A Team Of Seven Is Making A Game That ‘Shouldn’t Be Possible’

http://kotaku.com/5938305/a-team-of-seven-is-making-a-game-that-shouldnt-be-possible

This is the power of community assisted game development. I really hope they succeed and show other companies the value of their development model.

The Secret World (opinion)

My first impressions of The Secret World, was that it was a WoW (World of Warcraft) clone, mainly due to the fairly standard system of going to the quest giver, taking on quest, doing quest, going back, getting new quest, etc... that so many MMOs have used every since WoW got so famous. However, it's the best darn WoW clone I've played (I don't like WoW, I do like TSW).

The voice acting is overall, very good. General immersion is excellent. The skill system is amusingly complex, yet simple enough to get started quickly. Overall, I've been quite impressed with The Secret World.

A few key things I think more games should copy:

The Secret World has group dungeons available very early. Each zone has one, even the beginner zone people start in after the tutorial. After the game's main story is finished, and the world is explored, what keeps people playing are the dungeons. So I think it's really valuable that they let people get a taste of them early. It always seems dumb to me when a game's key selling point is kept away from new players. When older players have to tell newer ones that it gets better later. Players shouldn't have to play a game for two days, to get to the good stuff. It should be good right from the beginning, all the way to the end.

The skill wheel (it's really a skill tree that's organized in a pretty way) is very well done. They have synergies built into it that makes for enjoyable theory crafting and rewarding optimization. It's fairly easy to understand (Blood Sport applies afflict when you hit an enemy, Salt in the Wounds deals damage when you apply afflict) and gives a lot of freedom in options (though a few severe imbalances do exist). I would very much like to see deliberate synergies and free-form build creation in games. Being able to pick 7 active skills and 7 passive skills from a large variety of options is great, especially when there's so many tricks, and synergies to find.

Last but not least: the dungeons follow a philosophy I think games should look into using more. They are essentially a series of boss fights, but seek to make the fights interesting enough to be worth doing over and over, and remain fun. Many of the fights offer challenges to player skill, requiring focus and attention. A few good fights, is better than lots of crappy ones.

Fire Captain Says:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/03/21/this-is-why-we-invest-in-science-this/#comment-497405

In 1973 when I first began my career in the Fire Department, high-pressure water application on structure fires was all the rage. There are basically two kinds of fire pumps on the fire engines. One is the main pump for large hoses, and the second is a booster or high pressure pump for the small rubber hoses on the reels. These smaller hoses are very capable of putting out structure fires as long as the fire doesn’t get too big. The key is optimal water application. We have known for decades that very little water can put out very big fires under just the right circumstances. I remember watching an old 16mm movie shot back in the 60′s on this very subject of high pressure water application on structure fires. This is not new stuff. Because NASA engineers get involved it is treated like no one ever thought of this before.

The fever in the fire service for limiting water damage was so hot in the 70′s they even came out with exclusive high pressure nozzles for fighting structure fires.

Well, as always happens, eventually someone got hurt. Fire and it’s relationship with the environment is very complex. High pressure application of water is not the answer for every situation.

Needless to say some Fire Chiefs with large egos jumped on the chance to make a name for themselves and called for a ban of these nozzles. Ignorant Fire Chiefs across the country began to demand that a minimum of an 1 1/2 inch hose line be used on all structure fires. For this hose line you get about 100 gallons per minute. Most fighters hate trying to fight a fire where you are maneuvering with a 100 gallons per minute flowing. This is a very unwieldy hose to handle. Ironically, the high pressure booster line can also generates as much as 100 gpm at higher pressures. Most Fire Chiefs are too dumb to understand hydraulics.

As the years went by and firefighters were carrying more and more equipment into fires, the Fire Chiefs thought let’s make it even tougher. By the late 90′s they were forcing firefighters to pull 1 3/4 and 2 inch lines into fires. Keep in mind this might be for something as small as a chair fire.

The second comical point of the high pressure study at Vandenberg, is that the engineers don’t understand politics. You think you can help relieve the tax payer by reducing the number of fighters it takes to put out a fire? Don’t kid yourself. There are ugly politics at play. Just ask about the 2 in and 2 out law that the International Association of Firefighters twisted arms of congressmen to push through. They used the guise of “safety” to force congress into creating a bad law to increase the numbers of fighters across the country just to help fatten up their bank accounts but causing great financial hardships on cities and communities nationwide. Not to mention many Fire Chiefs are empire builders. It seems that everyone wants to leave there mark in life and the fire service is frock with this phenom. I am fairly confident that high pressure extinguishing systems will come around again like it or not. Why? Because Fire Chiefs have egos.

