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Much commentary has been made on the addictive components of MMOGs, particularly regarding the item looting system most MMOGs incorporate. In short, the grind-based reward system, compounded with random drops, is what emulates the carrot-on-a-stick for the proverbial geek racehorse. It’s the time tied to the grind, however, that compounds the disaster of addiction, because [...]

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We’re not sure Richard Bartle deserves two posts dedicated to him in a row, but let’s be fair this time around: the man isn’t without good ideas, even if our last post was all about how ridiculous he can sound. After all, even shooting from the hip during an interview, he ought to at least [...]

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When Richard Bartle was recently interviewed at Massively, we somewhat hoped he’d redeem himself from the hole he dug before we last commented on him. Bartle, of course, is the man who many consider to be the grandfather of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), as he’s one of the men behind legacy multi-user dungeon [...]

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Tobold recently mused about the sustainability of World of Warcraft (WoW), inasmuch as its continued growth or, at minimum, maintenance, of its player base. Like others before him, Tobold is quick to note that Blizzard’s oversight in regards to their WoW expansions it the lack of new material. In fact, we’ve said time and time [...]

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When we commented on the Macbook Air, we were not pleased with the unit’s price, particularly as it reflected the unit’s function. In brief, we would have rather seen a compact, portable machine designed around internet use. This is where sub-notebook computers like the Eee PC are finding their niche, as most consumers don’t need [...]

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