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shadowtongued · 4 years ago

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long headcanon about the duality of love and the mahjarrat condition pertaining to it from his point of view. if you read all this babble i swear to god, i love you, i hope you have a good day. cw: sex addiction, child neglect, unhealthy coping, unrequited pains. reason for writing: hi i want to die bc of angst.

i think we all know even without playing medieval xp grind lore game, runescape, that sliske is old. very old. he tells us in endgame there's not much he hasn’t done with his life over thousands of years, even traveling to other planets and realms to just see what was out there and how far he could get. i’ve always projected his age as somewhere between more than 8,000 or even more than 10,000. we’re never given a timeline to how long the children of mah have lived. sliske has done a lot with his time; he’s killed a god, had quite a few elder relics in his grasp, SPOKEN to a elder god and managed not to die, mastered shadow magicks, has an excellent grasp on the shadow realm. he’s good with biology, chemistry, has a fair understanding of soul magic which is kind of a rare brand of knowledge, he’s tricked probably thousands into bad contracts to become wights in his army, understands the psychology and bad morals of people. he was a playwright, a high ranking officer, a spymaster. dude is just a determined polymath. you know what he hasn’t done? love. he’s never got to play with love.

mahjarrat are explained as having emotions, but dulled ones. they feel rage and pride apparently better than others. kharshai said after years of really believing he was a human, that when he came back to his true form he states “i feel raw power coursing through my veins. i don't feel pain like i used to, and i'm sure my intellect has increased. but somehow there is something missing. a capacity for emotion that i can't quite put my finger on.” they aren’t equipped for the same range of positive emotions as others are. they feel it, but they don’t understand it fully, it has been said by developers. this whole bit is sadly funny considering in canon, sliske catches feelings. he doesn’t realize he’s attracted to the player character. it’s stated many times, in his journals, in dialogue, etc. he believes their fates are tangled no matter what. and the saddest bit is he probably doesn’t understand these feelings and it confuses him to the point of anger. “ love! a mahjarrat in love? ... i almost wish that were true. it would certainly make the universe a more interesting place. ” “ so perhaps i have loved you. but that doesn’t mean i have to like you.” sliske’s main goal started off as to take the players immortal, unable to be crushed by the divine, soul and give it to himself so he could live forever, as mahjarrats do not have afterlives, once they die they are done, evaporated into energy. but in endgame we learn something from him hidden in masks that refutes that;

“I love you for more than your soul.”

you STUPID fucker, you’re in love.

the remainder of this is a lot of NON-CANON, personal headcanon interpretation that pretty much only works on this blog. as a rough summary: sliske’s ol’ mum was not fond of her kids, half-brother wahisietel or sliske since she did not see them as powerful as herself and was disappointed that's what her legacy came out to. a short, beefy, average at magic son, she had another go and was still disappointed with this spidery, scrawny, gifted but absolutely annoying stick underweight child. his father, saw him once or twice in his life and that was it. dyeosuthua wanted nothing more than to make them disappear and try again until she got offspring she didn’t want to throw into a lava pit in secrecy, infanticide was against tribal law due to population issues. sliske’s mother’s neglect was so severe, ( by the absolute boundless joys of rp development and mutual heacanons ♥ ) that wahi and nabor had an attempt at raising him and keeping him from freezing to death. why is all this jargon important? because while all mahjarrats are raised by tough love, sliske’s attention deprivation from his mother was so severe, he grew up and still has a slew of reactive attachment, psychological, and social issues he still carries as an adult. several times she threatened to kill him and almost made good on it more than twice. when wahisietel had proven he was a survivor of the first ritual of rejuvenation, sliske became dyeosuthua’s main target for abuse despite his gift for magic at a young age. nothing he did could impress her enough. and it left him constantly seeking approval and validation to an insecure mind.

the more he grew, the more confident he became mainly out of spite and to get attention. he’s loud, charming, makes you the only person in the room when he talks to you. he has an innate silver-tongued ability that persuades people to do just about anything. it was a front for his insecurities that he kept very very closed up. in the second age/senntisten capital, sliske had a pretty severe sex addiction as it was one of the few ways he felt validated and was able to get affection in a way he could digest. people with reactive attachment disorders often have sex addictions to fill the space of acceptance without having to commit.. easy, feel good intimacy without having to open up and let someone learn about your vulnerabilities and commit. it was pretty severe, considering mahjarrats find any kind of breeding or intimacies outside their ‘superior species’ as downright foul. sliske had always been the black sheep of the tribe and with his status as praefectus praetorio; head of secret police, really nothing put a damper on him trying to fill the void for affection he had. there wasn’t a species or individual he wouldn’t bed. he would easily take up propositions even for people who just wanted to fuck a mahjarrat because it was ‘exotic’ or because of his status as an officer, he now looks back on this and it bruises his insecurities even more that he allowed himself to do that. not out of pride for his species. but himself, being just a thing to be had because of rarity. azzanadra and his brother, wahisietel found out about it and while disgusted, partially understood what he was doing to negatively self soothe. at one point sliske and azzanadra, the champion of their god and head of the church, as well of one of the strongest living of their kin, had a lasting tryst for a few years and for awhile it made sliske feel very much self important in a way and alleviated his need to be needed so badly, this did not end well when sliske grew tired of their empire and wanted freedom. once childhood best friends and lovers had become absolute enemies once sliske became too unstable and azzanadra became too zealous.

sliske gave up his sexcapades for a long time, thousands of years, his libido dropped when he became interested in other projects and self healing when he was hit with the idea that he hasd essentially allowed himself to be an exotic fling and still burned over becoming his god, zaros, scapegoat after all he had done for him. love was a weird concept to him and still is. despite being adamant love doesn’t exist for his kind, and his belief that he is flawed, unstable, and embraced the idea of ‘you want a monster? fine! i’ll be the monster!’. he expects no pity, not be forgiven to things he has done and even in game when you sycophantically try to cozy to him, he straight up calls out your text choice was awful considering some of the shitty things he might have done to you. to sliske, all attention to him is attention, whether you’re praising or insulting him. he’s on your mind, he exists, that’s all he wants.

