miss rats, kills rats, gets money and silver pelt cloak in return from NPC.

Year #8
NPC with an exclamation mark, now also indicated on the mini-map, asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn north/northwest/south/southwest of the inn. Also, there are many yellow markers on the world and mini-map. And the rats sparkle! And the fastest route is now also indicated in red on the world map! And the player has epic flying mount of ludicrous speed. Player can’t possibly for the life of him miss rats, kills rats, gets money and silver pelt cloak in return from NPC. After delivery, player X receives special kill-ten-rats achievement!

Year #9+
After reading the achievement tab, player X finds NPC with an exclamation mark, also indicated on the mini-map. NPC asks player X to find rats with silver pelts at the barn north/northwest/south/southwest of the inn. Also, there are many yellow markers on the world and mini-map. And the rats sparkle! And the fastest route is now also indicated in red on the world map! And the player has epic flying mount of ludicrous speed. Player can’t possibly for the life of him miss rats, kills rats, gets money and epic pelt cloak in return from NPC. After delivery, player X receives special kill-ten-rats achievement!

..Such explorers we are. Paradoxically, the shorter, the safer, the more navigated and convenient our questing has become over the years, the more MMOs have felt the need to reward us for it. That makes no sense whatsoever but it’s not a coincidence either. More on that later.

Why I hate Achievements

A fair warning: I don’t like achievements. I get why some players like, nay love achievements but I really don’t. More importantly, I don’t think they have any business in this genre.

The unconditionally worst thing that has ever happened to MMOs are achievements. Hate is a strong word and applies for my case of die-hard explorerdom although it need not be yours. Nothing feels more counter-intuitive, more obtrusive or immersion-breaking to me than the flashy achievement fonts and in-your-face achievement tabs that greet me in most of today’s MMOs – yes, even at the bloody login screen of once-great Guild Wars 2. Sic transit gloria mundi virtualis. When did all this happen?

While that’s achievements on the surface, repercussions reach much further. Several times on this blog have I raised the question of why virtual worlds need to save time, why players need to be told what to do and where to go by which path when developers have spent years creating vast open worlds of beauty. What’s it all for – just a pretty, expensive paint around a game telling me what’s an achievement?

Who would wish to complete a world? Completionism, pre-defined paths and goals, extrinsic motivators – none of these go with my personal sense of exploration. Every time unwanted and un-asked for achievements pop up in an MMO, my chosen modus operandi is disturbed or hindered. Every time that happens, that delicate illusion of virtual world is shattered. Worse, there’s no opt-in (why?).

The greatest RPG I’ve ever played was a game I didn’t complete. Where things happened at random, sometimes or never again. Where going south was as good as going north and an endless sense of mystery added depth and immensity to the world.

Even if you can’t design endless worlds, you can create size through mystery. Exploration feeds off mystery – and mystery is neither excellent nor should it be fully solvable.

Mystery resists.  Mystery refuses.  It will not yield.  Not to me.

Mystery resists closure.  It resists completion and clean getaways.  It, instead, insists.  I’m not done with you yet.  Get back over here.

Mystery is not merely the unknown.  It is the impossibility of knowing and yet the continual attempt to know.  It is unknowability itself.  It is futile and essential.

Why do we diminish our own experience?  Are we afraid of not connecting, of confirming our solitude? [T. Thompson]

No really, go read the whole thing.

When the journey is no longer the reward…we need more rewards?

Whether you agree with my passionate sentiments or not, what most design critics can agree on is the relationship between journey/effort and goal/reward in games; the required balance in order to make either feel significant. Long and hard journeys with never a memento to show for feel unfulfilled, just as easy and plentiful loot won’t be remembered by anybody. More than that though, whenever players think back on their greatest achievements in MMOs, they don’t usually name purple swords and special titles but rather the road that led there, the obstacles that had to be overcome in the company of comrades. Naturally, loot matters too and we’ll keep those special items forever – yet loot like an epilogue, is only the last part of that story.

The journey is the reward. Knowing that we did it, that we’ve accomplished something. The shiny purple sword is a representation of that experienced, gratifying victory. It means nothing if we got it for a bargain on the flea market. (Okay maybe if there was an achievement for that….)

So, if the journey becomes ever shorter, ever more straight-forward and without mystery, what will a game attempt in order to compensate for lack of win? Will it pile on the rewards, the titles, the achievements – desperate to convince us we achieved something anyway?