They say there are four sides to a fire. Heat, fuel, oxygen, and the Fire Chief. Remove any one of them and the fire will go out.

Space Tech in Everyday Life: NASA Brings Inventions Down to Earth

http://www.space.com/11272-nasa-space-technology-spinoffs.html

Libertarian Paradise! (Parody)

http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/05/handy-man-special.html

Massivity: How Roleplaying Powers MMO Longevity

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/world-of-warcraft-mists-of-pandaria/1225272p1.html

A robot ballet before impending doom

http://fulltrending.com/a-robot-ballet-before-impending-doom/

Vital Signs Paralyzed by Faith

http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jun/07-vital-signs-paralyzed-by-faith/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=

Meet pedophiles who mean well

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/01/meet_pedophiles_who_mean_well/

Sadly, people don't get to choose who and what they find themselves attracted to.

Skyrim: The Real Dragonborn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aKXNI7Hb80

Exclusive Interview with MIT Subway Hacker Zack Anderson

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/computer-security/4278892?page=1

Snowdrifter (2012) [HD] Original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxxmtPsrZI8

Must One Risk Madness to Achieve Genius?

http://www.creativitypost.com/psychology/must_one_risk_madness_to_achieve_genius

This is the First Time I’ve Written About My Rape, and I’m Doing it For You, Todd Akin

http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/this-is-the-first-time-ive-written-about-my-rape-and-im-doing-it-for-you-todd-akin

Nina Conti: Ventriloquist

http://www.wimp.com/bestperformances/

Dear Coquette (Q&A)

http://blog.thedaily.com/post/23418673040/can-you-fall-out-of-love-with-someone-just-as-fast?

One Taxi Ride

http://loldaddy.com/top/week/pics/5074

Let’s Take These Games And Turn Them Into Dating Sims

http://kotaku.com/5910738/lets-take-these-games-and-turn-them-into-dating-sims

Pick Bachelor Number Three, A Pigeon, in Hatoful Boyfriend

http://kotaku.com/5886022/pick-bachelor-number-three-a-pigeon-in-hatoful-boyfriend

I found this to be a very amusing read.

What is Fuzzy Logic?

http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/24_folder/24_articles/24_fuzzywhat.html

6 Parodies That Succeeded Because Nobody Got the Joke

http://www.cracked.com/article_19419_6-parodies-that-succeeded-because-nobody-got-joke.html

Eben Moglen: The alternate net we need, and how we can build it ourselves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gORNmfpD0ak

7 Famous 'Unsolved' Mysteries (Science Solved Years Ago)

http://www.cracked.com/article_19418_7-famous-unsolved-mysteries-science-solved-years-ago.html

Pleasure without learning leads to addiction

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlexandreMandryka/20120518/170474/Pleasure_without_learning_leads_to_addiction.php

Your Breasts Are Trying To Kill You

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/05/history_of_breasts_by_florence_williams_reviewed_.single.html

Crayon Dragon

http://vimeo.com/41314639

Next-to-Normal-girl: Tumblr’s Overnight Fandom

http://www.themarysue.com/next-to-normal-girl-tumblrs-overnight-fandom/

Short Summary: Tumblr is where
can turn into

"The immediacy of hivemind creation surrounding this mini-phenom speaks to the incredible savviness fans have of how the creation of fandoms works. As a body, fans have become so good at the production of fanwork, the assimilation of ideas, the collective language surrounding their fandoms, and the overal apparatus of enthusiasm, that they don’t necessarily need a substantial canon to participate in the act of being fannish. Apart from being a fanthropologist’s wet dream, the overnight popularity of this ship definitely contains a hint of defiance. As user mephitztophel commented, “I think what I love most about the Creamsicle shipping is how it subverts the idea that girls have to be pitted against each other.”"

Genius: How Genetic Is It?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/trisha-gura/genius-genes_b_857094.html

Investors Claim Stargate Worlds Developer Misled Them

http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/9136/investors-claim-stargate-worlds-developer-misled-them.html

I guess I now know what happened to Stargate Worlds.