backstory aside the real part of this headcanon is that sliske actually wants love. it’s the only thing aside from an immortal soul he hasn’t had. sliske actually has an attraction to humans because they are empathetic, curious, passionate, and determined. he has an easier time assimilating and being around them since he has ALWAYS had a better sense of humor, socializing, and happiness than his kin. he feels emotions a lot stronger than his fellow mahjarrats. it allows him to talk to and connect to humans and humanlike species better. others of his kind have told him there’s “something wrong” with him for that. he’s actually a romantic, even if he’s just mimicking romance stories, movies, and actions from others. he thinks the idea of settling with one person and loving them is both mortifying and interesting. opening yourself up to someone and giving them the hammer to smash your cherry-red painted porcelain heart and seeing if they do, to him might be the ultimate form of trust and biggest gamble of russian roulette. the stakes are so heavy he’s high on the idea. but it’s also horrifying. mahjarrat are prolific for not opening up, not allowing others in, vulnerability out in the open is a death sentence. they live in a kratocracy/meritocracy where they kill off the weakest link. it’s not pretty. being soft is a useless, unnecessary, weak gene to them. it dampers survival.

but yet sliske keeps reading romance novels, writing his own confused poetry, and getting into unrequited one sided loves but practicing a backstabbing betrayal when one gets too close. i have to hurt them before they hurt me, betray and cut them down before they can do it to me. i think he wants to be loved. i think he kinda wants to be taught to love, for the emotions and the sake of knowledge. ( brb james newton howard’s ‘true love’s kiss’ from maleficent just came on spotify and i think i’m going to die bc i did not ask for background music thanks!!! ) he wouldn’t be the best at it, maybe a little too possessive with you, codependent, but very nurturing and fun loving. will sepnd a whole week spooning you.. people who hurt you past, present, and future may end up dead in mysterious ways or turned into a wight for you to beat the shit out of. but he’d try. he’s still got a broken child sitting behind his third rib. i think he would snarl the first few times someone genuinely got close to him, it would terrify him, being known on such a skinned, raw level. having gentle touches that are real and not a come hither to the bedroom. being known for something other than the confident, ego he has is death. he could be taught to be gentle for a crumb of consistent attention. might even cut down the murders and god killing down by 15%. love is not going to fix him, it’s not going to forgive the actual shitty things he’s done. it should never do that. but it will turn the lights on in a dark house.

love could really break him. i think so. i’d type more but this has gone on too long and i feel sad-happies.

#me @ me: die bitch #yell at me in an ask if i roasted both you and i at 450 deg f and basted you with butter and rosemary with a good wine too #// long post #✦ │ 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙾𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 ––– i do hate parting with information.

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a-demons-guide-to-games · 4 years ago

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Rune-Draw, MicroGames, and Runescape

Having a game in constant development for around 20 years, is bound to leave the equivalent of a hanging chad of mechanics strewn across your game, and no better description could fit a game like Runescape. Now Runescape being a point and click adventure game (I will die on this definition. Fight me!) has a bunch of mini games and quirky systems that only an old MMO could have, and are only used for certain quests and then never touched again. Games like matching up layers of a blueprint to make a whole schematic, or playing Tetris to make a catapult. But the most interesting little mini game I came across was Rune-Draw from the quest ghost ahoy. It was essentially just black jack, with cards replaced with runes. There's only 10 runes, one of each type, and the death rune instantly fails you. You pull runes until you both decide you wish to hold, or someone draws a death rune. Whoever has the most points wins. It’s simple, takes less than a minute to play, in-universe friendly, and it's just plain cute. The idea of non mages carrying bags of runes to gamble or how runes replaced cards seemed like such an in universe thing that I was shocked more NPCs didn't mention the game or play. And that's when I got thinking, why not expand this idea? And so without further adieu, here's my ideas of expanding the rune-draw game for no reason.

Like I said, I was super surprised that other NPCs had not referenced such an in-universe friendly conversion of blackjack. I imagine implementing more interactions would function sort of like how caravan did in Fallout:New Vegas. Having random NPCs scattered around the world to challenge for random games. First of all, this would populate the numerous bars with something to do and make them more lively, and give them purpose. I'd love to see people throwing runes on that table to make the various taverns scattered across Runescape feel purposeful, as if the natives of the world meet up to drink and to play. You can also tie each NPC into the already existing achievement system and encourage players to explore and find every rune-draw compatible NPC to fight for achievement points. I think going back to challenge my favorite NPCS to a few rounds of a game would be a good incentive to revisit them. Having certain NPCs give exclusively painted runes, or bags ( bags would determine the background GUI of the rune-draw game) would also be a fun reason to compete. This is the same principle that makes finding new cards in New Vegas so addicting. Even if I sucked at caravan. Certain NPC’s could have exclusive dialogue depending on how you beat them, and some may gamble various amounts of money to que players more in their personality. Imagine baking these ideas into amazing hidden mechanic if when payers first stumble their way into Ardougne, and into a small bar tucked away in the north west they find a drunk and boisterous NPC with a pack of runes on a table, The players can go challenge him to a duel and after a few wins the NPC could bet 1000 coins. If the player wins the NPC would grumble about not having enough money and instead give you a unique set of runes to play with., and you can keep them lore friendly by saying its just painted essence. Or have the NPC be an ex hunter teach you a new hunting technique which grants hunter xp. Mayber have a sailor allow you to catch a unique fish or get access to special bait. The limits are endless!

