Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Behind the Curtain: Too much emotion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/behind-the-curtain-too-much-emotion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/behind-the-curtain-too-much-emotion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/behind-the-curtain-too-much-emotion/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Oh Richard Bartle, you so crazy!

So, the rantings of an out-of-touch academic, desperate to grab attention, or astute observations from a true pioneer of MMOs and virtual worlds? I'll go with the latter - partly because it's true, and partly because I'm scared Dr Bartle might hunt me down and shout at me.

Going by some of the comments I've seen here on Massively and elsewhere in the past couple of days, not everyone agrees with me. That's cool though, it's the Internet, and you have a right to be face-slappingly stupid hold an alternate viewpoint.

Don't worry though, I don't plan on dissecting the good Doctor's words today, not only has that been done to death elsewhere; I simply don't want to. Instead, I'd like to talk briefly about emotion and our emotional investment in MMOs. To be specific, I'd like to talk about emotions which arise moment to moment, as we play.

Continue reading Behind the Curtain: Too much emotion

MassivelyBehind the Curtain: Too much emotion originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few days ago we ran a report on Richard Bartle's take on a torture quest in World of Warcraft, the Art of Persuasion. Since then, the discussion has exploded and some have taken Bartle's quotes out of context. Because of this, Bartle has created a follow-up post to clarify some of the points that may have been misinterpreted.

First of all, he's not talking about the Death Knight quest entitled, "How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies." Bartle does realize that Death Knights, while under Arthas's control, were horribly evil and he understand that this quest is necessary to make them look as evil as they are. That quest makes a very strong point that resonates with the storyline of the game.

He is quite aware that Warcraft involves killing, fireballs, destruction, and more killing. He knows there's a "dismiss quest" button at the bottom of the quest window. He is also aware that the game is not real life, it's only a computer game, and does not contain the Geneva Convention. So then, what's all the fuss?

Continue reading Richard Bartle responds to "torture quest" issue

MassivelyRichard Bartle responds to "torture quest" issue originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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