Blogging – Mailvaltar

6. June 20252. July 2025

Eight years of blogging about (mostly) old games

Today marks this here blog’s eighth anniversary, so it’s yet again time to look back on another year of playing and talking about video games.

In doing so two things of note stand out to me.

One, with only a few exceptions the games I’ve played since my last blogiversary are at least ten years old by now. As a matter of fact I’ve just made my return to a title that was released in fricking 2000 – in its original form, anyway.

Granted, it didn’t quite look like this back then

I’ve lamented more than once that all too many modern games are designed with maximizing player retention and monetization in mind. Being actually, you know, fun to play seems to be an afterthought at best.

For example, I liked Zenless Zone Zero quite a lot – for about a month and a half, that is. By then I was already burnt out by all the stuff I was expected to do on both a daily and weekly basis, and even then it wasn’t enough to beef up my characters, their skills and weapons and so on to a satisfactory level. I’m sorry, but I’m done playing games that feel like a second job.

Obviously Diablo II is basically ancient at this point, so there’s luckily no trace of “modern gaming” to be seen, and (much to my surprise) they didn’t mess things up with the release of Resurrected either. Quite the contrary, in fact. So, yeah, I’m having a blast once more, killing shit entirely at my own pace while reveling in the game’s unmatched style and atmosphere as I go.

As per usual I also played quite a lot of Warframe, probably for a total of four to five months this past year. Aside from being an absolutely awesome game it’s also one of the poster childs for Free2Play done right as far as I’m concerned, and while there is a lot of stuff to do I never feel pressured to do anything, which, to me, is a very important distinction.

Another playthrough of The Secret World was also on the agenda. I haven’t finished it yet, but I had a hell of a good time once more. As long as they keep the servers up (fingers crossed) I will revisit this gem time and again for sure.

ZZZ aside Helldivers 2 is by far the newest title I’ve played this year, and fortunately the devs have overcome their initial urge to make an otherwise great game harder and less fun with every patch. My group has picked it back up about a month ago, and it’s a hoot every time we play.

The most recent main update, big enough to almost call it an expansion, added not only new enemy types to the Illuminate faction and a new urban biome – the combination of which resulting in the most epic battles I’ve ever seen in a video game – but also a whole new customization system for primary weapons. Want to unlock less recoil or a bigger magazine for your favourite shooter? Chances are you now can. Great stuff!

The second thing of note when looking back on the blog’s eighth year of existence is that, for the first time in quite a while, I had lots of fun playing actual Massively Multiplayer content again.

The catalyst for this was my return to ArcheAge. Not only is the ArcheRage private server rocking a much more player-friendly version of the game when compared to the now defunct official servers, it also has a pretty big and lively community. Participating in the various PvEvP-events and having a really good time isn’t hard at all even without joining a guild and such.

Which is great because, while it really is a lot of fun and all, I’m still not quite ready to commit myself fully to any game’s multiplayer aspect and become a member of a regular gaming-group again – my buddies being the exception, obviously. The drama and toxicity I’ve experienced (or at least witnessed) over the years are still too fresh in my mind, and I just don’t want any of that in my life.

He must be so sick of getting beaten up all the time

Be that as it may, overall I’m quite satisfied with the state of affairs. There are more games to choose from than ever before, not least because the really good ones tend to hang around or even get remastered, so it was never easier to vote with one’s wallet and outright ignore the bad eggs.

Also, many developers seem to have gotten the memo by now that a lot of gamers do like to play with others, but don’t want it to be a big commitment or take up too much of their limited time. I’m still in awe about how quick and reliable the matchmaking in Warframe works, and Helldivers 2 does a pretty good job with that too.

So, yeah, for me as a consumer gaming is in a pretty good spot right now. Here’s to another year of playing stuff and talking about it.

15. August 2024

PSA: What to do when WordPress.com breaks your blogroll

This morning I spent three quarters of an hour on something I hadn’t planned or even thought about, something not at all pleasant, courtesy of our cruel overlords here at WordPress.com.