Sadly, the Runescape player base just isn't as big as it used to be. Finding other players in popular grinding spots can sometimes prove difficult at certain hours, and the minigame spots like stealing creation are never being played since there's never enough players to fill the player queue. And while it may be my rose tinted, nostalgia minted glasses talking here, the community back in the day felt so much more lively compared to where it is now. So why not introduce Rune-Draw! When you right click someone, let “Rune-Draw” show up in the drop down menu. And of course don't forget to let players to toggle off Rune-Draw duels, Let players gamble amongst themselves. It allows players to kill time waiting for friends when meeting in large groups and encourage player interactivity. Imagine players betting millions of black jack or even super rare armor pieces just as a joke or for some high stakes fun. The devs could also put a cap on how much you could gamble in one day so players don't lose millions and then go on the forums and rage. Aslo it might be cruel to allow literal virtual gambling and have the Rune-Draw be taught to you from an NPC with a gambling addiction. It would also be a fun little distraction for when they cut burned out after gathering the 500th log or burn out half way through monkey madness because that quest was straight GARBAGE. Also for the love of god Jagex do not make minigames like cards or Rune-Draw a skill. I don’t want to play 345981 games in a row just to get to level 56 skill level so I can do a single quest.

I just wanted to write out a more detailed way to expand something thought was fun and gush about Runescape for a bit. But a lot of what I wrote could easily apply to any small mini-games that could be added to Runescape. I always welcome more immersions and more roguish taverns. As well as offer an extra way to add fun microgames to facilitate a better player driven community.

#runescape #games #gaming #design #writing

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legenwaitforitdarythoughts · 6 years ago

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Social gaming, what is the appeal?

World of Warcraft, RuneScape, Texas Hold’Em Poker, League of Legends, Words with friends, Fortnite, EVE Online, the list goes on and on. Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the 2000s, you've no doubt heard of one of these online social games.

Now I’m NOT a gamer. I've never seen the appeal myself. But, over the years I have observed both my brother in law (BiL) and husband, playing online games and there must be a reason why they love it.

My BiL’s game of choice is League of Legends aka LOL a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game that is played with a group of friends. He told me last year, quite proudly in fact, that he has clocked 8,000 hours and spent a few thousand dollars on this game. Now let’s put that into perspective, that is almost one whole year that he has invested in this game. That blows my mind.

But, he is not alone, globally 2.3 billion people are spending on average six hours per week gaming, and it's a multi-billion-dollar industry with online social gaming expected to reach $25 billion by 2022 (Statista 2019; The Drop 2017; Wijman 2018).

What is it about online social gaming that appeals to so many? In my research, I identified two factors.

1. Social Interaction

Ricchetti (2012), says, “a single player game is a game, but a social game is a community, with all the fascinating human relationships.” Yes, studies suggest that social gaming provides an environment that fosters increased bonding social capital with high percentages of gamers forming lasting friendships and relationships (Cole & Griffiths 2007; Domahidi, Festl & Quandt 2014). Further, Simpson (TEDc Talks 2014) argues that online games “are a basic form of human connection, from an early age, we use ‘play’ to build relationships that can last a lifetime.”

youtube

I agree with this theory having observed my husband who recently began playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds aka PUBG. He enjoys chatting with his friends in other locations while they work together as a team to win the game. I can see that he is maintaining his friendships through this game as he likely wouldn’t communicate with these people as regularly outside of the game.

2. An alternate, virtual existence

Reid (2018), argues that in a world where there are so many bad things happening, people turn to online gaming as an escape. As the EVE online game describes itself as a ‘living, breathing, virtual world’ these games provide users with an alternate reality (Thornhill 2014). Yes, games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life allow players to be and do anything, without the pressures or social expectations of real-life (Schreier 2011). Additionally, research indicates that virtual gaming can allow players to overcome social barriers and self-consciousness faced in real-life and “offers a place where teamwork, encouragement, and fun can be experienced” (Cole & Griffiths 2007, p. 575). Whilst this need for escape may not be the case for all gamers, it makes sense that a virtual existence where people feel accepted, and a part of something bigger would have a strong appeal.

References

Cole, H., & Griffiths, M. D. 2007, ‘Social Interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers’, CyberPsychology & Behavior, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 575–583.

Domahidi, E, Festl, R, Quandt, T 2014, ‘To dwell among gamers: Investigating the relationship between social online game use and gaming-related friendships’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 35, pp. 107 – 115.

Reid, J 2018, ‘Fortnite gamers are motivated, not addicted’, The Conversation, 25 June, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://theconversation.com/fortnite-gamers-are-motivated-not-addicted-98718>.

Ricchetti, M 2012, ‘What Makes Social Games Social?’, Gamasutra, 17 February, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/135102/what_makes_social_games_social.php>.

Schreier, J 2011, ‘5 Top Social Games and Why They're So Successful’, Mashable Australia, 15 February, viewed 2 February 2019,<https://mashable.com/2011/02/15/top-social-games/#nvXb_sLmdkqs>.

Statista 2019, ‘Average weekly hours spent playing video games in selected countries worldwide as of January 2018’, Statista, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.statista.com/statistics/273829/average-game-hours-per-day-of-video-gamers-in-selected-countries/>.

TEDx Talks 2014, The power of truly social games: James Simpson at TEDxOU, 19 February, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO7uaoMX60o>.

The Drop 2017, ‘Social Gaming: It’s Bigger Than You Think’, The Drop, 6 November, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.the-drop.com.au/social-gaming-its-bigger-than-you-think/>.

Thornhill, T 2014, ‘The online videogame battle that cost $300,000: Gamers see hundreds of costly spaceships destroyed after user forgot to pay bill to defend their base’, Daily Mail, 29 January, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2547908/EVE-online-sees-biggest-battle.html>.

Wijman, T 2018, ‘Mobile Revenues Account for More Than 50% of the Global Games Market as It Reaches $137.9 Billion in 2018’, New Zoo, 30 April, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/global-games-market-reaches-137-9-billion-in-2018-mobile-games-take-half/>.

Images

CNBC n.d., ‘Gamers’ [image], in Twitch gamers are making six-figure salaries thanks to this man's work behind the scenes, CNBC, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/29/twitch-amazon-opg-omeed-dariani-streamers-gaming.html>.

‘VIdeo Game Gamers Gif’ [Gif], in Video Games Gamer Gif, GIPHY, viewed 2 February 2019, <https://giphy.com/gifs/videogames-y0NFayaBeiWEU>.