Shape-shifting dinosaurs.

http://www.wimp.com/shapeshifting/

Design Diary: Dice-y Issues

http://www.sandandsteam.net/2012/05/11/design-diary-dice-y-issues/

6 Scientific Discoveries That Laugh in the Face of Physics

http://www.cracked.com/article_19668_6-scientific-discoveries-that-laugh-in-face-physics.html

Google Builds Largest Database of Links to Pirated Media

http://torrentfreak.com/google-builds-largest-database-of-links-to-pirated-media-120717/

In which i discuss friendship … again

http://allfookedup.com/in-which-i-discuss-friendship-again/

Go to beach, make metal furniture like it's nothing.

http://www.wimp.com/metalfurniture/

2012 vs. 1984: Young adults really do have it harder today

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/2012-vs-1984-young-adults-really-do-have-it-harder-today/article2425558/

"Canadian Real Estate Association data show the average national price of a home in mid-1984 was $76,214. If houses kept up with inflation – and that would be a pretty good result all on its own – the average house would now cost $154,587. In April, the actual average was $369,677."

" Data from a 2011 Conference Board of Canada study on income inequality shows the average family after-tax income in 1984 was $48,500. In 2009, the latest date included in the study, income levels had risen to $60,000. In 1984, a house might have cost a family 1.6 times its annual income. Today, we’re looking at a multiple of something around six."

The Decline in Durability

http://www.alternet.org/visions/155238/Is_Your_Stuff_Falling_Apart?_Thank_Wal-Mart/

Bleach Amv "Move your Body"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQMX-61ozZE

Why NikolaTesla was the greatest geek who ever lived.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla

Somalia: New gaming rage keeps teens off the street

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120504/somalia-video-game-popularity-pros-and-cons-120504/

Rethinking (Instead of Eliminating) Recess at Low-Income Schools

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/rethinking-instead-of-eliminating-recess-at-low-income-schools/256679/

Tend and Befriend

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200009/tend-and-befriend

7 Basic Things You Won't Believe You're All Doing Wrong

http://www.cracked.com/article_19121_7-basic-things-you-wont-believe-youre-all-doing-wrong.html?page=full

Playing God: On Death, Motherhood and Creating (Artificial) Life

http://kotaku.com/5880635/playing-god-on-death-motherhood-and-creating-artificial-life

Rapid Cell Regeneration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m129fV_h9pk

Holding Birth Control Hostage

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/doctors-holding-birth-control-hostage

George Hotz, Sony, and Anonymous Hacker Wars : The New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/07/120507fa_fact_kushner

The Self-Made Myth

http://www.alternet.org/visions/155149/the_self-made_myth:_debunking_conservatives%27_favorite_--_and_most_dangerous_--_fiction_/

Copyleft?

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html

I find it rather frustrating when people arguing for greater freedom decide to be just as restrictive regarding distribution of their software as those arguing for control. Ultimately, both systems produce software that is useless to many businesses and entrepreneurs. If I want to make a game with the intent to sell it, I need software I'm allowed to sell, not something restricted to being used in free works. Such restrictions greatly hamper the spread of software tools, slowing down progress. (Copyright restricts distribution to owner permitted methods, Copyleft restricts distribution to free methods).

I much prefer the WTFPL.
If you intend to sell it, use copyright. Otherwise, just put it out there for all to use, so it can spread as far as possible. Copyleft is just another way of using copyright to set rules on how software and other works can be used.

P.S. Copyright laws in general need to be heavily reworked.

EVE Evolved: Building stronger communities

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/17/eve-evolved-building-stronger-communities/

Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

E-mail needs this:

One thing I think emails need: a way for an email to tell the email server (like gmail) to request another login verification before allowing the person to view it. This could prevent a stranger from viewing certain emails if the owner forgets to log off when they leave the computer.

The Definition of Insanity is...

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-therapy/200907/the-definition-insanity-is

5 Ways Modern Men Are Trained to Hate Women

http://www.cracked.com/article_19785_5-ways-modern-men-are-trained-to-hate-women.html

Wait, what? Really? That's... scary.