Not long ago Wilhelm posted about his blogroll (and some other things) completely vanishing from his sidebar, just because he’d dared to try out some of the new “features” the platform forced upon us lately. In the comments to that post I and some other WP users chimed in to share our own pains, and I think everyone went away with a feeling of “I really hope they don’t break any more of my stuff”.

Well, yesterday I did nothing more than just open the widgets page to take a look at something, and poof, gone was my blogroll. I didn’t even notice it until this morning, but yeah, opening the widgets page again confirmed that it had just disappeared all on its own.

As Wilhelm pointed out WP.com’s new and “improved” blogroll can only show blogs which you are subscribed to, meaning that they’ve basically declared each and every blog that’s not hosted on WP persona non grata. So that’s not an option.

I couldn’t quite get Wilhelm’s workaround to…well…work, so I went looking for different solutions. Luckily I found one that’s fixed the issue relatively painlessly for me. Here it is:

On the admin-page (which you get to by adding /wp-admin to your blog’s URL) look at the sidebar on the left, hover over Appearance and then select Menus. Now create a new menu and call it Blogroll (or whatever you like, this isn’t the name that will be displayed later).

Under Add Menu Items select Custom Links. Now enter the URL and name of a blog you want to link to and click Add to Menu. Rinse and repeat until you’ve added every blog you want to have on your list.

To add the new menu to your sidebar hover over Appearance again and select Widgets. Click the big plus sign at the top, look for the widget called Navigation Menu and drag and drop it to the position on your sidebar where you want to have it. Choose a name, and use the drop down menu called “Select Menu” to select the blogroll you just created.

Click Update at the top right of your screen. Done.

If you’re like me and want the links to automatically open in a new tab a few more steps will be necessary though.

Go back to Appearance -> Menus. Click on Screen Options at the very top right corner of the screen and make sure that the box “Link Target” is checked.

Now you can click on the little triangle next to the words Custom Link for every blog in your menu (yes, individually) and check the box Open link in a new tab.

I’m really glad that my blogroll isn’t all that long because, as you can see, this would be a major pain in the butt if you had to do it for hundreds of blogs…

Thanks again, WordPress.com, for making me do this. Now please don’t break any more of my stuff!!!

Blaugust 2024 post count: 4

4. August 20244. August 2024

Welcome to Blaugust 2024! I’m Mailvaltar, by the way.

Hey folks, it’s that time again: Blaugust is here!

The annual festival of blogging, as always hosted by our friend Belghast, is back for another round. I won’t rehash what it’s all about for the umpteenth time, but in the unlikely event that you really don’t know you can look up all the details here. The TL;DR version is this: we’ll all be posting a lot, reading each other’s stuff, and generally having a whole lot of fun during the month of August. Also, you should totally chime in if you haven’t already.

As for myself, this is my seventh participation – or eighth if you count Blapril and Blaugust Promptapalooza, which both happened in 2020, as two seperate events – so you might say I’m somewhat of a veteran. Still, you (yes, you) may well have found your way to this corner of the internet for the first time, so I’m gonna introduce myself a little.

It’s just common courtesy, isn’t it?

Hey, don’t you dare sticking out your tongue at me!

In the context of this blog I’m a gamer first and foremost. As its subheader suggests MMOs, and especially MMORPGs, have been by far my most beloved kind of game for quite a long time. I say have been because I have, for the most part, distanced myself from playing with others in recent years for various reasons.

I still give new releases a shot if they interest me of course, and I also regularly return to old favourites if the moods strikes me. As a matter of fact I picked up The Secret World once more just over a week ago – yes, the servers are somehow still running – which I’ll most likely talk about in my next post.

MMOs aside, ever since Genshin Impact introduced me to the concept I pretty much always play at least one gacha game. Right now it’s mainly Zenless Zone Zero, and a bit of Arknights every now and then. What I like about this type of game is getting and building characters, obviously, but they usually have a lot of other qualities going for them too, for example very high production values, funny stories and engaging combat. Also, once you’ve completed the main story many of them don’t really offer more content than for, say, half an hour a day, which makes them very much suited for either people with little free time, or to provide some variety alongside your current main game.

