It has been a rough month or so for WAR bloggers. Many have closed up shop and moved on from blogging and the game itself. On the surface, this might look bad for WAR. I don't think it necessarily means something is wrong with the game, but it doesn't mean anything is good with the game either.
Blogging about one topic for months on end is difficult. Most of the blogs that have closed their doors have been 100% Warhammer themed blogs. Some of them have been going for over 6 months straight. That is a lot of blogging on one topic.
Also consider many of the bloggers have been playing WAR since launch, 7 months ago. Hard to believe its been that long isn't it? 7 months is a long time to play a game, any game. I've been playing about 8 months now. But here's a little secret... during that 8 months I have been playing other games and taken a week or two off from WAR several times. After playing a game non-stop for a long time, leaving is not a really big surprise.
So when you combine a single blog topic with burnout from playing for months.... blogs closing is not shocking. I was lucky enough to choose a blog name that really isn't tied to any topic. It was just a coincidence, as I don't remember thinking about it when I started this guy up. It really helps to be able to talk about other games.
Taking breaks from WAR is healthy too. I get tired of it and go play Eve, WoW, EQ2 and whatever else I feel like. Eventually something goes on in WAR and I come back and play. The last few weeks are a great example. On this blog it has been near constant WAR posts, as there has been plenty going on. I had planned on posting about Eve, EQ2 and Champions Online.... but they all got pushed back because of WAR.
I hope that some of our departed bloggers do return. My advice (like I'm qualified to give it) would be to come back with a more MMO neutral blog name just to give you flexibility. Also, take some time away from WAR. The end of May will see the Rise of the Tomb Kings Live Event, which should be some crazy RvR action. Then after that, the Land of the Dead Live Expansion launches.
WAR has a lot going on for it, even if the blogging community is going through some tough times. So don't let it get you down.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Werit stays at WAR
8 comments:
Definitly, right now war is playing back fiddle in my gaming rotation....FallOut3, COD4, and then WAR. Maybe once Lotd gets here and it's really nice I'll move it up in the rotation..It's all about variety. If I only play one game..no matter how good it is i get burned out pretty fast.
Cheers!!
Good post and so, so true!
I've been with WAR since it launched and really do enjoy the game -- even with its flaws.
I've gotten that burnout feeling because I have a short attention span for most games. I like to play a game all the way through to the end, then move on to something else. WAR is my first MMO so the whole "this game never sleeps ... there is always something to do with no pause button" is new to me. So I did hit that burnout with WAR and have gone without playing for a few days. It's good to step away and then to return when the mood hits you.
There's a lot to do in WAR and some nights are better than others. I've enjoyed it to date, have multiple ALTs, take part in the Live Events, and look forward to the new Land of the Dead.
Everything in moderation is sometimes a good way to live.
I'm sticking it out with WAR as well. I'm playing incredibly casual (read: only ~2 hours per week) until LotD releases and classes end. After that, watch out!
I spend some time in EVE and spread my interests to WARhammer Tabletop and the WAR-Books. In the next few weeks i post some interviews, also one in english with a WAR-novel-autor.
Thats my solution for a "boring WAR-only" blog. :)
Regards from germany,
Yitu
I agree with Werit. I'm playing WAR very casual and enjoying it.
My blog, being an art blog, give me some flexibility. I don't burn out, I enjoy what I do and I take my time.
While I'll probably keep my artblog Warhammer themed is not WAR exclusive. WH universe is too big for me to concentrate only in one aspect.
I do hope for our ex-WAR bloggers, if not to come back to WAR, to keep blogging. I'll follow them regardless.
Yeah, I think some people focus a little too much on one thing when they play.
Personally, I try to delve into everything and see how fun it is. RvR can be very frustrating between lag, bugs and general lack of coordination at times on your side. I get around that by sneaking off to do everything else that makes WAR fun like crafting, dungeons, PQ Crawls, Lairs, etc...
It doesn't hurt that I previously played Star Wars Galaxies for pretty much 5 years straight. That taught me to think long-term and not be in a rush when I start a game. That helps a lot with burn-out.
I think I might be past my bad spell. I've been pretty down on the game for the past couple weeks. I started playing some TF2 again and a beta of another MMO (cant say sorry) and I gotta say, TF2 serves my instant gratification needs, but after playing the mystery beta I realized,..WAR has problems, but its not too bad. After the past couple days of actually doing stuff with guildies, and respeccing to something more survivable...im enjoying myself quite a bit.
Another factor is if everything is going well for you in-game, and nothing really jumps out as 'post worthy', it can be tough to blog about a game you are playing. You can only write so many "we attacked this keep, it was awesome" posts before you yourself get bored, let alone the reader.
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