I don’t need to be told I achieved something in shrill and flashing colors. I should be able to feel it and to judge it was a worthy cause. That’s when you may reward me with items, sometimes, so I may carry them with me to tell the world about my adventures.

And whither there? I cannot say. For now, let’s leave it a mystery!

NBI Poetry Slam Round-up

This October’s NBI has come and gone in the blink of an eye, for me anyway, and I’m happy to see that Doone and Roger’s effort has resulted in at least 24 new blogosphere neighbours putting their names on the map. I’m still going through that list on the forum and I wish everyone much joy with blogging in the future and of course a very warm welcome!

It’s been an interesting month of not only new names but great sponsor contributions, veteran advice and of course the talk back challenges which I greatly enjoyed (we should do this more often!). And then there was the Poetry Slam event which I am happy to say, was answered by a fair group of both seasoned poets and explorers alike, pushing forward and creating most delightful pieces of art in the process. I had a ton of fun reading these and would personally like to thank all of you who gave this merry little event a shot – you rock! Without much further ado, let me share this year’s NBI Poetry Slam participants:

Thanks everyone for their support, those contributing or just spreading the word. Apologies if I missed anybody – if your contribution is not among the links above, please let me know via comments! hand01

That was it for this year’s NBI Poetry Slam folks, although that’s not to say the rhyming and contriving should stop there. Long live MMO poetry and a happy Sunday everybody!

Battle Bards – Episode #14: World of Warcraft

Do you remember the sound of Elwynn Forest? Can you smell the scent of beewax candles and lumber? Do you recall the way a murloc dies?

World-Of-Warcraft-Logo

It was high time the Bards took up the immeasurable soundtrack that is World of Warcraft. Needless to say, this last episode 14 is full of dear memories, nostalgia and merriment. I never miss WoW more than I miss it through its music. And for once, all the Battle Bards agree.

Episode 14 show notes

  • “A Call to Arms” from World of Warcraft
  • “Elwynn Forest” from World of Warcraft
  • “The Shaping of the World” from World of Warcraft
  • “The Sin’dorei” from The Burning Crusade
  • “Castaways” from Cataclysm
  • “Mountains of Thunder” from Wrath of the Lich King
  • “Stormstout Brew” from Mists of Pandaria
  • Mailbag: Ian

NBI: Armchair Game Designer. Or how that other MMO keeps ruining my Gameplay Experience

One of the two publicly elected topics of this year’s NBI talkback challenge is “armchair game designer” and several bloggers have already posted some fine entries all around ideal MMO design, mechanics, must-haves and wishlists. While I have some thoughts on the second topic of guilds too, it was the armchair that won my vote on the poll.

With few exceptions, most MMO players are rather outspoken hobby game designers of sorts. It’s quite remarkable how passionately and critically MMO design gets discussed up and down our blogs, message boards and other social media, compared to other genres where games are rarely debated with comparable stakes over longer periods of time. Of course that is hardly surprising if we consider how MMOs are these living worlds, made to last for years and unite players of all colors and playstyles under one banner. MMOs are multi-genre the way other titles never have to be and they do not only need to attract a wider audience but keep an audience interested that is bound to change tastes over the course of time. I could imagine easier tasks.

And yet, naturally I’ve done it too and keep doing it; every and now and then, I muse over how much better I could design certain game mechanics or how my ideal MMO is supposed to play. A bit of WoW’s polish, a good chunk of LOTRO’s approach to world and lore – a mix of Tera’s and GW2’s combat – loot from Rift and crafting from UO – oh and while I’m at it, the Arisen from Allods, please. That’s usually how these things go, until we have the perfect product straight from the great bazaar of mix’n match –
TheHomer

It’s tempting to believe that players could improve game design and mechanics – and for isolated instances they probably could. Yet, when it comes to creating the ideal game, I’ve a feeling my persistent yet fuzzy ideas and dreams have increasingly become a hindrance to my enjoyment of MMOs both present and future.

How “that other MMO” keeps ruining all the fun

The longer we’ve played MMOs, the more experiences we’ve accumulated in a particular genre, the stronger our inner armchair designer is getting. Those early months, maybe years of awe and wonder have finally passed. We know how this stuff is supposed to work and make us feel. Why can’t they do it already? That’s when that “other game” starts growing on our mind, starts to appear and manifest ever so subtly. That’s when the stages of carefree enjoyment and exploration become shorter and shorter in every subsequent MMO we play.