Overall it’s fair to say that gaming is my main hobby, although there definitely are other things that are just as important to me, if not more. Such as…

It’s such a beauty, I’ll just use this picture again

I’m not a fan of saying things like “I couldn’t live without xyz“, because unless you say “oxygen” or “food” it’s obviously never true. However, it’s my firm belief that life would be a very dull and sad affair if it weren’t for music.

From my early childhood days, as far as I remember them, listening to music has always brought me great joy. When I realised that usage of modern technology had started to diminish said joy for me a couple of years ago I even turned around and went full-on oldschool.

I’ve also played the guitar and the drums in various bands and projects over the years, although the last gig I played that wasn’t just cover songs at a birthday party or some such happened like 15 years ago. I had my reasons for quitting – and good reasons too I feel – but I still wouldn’t completely rule out forming or joining a band again in the future.

In my opinion great music makes everything better, which is why I always enjoy games, movies etc. all the more if the score is really good. Oh, and speaking of movies…

Yeah, you guessed it – I’ve always been a big movie buff too. Ever since I watched Star Wars for the first time I absolutely can’t imagine not going to the cinema or turning on my big-ass TV to immerse myself in galaxies far, far away regularly.

I don’t do reviews and such, so I don’t often talk about the topic around here. If you do get me started I usually have a lot to say though.

Lastly for today, I’m also a big sports fan. American Football and Basketball are far and away my favourites. I’ve played the former myself “for real” for a couple of years, league matches and everything, which was great. Once I had to sadly conclude that I’d gotten too old for that shit I joined a hobby Basketball team. It’s a great bunch of people, and I play with them once a week to this day (and hopefully beyond).

Right now I’m watching every game of teams Germany and USA at the Olympics, great stuff!

Again though, despite my various interests you’ll find that I mostly talk about gaming around here. I guess I usually deem stuff that goes through my head more worthwhile to write down if it’s related to that particular topic. Also, it’s right up there in the blog’s name, isn’t it?

Anyway, that’s enough about me for one day. Happy Blaugust everyone!

Blaugust 2024 post count: 1

6. June 20246. June 2024

Seventh Year of a Seventh Year

The header doesn’t make a whole lot of sense I’m afraid, but I just couldn’t resist mashing one of my all-time favourite albums and the fact that this here blog is seven years old today into one, albeit completely incomprehensible, title. Sorry ’bout that.

Anyway, seven years. Phew. It still boggles my mind that I kept this going for more than a couple of months, let alone the better part of a decade. Turns out that having a gaming diary of sorts to preserve fond memories and/or keep track of progress made or milestones reached actually means quite a lot to me.

For example, I just realized that my entire time playing Black Desert Online happened during the blog’s existence, and from my first adventures as a noob in 2018 to my latest leaps in terms of gear progression just a couple of weeks ago I’ve put it all on record here, which pleases me greatly.

The view from my new home’s awesome solarium

That being said, I haven’t actually been gaming all that much during recent months. Not because I didn’t feel like it, but because I’ve decided to pick back up another old passion of mine: musicianship.

As I’ve talked about before I started playing the guitar when I was sixteen or so, and switched to the drums six years later. I played those on and off until my mid-thirties, which is when I decided that I’d had enough of sweaty rehearsal rooms, bad, non-paid gigs in front of like 20 people and having to replace sticks, drumheads and cymbals all the time.

I’ve never really quit entirely though. Whenever someone I know came up with the idea to play some live music, like at a birthday or christmas party, I was game to pick up the guitar or sticks again for a couple of weeks.

Back in March I had so much fun at one such event that I finally decided to devote myself to the guitar in earnest once more (the drums are out for the aforementioned reasons as well as a few others), and I pulled the trigger on a specific piece of hardware I’d had my eye on for quite some time already:

Tilted sideways just so you don’t need to scroll as much

This beauty is now accompanied by a Line 6 Helix, which I’ve settled on as my all-in-one solution for amp modeling and effects after thorough research, and I couldn’t be happier with this setup. I’m even fiddling around with sounds and effects all the time, although that was something I absolutely loathed back when I started playing. The Helix sounds really great and makes that kind of tinkering very easy though, and having learned a lot about making stuff sound good during 20+ years in my line of work also helps of course.