#thinkingoutloud #digital communities #social gaming #gamers #gaming #online gaming

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undeadsoulsliedtorest-blog · 7 years ago

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Growing up (1)

I will always carry the mental scars with me. I cannot forget nor do i want to they are lessons and reminders. In these posts i will share them as they come. I dont draft these things and edit as i type so if you read and find you want to keep reading hold tight. When i lived on hudnut the house was for show. It wasnt lived in by children, it had no adornishing marks of a family. It had furniture and props yes but everything was meticulously clean and organized. The only sounds to be heard on a regular basis were the television, running water, or the screaming voice of comand. There were children in the house yes and often times you could see them scurrying about wreaking havoc. Most often you would see the two boys shooting their bbguns or running around with their friends. The eldest girl could be found with her nose in a book or studying for next weeks homework. Then there was me. Id normally post up in the local library and play on the computer as long as possible or reading garfeild comics or read the diy books on crafts. I would have believed you if you told me there were fairies and would spend endless hours as any 7 year old would trying to find out everything i could about them. Often times i would be alone. I never spent a lot of time around people. I was fine doing my own thing. I spent many bours pursuing RuneScape endeavors. I was a pretty typical kid. At school i would do my work Mrs. Wood always made learning fun and i was always eager for story time when she would read to us. That was my favorite part of the day in elementary school. Being read to just had this magical quality to it. I dont know why it was me they chose to alienate and demonize (quite literally). I had already been on ritalin most of my child hood up to that point but by age 11 they had added mood stabilizers to my daily medical regime. I wasnt suicidal or dangerous. But yet when my oppiate-addicted-egg-donor could no longer keep me quiet under the threat of a trip to the insane asylum for electric shock therapy a lobotomy, she decided i was possessed. I was dragged before a priest after service in a catholic church seperate from our community for an excorcism. Now i know lobotomies were a discontinued practice and excorcisms (the real ones) are rare af. But at that age i didnt know any better. I thought i was a bad child. I was always in trouble and locked in my room. Several times i tried breaking through the wall with my head (a hammer wouldnt dent fyi) so that i could spend time with my family. On numerous occasions my mother sent me to my room simply because i was making noises. One such occasion i asked why me and no one else she said "because you are adhd and i dont like you".

#personal #spilled thoughts #spilled memories #childhood abuse #child abuse

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skinny-chef-blog1 · 8 years ago

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On Video Games or Life is Not a Roguelike

As a lifetime gamer, I often contextualize a lot of my life by comparing it to video games. While I’m not sure if that is healthy or not, it is nonetheless how I do things.

To follow my metaphor, I’ll have to explain a few things. I’m going to present three games and explain how they work.

First: Pokémon. As one of the best-selling franchises of all time, I’d be shocked if anybody didn’t know anything about it. However, what I’m going to explain is less “Catch Em’ All” and a bit more number-crunchy, so bear with me. In Pokémon, each creature has statistics which determine it’s speed, strength, and other combat factors. Different Pokémon are good at different things - where Charizard and Starmie are both all-out attackers, they use different types of attacks to achieve their goals. Similarly, Snorlax does much less damage than either of them but can take more than a few hits. What determines these differences is base statistics, which are universal for each monster - every Snorlax has the same BASE statistics. However, two factors influence those statistics - HOW the Pokémon is trained, and who its parents were. In the world of Pokémon, there are values which determine the genetic advantages or disadvantages each monster has. I’ll expand on this later.

Second: The Binding of Isaac. This game is a bit more recent, but still pretty well known in most circles. It’s a roguelike (or rogue-lite) which is a type of game where players are dropped into a dungeon and have to fight a series of monsters, collecting power-ups along the way. Die once, and it’s back to the beginning with no items, no gold, no nothing - in most Roguelikes, each run is entirely independent from the previous ones. In Rogue-lites, players unlock items and characters which may make the game easier as time goes on, but in general, you start at square one, every time. Each item you get may make your quest harder or easier, but ultimately it comes down to player skill when attempting to be consistently successful. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and get great items which trivialize the hardest parts of the game, sometimes you’ll get items that actively hinder your success. It’s a brutal engine which requires players to get good or get out.

Finally, the game nearest and dearest to my heart: RuneScape. This game defined my childhood in many ways, as my first “social network,” my first MMO (massively multiplayer online) game, and as my first addiction. Originally, this article was a six-page essay about how much I love RuneScape, which is why it was so delayed from last week. The basic concept of RuneScape is incredibly simple. It’s a sword and sorcery point-and-click game in which players collect resources, level up skills, fight deadly monsters, and complete quests. The game is extremely input light in general, meaning I can play full-time by clicking once every 30 seconds. Sounds a little lame, right?

Wrong. RuneScape rules. It’s a crazy time sink in which players can easily get lost and spend hours questing, talking to friends, fishing, or countless other activities. It’s been one of my most played games, in fact, I’m terrified to know how many hours I’ve spent playing it. The reason I love RuneScape is it isn’t combat-centric. In every other MMO I’ve ever played, the stats that matter most (sometimes the only stats) are combat stats, which determine how well you can fight things. In RuneScape, you have myriad skills which are not combat-centric: how well you can fish, how well you can cook, how well you can make potions, the list goes on. Each of these skills can make you money in some form or fashion, and each is at least somewhat unique in the ways you train it. This is very important to me.

For a long time in my life, I would try something, not be good at it, and quit - it happened with tons of sports, certain recipes, artistic hobbies - it happened a lot. I was totally convinced that if I wasn’t talented towards a certain activity, it wasn’t worth pursuing. I found a few things I was good at and focused entirely on them. For the formative period of my life, those things were primarily focused around the theatre - acting, directing, singing, dancing - I did it all. I had a real knack for it, but I didn’t want to pursue it in college. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew it wasn’t that.

When I got to school, I tried a few things - clubs, fraternities, etc. I wasn’t immediately good at most of them, so they fell out of my life entirely. I also wasn’t good at my major, so I dropped that too. Recognizing a theme?

