Interviews and playthroughs Oh My!

One of the major problems as a writer is coming up with new material each time to write about. Writers and content creators spend hours upon hours researching, interviewing, and experimenting. Often times we as these content creators get to spend a few hours a day playing games. Although, what you may consider playing, is not what we consider playing. It is always preparation. From the moment we log in until the time we log out, we are constantly stopping and starting.

It usually begins with us following the "Ooo - Shiny" as we jot down a few extra notes concerning the location of an ore vein, or a wood source. Nearly often enough, we spend more time writing these notes than we actually get to enjoy what we are doing. This does not necessarily mean it is all that bad. We get to meet people, the average player does not. We get to enjoy upper tier communities, that many normal players do not. We get invited to betas that other people strive to get invited to. The reason for all this is simple. We are not here to play, we are here to study. I overheard a conversation the other day with a few players who have not been invited to a certain game with a certain "open all the time" beta. They were complaining that only people with certain clout were allowed into "these types" of betas. That only the people who knew someone or had popularity were allowed in.

I wanted to enter and hijack the conversation to tell them they were wrong. I realize now that even if I had, it wouldn't have changed their opinion one way or another. Sometimes you just cannot convince people of your thinking, because of their stubborn ways. I guess the same can be said about myself as I am as stubborn as they come. "Fear not! For the people whom you show jealousy for, are not having fun, but are working, and working for free for that matter!" I wanted to scream in their channel locked all to themselves.

Betas are always viewed as some sort of demo for the real game. That is not the case. Betas are to test, and only testing shall it be. You should never take knowledge from a beta, to insert your own opinions of disgust.

To put it into a bigger perspective:

IT IS THE BETA, THERE ARE GOING TO BE BUGS.

I feel that some people do not quite grasp this fact. Yet here we are again, explaining the over explained. 

-CB

Guild Hunting

     For the past several days, I have been multi-faction guild hopping. I have in turn met several wonderful people, and it certainly seems that the Elder Scrolls Community, is more of an adult being. Now when I say that I am not necessarily meaning all players will be over the age of 18. For the most part, the guilds I have visited have all been professionals. They emphasize less on the skill of a player, and more on the individualism of the player themselves.

     This has come as a bit of a shock to me actually. While I am sure there are many guilds out there, whom are unprofessional, and non-courteous to new players, and with all games you are going to have those secular guilds whom are elitists. From my experience of over 30 nameless guilds. Each in their own way have been kind and sincere in meeting and engaging with new prospective members. 

     What this means for the average newbie to any MMO is there are many different opportunities for you to meet like-minded individuals. I encourage all of my readers to experience all the guilds that you have read about in any Elder Scrolls Public Forum. Meet the other people whom you will be interacting with in the future. 

     Do you know any cool guilds who might be recruiting new members for Elder Scrolls Online? Post their names and a link to their page in the comment section below. I would love to check them out.

-CB

Another Wasted Day

I think that part of waiting for a highly anticipated game, is the shear boredom of things. I have sunk low in troubled times such as these. There are only so many ways a gamer can keep himself or herself occupied before a big game release. Let's list a few shall we?

• Play another game.

Sometimes this one helps. It keeps your mind off the fact, you are still waiting for your MMO or new game to arrive. Picking another game similar to the one you are preparing to play is the best idea. It allows you to up your skills before release. More or less, it keeps you occupied in gaming and nothing else. Including keeping you away from unnecessary things like cleaning your room / house, doing laundry, or replacing the weather stripping on your back door because the rainwater from the no gutter system off your poorly built house is leaking in and destroying your door and floor.

• Endurance training

Old people, like myself and a few others that fancy themselves readers of blogs such as this one, prefer endurance training. We aren't young anymore, and quite frankly, we cannot stay up past 12am. For that matter I pulled a muscle this morning putting on a sock. So we must train ourselves to be able to keep up with you young whippersnappers. It's not exactly the easiest thing to do considering games don't captivate us as well as they used to. We have to find a totally addictive game or an activity that keeps us staying up past our pill / bed time.

• Character Creation

Before we launch full steam ahead, a good majority of us, will begin to create our characters in our minds. We will even have names picked out, so that we aren't searching randomly for a named item on our desks at launch time. (I literally have a character on WoW named Aqualibrium for that very reason.) We will make sure we have made a final decision on whether our characters will be Female or Male. We will decide if we want to start as Argonians or Redguards. We will write long roleplaying stories on our characters. We will be prepared.

• Guilds

For the more nerdy of people, we will find other people to align with. This is a tricky one. Since there is no current game to play, boredom runs rampant. I have seen only a few guilds this go around that have not 100% went to the dark side. I joined a guild before the launch of SWTOR and they were hardcore. As memory serves, they kicked me out, because I said if SWTOR releases on Thanksgiving day, I would spend my free time watching football.  I guess I got kicked out for having a life? No idea..

• Forums

Joining Forums is the greatest thing you can do. Forums often times have a lot of news and like-minded people talking about the game you are about to play. They even have some developers come in and do private interviews which is kind of cool. As long as the information doesn't violate the NDA, most websites, including this one, will discuss things from videos and other official sources. Forums are a great source of information, and should never be overlooked. I like Enjin's forum over others because its straight and to the point. You don't have to wade through a trough of useless garbage to read what you want to read.

• Writing

Sometimes you just feel like writing. I like writing because it is a form of stress relief. With a generous amount of time, you can have a plethora of information waiting for you at launch. Dust off that old Microsoft Word program you got back when you were flunking out of college, playing video games instead of going to class, and write something useful. Or don't and spend your time playing internet spades with a guy that never covers your nils! Either way, enjoy yourself before launch. Be sure to friend me on Enjin, and we shall play, oh yes. We shall.