So, yeah, lots of fun.

I’m still making time for playing games though, because of course I am. Besides BDO I’m still semi-regularly meeting up with my buddies in Hunt: Showdown, and I’ve also dusted off my Arknights account once again. Man, what an awesome game that is.

Meanwhile I’ve put Helldivers 2 on hold until the next big patch arrives. Like many players I’m hoping that it’ll basically be the mother of all patches, because the game desperately needs it.

I’ve talked about how much fun it can be, however until very recently Arrowhead Studios seem to have been on a crusade against too much fun for whatever reason. At least that’s how a big chunk of the playerbase feels, myself included. Many formerly good weapons were nerfed, new additions to the arsenal have mostly been weak to begin with, enemy spawn timers were severely shortened for squads of less than four players, making solo or duo play on higher difficulties completely unfeasible for all but the best or most stress-resistant of players.

The devs have said that they’ve heard our concerns and are going to course-correct. The spawn changes will be reverted, that much has been officially announced. Whether or not weapons (and also a few stratagems) will see some much needed love remains to be seen. Here’s hoping for the best.

I’d really like to make shit go boom again

So this is what I’m up to going into year eight of this blog’s existence. Chances are that as long as there are great games to be played I’ll continue to write some stuff every now and then.

If that’s not an enticing advertisement I don’t know what is…

6. June 20236. June 2023

I got the six

Another year in the books and the blog’s still going, so here’s the obligatory cake for y’all.

The good news is that, despite my inkling that it might happen as early as two years ago, I haven’t turned my back on MMORPGs completely after all. As a matter of fact I’ve been playing the heck out of Black Desert Online since December, which has only slowed down a bit during the past few weeks.

I’ve taken a break from sailing and bartering for the time being, but am still grinding away for the infinite HP potion every now and then. I’ll also make sure to do the preparatory quests for Land of the Morning Light’s release, which is slated for June 14th.

And of course: checking in on my workers, as one does

As much as I’m looking forward to the new continent though, what I’ve come to realize is that BDO’s, like any other long-running MMO’s, biggest strength is the enormous wealth of content, systems and progression opportunities that are already there, as well as the countless iterations and (hopefully) improvements that all those things got over the years. I mean, the game was already quite good at launch, but by now it’s absolutely awesome and, in my opinion, one of the best there is.

Now, the anticipation for a game’s release can feel really great of course, and the craving for something new and shiny is always there in the back of my head. Still, when I look back on which MMORPGs I’ve played at or shortly after launch during the past few years…well, there’s pretty much only New World and Lost Ark, both of which disappointed me greatly.

I guess from now on I’ll take more of a wait-and-see approach towards new titles, while continuing to play stuff that’s had time to cook and already proven itself. Well, at least unless a game comes along that I feel I just have to play right away for whatever reason.

Still prefer this one over any of the alternatives

Diablo IV is not one of those games, in case you’re wondering. Even if I were to ignore the many good reasons not to buy it – like the fact that Kotick’s still in charge of the company, or the game’s steep price tag combined with a rather expensive cash shop and paid battle pass – I would still nope out for the time being.

Think about it – even Diablo II and III, which were made by “Good Old Blizzard” (anyone remember those times?), each needed a big expansion and many more patches to become as great as they are today. Why would it be any different now? I mean…worse? Sure, that may well happen. Better? Not bloody likely.

And, again, there’s already so many great games out there that are evidently good, polished and content-rich…

I like desert zones in general, but this in particular hits all the right notes for me

Yep, my rekindled enthusiasm for Genshin Impact hasn’t waned yet. I guess my playtime is split about 50/50 between it and BDO at the moment, which feels just right [Edit: Actually it’s more like 40/40, and 20% Hunt: Showdown]. The new (to me) regions, The Chasm and Sumeru, are really great; exploring those while questing and fighting along the way is tremendously fun.