I believed that I had Pokémon-style base stats. I was good at certain things, so I improved in those categories, but when it came time to branch out, I was bad at them, so I tried to focus on what I knew. That didn’t work very well, and I became somewhat jaded and resented much of the world around me. I began to put a lot of stock in class issues - where most of my graduating high school class had gone to private universities, I went to our in-state institution because it was the best financial option. I became obsessed with the lucky breaks other people got- I convinced myself that I was living a run of The Binding of Isaac, and I had been cursed with bad items. I knew I was good, but I was getting no help from the world around me. I got a few jobs, sometimes in the things I was good at, sometimes not. I found myself upset whenever I was doing something I wasn’t already good at.

Then, last year, I got a job working at a very cool restaurant, doing a job that was pretty unique: my job required me to teach and recommend board games to customers. What a great blessing, right? Getting paid to do something you already love? Well, maybe not. When I started, I was lousy at teaching games. I loved certain games and wanted other to play them to try them out, and I was pretty good at playing games, but I had to learn what the best way to teach games to others was. I spent a few months finding appropriate staple titles, honing down how to describe games to people, and ultimately trying to find the best way to serve our customers. Then last winter, my bosses approached me with a huge project: they wanted to reorganize our huge game library, and needed the help of their employees. I had to work collaboratively with people in earnest for the first time in a long time, and together we came up with a system which is good, but can still be improved upon. This was something I had never done before - I’ve never been very organized, so a system more complex than simply alphabetizing was very foreign to me. After doing that, I became interested in another facet of the restaurant: coffee. It started thanks to some friends and a desire to learn something new: pouring latte art. I was mostly just blown away by how good my friends were, and how odd the entire thing seemed. When I started, I was miserable at it, and I felt the same feelings of wanting to quit welling up constantly, but I realized that life wasn’t Pokémon, or The Binding of Isaac. In my video-game driven conceptualization of the world, life was RuneScape. I wasn’t going to be good at something at level 1, and I wasn’t going to be able to do much. But I spent a lot of time grinding (literally) and I got to the point where I could pour a decent-looking latte. Then I started learning other things about the barista station, and eventually became a barista in addition to my other job at the restaurant. That grinding paid off, as I not only met a bunch of new friends in the process, but learned new skills and changed one facet of my outlook on life - a real victory for someone as stubborn as myself. Would it have been easier if I’d had naturally steady hands, or my own tools to practice with at home? Of course, but base stats and good items matter much less than getting experience the RuneScape way.

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ryocos · 8 years ago

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I saw you mentioned you have an addictive personality in one of your recent posts, and so do I. I'm trying to get into better shape (and slowly succeeding), but when it comes to alcohol I trip up. I can either stop myself from having any at all, or I have as much as I can without my body going "NO, STOP" (I drink plenty of water throughout). I want to get to a point where I can happily have 1-2 drinks and leave it there - do you have an equivalent temptation yourself, and how do you manage it?

So this is all pretty embarrassing but here it goes.

I became addicted to ‘living’ a life different than the one I currently had. In middle school I found chatroom roleplaying and did that from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. Then I found Runescape and I got sucked into that. From there I graduated to World of Warcraft. I never did anything besides what I was addicted to. I stopped going to dance classes (I did ballet, tap and jazz when I was younger). I stopped going to the running club I was part of. I didn’t go out with friend (or make any real life friends to be honest). I hardly ate or exercised and ended up being 98lbs soaking wet at 5′3. I was able to quit WoW during college because of money problems, and haven’t felt the need to go back.

Right now I’d say I’m addicted to the internet. Once I sit down at my laptop I’m generally going to keep sitting at it, even if there is nothing for me to do and I’m bored. I try to manage my addiction by getting things done before I sit down at my computer. I keep my phone use pretty limited when I’m out and about.

I enjoy the fact that the internet helps me to not think, as I generally overthink everything to the point of causing myself a lot of pain and anxiety. That’s why I know to stay away from all drugs and alcohol because I feel like I’d enjoy it too much and ruin what I’ve managed to get for myself in life.

I wish you a lot of luck in your personal battle, friend.

#asks #addictions

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gabzies · 8 years ago

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tagged by @pahein (thanks for the tag <3): answer 11 questions and then make 11 for y’all to answer

what’s one piece of media you’re reading/watching/playing now or have been recently, and your opinion on it? Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon. cuz that anime life tho. really, I’m almost half way through and it is easy to watch and is simply cute.

describe your Favored Aesthetic™ please? honestly, i feel like i have different ones. contrast is important to me, and i really like black, white, gray, metallic, as well as rainbow..so combining all of these are the ideal. burst of color with black or white is a go to. from there, it really depends.

do you have a favorite band or composer, and if so, who are they and why? Issues, because of emotional attachment..honestly, because of emily and because issues gives me issues. they are beautiful humans on the inside. tyler carter’s voice is great too. musically, i know they arent the best, but honestly, it doesnt matter.

what’s something you’d like to save up for? weird answer, but here it goes. umm starting up a business? it takes a lot of bootstrapping capital, in my opinion. my other answer would probably be going to italy and romania and back to japan (to live there for three years).

i think u r cool (freebie, talk about whatever. or don’t, up to you!) thanks~ umm, people really enjoy my stories that are related to strangers on the internet? also i love cats, and my favorite animal is a siberian tiger. also, i’m a weirdo and i love to ice skate, hula-hoop, and skip down hallways.

did you have A Favorite Media as a kid? what was it? umm, i watched tv a lot more than now...i really enjoyed my gameboy color and sp. oh, specifically? oh um kingdom hearts is something cherished. pokemon. neopets, runescape.

what’s a cool blog you like? like a tumblr blog or a real one? @nevver is pretty cool with the whole photo and design aesthetic thing.

gimme one cool fact GO! your tears will make you beautiful because it will clear up your skin??????

when was the first time you heard/learned about what Sex actually is? i have no idea. never got sex education. definitely some time before middle school, but i don’t know how?

what’s a fact about yourself you don’t think many people know? i really love makeup

oh thank goodness eleven. finally. uhhh. if you had a catchphrase, what would it be? meme up to hardcore (i really dont have an answer tbh)

my 11 q’s…..