(Original Version on ElderScrollsForum.com)
Thanks
-CB

Adapting to the surroundings. Elder Scrolls Online

I use the same methods no matter what game economy.

That's a bold statement. It's true nonetheless. I have been speaking with several of my future guild-mates. My specific job has been handled and changed, but remains almost the same. I have recently been pseudo-promoted to a position as a battalion general / tactician. One of the many reasons why I was selected for this position was that I have an ever changing mind. I am able to adapt. Adaptation in several colleges around the world is considered a virtue. Adaptation is something I consider to be a very good quality in someone who is claiming to be a Gold Goblin. Adaptation allows you to achieve more than you would prior to becoming adaptive. However, I spend most of my time using the "same old tricks" as it were. Everything is primarily the same each game, each area in which you are trying to learn. So without current game or beta knowledge, I am certain I can achieve greatness and overcome challenges with the upcoming release of Elder Scrolls Online. 

As with my tactics in PVP, my strategy so to speak is going to be that of the same. Pick a foothold. Any will do, but it needs to be sufficient with the goal set in mind. Our goal, like any other sword swinger is to be victorious. So how would we go about being victorious in a pre-decided battle of wits? Easy. We prepare. We train. We fight. 

So how would we go about being victorious when it comes to money? Easy. We prepare. We train. We calculate. A small difference, but it can mean all the difference. Preparation is one of those acts that I like to thump into the heads of my pupils. Preparation can mean the difference between 10 gold, to potentially 1000 gold. Without the proper money guided knowledge, how can you expect to take advantage of the markets? 

What is my strategy at launch you might ask? 

Without prior knowledge to what is happening in the beta, I can only tell you this. Penny pinching. Buy only what you need, and save the rest. Set aside every penny you can afford. Do not neglect yourselves, repair bills and food. Set a budget. Calculate what you want to have by the end of the day. When you press that button to log out, you should have more money in your bag than you started with. As long as that number keeps going up. You are on the path to success. 

Here are some helpful tips for you. 

• Goblinism - Sell grey or otherwise useless items
• Hoarder - Do not keep items that are no use to you. ie. Do not save materials that you are going to use later like for blacksmithing or weaponsmithing. Sell it now, deal with it later.
• Level. Your. Toon. - The first thing everyone worries about is money to spend on items such as fast travel and gear. Do not worry about these things, they will come with time. 
• Preparation. - In world of warcraft terms, this would be considered a chest spawn, or node spawn. Keep up with these places. Mark them down on a little pad of paper, so you can come back later. 
• Ironforge Jumping - When you find yourself bored, and you are merely jumping around in place, or conducting lewd acts in trade chat. Go fishing, go back to those areas you have completed, help another player. Anything that can result in your pockets jingling a little more than earlier is a step up. 
• Research - Many of you, will just ask, others will seek. Whatever you have to do, you need to explore as much for yourself as possible. If someone tells you, you may not remember. If you see it for yourself, you most certainly will. 
• Notes - I keep a journal of everything I bid on, sell, research. I keep it in the filing cabinet next to my computer. If I want to know what the market price of iron was 2 weeks ago, and want to know the contrast of what it is today. I have those records. I can establish a median on my own. 

As far as techniques go, Well I guess you will have to follow me won't you? I will divulge as much information as possible prior to launch. I am afraid it won't be until after launch that I really get down into the nitty gritty. With the NDA under the beta, I cannot release any information what so ever, as far as the game goes. Having that said here are some helpful informational tips on the beta:

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I hope that helped.

-Ashleign

Elder Scrolls Preparation

     In order to get the creative juices flowing, I often like to start the morning out with a Yoohoo and a protein shake. I mix them, in my Blenderball from GNC. Just as soon as the frothy milk reaches the top of the bottle I slam it like a sorority sister from Nebraska on her 21st birthday. That's my breakfast. I eat generally 6 times a day with my diet. I do whatever keeps my metabolism as high as possible. What does not get my metabolism moving, is the fact that every close friend of mine, now has a key to the progressive beta of Elder Scrolls online. So now until they end the beta, my friends are in the world of Tamriel without me. With the NDA and my understanding of how Zenimax works, I refuse and they refuse to break that Non-disclosure agreement.

     It sort of puts me at a loss, here I am making the necessary preparations for my gold making website, which is meant to be 100% free to the public mind you. I am unable to start my research in to how things are going to go on the money front. Without any information what so ever from the beta, this has put me in a bad mood.

     So with that disaster, I went forth to find things to keep myself occupied. I have updated the website no less to support this blog, as well as a few other things. I now have 2 writers in my employ. Both are close friends, and they both have access to the *&*^$ beta. However, we have made an agreement that we shall not disclose any information, as it could get us sued up and down. So it's server, website, and blog work for me.

     When dealing with this level of boredom, often times you must find a way to keep yourself occupied. Lest you do not go insane and end up assaulting a renegade band of beavers. Their only plight being to rid the world of flowing water, as they build a large dam. I decided, "No, I am not going to kill, Slopdop, the friendly monk beaver for his information regarding beaver world domination."
Instead rather I will spend my time gloriously looking for ways to better prepare myself for the onslaught of endless gaming nights. The sad fact of the matter is, while I am writing this totally stupid entry, that will be read back years from now, I will realize that I should have been working on the website. Instead of course making myself laugh early in the morning with talks of beavers. It's unfortunate really. With nothing to write I can always find a way to write totally ridiculous material. I understand, and like many of you out there, all 5 of you even, that I am not funny. Well you know what I say to that?

You're right. I am not funny.

But.. I need material on my blog to test with.

Future me. Sorry for the time lost.

-CB