Why We Have to Go Back to a 40-Hour Work Week to Keep Our Sanity

http://www.alternet.org/visions/154518/americans_are_worked_to_death:_how_going_back_to_40-hour_weeks_will_save_our_sanity,_health_and_productivity

DayZ – What have I become?

http://leviathyn.com/blog/review/dayz-review-what-have-i-become/

Not Okay

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/5436-Not-Okay

How I learned to stop worrying and love Anonymous

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-anonymous/article2366626/

Why Diablo 3 is less addictive than Diablo 2: a “scientific” explanation

http://www.alexc.me/a-scientific-explanation-why-diablo-3-is-less-addictive-than-diablo-2/417/

The 8-Hour Sleep Myth: How I Learned That Everything I Knew About Sleep Was Wrong

http://www.alternet.org/health/154424/the_8-hour_sleep_myth:_how_i_learned_that_everything_i_knew_about_sleep_was_wrong/

The Science of Happiness...

http://www.alternet.org/health/90411/the_science_of_happiness:_is_it_all_bullshit/

A Lengthy Analysis of D3 (specifically, it's flaws)

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5573701013

AI designs its own video game

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328554.900-ai-designs-its-own-video-game.html

Anonymous ‘Might Well Be the Most Powerful Organization on Earth’

http://www.virtualthreat.com/2012/05/18/anonymous-might-well-be-the-most-powerful-organization-on-earth/

Q: It seems like there’s a war going on between hacktivists or information activists and law enforcement. (At least 40 alleged members of Anonymous have been arrested around the world in the last year.) Who do you think is winning right now?
A: I think it’s a stalemate at the moment. I think eventually we’ll win. I’ve always believed that right will always prevail. But at the moment the arrests have had a chilling effect on the movement. For a 30-minute online protest I’m facing 15 years in a penitentiary. For the moment that’s the only indictment against me but I expect there will be more. And it’s not just about the potential penalty but it’s the trial itself for which they delivered a terabyte of discovery. That’s about 150,000 pages for a 30-minute protest. That means my trial will be two years long and during that time I’m under strict surveillance by the FBI. I can’t access Twitter, Facebook or IRCs (Internet Relay Chats)– I can’t contact any known member of Anonymous – who are about 50,000 people around the world.

So basically it shuts me down as an activist. Even if I prevail in court, I’m still shut down for two years.

...

Yes, Chicks Dig Jerks

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/292424/yes-chicks-dig-jerks-kevin-d-williamson?pg=1

How you can use metrics to predict when players will quit

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/170546/How_you_can_use_metrics_to_predict_when_players_will_quit.php

Rant: Even If No One Listens, Let The Diablo III Review Bombs Fall

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/05/rant-even-if-no-one-listens-let-the-diablo-iii-review-bombs-fall/

I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor

When Games Allow Mods, Beautiful Things Can Happen

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120516/09044318944/when-games-allow-mods-beautiful-things-can-happen.shtml

Anonymity, Darknets and Staying Out of Federal Custody, Part One: Deep Web

http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/blog/anonymity-darknets-and-staying-out-federal-custody-part-one-deep-web-0133455/

Is YouTube Killing Music Piracy?

http://torrentfreak.com/is-youtube-killing-music-piracy-110605/

Why Patriarchal Men Are Utterly Petrified of Birth Control

http://www.alternet.org/visions/154144/why_patriarchal_men_are_utterly_petrified_of_birth_control__and_why_well_still_be_fighting_about_it_100_years_from_now

BitTorrent is the New Radio, Says Counting Crows Frontman

http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-is-the-new-radio-says-counting-crows-frontman-120514/

Japanese TRON light suit dance routine

http://www.wimp.com/suitdance/

Animal Crossing: A Touching Story

http://www.noddegamra.co.uk/animal-crossing-a-touching-story/114/comment-page-1/

If Modern Humans Are So Smart, Why Are Our Brains Shrinking?

http://discovermagazine.com/2010/sep/25-modern-humans-smart-why-brain-shrinking/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C

Gmail's Security Hole Could Lead to Mass Harvesting of Accounts

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27863/

This 28-Year-Old's Startup Is Moving $350 Million And Wants To Completely Kill Credit Cards

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-28-year-old-is-making-sure-credit-cards-wont-exist-in-the-next-few-years-2011-11?page=1

Family Secrets: What My Son's Diagnosis Revealed About Our Past

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victoria-costello/post-50-time-to-unload-your-family-secrets_b_1274878.html

Chomsky: “Jobs aren’t coming back”

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/08/chomsky_jobs_arent_coming_back/singleton/

Emerging Drug of Abuse: OXI

http://www.addictionts.com/2011/12/11/emerging-drug-of-abuse-oxi/

[Portal 2] Want You Gone - Fan Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ClYY5mwbc

Diablo III is doing partial free play wrong.