We compare. That’s a pretty human trait and in our personal lives too, comparing ourselves into misery is something most of us excel at. We compare less in beginnings simply because there’s less to compare to. Once that changes, our critical eye becomes ever more eager, faster and more merciless. I would wager that assessing a new MMO takes veterans nowadays a few hours at best, if even that.

I am guilty of that as anyone and it strikes me how many MMO debates and arguments aren’t so much criticizing actual design as they’re “opinion battles”. Whenever players demand that GW2 – a game that is fundamentally based on the idea of mass outdoor events and setup flexibility – should have a holy trinity or remove the silly zergfests already, that’s not GW2 being particularly broken but them simply preferring “that other game”. Every time WoW is bashed for cartoony graphics (I have done it) or welfare epics, somebody has stopped seeing WoW and started to see “that other game”. How often are we not actually criticizing bugs, imbalances or broken design but really just saying “why can’t this game be another game”? This goes for changes too: even if WoW has changed over the years, I’m sure many quitters would have been fine with changes they personally approved of.

To clarify, there’s nothing wrong with wanting different games or leaving an MMO. In fact that would be preferable to some of the ranting we sometimes see on official forums.  There’s nothing wrong either with arguing pros and cons of preferences, in fact as bloggers we do much of that. I find creative ideas interesting and passionate discussions entertaining, as long as we remember the rules of subjectivity vs. objectivity. The older I get, the harder I personally find keeping one (consistent) position. While I still have my preferences and undoubtedly want developers to cater to me as much as the next person, I can empathize with other views and playstyles. I used to be a different player in 2004 than I am in 2013.

And the longer I’ve been a traveler on this road, I find my inner armchair designer more and more of a nuisance. It keeps me from enjoying current games for what they are. It keeps dangling a carrot in front of me I can never reach; a carrot of something more, something better just around the corner. Add to this, that I don’t really know what “that other game” is as it seems to change gradually. I’m not convinced that if I ever got to see it go live, that it would actually be a good thing. Would I play this forever? Or would I not much rather tire of it the way I always do?

tesowind

Alas, dear armchair – this is where we say goodbye. I’m not saying I won’t have a seat on other blogs but when it comes to you and me, we must part ways in the future. There’s a real game or two just around the corner I intend to enjoy and make the most of. I’m not sure it will be perfect, given that perfection is an endless process, but it’s safe to say I’ll have no use for dusty, old furniture there. I’m sure you understand!

P.S. Speaking of furniture, I hope TESO gets player housing à la Wildstar! (ooops)

Tanks, Healers, DPS and Time

Rowan over at I Have Touched the Sky is musing on WoW a lot lately and recently went to explain why you can compare apples and oranges and that all MMO boss fights are essentially the same. Sure, Ragnaros had the fiery adds where Nefarian had randomized trash and class calls (add any epic boss fight here) but at the end of the day a lot of what makes the so-called complex encounters in WoW is added fluff around the tank-healer-DPS equation. Iteration, iteration.

Not surprisingly, I’m with Rowan when it comes to appreciating MMOs for a lot more than boss fights or raiding. I wouldn’t go as far as to claim that WoW raids are the exact same as Rift or Allods raids, but there are only so many ways to design great trinity-based encounters across all games and only so many ways to make one of them truly memorable. If I think back on my very intense WoW raiding spree between vanilla and the end of WoTLK, there are maybe ten out of a 100+ different boss fights that I would call remarkable. (Coming to think of it…how many raid bosses did I experience in WoW? Now I am tempted to count them down! Scary.) The world on the other hand, the setting and lore, the cities and zones, the races and other creatures, the graphics and music – those things make MMOs for me. They give them their unique face and flavor.

wowworld

While boss design is one thing, I would like to differentiate between encounter design and combat here: combat style and basic mechanics are a huge part of MMOs no matter what you choose to do – in those games where no non-combat classes exist, anyway. Solid combat design, as in intuitive, responsive, tactical, you-name-it is essential.