tell me about your last adventure

how do you define freedom in your life?

what is a song that you will never get sick of?

what band would you love to see in concert?

a game you are addicted to or was in the past?

if you could be fluent in another language, which would it be and why?

if you became president, what is one law you want to change or add?

favorite warm beverage?

favorite topic to learn about?

what do you love about yourself?

what is your top two love languages (gift giving,quality time,words of affirmation,acts of service,and physical touch)?

tagging folks: as always, this is an invitation that you are free to decline. thanks :)

@mochimochimochii @diamondsinherbones @cloudyjanes @pahein @scorpionamateur @sultrycaramelboy @trophystrife @onilinkplus @owlflores @coacklebee @vasovagus @frvnkiv @frystaisland @ohmyhamburger

and o course whoever wantsta do it is welcome to it too. ^^

also feel free to tag me again if u do, do it

#personal #questions #getting to know me #getting to know you

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thelastmessagereceived · 8 years ago

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"I only ever dated you because I felt sorry for you".

He was my first boyfriend. I often spent my summer holidays with my best friend at her father's place. He was the boy next door and I was madly in love with him. After I left to go back home I felt terrible because I hadn't had the courage to tell him how I felt. Eventually I told him. At the time we both played Runescape, so that's where I told him. He told me he liked me back and we started dating.

I would spend all my time playing Runescape so I didn't miss the chance to speak to him. I went to bed late, did not do my homework etc. I got full on addicted. Things were weird though. He told me he didn't have a cellphone, when I knew he did. I though perhaps he never used it. He also refused to create an MSN account so we could talk over the webcam. The only place I could ever talk to him was Runescape. After some time he grew distant, I asked him why. I told him that we were dating, and therefore he could tell me anything and I would try to help him and be there for him. That's when he told me that.

It was a long time before I trusted people again.

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entergamingxp · 5 years ago

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After RuneScape’s controversial 2019, Jagex plots “direct and deliberate” changes for 2020 • Eurogamer.net

RuneScape was the introduction to the world of massively multiplayer online role-playing games for many gamers; where many of us met our first online friends and learnt about that MMORPG levelling grind from hours of fishing. Even if you’ve never played RuneScape, then you probably had a friend who did, or maybe there’s a chance that, like me, you’re still playing to this day.

I’ve been playing RuneScape, with the occasional break, for over 13 years. Throughout these years I’ve witnessed both the lows, such as the removal of PvP in the Wilderness between 2007 to 2011, and the highs, such as the release of Old School RuneScape in 2013. I’ve completed fantastic quests filled with rewarding challenges and great storylines (my favourites are Ritual of the Mahjarrent and While Guthix Sleeps). All the time I’ve spent in Gielinor also means I’ve seen the rise of microtransactions and monetisation in RuneScape.

As a subscription based game, RuneScape has had an element of pay-to-play since the membership program was first released in February 2002. Since then the membership cost has slowly risen, but it took 10 years for developer Jagex to introduce a new form of monetisation and it was called Squeal of Fortune.

The concept was simple – players could win prizes, coins for example, by spinning a wheel. Each player received a certain number of free spins each day, while additional spins could be earned in-game or purchased using real-world currency. Players were quick to criticise the new feature as being a form of real-world trading, which RuneScape has a long history of fighting against.

In April 2012, Jagex redefined the rule about real-world trading in RuneScape, stating: “Real-world trading is the term used for activities which occur outside of the game environment which result in the real-world sale or purchase of items, gold pieces or services with the intention of supplying or advancing a Jagex in-game character other than by the means which are incorporated into the game.” This change clarifies that real-world trading has to involve a third-party and that any form of monetisation owned by Jagex is omitted from this rule. But criticism of Squeal of Fortune continued, until it was replaced with Treasure Hunter in February 2014.

Treasure Hunter remains the current loot box system in RuneScape and has received similar criticism to Squeal of Fortune, due to players being able to purchase additional keys. It has also been criticised for creating a pay-to-win atmosphere, since many of its prizes, including a range of XP lamps (like genie lamps), supply players with large amount of experience they can spend on a skill of their choice. The focus of these arguments is using Treasure Hunter devalues both the scoreboad and the very act of skilling itself.

Buried Treasure – a Treasure Hunter promotion that ran in October and May 2019.

Player Redhorizon, who spoke to Eurogamer at RuneFest 2019, said: “Treasure Hunter was bad enough, but then you have the promotions that offer double experience.” At the time of writing, Jagex has run 49 Treasure Hunter promotions during 2019. The Bubbling Lamps promotion, for example, has run twice in 2019, first in February and then in June, rewarding players with a selection of special XP lamps. These lamps could be redeemed for either direct or bonus experience, allowing players to quickly gain experience in skills that typically take a lot of time to train, such as Summoning and Agility.

Bonds and Solomon’s General Store, two other forms of monetisation for RuneScape, have faced similar accusations from the player community. Bonds, which were introduced in 2013, can be traded between players in-game and redeemed for a variety of services, including membership and Treasure Hunter keys. Some players view Bonds as a form of real-world trading, since players must first purchase them using real-world currency.

Meanwhile, Solomon’s General Store, which absorbed the Loyalty Store in 2013, has faced the same criticism, since many of its items must be purchased using RuneCoin, which, again, can only be purchased using real-world currency. The store originally focused primarily on cosmetic items, such as hairstyles or pets, but now allows players to purchase services, such as Bank Booster Packs, through the use of RuneCoin. Like Treasure Hunter, these items encourage players to spend additional money and put those who can’t or choose not to at a disadvantage to those who do.

The front page for Solomon’s General Store.

Jagex also introduced an enhanced version of the membership subscription program in 2012, called Premier Club. This special form of membership can only be purchased in the latter months of each year, usually between November and January, and has three tiers for players to choose from: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each tier supplies a different period of membership, from three months to a year, at a discounted rate and a variety of other bonuses, including new cosmetic items, a discount on RuneMetrics and additional Treasure Hunter keys.