I’ve even managed to get the character I talked about last time by investing only half of my available gacha currency, so I’m still sitting comfortably at 5 bucks spent for a full month of entertainment, with a handful of ten-pulls left over to boot. Take that, Bobby!

So, yeah, still playing, still blogging (well, occasionally). Good times.

I’ve also been watching a lot more basketball this year, starting right after Super Bowl. In years prior I only tuned in for the playoffs; turns out it’s much more satisfying to watch those when I already have a feel for what’s what and who to root for. Also, being there (kind of) when LeBron became the all-time scoring leader felt more special than I’d thought it would.

I’m even considering watching next season right from day one, but I’m afraid following the NFL and the NBA at the same time might be just too much (and pretty expensive too).

Either way, chances are the blog will remain primarily gaming-focused. What can I say, when it comes to sports I prefer doing it myself or at the very least watching. Talking about it – not so much.

Anyway, enough rambling. Year seven, here I come. Groovy gaming guaranteed!

6. June 20224. June 2022

High Five!

Gosh, has it really been another year already? I’ve heard many people say that the whole Covid stuff kinda slowed their perception of time down, what with them being at home a lot more and so on. For me though, if anything the past two years seem to have gone by even faster than those before.

Anyway, this here blog is half a decade old today. Time to pop the champagne, no?

I’ll rather have a Corellian ale, but thanks!

On the face of it, yeah, absolutely. As I’ve said before, I really had no idea where or for how long this would go when I started, but I surely wouldn’t have bet any money on still being active five years down the road – if you’re willing to call one or two posts a month “active”, that is.

Because here’s the thing – I can’t help but admit that my enthusiasm for blogging has declined even more since my last blogiversary. In that post I talked about how there were no MMORPGs I really wanted to play at the time. Well…since then I’ve tried New World, which wasn’t for me, and Lost Ark, a game I had high hopes for but turned out to be a huge disappointment after the first thirty hours or so. Man, what a treadmill.

I don’t need to be playing MMORPGs to have something to blog about though, right? True. But, as I’m only now starting to realize, I need to be reading other blogs to feel a motivation to write myself, and that is something I haven’t done much of lately either. I still regularly read my handful of go-to blogs (you know who you are) because they’re just entertaining no matter the subject. Anything that’s solely focused on MMOs and/or isn’t compulsory reading for me has fallen by the wayside however, and that includes MassivelyOP.

While this might not sound like much of an issue it’s pretty big for me. I’ve visited that site religiously since I stumbled upon it, which was in 2011 I believe, back when it was still under AOL’s umbrella. I helped to kickstart its rebirth as MOP, and I’ve even applied for a writing job a couple years back (which I obviously didn’t get, but given how things have developed that’s definitely for the best). The site meant a lot to me for a long time, is what I’m saying.

I didn’t make a conscious decision or anything, I just…stopped, and only after a while I realized that I had, and also that I don’t even miss it all that much. Of course that’s actually not very surprising when I think about it, what with them predominantly covering a genre I’ve become pretty jaded and unhappy about. That some of the writers themselves, especially the boss lady, seem to feel the same way doesn’t help matters either.

Anyhow, I’m rambling. My point is, I’m discontent with the state of the MMORPG-genre, I’m by and large not interested in reading about it anymore, and as a result I have a hard time finding motivation or inspiration to write about anything myself.

That said, I haven’t covered everything I’d like to say about Hunt: Showdown yet, so I’ll get at least one more post out of that.

Also, to end this on a more positive note, I have no intention to quit for good. Posts may well continue to be few and far between for the forseeable future, but if nothing else I’ll try and show signs of life at least once per month.

So despite all of the above chances are we’ll still share another cake a year from now…

1. August 20211. August 2021

Blaugust 2021 Kick-Off

So here we are, Blaugust 2021 is a go, and despite my initial doubts I did decide to sign up after all. The thought of giving such a great event a hard pass just didn’t feel right. Which means, of course, that I’ll try and post at least a tad more regularly than I have in recent months.

As I’m in a bit of a gaming slump right now…no, that’s not actually true. I’m in a blogging about gaming slump, I guess that’s what it is…they key to that will most likely be to also write about stuff I usually don’t write about, or at least not nearly as often.

