... water
But a pencil must be lead.
Looking up at the night sky we see a universe full of stars which to the naked eye appears static. Reality is very different. The universe is not only expanding, it's expanding at a faster rate than in the past.
This morning I struggled to wake up. I'm still struggling. I'm cursed with an illness which plays havoc with my circadian cycle. It's my cross and I find ways of coping with the symptoms. I always like to remind others that I am up here and can see the roof of our house too.
One of my coping strategies is to occupy my mind playing web games. Additionally when my keyboard needs a workout I can pen prose and muse away time to my heart’s content.
My gaming career is probably the most successful part of my life. And apart from my somewhat warped sense of humour I'd say I have a balanced personality ;-) I took up playing computer games with tennis pong and moved onto a commodore 64, followed by an Amiga and my first home pc arrived in 1994. Over the years I have played most of the god type games available.
My gaming career actually began at the tender age of 15. And, wait for it, I used "ticker tape" to store the code. As part of my Maths O'level I had to programme an application. I managed to recreate the game "Mastermind" on the schools computer using basic. I got a credible 38 out of 40 marks for my effort.
I have found The Settlers Online game to be just another web based god type game. It’s obviously still in its early stages of development. The issue I have is with the business model that this game appears to be pursuing.
It starts with that famous phrase … “Free to play”. And of course, in a similar way to my analogy above, like the night sky this comment is correct. Yet it’s only part of the reality. A very small part.
If the business model used the English language more precisely it would probably say …
Free to play, but if you really want to enjoy the game and save yourself a lot of time you’re going to have to put your hand in your pocket, quite deeply and pay.
I’ve not found the game to be great in any particular areas with the notable exception of the graphics. In this area the game does have an edge on much of the competition. There’s a plethora of other areas where the game doesn’t quite measure up.
Notably
• It does appear to be expensive to play at levels which do not use up great amounts of time
• There’s a lack of adventures and at higher levels players have to repeat adventures to a point of boredom
• There appears to be a high churn of players which limits current and future interaction at guild level
• There’s nothing innovative about the game.
• Game development is slow – too slow.
The game has some positive points
• The chat boards are well run by a volunteer moderation team
• Players generally help lower levels to come on quickly
• The forum is open and easy to use
Rumour has it that the jet stream has moved further northwards and we can expect less rain in the UK. Just in time for the school holidays :-)
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