It’s a DPS world

Rowan is right of course in that all encounters are essentially DPS races or “about DPS”. The easiest way of proving that is that you can design pure DPS fights (which includes all soloing) but you cannot design pure healing and/or tanking fights. Even the so-called “healer or tank fights” are DPS fights: famous Valithria Dreamwalker was nothing but a weak twist and other bosses relying heavily on taking are essentially about tanks bravely biding their time until DPS is back. How are you going to kill stuff without dealing damage?

In that context, I always liked to think about the three roles in relation to the element of time, when discussing trinity based combat:

– Tanks create time in MMOs. Without them, it’s usually an insta-wipe and no fight can take place. They’re the wall between life and death. From that point of view, for the raid tanks are the creators of time and opportunity.
– Healers, in analogy, keep time. They ensure tank survival and therefore maintain time so DPS can deal damage in peace. Healers are therefore the preservers and extenders of time. They let any crucial role in the raid die and time (to kill the boss) disappears.
– Last but far from least, DPS are those that progress time and only them. Their output decides whether it’s gonna be a long or short fight (which affects healing and from there, tanking) or a wipe. DPS are the great drivers of time and by the same virtue, masters of duration. They can shorten the required time just the way healers should extend it.

tesothree

Since time means life, you can pretty much substitute the terms in that analogy and it still works. Either way, it makes for an interesting picture if we imagine DPS as that driving force or the pendulum that swings between tanks and healers. You can add any other mechanic to an encounter – timing, phases, rotations, hybrids – it comes down to the same. Of course that goes for trinity combat as much as any other MMO combat and encounter design, in fact even more so.

And yet, ironically DPS have always been the undervalued, inflated currency of trinity MMOs. While good tanks or healers are important, the only reason DPS don’t receive equal love in WoW and elsewhere, is not necessity of role but numbers. In a game that would require as many healers and tanks as DPS to beat encounters, nobody would ever fail to thank his fellow DPSer. After all, what good is having all that time if you can’t spend it?

GW2 Highlevel Light Armor Styles

One of the things that strikes you when going straight from GW2 to a bit of Tera, because Tera has shinies, is that in all due fairness the two games mostly keep an even scale where skimpiness is concerned. The eternal cringe that is the Elin aside, Tera’s nekidness is mostly visible in its High Elves and Castanics (I love my gender neutral Popori!). Many NPCs wear the type of badass armor that makes you question why oh why they couldn’t just stick to that overall aesthetic?

teraarmor

Depending on race and armor choices, you can mostly avoid the sexy armor if you so choose, which similarly to GW2 gets frustrating at times but is still doable. A great range of class and cultural armor in GW2 adds bare midriffs, split skirts and high heels for its female heroes, and yet the audience at large seems to be okay with that arrangement. Depending on time and chance, you’ll have a very hard time spotting serious looking apparel (and not another iteration of the masquerade set) standing around the mystical forge in Lion’s Arch. Yet, some games clearly get more beef, especially pre-hyped beef, for their armor design than others. I do wonder a little why that is.

This brings me to a long-made promise concerning my Elementalist in GW2 whom I love to outfit. I managed to create three overall sets/looks for max level that I’m incredibly happy with, so without further ado, let me share my favorite srs bzns styles for GW2 light armor classes (all items come without class/race requirements):

1) The Berserker
The first seriously awesome exotic set I ever got in GW2, Berserker Acolyte items become available from lvl62 upwards. This set is best known for its heavy skirt and blindfold mask, creating the original Illidan look. I love what different color palettes can do here and I prefer a random drop called Doric Helm of the Valkyrie (pics 2 and 3) over the default headpiece. This style is cheap and easy to come by in the market place!

gw2berserker

2) The “Queen’s Guard”
Named for its royal baroque look, I named this mix’n match between the Berserker set and several more items the Queen’s Guard. The extra pieces to look for here are Mending Epaulets (of something), (Valykrie’s )Exalted Pants and very common Apprentice Shoes. The more delicate Masquerade gloves will also fit in beautifully (pic 3).

gw2royal

3) Conqueror of Arah
By far my proudest accomplishment, nothing radiates rite of passage the way the Orrian set from Arah does. I sweat blood and tears acquiring this look! All pieces are awesome and unique, not to mention versatile – letting you go from demon spawn (especially with the default head piece) to my favorite angel healer depending on coloration. Since I love the steampunk vibe of the Inquest Cowl from Crucible of Eternity, I substituted that one with the rather ugly Orrian mask.

gw2angel

I gotta admit, the very last look in blue/white is a big favorite although I clearly should’ve remembered to switch my gloves back before taking that screenshot.