RuneMetrics is an analytics tool, which was released in 2016, that can be accessed both in-game and through the RuneScape website. It has a variety of features, including both a wealth and experience tracker. If you want to use RuneMetrics to its full potential, then you have to purchase a £3.99-a-month subscription to RuneMetrics Pro, which is separate to your actual standard £6.99 RuneScape membership.

Finally, Jagex experimented with a battle pass inspired event in July 2018, called RunePass. This two-week long event involved players completing a variety of tasks to earn rewards and, in proper battle pass style, there were two reward tracks players could follow: a free track and a premium track, which was purchasable for 400 RuneCoins (around £7). RunePass was criticised by the player base for feeling more like an extension of the daily challenge system, rather than being its own, unique, event. The free track was also criticised for lacking substantial rewards.

Jagex was aware of the problems with RunePass, however, as senior product manager Matt Casey explained to Eurogamer: “It [RunePass] was probably a little bit rushed and we didn’t give it enough gestation time that resulted in a system that didn’t offer enough value for players. It didn’t have enough rewards and players felt it didn’t represent good value.” Casey added RunePass, and its successor Yak Track, are “part of a wider kind of initiative for us to look at how can we evolve our monetisation model and our strategy”.

For many years the arguments over the implementation of monetisation in RuneScape were confined to the game’s subreddit and forums, but in April 2019 Jagex gave oral evidence at the investigation into Immersive and Addictive Technologies run by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Jon Goddard, head of corporate communications at Jagex, explained to Eurogamer that Jagex was approached “directly by the select committee to take part in the process and were invited to attend and give oral evidence directly to the committee”. Jagex was invited to appear before the select committee, because, Goddard explained, the company “leads in areas like player safety and player protection”. Jagex gave evidence alongside a variety of other game developers and social media companies, including EA, Epic Games and Instagram.

The report from this investigation was released on 12th September 2019. It included details on the weekly and monthly payment caps, £1000 and £5000 retrospectively, placed on players. Controversially, the report also included an anonymous complaint from the parents of an adult player, who had reportedly spent in excess of £50,000 on RuneScape. In the written evidence supplied by this anonymous individual, the complainant claimed their son “took out payday loans, bank loans and ‘max’d’ out a credit card”, and detailed how this “financially ruined our [their] retirement plans” as they had to pay off their son’s debt.

Once the committee investigated further, as evidenced in the minutes for the oral evidence given by Neil McClary, vice president of product and player strategy at Jagex, and Kelvin Plomer, director of player experience at Jagex, it became clear this figure is, in fact, closer to £17,000. Goddard explained, concerning this particular case: “We [Jagex] were unable to entirely corroborate the details that were submitted to the committee with our own records – there just wasn’t an exact match, so it’s very difficult when the complaint or the evidence is submitted by someone who is not the account holder themselves.”

Jagex is currently awaiting feedback from the committee, which has been delayed due to the general election. Goddard commented that, even though Jagex is waiting for the response, “not only are we in a strong position already to answer many of the suggestions they may make, but we’re also trying to be far ahead of it”, and “I don’t think that any business should sit back and think they do everything right when it comes to player support and player safety. That’s why we’re looking very, very proactively into what we can do and not just follow what we’re told to do, but lead in that area”.

Still, despite Jagex’s readiness to listen to the committee’s feedback, the report, and the evidence it held, reignited arguments about the place of monetisation and loot boxes in RuneScape, which encapsulate the discussion of these features in video games as a whole. Loot boxes and in-game currency stores may be described as optional, but the services and items they provide are attractive to players, particularly in live service games where there is often a pressure to maintain the same level of progress as the rest of the player community. RuneScape players can easily fall prey to this trap, because some of the game’s best content, such as quests or new locations, are locked behind high skill requirements.

It’s also impossible to avoid the microtransactions that exist in RuneScape. Every time you log in to the game you’re taken to the lobby. Here you’ll find adverts for the latest deals in Solomon’s General Store or the Treasure Hunter promotion. Once you enter the game itself, an icon to open Treasure Hunter will appear in the top-left hand corner of your screen, which you have to manually close. The temptation to spend is always present and it shouldn’t be.

The login lobby for RuneScape.

The question Jagex is tackling now is, how does it regain the trust of players who’ve become disenchanted with its implementation of monetisation? Jagex’s answer is a willingness to experiment with both its live events and monetisation methods, with the goal of evolving beyond the current loot box system to one that is more appealing to players. This will also include revitalising and reworking older forms of monetisation, such as Solomon’s General Store, over the coming years. Matt Casey said the aim of restructuring the monetisation with RuneScape is: “We want players to feel any content they paid for is done in a generous way, represents good value for money, and we want to be transparent with those systems.”

If you play RuneScape, then you will have noticed the first of these experiments has already occurred. From 22nd November to 2nd December 2019, RuneScape ran a reworked version of its Double XP weekend. The difference being that, rather than having the event occur over the actual weekend, each player was instead given an allotted 36 hours of double XP to use throughout this week. This innovation, according to Casey, received a positive response from the community: “We got the right balance of players who wanted to min max it and not lose out, but, at the same time, feel like they have the choice of when to play.”

This observation is certainly true; a large percentage of RuneScape players have been playing for five to 10 years and, as their lives become more complicated, the time they have for playing RuneScape dwindles. The re-imagining of the Double XP weekend allowed these players to take advantage of the event’s bonuses without having to schedule their life around RuneScape, preventing what was meant to be a fun event from becoming an inconvenience.

The riskier experiment, however, was Count Yakula’s Yak Track. As mentioned, the game’s previous attempt at a battle pass-like system, RunePass, wasn’t well received by players, leading to feedback from both the player community and internally at Jagex that helped play a major role in the creation of Yak Track. This was the right decision because, compared to RunePass, Yak Track is clearly the superior event in terms of both the rewards on offer and, most importantly, the tasks you complete to earn them.

