WOW Is About to Get That Much More Annoying

Dark elves apparently frequent Country & Western bars.

I played WOW* for about 5 minutes, and I spent that entire time dancing, but for the love of gaming, does absolutely everything have to be about evangelism? Honestly, just because you have no life and no other interests, doesn't mean the rest of us don't.

I am exploring creative ways to evangelize in the dark corners where few people tread with the Gospel.

One of those, is in the realm of MMORPG, specifically, World of Warcraft. I've started low-level characters on a couple of the RP (Role play) servers. Some of these are Priests, and so it's natural for them to talk like, well, Priests!! (I don't know why I didn't think of this before, it's working brilliantly!) I get to share the Gospel and I've had some positive responses!

OK so another avenue I want to exploit is the fact that World of Warcraft is going to be going through a huge change in November.... the game "world" is going to change drastically, and they call this game update "Cataclysm". Interesting, with everything going on in the real world, that this is being brought about in-game. Well, I'm not going to let this go to waste!!

Those of you who have seen The Princess Bride will remember the scene where Andre the Giant wears a Holocoaust Cloak and spooks the guards at the castle... he's muttering some sort of weird doom scenario... so I want to replicate that. I have a character with the perfect outfit (cloak and hood) and I want a script about the upcoming *real* Cataclysm, to tell about the truth of the Rapture... people will disappear.... tribulation is coming.... one world government, the AC, the MOTB, all of that stuff, and that there is still time to repent while it is today.

And The Princess Bride? Is nothing sacred?

Also, isn't it always today?

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*World of Warcraft. It wasn't for me, but the dancing is awesome.

I Love You, Cliffy B

See that? That's the new playable female character from Gears of War 3. Notice something about her? Other than her absurdly awesome hair (what conditioner do you use, and when do you find time to use it?), she is both believable as a woman and as a soldier. And she's not wearing fuck me boots, metal stripper clothes or a catsuit.

I love you, Cliffy B.

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The Future is Now

molyneux, milo, natal, gaming, microsoft, xbox
If you're not a big gamer, you probably missed Microsoft's unveiling of Natal and Milo yesterday at E3.

You missed the future.

I have said for years that the first people to make working AI would be video game developers, and it appears that I am right.

Natal is completely controller-free gaming. Essentially, (and this is a very basic description) the new "controller" is a body mapping system that allows the xbox to translate body motions as small as 2 millimeters into game play. So, instead of using the buttons on a controller to make the character walk, you simply move your legs in a walking motion, and your character walks forward. Want to duck a bullet? Jerk your body in a ducking motion, and your character plays along. No more dying because you pressed A instead of X. Gaming will be intuitive and immersive, and as a gamer, I can't wait.

Milo is even more amazing. The brainchild of developer Peter Molyneux, Milo is interactive AI that can converse like a human, read facial expressions and interact with real life motions and objects, like a drawing. (Seriously, the thing reads facial expressions.)

The implications for gaming are obvious. The real life implications are even more amazing. Think about physical therapy. If you've ever done it, you know physical therapy is hard, painful and boring. It's also difficult, because you have to do the motions exactly right in order to get the benefits and avoid further injury.

Now imagine physical therapy with Natal and Milo. Instead of walking pointlessly on a treadmill, you're adventuring through a forest. And, if you move your legs incorrectly, your virtual friend can correct you instantly, even show you how to move correctly. Milo could also identify from your facial expressions your level of pain and adjust the therapy accordingly, or instruct you to stop and be evaluated by a professional before proceeding.

Imagine the new training for an undercover police officer. Milo can read facial expressions. So, in the safety of a virtual undercover world, a police officer can learn how to act appropriately without risk.

Imagine learning how to lay flooring or fix your vacuum cleaner, without the expensive real life learning curve that wastes materials.

The future is now, my friends, and it's courtesy of the gaming world.

Gaming Deaths! They're Everywhere!

I am not just an atheist. I am a rabid gamer. I love video games. I cannot get enough of video games. I started with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and didn't stop. Bioshock owned me for about 6 months. Gears of War and Gears of War 2? Can't stop playing them. Fallout 3? I'm 100 hours in and not close to done.

Understandably, I get a little miffed when people start describing video games as Teh Evul. It's the end of Western Civilization! (Civ's an awesome game, why end it?) Video games make people into murderers! (I have yet to see proof of that one.) Video games end marriages and break up families! (Some people will get addicted to anything.)

So, here's Dory, with his own special take on the evuls of gaming. (Of course, he includes the obligatory "I used to be a gamer". So predictable.)