These pictures should prove beyond a doubt that GW2 features some wonderful armor that treats the ladies right – so dear ArenaNet, you have my approval to create more of these and less of those, thank you!

For more light armor inspiration, check my old overview of non-skimpy low level styles and also this formidable skins overview on the GW2 Guru forums. Choices, choices!

Friday Linkage

Battle Bards episode 13 has aired this last Tuesday and it’s adventure time! One of our most abstract theme shows so far, it was both interesting and challenging to think of MMO tunes that convey the spirit of adventure; that feeling of setting sail into the blue. Adventure and travel are every explorer’s bread and butter but no matter your Bartle profile, it means a great deal of different things to different people. What does it mean to you? Find out and tune in!

cities
Episode 13 show notes

  • “Open Sea Music” from Pirates of the Burning Sea
  • “Explorers and Artifacts” from Guild Wars 2
  • “Spiritual Elysium” from Anarchy Online
  • “Step to the Next World” from Aion
  • “Talking Island” from Lineage II
  • “Romulus Suite” from Star Trek Online
  • “Breeland Jig” from Lord of the Rings Online

An NBI-2 Status Update

This October’s NBI has already attracted a fair group of new MMO bloggers – head over to the official forums to check them out! We are only halfway which means there’s plenty of time left to sign up as a newcomer or to contribute as a sponsor. The poetry slam event is still going too and around ten MMO bloggers have already risen to the challenge. This has been great fun so far, so keep them rhymes (or not rhymes) coming, folks!

nbimedium

Women who play interview

Kazz from Gameskinny has started an interview series on female gamers, bloggers and women generally active in and around the field of gaming. It is her proclaimed goal to reach out and encourage women who play to step into the light – to join communities such as the blogosphere and other networks where gamers roam and are being creative, without fear of rejection.

“Women in gaming” is a topic I wanted to write about for some time, but never quite found the right approach. Whilst there are many tales available of the horror stories and downsides for women who dare to call themselves gamers, my own experiences – as a gamer and game blogger – have actually been quite positive.

I’ve always felt that it is important to highlight what is going wrong and to expose those who judge by gender. But equally, women are playing games, they are making games, and they are making positive contributions to gaming communities. [Kazz]

As a videogame blogger I have a lot of self-cringe when being asked to give anyone an interview on myself; it seems like a horribly self-absorbed thing to do unless your name is Jane McGonigal or Markus Persson in which case you probably have something important to say. However, after overcoming these initial misgivings I was happy to answer Kazz’ questionnaire which led me way back, to humble beginnings and parts of my gamer biography I have never talked about before on the blog. If some of my own struggles can inspire anyone to take heart, that’s a worthy cause right there.

Tangentially, I always wanted to write an article on my personal gamer bio; I think this would make for an awesome blogosphere meme. I’d love to hear fellow MMO bloggers to talk about their own journeys – how it all began and which games they deem the most significant and formative. In any case, over the course of the questionnaire I realized once more how much I owe the blogging community and how thankful I am for discovering it, including all the special bloggers and commenters who have engaged with me over the last few years. I was a fairly isolated gamer before I started my blog. I still hold a torch for fellow gamers and geeks everywhere, no matter the sometimes bad propaganda or foul apples on boards and comment sections. We are the community.

So, thanks Kazz for having me. For all those who are similarly nosy and curious as myself where their fellow bloggers are concerned, you can find the interview here.

Happy weekend everybody! I shall resume more game-related news and ponderings soon, well as soon as an MMO out there does something interesting. Here’s to hoping!

FFXIV: With a little Help from my Friends

Eorzea is beautiful alright – FFXIV was recently added to my personal MMO journey portfolio. Some games make it very easy for you to take great screenshots.

Tangentially, I was reminded there is much to be said for NPC companions. I like them a lot. They’re a bit like my cats; they don’t say much but they’re always there, keeping a close distance, making funny faces and causing mischief when I’m not looking. And sometimes they remind me that it’s okay to take a rest and just be. Happy Monday everybody.

NBI: Join the Poetry Slam!