Which, incidentally, is what I already did during Blaugust 2018. Of the 31 posts I penned during my first ever Blaugust participation eight had pretty much nothing to do with video games at all.

Since this week’s theme is “Welcome to Blaugust” and veteran bloggers are encouraged to give some advice to newbies – not sure whether I would call myself a veteran quite yet, but let’s just roll with it for the moment – I guess this would be mine: don’t feel obligated to only post about a certain range of topics.

First of all, your blog is exactly that – yours. As long as you don’t intend to reach a very specific audience and keep it happy and/or plan to make a living with your writing you can post about whatever floats your boat at any given moment.

Sure, on first glance this corner of the blogosphere is all about gaming, but that doesn’t mean we don’t read and enjoy each other’s posts when they’re about something else for a change. You’ve probably heard this truism about giving speeches: “It’s 70% how you look, 20% how you sound and only 10% what you say”. I think there’s some truth to that, and despite the negative connotation it also has its upsides and kind of applies to writing as well. For example, it’s because of their writing style, their use of language and their sense of humour that I always enjoy some bloggers’ posts, no matter the topic.

And, again, it’s your blog. Whether I like your posts doesn’t really matter. As long as you enjoy the process of writing and are happy with the outcome yourself, you’ve already won. And you’ll have done something a great many people never do: stopped just consuming and started creating. Go you!

In the spirit of leading by example my next post will indeed not be about gaming. Well, not about actually playing games at least, so I guess it counts. What the heck, my blog, my rules – it’s gonna count! 😉

Happy Blaugust, everyone!

Blaugust 2021 post count: 1

18. July 2021

Buckle up, folks, it’s almost (Bl)August-time again!

As July slowly but surely draws to a close we’re once more approaching the season of Blaugust, and as Bhagpuss accurately noted we’re collectively gonna let you know about it, like it or not!

Despite having lots of other things on his plate Belghast has graciously decided to host another round of our (well, his, but also kinda our) great annual blogging festival.

Why? Let’s ask the man himself:

The why is pretty simple. The blogging community is nowhere near as large as it once was. Many of us have aged out of blogging with real-world responsibilities or just moved on to other time-consuming hobbies. Blaugust gives us a chance to infuse the community with a fresh lease on life as we court new bloggers to join the fray. Those of us who have been carrying the torch of blogging for decades now, can sometimes lose hope as our blogroll loses a few voices each year. I’ve come to learn that getting out and mingling and mentoring a new crop of fresh bloggers can give us the perspective to stay engaged and hopefully make this community thrive. The thing is… it has over the last several years as we migrated from “just blogs” to a bustling Discord community that takes place year round instead of just during this one month.

As I’m not much of a socializer I’ve never been very active on that Discord myself, but I absolutely feel like being part of a great community regardless, and it all started with my first Blaugust participation back in 2018.

That being said, I haven’t decided yet whether or not to chime in this time around. Don’t get me wrong, I’d very much like to. It’s just that blogging isn’t very high on my priority list right now, and it has also started to feel more like work than fun more often than not. I’ve talked about one of the reasons for this in my blogiversary-post back in June. Another is that work has been very stressful lately, and chances are it won’t be any different during the whole of August.

Now, I know that nobody is obligated to post more than they feel comfortable with. Still, the event’s stated goal is to post every day for a month, and signing up for it without even having the slightest intention to put my back into it and at least post a little more often than in recent months kinda feels like cheating to me. There’s still some time left to decide though, so maybe I’ll change my mind.

Either way, it’s an awesome event, and if you have a blog or are thinking about starting one you should absolutely seize the opportunity! No need to be shy, everybody in this community is extremely helpful, and we appreciate each other tremendously.

Should you consider participating, all you need to know is in this post over at Tales of the Aggronaut. Here’s looking forward to reading even more terrific posts than usual!

6. June 2021

Year four – more Other Stuff than MMOs

We’ve circled the sun yet another time and I’m still posting (somewhat) regularly around here, so go me I guess.

