JohnnyBGamer

Links

The move to WordPress in 2009 brought with it immeasurable relief from both a design and writing perspective. Being able to singularly focus on content, while good, also caused me to neglect the community aspects of the site. So, one of the ways I would like to remedy this is by working on the blog roll or JBG’s links section. If you have a blog or website that fits under our banner of God, Life, and Gaming, please submit a link in the comments below. Looking forward to getting to know ya’ll better,

– Bryan

State of JBG – 2010

JohnnyBGamer.com caught the waves of the net in August of 2003. What had started as a simple idea on paper soon became a reality as my good friend Scotto plunged into designing the site. The crowning achievement during this process, was the amazing work that Scotto did on the JBG logo — I still owe you! –. He took a sketch of mine and created a look and feel that the site has maintained to this day.

The primary goal of JohnnyBGamer has always been to provide professional content focused on the world of videogames. With many articles and a few reviews out there, I would say that that goal has been reached. However, so much is left to be written.

2009 was a year of big changes for JBG. Consumed with html and basic site design, I found myself neglecting actually putting content up on the site. So, I decided to move JBG to WordPress. One of the best decisions I have ever made. Content has flowed freely since the big move. 2009 ended with record visits to the site. Finally, I have felt like JBG has been gaining traction.

So what does 2010 hold for JohnnyBGamer?

Koinonia (Community)

2010 is the year that I want JBG to reach out and embrace the online gaming community. How do we do this?

Increased presence/ participation on blogs, online forums, and other gaming websites.

JohnnyBGamer exists to provide an equal ground for sharing thoughts, ideas, and even life’s burdens. It is my hope that you will join JBG, in the year 2010, as we move forward together.

– Bryan

Hacked!

The nightmare of waking up to find that all your virtual loot has been stolen is one scenario that I have yet to experience — note that I am not asking for this. I cannot imagine the feeling of characters/ items being ripped off; online possessions that cost a great deal of time to obtain suddenly gone. Account hacking via keyloggers and other nefarious schemes are seemingly quite common in World of Warcraft. We at JohnnyBGamer are all about empowering the people. So here are a few common sense ways to protect yourself:

Create a separate e-mail account for your World of Warcraft account. Never share this e-mail address nor associated password with anyone.
Make sure your browser/ PC is updated regularly (auto updates are good).
Empower your Internet browser to fight back by enabling security features.
Purchase an official Blizzard Authenticator at the Blizzard Store.
Download the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator (link will open iTunes) for your iPhone/ iPod Touch (free).

every day the same dream

Every day you wake up, get dressed, eat, and then proceed out the door — if your like me — to your place of work. Every day the same dream is an indie game created by Paolo Pedercini. The short game follows a nameless white collared worker as he trudges through a monochrome world.

The above image is one of the few glimpses of color found in the game; sparse moments of warmth amongst an otherwise cold world. I wonder how many of us experience these moments of awe in an otherwise mundane work week. Funny how comfort is found in the mundane, in the daily schedule each of us lives. May 2010 be a year of awe.

(every day the same dream was noted in a blog post by Sam Kennedy @ 1Up, thus inspiring this post.)

Confessions of an MMO Tourist

My vacation into the virtual lands of MMO’s began with Asheron’s Call in 1999. Playing with friends in a persistent world had a certain novelty to it. Granted, the release of Diablo II the following year quickly put my stay in Dereth on hold. Not one to limit myself to one game, I “toured” multiple MMO’s up until World of Warcraft’s (WoW) launch in 2004. Multiple MMO’s huh? Take a look at this virtual itinerary:

Ultima Online (1 month)
Everquest (1 month)
Final Fantasy XI (1 month)
The Sims Online Beta (a few days)
Asheron’s Call 2 (a few months)

The release of Asheron’s Call 2, in 2002, marked the first time I had set up a base camp in an MMO since the original Asheron’s Call in 1999. My stay in AC 2 did not last long, however, the group of friends that I was playing with ended up quitting the game. For the first time in years, I was no longer traversing the virtual landscapes. A whole year would go by before I would once again venture forth.

Saga of Ryzom Beta
World of Warcraft

In 2004, the perfect storm came together in the form of the Warcraft universe becoming an MMO.

Blizzard + Warcraft + MMO = WIN!

Blizzard games have been a staple of my PC gaming diet for years. Warcraft II, Starcraft, Diablo, and Diablo II were go-to games for me and my friends.

Sidenote: How many of you remember playing the original Diablo with a modem? I remember many late nights, on my Macintosh, spent listening to the pinging/ ponging modem language as I hooked up to battle.net. Good times. Haunting music. No option to run!

World of Warcraft came out the year that I went away to college. The game quickly became a way to communicate/ game with friends three states away. WoW had a darkside, however, one that almost cost me my love in the summer of 2005.

Guild Wars launched the following year (2005). Though technically not an MMO, Guild Wars provided a few alternative to WoW. Unfortunately, the beta period for this game all but killed the game for me (there are only so many times you can create a character, level, and then have it deleted). So I went back to WoW until things came to a head with my real life. Decisions had to be made.

Girlfriend or WoW?

Girlfriend of course! She won.

Girlfriend now wife.

I have played many MMO’s since WoW.

Dungeon Runners.
Lord of the Rings Online
Warhammer Online
Dungeons and Dragons Online

So many hours poured into games I never plan on returning to again. Reminds me of books left half read, tossed under a bed. In the end, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the different worlds that I have explored. Each has offered a different experience that the game previous could not provide.

2009 marked the year I returned to Azeroth with my wife’s blessing. In playing, I have found that World of Warcraft does not have the same pull it once did. So I left the game once more to try:

Maple Story
Guild Wars (again!)
Lord of the Rings Online (again!)

As you can see, I am an MMO tourist with a passport full of stamps. If 2009 has been any indication as to my less than monogamous gaming habits, 2010 is sure to be a busy year.

(Used as a resource for this article http://biobreak.wordpress.com/mmo-timeline/)

(1/26/16 Update: Reader Kevin Woodberry emailed me and asked that I link to his guide as a further resource. Check it out: Guide to Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games.)