I haven’t gamed much in recent days. Rift is going slow. I’m giving up dual-boxing. Too time-consuming. Round two of Summer Festival quests were also too time-consuming, so I gave up on the festival too.
Back to leveling.
I was reading Syp’s blog tonight (Biobreak) and noticed he made a few lists: 10 most wanted games and 30 weird things he has in his office (an impressive list–the “life-size” Beaker made me do a double-take).
I’m inspired to write a blog post, having noticed Syp left off at least one important RPG. I’ll shoot for only four things though. My office/studio is minimalist.
Top 4 Kitty-Coveted Upcomers:
- The Elder Scrolls Online. It’s everything I don’t want in a blockbuster AAA fantasy MMO title (PvP focus, console, dumbed-down few skills, no mini-map, active block and dodge), but it’s still Elder Scrolls. The good news: low expectations are the best way to enjoy a new MMO, and gone are the days when I play an MMO as a major life commitment, anyway.
- Torment: Tides of Numenera. It’s featured on the cover of this month’s PC Gamer, which is great. It raised a cool 4.2 million on Kickstarter, which was like a nuclear bomb of RPG fan-power going off. The non-D&D IP (setting) is concerning, but it still looks interesting. I’ll give it a chance. Excited by this title.
- Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls. (Expected title.) The first expansion to Diablo 3 is in the news currently, and after listening to the Diablo 2 soundtrack almost daily on my playlist at work, I’m starting to feel a burn to take the battle to Hell. I haven’t played D3 at all. I pledged to play it because Blizzard incorporated all classes as female-playable. Technically, the only reason I haven’t bought it yet is because it isn’t on Steam, and I’m lazy.
- Dragon Age 3. I found out not long ago (the video clip Bioware/EA released in June) that my estimated release date was a year off. Bummer dude! The good news: you can play more races than just human. I like the idea of your character becoming the leader of a faction/cult. So you’re still important, but you’re not saving the world. You can also choose the way your organization develops, just like your character. It’s a fabulous idea to add this second level of choice and roleplay. I hope it works.
Top 4 Queer Kitty Office Decor:
- A styled mannequin head wearing white bunny ears with pink satin lining. She’s cute. She never ages a day. She always has an enigmatic smile on her face.
- A Wooden Clothes Pin Inked To Look Like A Dragon. This was inked by an actual queer person who I love very much, except she unfriended me on Facebook, so now I sort of hate her despite the chocolate chip cookies she baked for me. It’s my fault. That’s all I can be sure of.
- Psych DVD Box Set (Complete Season Three). Two guys. One should be gay, but apparently he is in denial. These DVDs are from the library. I’m not a huge fan of this silly show, but I could use a laugh or two. I would rather be watching Dexter, Lost Girl, or True Blood, but I’ve seen all episodes of all seasons and do not pay for cable.
- A Box Full Of Earring Parts Labeled “Earrings” With Sparkle Silver Lettering. Ok, that’s really the best I can do unless you count the paintings on the walls, but this blog is PG-rated. I also have an easel, a cherry wood easel chair from Vermont, and some cabinets that store art supplies and trophies from my victims. Psych! Ok, back to watching.
Kitty Kitty Boom Boom 
August 20th, 2013 at 6:20 am
Planescape is definitely one I’m looking forward to. I’m sure there are a few other games that escaped my mind as well.
August 21st, 2013 at 6:22 am
I figured. You know, I just noticed it isn’t called Planescape. Need to edit. I can’t seem to get a post right these days. 😦 Thanks for the note.
August 23rd, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Looks like the Elder Scrolls are including an ingame store (on a subscription only game). I found my Oblivion-replacing MMO fix in DDO for a while, and have since longed for the real thing. I suspect I will continue longing after ESO launches. Is there any reason to believe this game will be any good?
Quick question for you. Do you have an issue with the Nameless One apparently being male (only). I think they would have to redo at least half the writing (and at least as much voice acting) if they changed sexes, due to how tight the characters and writing are. Oddly enough, the only unchangeable female [Personal Computer] gaming character I can think of is Kate Archer (although I am a huge No One Lives Forever fan and no longer an obsessive gamer so I’ve likely missed a few since). The problem here is that I can see nearly every writer defending their “vision” of how the characters and writing have to be. In something like the GTA games, the gender written for may work somewhat better, but the story is nowhere near as important as the gameplay or the city. Changing the characters gender would improve (some) player’s experience while hardly noticing the changes to the story.
August 23rd, 2013 at 9:45 pm
Ok, Wumpus. You scared me there for a second. One of the first “stretch goals” of the Torment: Tides kickstarter at 1.2 M was choose to play as either male or female, with your gender mattering for interactions. I actually finished the original game, one of the few games I’ve finished with a male character. Back then, there were not a lot of options, as I’m sure you’re aware.
This is a different setting in the spirit of the original game, so I assumed the whole shebang would be different and not relate to the original story or characters.
I liked Kate Archer. She was such a strong character it was hard to “roleplay” her. I was playing her, at no point did I feel like she was me. I know I didn’t finish the second one. I think I may have finished the first.
I think GTA could easily be written to include both genders, just like Red Dead Redemption. They just won’t do it. The head honcho is a huge male chauvinist, I think. He has to be.
I don’t know of any reason why Elder Scrolls online should be really good. There are a lot of ways it is crippled. I personally feel like the subscription thing is to avoid massive headaches of a cash store-only on three platforms (two of them new consoles, most importantly, with the whole setup too vague at this point to plan for anything complex) in multiple regions. They will keep it simple at launch, add the cash shop, then eventually convert everything to cash shop when they’ve got the system and infrastructure that will support it. The claims of game and IP integrity are bogus, in my opinion. This is just spin.