Redwolf's Journal (continued)

I seem to be keeping up with reading a lot more this year. Assassin's Apprentice I picked this up a while back at the used bookstore down in Albuquerque. It falls in the realm of "okay, but not outstanding" where I seem to file a lot of what I read. A first-person retelling of a bastard-turned-assassin's early life in the same fantasy world as the Liveship Traders series. Somehow magic feels more prominent in this one, even though it's really not that much more common - perhaps because the main character exhibits the ability to bond with animals early on. Most of the characters are interesting enough, and the setting has a solid feel to it. So why not consider it more highly? I'm not sure. Lacking a factor that pushed it over the edge for me, I guess. There are a lot of major plot points that seem to (and really that's the test - how obvious is it) hinge on deus ex machina. I may pursue the series depending on other options. Magic Strikes Part three...

Sparked by some rumor/comment/foretelling out of Blizzcon about Theramore being attacked or destroyed, there've been some forum arguments about how Blizzard "favors the Horde" (or perhaps the Alliance, depending on who you listen to). This got me thinking about the Alliance versus Horde aspects of the game... Disclaimer: First, I play on a PVE realm and do very little PVP content - that's personal preference, I just don't enjoy competitive video gaming much. Second, I have played Alliance almost exclusively, which may well shade my perceptions of the game - I can't speak objectively because I haven't seen all the sides of the game. I do feel like the Alliance has been "losing" against the Horde, but I take a lot of pride in the faction and I don't exactly feel "picked on" but Blizzard. It's the nature of such a conflict to have gains and losses, and while the Alliance doesn't seem to be winning much against the Horde, ...

I can keep this relatively short. This little DLC side mission is disappointing overall and probably not worth the $15. It isn't bad , but it feels disjointed by its separation from the main game. It's fairly short. The environments are okay, but are limited and include a fair bit of backtracking. The end "boss" is, though, more in-tune with the game - just a guy behind several layers of protection, who can be snuck up to and taken down as easily as just about any grunt. I think it also suffers a little from the inclusion of the Factory Zero achievement: complete it without using weapons, explosives, or praxis kits. Because this is deliberately possible, it feels like passwords are dropped like candy and security is especially easy to bypass with a little patience. 'course, I completed my second run this way and didn't get the achievement even though I'm pretty sure I didn't use any such items. Grrrr. Unrelated, but an interesting read: http://www....

I really am my own worst enemy. Always have been. I'm wonderful at making myself feel absolutely miserable over things that probably aren't even a big deal to begin with. It's a little funny after my last post. Perhaps I'm too empathic sometimes. I worry about letting down those I care about. So when my gut doesn't say "yes" to them, I feel bad about it. And beat myself up further over it. And... rawrgh! I don't think even some of my "closest" friends realize how much it pains me to say no sometimes.

Quick note on WoW going alright. Quicker with the progress through the raid. Practice for our otherwise-usual tank on Alysrazor. A second person getting a look at flying on that fight. My Ret-self hasn't undergone dramatic improvement, but continues to work just fine. All good. More drama than usual, though, starting early even. That wasn't so good and had a few people more tense than should be. Which, in turn, got me thinking about "playing politics." I've said before and I'll probably say again that I probably could be good at it, but I don't really want to. In another life, a few choices different, a little more purpose in my college days, and I might even have been a politician. Scary. But the principles apply at more levels than running for Congress. A lot of the theories can apply on multiple levels. Getting along with people at work or running an in-game guild... One of the big elements of being in a leadership role is compromise . Unless yo...

Uhh... okay. Maaaybe I will end up playing Diablo 3. Free if you sign up for a year's subscription to WoW. I feel like I might be very close to the target demographic for that offer: someone who is likely to be playing WoW a year from now, but has some small measure of doubt due to upcoming competition like SWTOR and GW2. I already pay for six months at a time (for a slightly better rate). So the only way I lose out is if I stop playing WoW over the next year (and that would likely take guild disintegration). Otherwise, it's a free top-tier game for me... that adds me to a list of people who may (though the odds are low for me personally) end up paying money in by use of the D3 auction house transfers. Oh, and doing this also gets you an in-WoW mount that... actually appeals to my paladin tendencies. Sneaky bastards. Mists of Pandaria is real, huh? Okay, I guess I'm not actually surprised. I am a little surprised that pandarens will, in fact, be playable and both Hor...

A couple links about storytelling in general, largely for my own remembrance and benefit. Food for thought, at least. A blog article on poor story due to adherence to the hero's journey format . A short video of the creators of South Park discussing using causation/complication between scenes/beats rather than simply following one scene with another.