Still, the blog’s fourth year has been a weird one, and for once COVID-19 wasn’t the main culprit to blame. I mean, sure, after a while masks, distancing, lockdowns and all that shit started to get to me just like everyone else, and I can’t say I’ve been my usual, upbeat self during these surreal times.

The main reason for my change in gaming habits and, as a result, my blogging is something else though: there just isn’t any MMORPG I’d really like to play right now.

It’s not that there aren’t any good ones available, quite the contrary. And, as Bhagpuss accurately notes, there are currently more new and promising releases waiting in the wings than we’ve had in years. I am definitely keeping an eye on Swords of Legends Online, and I’ll most certainly at least try it out when it launches. I also still log into EVE Online every now and again.

My enthusiasm for the MMORPG genre as a whole is at an all-time low however. Of course many things have changed during the 20 years since I started to play Ultima Online, and as far as I’m concerned definitely not all of them for the better. Yet after thinking quite a lot about it lately I’ve come to realize: it’s not the genre, it’s me.

I definitely still love the RPG part of the acronym, and I have no qualms regarding the O being in there either. No, it’s the MM aspect that’s become more and more of a turnoff for me.

Guild drama (and drama in general), bad pugs, trolls, people trying to tell me what I can and cannot do with my free time… I could – and probably will – write a whole post of its own about why having other players around is much more bane than boon to me these days.

Peace and calm…yeah, this is much more like it

I guess that’s why I still very much enjoy playing Genshin Impact, which has been my main game – and, at times, my only game – for eight months straight now. It pushes almost all of the buttons that made me addicted to MMORPGs in the first place – exploration, character progression, combat, getting to know a foreign world and then becoming a part of it, and now even housing – without the “baggage” of having other people around. Sorry folks, but that’s just how I feel right now.

Of course there are downsides to playing in self-imposed seclusion too. I’ve argued myself that other players are what puts the spice, the adventure into online games, and I still stand by that. As much fun as I’ve had playing Genshin, Warframe and a handful of other games this past year, I certainly don’t feel like I’ve been on any real adventures while doing so.

Surprisingly, though, I can kinda live with that. As I’ve come to realize it can actually be quite soothing to know in advance that any given play session will most likely not turn into an adrenaline-filled frenzy.

However, I started this blog to write about my gaming adventures first and foremost. You know, about stuff that really excited me when it happened, that I feel the need to preserve and also show to other people, to maybe help them understand why I like to sit at my desk and play these games so much.

It’s probably no surpsise, then, that I’ve published less posts during the blog’s fourth year than any other. Even my first year, when I was still finding my footing and nothing I did had any regularity or plan to it, saw 34 posts published, compared to just 29 within the past twelve months.

Will that change again? Most likely. I’ve been fed up with MMORPGs in the past, and I’ve always come back. I do like having those adventures very much, after all.

Until then my posting cadence will probably remain on the lower end. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.

2. August 20203. August 2020

Media that’s shaped my worldview

Prompta2020

2020’s version of Blaugust is in full swing, and it’s my turn already. Thank you Dragonray for handing over the baton, I hope I’ll be able to meet the high expectations you’ve set for me. 🙂

Here goes.

Blaugust Promptapalooza – Prompt 3

What are some key sources of media (games/movies/etc) that have shaped your worldview?

As I’m writing a blog that mainly focuses on video games in general and MMORPGs in particular it shouldn’t come as a surprise that those will get a mention here. I was born in 1976 though, so I’ll have to start off with some earlier types of media.

You know, it’s funny. I’ve been working in radio broadcasting for almost 20 years now, and during that time I’ve often said that I enjoy it despite not being and never having been a radio listener myself. While thinking thoroughly about today’s prompt I’ve realized that it’s actually not true at all.

I couldn’t for the life of me tell you the stations’ names, but back when I was little the radio was always on at home. My mom also played vinyl (and shellac) records, of which I mainly remember The Beatles and ABBA, but mostly it was the radio playing.