Unlike RunePass, where each player was given a series of daily tasks depending on which track they were on, each tier in the Yak Track has two dedicated tasks for you to pick from. These can either be skill-based tasks, which scale to your level in that particular skill, or an activity task, like picking cabbages near Port Sarim. This change ensures the Yak Track feels like a new piece of content, rather than just an extension of the daily challenges, especially since many of the tasks can take multiple hours to complete. Other alterations, such as a wider variety of rewards, extending the length of the event from two weeks to six, and ensuring Premier Club members receive the premium track for free, have also helped it feel like a unique event instead of an encore of RunePass.

The Live Ops team also used Yak Track as an opportunity to release an experimental update to Treasure Hunter that let players see the content of some loot boxes before buying them. Casey described it as “a new feature that’s much more transparent, where players can still use their daily keys if they want to and they can still earn the same type of rewards, but it’s a much more open system that increases the amount of player control and choice”, and insists there’s “still an amount of randomisation in the prizes selected around them, then if you use a key, you’ll receive one of the prizes randomly, but you’ll be able to see what they are, so if you see something you really want, you’ll be able to go after it and get it”.

While this new features does give players an additional advantage when using Treasure Hunter, there will always be voices within the community that call for the removal of the loot box system entirely. It’s highly unlikely, however, that Jagex will pull Treasure Hunter from RuneScape due to the revenue it provides. What Casey did tell Eurogamer though is the Live Ops team plans to run a number of tests throughout 2020 to help “find the right balance and the right kind of mechanics” as part of their commitment to “evolving our model, moving away from a standard loot crate system”.

The new Farming Guild.

Aside from monetisation, another issue that plagued RuneScape throughout the late summer and early autumn months of 2019 was a lack of content.

Outside the release of The Land Out of Time, the majority of updates RuneScape experienced before November 2019 were focused around improving the game’s quality of life, such as Bank Placeholders and the Slayer Collection Log. Only three quests were released this year, and the planned Weapon Diversity update was unfortunately cancelled.

Weapon Diversity was a modernisation project in a similar vein to the Mining and Smithing rework, which was released at the beginning of 2019. When asked about the project’s cancellation by Eurogamer at RuneFest 2019, lead designer David Osborne explained: “It was meant to bring diversity to weapons so it feels different to have short swords, than it did to have a whip and it wasn’t doing that as well as it should. I’m glad I’m part of a game that decided, ‘No, we’re going to cancel that.’ Rather than just say we’ve put so much effort and sunk cost into this we want to launch it.”

We currently live in an era where some developers release content in games that contains multiple issues, which are slowly fixed via patches after their release. It’s refreshing to see Jagex decided against releasing an update it believed wasn’t performing to the correct standard. The unintentional problem, however, was there wasn’t anything to replace Weapon Diversity in the schedule. As Osborne said: “We cancelled that [Weapon Diversity] and it left a hole. What we need to get better at is having updates contingency.”

This content drought was brought to an end with the release of the Ranch Out of Time feature, and both the Farming and Herblore skills being raised to level 120, at the end of November. RuneScape also promises to start 2020 off strong with the release of its 28th skill, Archaeology, in January, which looks perfect for Gielinor lore nerds like myself. Yet, to ensure this content black hole doesn’t happen again, Jagex plans to temporarily increase the size of the RuneScape development team.

“We’re going to get a number of people that can help us develop a number of projects,” Osborne explained, “that means we have a contingency, so, if something like weapon diversity happens, as a subscriber you don’t feel like you have an empty gap.” Jagex will also create a subteam to work on developing new quests and remastering older elements of the game. The remastering subteam will begin with a rework of Managing Miscellenia, while the quest subteam will work on an Azzanadra quest.

The news of the quest subteam is especially welcome. For many players, the variety of quests available in RuneScape is one of the main reasons why they keep playing. You can join the rebellion against the vampyric lords in Morytania, uncover the secrets of the Elven race or find out why the penguins are acting suspiciously. There are even multiple murder mystery quests, including Murder Mystery, released in 2003, and The Needle Skips.

Quest development has slowed in the last couple of years, with four being released in 2018 and six in 2017, leaving the questers of RuneScape wanting. Hopefully the new quest subteam will create a new range of exciting quests, continuing the subversive, yet engaging, tone the game is known for. Two quests for 2020 have already been confirmed at RuneFest 2019: Desperate Measures, the sequel to Desperate Times, and a City of Sennitsten quest.

Jagex hasn’t, however, just created a selection of new subteams. It’s also increased the resources of all its major teams. Ryan Ward, executive producer for RuneScape, explained to Eurogamer: “We added resources to each of the teams and we actually had our teams focused on three different core areas: Live Ops, the Episodic Content and the Core Experiences.” Ward added he is now “trying to look forward and look at the 2020 vision and 2020 road map, align each of the efforts from Episodic Content, Core Experience and Live Ops, so they actually feed into each other and they make sense to each other”.

The hope is these additional resources should not only help increase the flow of content, but also support the experimentations with monetisation and Jagex’s short-term goal, as Ward described it, of having the “players experience and see the real direct and deliberate changes and that we’re in this regular cadence of feedback”. This also signals an increased focus on communication with players, in both the terms of player protection and listening to feedback.

Kharid Et and Everlight – two new locations created for the Archaeology skill.

The challenges awaiting RuneScape and Jagex in 2020 lie in how it develops its approach to monetisation and its efforts to regain the trust of its community. Personally, I’m optimistic about the future of RuneScape, as the foundation for these goals already appears to have been set. The creation of the subteams and additional resources for the pre-existing teams should hopefully ensure players in 2020 don’t experience a drop in content, while also helping new updates, such as Archaeology and the promised Elder God Wars dungeon, reach their full potential.

When it comes to monetisation, players are already experiencing the results of the Live Ops team’s desire to innovate in the form of the Yak Track. Only the coming year, however, can tell us whether this success will continue and if Jagex can meet Ward’s long term goal of becoming “where the industry looks for answers and solutions” for monetisation systems, with Jagex viewed as “the shining example of the gaming industry”.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/after-runescapes-controversial-2019-jagex-plots-direct-and-deliberate-changes-for-2020-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=after-runescapes-controversial-2019-jagex-plots-direct-and-deliberate-changes-for-2020-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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