Gaming Mom

     What exactly is the whole thing with MMO’s.  If you do a google search for MMOs the amount is just extraordinary. I know I play some more less known MMO’s, my kids play some more known ones, like Runescape .  This game is not text based, which I can see its draw for people 8 to 80. You can watch your figure go through towns and fight and forage and grow.  The player base to this is extreme, with multiple servers.  Another popular one is Habbo Hotel, based out of Finland and growing hugely in numbers. WOW,Club Penguin for kids, Webkinz, Gaia Online, Guild Wars all are so popular, some are for free and some you have to subscribe, most all have a free play venue though, or a trial period of free play.

The enormous popularity of these games always interested me in why.  It definitely is not the same as a PS3 or 2, xbox etc even though they all have the multi player functions for most games played on them.  What exactly is it about these MMOs that gets the draw.  The amount of copycats and spin off offs of other popular MMOs is huge.  Almost every coder/programmer I know has a game or is in the developing stages of one, and those that have one running have a good following in the high hundreds to low thousands of a player base, but it is enough to keep it going.

MMOs have become a huge phenomenon for the Internet experience to such an extreme they shouldn’t be ignored

coming soon, interviews with gaming Moms & surveys of addicted MMO gamers.

Escalation’s plot begins in the early 21st century. A severe oil crisis arises, forcing many smaller nations to closely ally with their neighbors for survival. Out of these unions, three meganations arise: The United States of North America, including the current US as well as Canada, Mexico, middle America, and the Carribean islands; the Asian Conglomerate, composed of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the eastern half of Russia; and the European Union, made up of the current EU member nations, as well as western Russia and pretty much the rest of Europe that isn’t currently a member.

In 2015, the oil crisis hits in full swing, breaking down the world into a series of depressions. The AC gets the bright idea that they can gouge prices on many goods that the other nations require and develop a monopoly on the world market, thereby securing their own economic well-being (although screwing over the rest of the world in the process). The EU and USNA agree that wars have always boosted depressed economies before, and warn the AC that if they carry through with their plan, war will be declared. The AC tries to push on, and the EU and USNA retaliate.

Just over a year inito the war, in 2018, disturbing rumors start to come out about the president of the USNA. Hints and stories emerge that he isn’t entirely mentally sound. Wielding an impressive amount of power gained through fear mongering, none will speak against him, and the USNA has become a virtual dicatorship, according to the intelligence that Britain gets, at least. Shortly thereafter, the President announces his plan to use banned chemical and biological weapons in the war against the AC. The Prime Minister of Britain decides to take action against “the madman on the throne of America.” To that end, he attempts to have the President assassinated, but his attempt failed, and the would-be assassins are caught. In outrage, the USNA declares war on the EU, which now has to bear the responsibility for Britain’s solo action.

After 3 more years of bloodshed, the USNA demonstrates its willingness to take drastic action and go where the other nations didn’t dare to by launching a series of nukes at both the AC and the EU. Only three detonate, one in Paris, France, one in Sian (China), and one in Seoul, Vietnam. This event concludes the first “chapter” of Escalation’s story.

The second chapter of the story deals with the Interim and WW4, and the third chapter will conclude with The Survival, detailing the fate of the survivors of the apocalypse on August 3rd, 2036.

ANDDDDD here are some more screens for your viewing pleasure

Blood on Binary, game developers, they are about to release for beta tesing their game or pieces of it, Escalation.  It is kind of like the Sims meets Grand theft Auto meets Socom, I know they are looking for people to ready the stations and game for them to give them some feedback, people interestes should go sign up at forums www.bloodonbinary.com

Here are some of the screens from the game, there are more on the website

Please feel free to comment and list some of yours, maybe there are some I dont know about and would like

My favorite MMOs would have to be of course :

Kings of Chaos  www.kingsofchaos.com

This is an all text turn based game, there are no graphics at all.  The downfall with this is lack of help from the games creators. This game has been running for years and I think the makers of the game, MIT students ,now are bored with it.

Martial Law www.martiall.com

This is also a text/turn based game as well but adds more elements for your characters to grow and develop. The only downfall with this game is the players.  It is a small game and they tend to clique together, makes it hard for a newcomer to grow. If you can get past that, its an awesome game.