I find it odd that in this day and age we spend more time out of reality than in it. You do? Do tell, how? No matter what you are doing, you are always in reality. As far as I know, there isn't any way to be anywhere else. When was the last time you considered the lilies of the field? Honestly now think about it. Never. I have never even seen a field of lilies or even one lily in a field. As a member of the USAF I have a couple no of? hundred co-workers. They are constantly hanging out in my office all couple hundred of them? that's quite an office. and shooting the bull. bang! A majority of the time they talk about computer games mainly World of Warcraft. Now I use to be now, you use to be? do you understand time? one of those guys that spent every waking moment playing games. really, you never ate or peed or showered? i find your dedication impressive. I was a AN! AN! avid Everquest and Ultima Online player for several years. back in the day. I loved playing the Quake and watching the mtv? and Unreal series games. But as I look back I can see for several years I was also neglecting my wife and son. again, one guy's addiction is proof of absolutely nothing.

The thing is these games are taking a large toll on our lives. whose? yours, mine? you don't play anymore and i'm just fine. Just look at the recent news related to game deaths. Yes people die playing these games. Here 2 kids in this article have died for FROM! over exertion one word, and did they die in the article or in reality?. Here a Korean couple's 4 month old daughter dies while they game away. that was appalling. These deaths are always popping up in the news. no, they're not. those are the only two i could find. 3 dead people over the course of several years is hardly an epidemic. more people die from being accidentally hanged on their curtains.

Also, both of those stories relate not gaming, but to bad parenting. The parents should have stopped their children from playing to the point of overexertion. The other parents should have fed their baby. That's not a gaming death, that's bad parents.

How big is this gaming addiction problem? we could ask a psychologist, or we could just misunderstand other statistics. World of Warcraft claims to have 11.5 million subscribers as of December 2008. So if you took the total number of people in both New York City and Los Angeles combined you'd have that many people currently playing World of Warcraft. no, a subscriber is not a person currently playing the game. that's all the people currently signed up to be able to play the game. i am a WoW subscriber. I won the game/subscription, played for a few hours, and never played again. That's JUST World of Warcraft. There are at least a dozen other Massive Mutliplayer Online Role playing games out there. name them. Then if you toss in all the other games that aren't MMORPG you have a staggering number of wasted hours. or, you have a whole lotta people enjoying themselves with a video game instead of a tv show. so what? it's only acceptable entertainment if you say it is?

As a matter of fact comma the other day in Church we was talking about how busy we've gotten over the decades. yes, adulthood is busier than childhood. being a parent is busier than not being a parent. oh, how we love the past. How when our parents were young we had more family time. yes, life was more inexpensive back then. less people had to work, blahblahblah. More sit down and relax time. that's not a sentence. More time for Church and Friends. random capitalization Today we bombard our very existence with pointless wastes of time. we bombard ourselves with pointless wastes of time? can you please have a clear thought? one? We sit in front of the computer surfing till our wrist hurt. just the one, huh? at least you're not masturbating. We sit in front of the TV till we need glasses to see. watching tv does not cause one to need glasses. neither does reading in the dark. nor does wearing glasses cause your eyes to deteriorate further. scare me with something that does exist.

My son in fact gets rather upset when he don't have the computer or XBOX to play on. All he keeps saying is "I'm Bored" and I have to get authoritative with him and force him to go outside or read a book or play his trombone. kids are always like that. they'll declare they have nothing to do and then reject everything they have to do. i don't know why, but i clearly remember being that way. When I was his age you couldn't keep me inside period. so, your child is not a clone of you. wow, call the media! or, better yet, berate him into being you. that's good parenting. I loved going out in the wood riding my bike or taking my BB gun outside xbox=less dangerous than a BB gun. you can't shoot your eye out, or anyone else's, with an xbox. I've got to make a change in my kids apostrophe lives because this is already getting out of control. so, you're a bad parent, don't blame microsoft. I know this isn't something my kids are going to enjoy but what choice do I have. question mark! This time they spend burning brain cells

what? could we have that again? This time they spend burning brain cells BWAHAHAHAHAHA! playing video games does not destroy brain cells. in fact, playing video games makes surgeons better at their jobs. i guess if you're not reading the bible, you're developing alzheimer's.

instead of studying God's Word or learning something that is useful isn't showing me being a good parent. your command of the english language sucks, too. I know God don't approve of this way of life. It's times like these I can really admire the Amish. I admire them, too, all the time, but I don't want to be one.