I liked it a lot, and it didn’t take long until I begged for my own one with a built-in cassette recorder so I could record my favourite songs. Once I’d got it I would sit on my bed for hours on end, listen to the music and record the songs that I liked the most. To this day Depeche Mode’s Everything Counts is one of my all-time favourites, for example.

I guess radio shaped my worldview insofar that it taught me early on how beautiful, heart-warming and life-enriching music can be. I can’t imagine a life without it.

Ok, I’m not actually THAT old, but you get the picture

Growing up during the eighties in an urban environment also meant watching a lot of TV. Until about 1985 we still had a black-and-white set and a grand total of three programs to watch, but around my 9th birthday we got a color set, a VHS recorder and cable TV. From then on there was no stopping me.

I soaked up everthing a boy of that age ought to like (at the time): shows like The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, reruns of The three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy; a bit later I was really into The A-Team, Knight Rider, Airwolf and so on. I even got my first taste of Anime (without knowing it) with Captain Future and Saber Rider.

I wouldn’t call any of that life-changing experiences, but the things I watched have undoubtedly shaped me in some way or other.

At the age of twelve or so a true landmark event happened though: I got to watch Return of the Jedi – and thus a Star Wars movie – for the first time. I believe I’d never been so enthralled by anything in my life. Other stuff I’d just watched, but that movie took me to a galaxy far, far away indeed, and I think it really changed the way I watch movies. Nowadays I get totally absorbed by the story – usually even if said story isn’t all that great – and forget about everything else until it’s over.

I have to admit that it can be somewhat demanding to watch movies with me as I don’t tolerate talking, cell phone usage or anything else that might distract me (chips are okay though as long as I can have some too), but that’s just the way it is now and the price, I feel, for being able to immerse oneself completely.

Great movies and shows take me to places and let me experience adventures I would never see and have in real life, and I’m extremely grateful for that.

You probably wouldn’t be reading this now if I hadn’t been a huge fan of reading all my life.

It started, unsurprisingly, with comics, mainly Mickey Mouse, Asterix and Clever & Smart. I tried to like Marvel and stuff, but those were just too ‘loud’ for me, if that makes sense.

At age 13 or so I shifted away from comics and started to read ‘real’ literature – if you’re willing to call penny dreadfuls literature, that is. John Sinclair is written by a German author and tells the stories of a Scotland Yard inspector specialized in paranormal investigations. I used to read those every week for a couple of years straight, and that’s what kicked off my turning into a serious bookworm. I assume it’s also where my penchant for horror movies came from, to boot.

For the next ten, fifteen years I read a hell of a lot, mostly science fiction and fantasy, but also thrillers, historical fiction and even non-fiction (the latter especially about ancient Egypt).

These days I’m not reading as much as I’d like, but I still do of course.

If you’re reading this I don’t need to lecture you about the power of the written word, do I? Suffice it to say, without reading so much I wouldn’t be the person I am today, and I’ll never stop enjoying it.

Playing video games is pretty much the earliest memory of consuming any type of media that I have, and it has always been my main hobby, if you will. It’s much more to me than a hobby though.

A really great game can, in a way, be the culmination of everything I talked about above. Experiencing adventures I could never have in real life? Check. Music that evokes strong emotions and makes the ride all the more enjoyable? Absolutely. Thrilling, touching or funny stories with heroes to root for and villains to despise? Sure thing. Well, sometimes anyway.

Add to that the ability to play an active part in all of it instead of just consuming passively, and in some cases to even fundamentally affect the outcome, and you get something truly marvelous.

Unfortunately playing video games has also helped to shape my worldview in a negative way though, as it has taught me that even amongst ‘normal’ human beings (i.e. not counting scum like terrorists, rapists and so on) there’s a frighteningly large number of dickheads out there. I’ve had stretches where I outright refused to play online-multiplayer games because I just wasn’t willing to take it anymore.

Apart from that though, what can I say, I just love playing video games. They’re inextricably a part of me.

And there you have it.

Tomorrow the wonderful Roger Edwards (thanks for all the great movie reviews by the way!) will be there for you with the fourth installment of Blaugust Promptapalooza 2020, so head on over to Contains Moderate Peril and have a look. I sure will.