Ruins of Chaos www.ruinsofchaos.com

This is similar to KOC, a bit better as it is designed to how KOC was about 5 years ago.  The only downfall with this game is that the admins tend to admin like children.  Its, IMO, kind of unprofessional and think that’s what will hold back the game.

New Age 3 www.newage3.com

This is also a text based game but with a 3-d element of being able to travel to planets in space. you have a character to grow  as well.  Its very interactive and there is a lot to do so you don’t get bored. I recommend it highly.

These are my top games, I have tried others but got bored easily with them. Ill list them as well as downers to gaming

Now PC games

SIMS! all of them My newest fave happens to be Sim City 4

its just awesome, yes I’m biased

     Kings of Chaos…. it was my demise. I don’t know how people can become so addicted to a game, but it happened to me.  I met a couple people and they told me to join with them in an alliance, they taught me how to play it.  I like it, I could be someone completely different then I actually was.  I had this account, and I could do with it what I wanted!  How much fun.

One day the person that lead us group of people had to go away, family issues, so he asked me if I would take care of the group of people, or alliance/clan as they are called in gaming.  I said sure, I would take over roll as leader and do my best, pfftt! It was a game how hard could it be.  Well it wasn’t that it was hard, but it took more time then I had thought it would.  I started spending about 3 hours a day on this game, then 4, then I was up all night, wars and negotiations, and allies.  It was a mini world and I was a leader in it!  I think it was the people in the game that attracted me more then the game itself.

They were from all over the world, I loved meeting them and talking to them about their lives and cultures, Ive even picked up some other languages, Dutch to be specific as a lot in my alliance were dutch.  6 hours gaming, I would leave the house and think about the gold that would be there when i got back home to *bank* or to take the gold and buy a weapon with it.  We call it banking.

This game became a huge part of my life, my persona in the game which I wont say was such that I, along with my other co leader as I called her, became notoriously hated for just being mean.  Something I was able to do there and not even project my real self.  Of course there were those whom I befriended and we became close and they realised I wasnt some kind of Satanic heathen! lol  But there were those whom became so hell bent on the hate they had for me, they literally paid someone to *hack* my accounts.  Basically they stole my password, got into my computer and took it over.  I eventually learned to deal with the hate and flaming and such, but it took me quite a few years before I could let it roll off my back.  Its a good thing I had such a good friend in my co leader, she was the calm one. I was the spaz.

It often quit baffles me why we become so addicted to these online games.  Some people to WOW and the likes.  Is it the game play? Is it being able to be someone else? Is it being able to be in a community of people whom enjoy it just like you?  Or is it like a need and desire.  i played this game for 7 years, I was hated to the point of death threats and many times I would leave it crying for being insulted in such a manner it was offensive, but yet, I went back, its just a game, would have been easy to just , walk away.

Makes you think.

12 years ago I made the most amazing discovery with my computer, yahoo games.  Not only was it games, it was lots of people playing games!  Not only was it lots of people playing games, but they were doing it together and on teams and from all over the world! *dies*

This started my addictions with online gaming. I say addiction, as it was then, now I find a happy medium between the kids, work, college and gaming.  It started with Literatti, a word game, I joined a team and off it took.  for weeks and weeks I joined up in competitions, met new friends.  The weeks to come found me more interested in wanting to search out new and diffrent kinds of communties.

One day a friend of mine gave me some computer game about building cities or something silly.  Let me remember the game.. hmmm *jokes* Sim City, the very first one was the best thing EVER.  I capitalize that to show how much I fell in love with this.  I spent hours and hours building cities, searching out new items to dowload, joining forums.  I had to just have more of this!

My real love of gaming came about 5 years after my discovery of Sims.  Text based mmorpg’s.  It was my oldest sons fault. He had asked me to make an account in a game he was playing as he would get more money per turn if I joined under him.  I said sure without hesitation, but asked him if i had to play, “No, Mom, you dont, but check it out you might like it.”  That game was Outwar , a turn based game.  It was okay, a bit slow to me, but slowly addictive.  It was at that time I decided to google search text based mmo’s and thats where i found Kings of Chaos.  This game I played for 7 years. Ill go more into that in another post.

Gaming for women is like women in any make dominated sport or work places. Its just not as commen.  But we are out there in droves!  Thoughout this blog ill have interviews with some of them and post them here.  Were not alone, were just small in quantaties!

So sit back and relax and enjoy this gaming blog!