PIRATES OF THE BURNING SEA FREE TRIALS

Avast ye scurvey... uh... people. (We never got a handle on that talk-like-a-pirate thing.) We've just come across some somewhat exciting news that you may find interesting. Stand by for this exciting news from the world or piracy.

But let's first take a moment to ponder the works of Roman poet, Ovid. Commonly referred to as one of the 3 canonical poets of Latin literature, we've always found him to be far the superior to Horace, but not worthy enough to lick Virgil's taint. And all you Horace lovers out there better not try anything fancy cause we just got a whole new batch of tasers and we're not afraid to use em. So suck it.

Now, back to our usual MMO-world updates. It looks like the makers of PoTBS have finally wised up and given would-be pirates a chance to play their excellent game without having to fork over the cash. Word is that the new update of Pirates of the Burning Sea will also allow for a free-trial period.

This means everyone can enjoy the truly transcendent (not transcendental) experience of running a someone through with a rapier or blowing them out of the water with bronze-shot from 50-yards away.

Isn't life grand?

(And yeah, the picture is from Buckaroo Banzai.)

Vewy well. I shall... Welease... Wogahh!

So we just completed work on our Pirates of the Burning Sea Strategy Guide. (Yes, it's shameless self promotion, we know. But since our lobotomy we've been unaffected by shame. Or poisoned berries. Is that weird?) And, like we do whenever we complete a new project, we stepped away from the game and took a vacation of sorts. It was during this time of ascetic meditation when we found ourselves reflecting upon the nature of the MMO experience. (And by ascetic meditation and reflection we mean that time of the night immediately after waking up on the linoleum but before the realization of the pressing need to go to the E.R. again and have our stomach's pumped with that delightful, if slightly chalky, charcoal ipecac.)

A typical gamer might spend several hours at a time playing their chosen MMO. Whether they are doing solo missions or grinding, or whether they are part of a group, playing these games is almost entirely a solitary experience. Even if you are using a headset and talking to other members of your group while you play, you aren't really interacting with people. You are controlling a digital avatar that is interacting with other digital avatars who are similarly controlled by other players. It's kind of like parallel play, that stage of child development where the kids play next to each other instead of with each other. Yeah, you are interacting with people, but can you really say you are really playing with them? At best, you hear their voices.

And yes, I know what you're saying "Well, isn't that good enough for the blind?" And even if you are quoting The Guild, it still isn't the same thing. This kind of MMO interaction offers a sense of community, but no more than that of ham radio operators or playing chess by mail. You are simulating a social interaction, one where you might be able to convince a part of yourself that you are sharing experiences and ideas and thus are forming a basic societal unite, but it's a bit of smoke and mirrors, a self imposed prison cell, of sorts. You remain solitary, yet interact with people in some way, and thus come to believe you are not solitary. It's the proverbial carrot held in front of the donkey. You can see the thing you want, and you can make progress as you chase after it, but you'll never get it.

That's all for now. Till next time, True Believers.

You know we're living in a society!

So we were online yesterday, grinding away in PotBS so we could get our Naval Officer to level 37 and get our Defiant Frigate so we could help our society with it's impending port battle. We were in a group of 6 fellow society members and attacking the hated Spanish, and during one of the battles we started picking up on something we have noticed before but have not commented upon.

What are we talking about? Well, there is no easy way to say this, so we're just going to say it: a lot of gamers are downright socially inept.

We previously posted about the forthcoming MMO documentary that investigates the lives of a small portion of the 50 million or so MMO players out there, and since then we couldn't help but wonder about the nature of the community. MMO games, and video games in general, are immersive, time consuming endevors. People can spend hours a day playing them. And even with voice chat options and similar group activities, the games are solitary. These players don't get out much. Maybe they don't have strong people skills. They spend a large part of their waking life in a place that doesn't exist, interacting with people they will never meet.

We've also noticed that a lot of MMO gamers seem to be, let's say, Renaissance Fair friendly. (Yeah, we went to the Ren-Fest once. ONCE.) They like the clothes, the fake-accents, the role-playing, the...whatever. And it's not that these people are bad in any way, it's just that they are a little...we're not sure. It's hard to put your finger on it.

And no, we're not making a qualitative judgment of any gamer, or the gaming community. It's your life, do with it what you like. The only life you have to look back upon when you die is your own, so act accordingly.

But we are asking this: do gamers derive more satisfaction from the gaming interactions than they do from other interactions? Does this subset of society exhibit a trait that is not found in most other areas, or does it tend to exhibit it more strongly? Are gamers introverts who thrive in their own inner-world's, yet do not do so well (when compared to others) in social environments?

We think the answer is pretty clear. Though there are exceptions to the rule, we would guess that the gaming culture is largely composed of people who don't excel in social environments. They enjoy fantasy settings. They enjoy the imaginary. They enjoy living in a world that is perceived first through their imagination, and second through their senses.

At least, that is what we think. For now.

Til next time, True Believers!