The MMO blogosphere is a colorful place full of talented people: writers, reviewers, podcasters, machinimists, painters, musicians, scientists, yes even cooks, just to name a few. And then there are the poets: bloggers who enjoy playing with the formal aspects of the written word as much as (and sometimes more than) message and meaning, people who engage in wordplay and subtle witticism to serious or more frivolous effect – quite often just to provoke a smile from their audience. It’s a beautiful thing to be creative in any shape or form and poetry is a way to be creative with language.

My love for languages and poetry is no news to more frequent readers. Every now and then I let it shine through some parts of my more serious posts, even if way too rarely or then I experiment with different writing styles just because. Poetry doesn’t only happen on the surface even if it’s easier to detect via verse, rhyme and other stylistic devices. A well-written piece of prose full of poetic magic feels like molten silver or a warm hand01blanket on the soul. I cheer every time a fellow blogger makes me feel in such a way about games.

Alas, let us shake the bonds of srs blogging bzns this lovely NBI October! Let us engage in some lighthearted forms of lyricism – the spontaneous and experimental, the ironical and conversational or if you so desire, the classics (or a parody thereof)! Too many people shy away from the ivory tower that is poetry but creative writing happens in all shapes and forms and anyone can join in for some fun and experimenting!

Let this second NBI be your opportunity (newcomers and sponsors alike) to contribute to an around-the-MMO-blogosphere poetry slam!

You could, for example, go with something simple: A haiku or limerick about your favorite NPC, your worst dungeon run, your most beloved MMO zone –

Haiku:
“Elwynn, my lovely
How I miss your gentle tune
Too long I’ve been gone.”

Limerick:
“I’d rather have epics than gold,
A mantle or sword for the bold.
To tell where I’ve been,
The things that I’ve seen.
No coin tells my stories of old.”

Or, you could always check out examples on other blogs for inspiration, such as –

Any and all NBI poetry slam entries will be rounded-up on MMO Gypsy as well as the official NBI site by the end of October 2013. Feel free to leave me your URL in the comment section or the respective NBI forum thread. Challenge yourself and try something new! There’s no right or wrong ways and no winners – only participation.

And now let loose those creative juices – Happy slamming!

NBI: Blogrolls and You

I’m a blogger who enjoys discovering new blogrolls as much as updating my own. The blogroll is an important part of my blog’s layout; it deserves a prominent spot and serves different purposes. In many ways, it tells my readers that I consider myself part of a community while recommending other bloggers I enjoy reading to them. The MMO blogosphere is a small place – but my blogroll tells me every day that I am not alone. As someone who greatly values the exchanges between my own place and others, as someone who believes that my own writing can only get better thanks to blogger interaction, I can only recommend keeping an up-to-date (!) blogroll somewhere on your blog where it’s easy to access.

nbimedium

Whether to keep a blogroll and what kind, is a frequent concern for newly starting-out bloggers. What benefits are there to having a blogroll? How long should it be? And how do I get other people to link to my page?

…There’s not one correct answer to any of those questions. I have my own reasons to blogroll and so have others. Whether you set up a blogroll or not and what your personal approach to linking is, depends on the type of blogger you wish to be. It’s about how you see yourself, the purpose of your blog and how much you wish to connect with others. If you do however currently entertain the notion of adding a blogroll to your own site, let me share a couple of thoughts that will hopefully prove useful to that decision.

A) Why to keep a blogroll
There’s a variety of things a blogroll can do for you, more than meets the eye at first. A blogroll…

  • ..is a personal statement; it tells your readers where you position yourself within a greater community and that you are part of it. It tells them what blogs you enjoy reading, which other bloggers you associate with and consider resources. And it tells linked bloggers that you follow them.
  •  ..spreads linklove; linking to other bloggers keeps the blogosphere alive. It lets your readers discover new resources and helps fellow bloggers to receive attention. Most bloggers wish to be read by many people and appreciate being linked – so linking to other blogs is part of a fundamental give & take. If nobody gives, nobody receives.
  •  ..is a personal resource; besides promoting other bloggers from your blogosphere, a blogroll can serve as a reader or eye-catcher while you are busy with your own blog. I use my own blogroll that way and seeing new posts from fellow bloggers pop up is always exciting and keeps me in the loop.
  •  ..is a “hub” for others; bloggers that keeps particularly long and up-to-date blogrolls are often used as a hub by readers who frequent other sites from there. I’ve been told before that my blogroll gets used this way and I can see the outgoing traffic I generate via my blogroll (as much as the traffic I receive from other blogrolls). Not all of your frequent visitors use dedicated readers for their daily reading – instead, they use your blogroll!