Diablo III has a Starter Edition (currently requires guest pass) that makes it possible to play a limited amount of the game for free: http://www.geek.com/articles/games/how-to-play-diablo-iii-for-free-20120515/

"As for what the Starter Edition includes: you get to play through Act I of the game up to the Skeleton King. You can’t take a character past Level 13, there’s no access to the Real Money Auction House, and matchmaking is limited to fellow Starter Edition players. Even so, this is just a (free) taster of the gameplay by the end of which you should know for sure if you want to buy the full version."

I call this doing it wrong. That's nothing more than a demo. Doing it right, is what Hellgate: Global does. They claim to be free-to-play, but that's only for the first half of the game. Halfway through, there's a paywall. However, it's possible to buy the needed pass with in game currency from other players. This is very similar to EVE Online's PLEX system, and makes it possible for people with more time than money to get access to the game for free, while also undermining the black-market gold sellers. It also can bring in lots of money.

D3 already has a real money auction house, so it seems silly to me to not allow free players to obtain real money in the auction house by selling goods, and then use that real money to buy the game. Locking them out of the real money auction house just makes it harder for fans to buy Diablo III.

The Best Way to Ruin Your Appearance

http://en.paperblog.com/the-best-way-to-ruin-your-appearance-65283/

The Secret World's Buisness Model

Update: My links died :( Fixed! I think...
http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showthread.php?t=20339
http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=20339

"At the presentation we revealed that The Secret World will feature a traditional paid subscription model combined with micro-transactions through an in-game store."

This sounds like a really bad idea to me. Two other MMOs I'm looking forward to are Guild Wars 2, and Firefall. Guild Wars 2 is asking for initial box fee, and micro-transactions, but no subscription. Firefall is going with no box fee, no sub, only a micro-transaction store. The Secret World is competing with those two games for my attention and money, yet they are asking for box fee, subscription fee, and a micro-transaction store that is likely to have things I want (if it doesn't, then it's a crappy store). That's a lot of money to spend on one game, when there's other games I'm interested in that ask for a lot less. At that kind of price, The Secret World will have to somehow convince me that it's totally amazing, or I'm not gonna spend any money on it. It will have a hard time doing that if I never play it.

A post on the problem of mixing subscriptions and micro-transactions as well as some other random related things: http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showpost.php?p=532090&postcount=303 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3vpMzy_SDXAJ:www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showpost.php%3Fp%3D532090%26postcount%3D303+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

P.S. I find it kinda weird how hard it was to find info on the business model they are using. Most MMO web sites have an F.A.Q. that's easy to find and answers the question of how they will be funding themselves. The Secret World didn't. I had to visit the forums to find out if they would have subs or not.

The Lengthening Arm of Uncle Sam’s ‘Pirate’ Justice

http://torrentfreak.com/the-lengthening-arm-of-uncle-sams-pirate-justice-120506/

Pathfinder Online Technology Demo

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/pathfinder-online-technology-demo

My mom often said that it takes money, to make money. This is an example. They have potential investors who need to see some work done before they are willing to invest, and potential workers who need to see some money before they are willing to work. So they need to raise money to fund the work that will help them raise money.

Teachers urged to address porn factor

http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/teachers-urged-to-address-porn-factor-20120210-1sjtl.html

Worlds Apart – Portrayal of Women in Guild Wars 2 and Tera Online

http://geek.pikimal.com/2012/05/03/worlds-apart-portrayal-of-women-in-guild-wars-2-and-tera-online/

Busted: the politics of cleavage and a glance

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/busted-the-politics-of-cleavage-and-a-glance-20120211-1sy7e.html

Google May Face $10 Million Fine Over Safari Cookie Hack

http://www.webpronews.com/google-may-face-10-million-fine-over-safari-cookie-hack-2012-05

Google is failing at their motto of don't be evil.