B) Things to consider when setting up your blogroll
Once you decide that your blog is going to have a blogroll, there are both formal and more qualitative aspects to consider. Popular concerns include:

  • Where to put my blogroll? Will you give your blogroll a prominent spot on the sidebar or is there going to be a dedicated stand-alone page? Some bloggers feel that long blogrolls ruin their layout. On the other hand, blogrolls don’t get frequented and used nearly as much when they’re not visible on your front page. It sounds lazy, but readers don’t usually go for that extra click. Ask yourself how important effective linklove is for you when making that decision.
  • How long do I make my blogroll? Are you going to be selective with your linking and if so, what criteria do you employ? Some bloggers share their love generously in an attempt to unite as many bloggers as possible. Others only link to thematically similar blogs, to blogs they read daily, to bloggers they call friends. A few bloggers keep multiple blogrolls for different interests. There is no right or wrong way here as long as you keep in mind that a) blogs you link to = blogs you are essentially promoting, and b) all selectiveness is a statement of personal preferences (it will be interpreted as such even if you don’t think so).
  • What type of blogroll do I choose? Both blogger and wordpress allow for different blogroll layouts: alphabetic order or recently updated, blog title only or including latest post title and date, with snippets or not. You can also restrict the number of blogs that are displayed in a “most recent view”. If you’re looking for a minimal and light-weight solution, alphabetic and non-dynamic blogrolls work fine. Personally, I prefer “most recent on top” with added post title and date because I use my blogroll like a reader. While blogger has always offered this type of dynamic functionality, WP users require to install “WP Link Manager” (new versions) and “WP Social Blogroll” plugins to get the same result.
  • What’s my personal blogroll “philosophy”? Over time you will develop a routine of when/why you add a new blog, as well as when/why you remove a link, be it due to inactivity or other. Again, there are no correct or wrong ways to handle this, although I would recommend to tend to your blogroll regularly and keep it updated. Horribly outdated public blogrolls don’t serve much purpose, except maybe a very sentimental one to the blog owner.
(artwork by Martin Handford)

(artwork by Martin Handford)

C) How to get on other blogrolls
This last question is often raised by beginners since naturally, you would like to start appearing on other blogrolls and get word out there of your existence. However, there are as many ways to get on somebody’s blogroll as there are different bloggers and in almost every case this process isn’t one to be rushed. So, a few basic tips from my humble experience:

  • Be patient. Keep in mind that all bloggers handle their blogroll differently; some link everything, others are picky about topic, for some it’s all about friendship and others only link in return. A mixture of all of these points probably applies to most of us, so there’s not really one way of getting on someone’s blogroll. This also means you cannot intentionally cater to somebody’s selection process; it’s too complex (and you don’t wish to do that anyway).
  • People can only link to you if they know about you. The absolutely best way of getting noticed is to read other blogs and then comment on posts you enjoyed. Almost every blogger checks out more frequent commenters and where they came from. Another way to make yourself visible is via pingbacks; include links to articles in your own posts where appropriate to reference. In time, more and more bloggers will notice you. It’s also okay to send blogging neighbours a friendly /wave via email (what I wouldn’t recommend however is linking your blog URL in comments for no good reason or asking to be put on a blogroll). For more ways to get yourself noticed, also see this article over at Liore’s (and take point 7 to heart!).
  • Be patient. Getting on a lot of blogrolls takes most people years, during which their posting frequency, quality and consistency will either win more and more people over or not.
  • Accept that you won’t be linked by everybody. Some bloggers may never link to you, even if you’ve been linking them. Don’t over-analyze this either; there could be all sorts of reasons for this, most of which aren’t personal. Sometimes your blog (=/you) just doesn’t fit someone else’s blogroll philosophy and there’s nothing you can do about it.
  • Really, be patient. Write on. Be the best you can be.

I wish you lots of fun with your new blog and good luck in choosing the right blogroll. Luckily, there are no final choices here, so you can always change your layout and approach as you keep finding out what works best for you. Allow yourself to experiment! I’ll see ya on the next blogroll!