Why Starbucks succeeds in China and others haven't

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-02-12/cnbc-starbucks-secrets-of-china-success/53040820/1?csp=34money

Megaupload Trial May Never Happen, Judge Says

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-trial-may-never-happen-judge-says-120420/

The US is awfully fond of trying to apply its laws outside its jurisdiction.

6 Completely Legal Ways The Cops Can Screw You

http://www.cracked.com/article_18620_6-completely-legal-ways-cops-can-screw-you.html?wa_user1=5&wa_user2=Weird+World&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=recommended

Genetically modified crops' results raise concern

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/30/MN1O1O5SS0.DTL&feed=rss.pageone

Why caring for my aging father has me wishing he would die

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/daddy-issues/8890/?single_page=true

Move Over Diablo III, ArenaNet Unleashes Guild Wars 2 Beta

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/04/26/move-over-diablo-iii-arenanet-unleashes-guild-wars-2-beta/

“If you and I attack a creature, we both get loot and experience, which completely eliminates that feeling in a traditional MMO when you’re playing and someone steals your kills,” said Jeff Grubb, lore and continuity designer, Guild Wars 2. “We don’t think that’s what MMOs are about. You should be playing with other players, not alongside them. We reward players for playing together. You gain experience for resurrecting other players. We’ve seen with beta tests that players form groups where people work together and build a sense of community. We’ve seen these people who don’t know each other and might be annoyed if other players were around in other MMOs, actually like being around others and exploring this world together.”

This is what MMOs need to do more of. What makes MMOs differ from other games, is playing with other people. Devs need to do everything they can to encourage, enable, and assist teamwork and cooperation in MMOs. Otherwise, the players may as well just go play a single player game that doesn't need internet.

Another GW2 preview:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/previews/9593-Guild-Wars-2-Preview

[update: adding more links]
"Guild Wars 2's map exploration is my new addiction":
http://www.gamezone.com/products/guild-wars-2/previews/guild-wars-2-s-map-exploration-is-my-new-addiction

"Exploring the beta and beyond in Guild Wars 2"
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/exploring-the-beta-and-beyond-in-guild-wars-2/

As I began to go through the typical RPG character creation process in Guild Wars 2, choosing my race, class, gender, hair color, etc., I reached a set of questions asking me about my parents, whether I was raised rich or poor, how I react to certain situations, and more.

For those who have had an opportunity to take part in the game's first pre-release beta weekend, these questions may still linger in your mind.

In making these decisions, it didnt really strike me that this was anything other than a way to work my answers into a shoehorned moment later in the game, but as I explored Guild Wars 2, I realized that the person playing the game next to me during a recent ArenaNet studio tour event was in a completely different area, despite us choosing the same race and class.

"When you create a character, you fill out this biography and your answers on that determine which set of the first ten hours you get," Colin Johanson, game designer on Guild Wars 2, explained. This ten hour figure seemed pretty hefty to me, so after a few hours, I restarted and chose different answers. I didn't see any of the same areas with my new selections. "Individualization is the one thing that players want the most. Two players shouldn't have the same story, both choices and instances should change the experience," Continuity and Lore designer Jeff Grubb said. It's an interesting experiment at providing players with a different experience every time.

Woah.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2012/05/01/guild-wars-2-beta/

I’ll be honest up front: I’m not an MMO player. Yeah, I dabbled in Champions Online, and I spent more than a few sessions puzzle-solving in Uru Live (a.k.a. Myst Online). But when an MMO-obsessed friend sent me a Guild Wars 2 (GW2) beta key, I gave in to curiosity and fired up the game. The first thing that went through my mind was, “These graphics are pretty decent.” The second was, “Ah-hah, I’m playing Dragon Age: The MMO.” The third was, “I wish I had more than an afternoon to power through this.”

Sexual Isn't Sensual: The Word I Want Back

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brenna-cammeron/sexual-sensual_b_1232515.html

New service lets you post to Twitter and Facebook after you die

http://www.webpronews.com/stay-active-after-you-die-with-deadsocial-2012-04

(Skyrim) Todd Howard DICE 2012 Keynote

http://www.gamespot.com/shows/gamespot-live/?event=skyrims_todd_howard_dice_keynote20120208