This week New Attitude goes to Maj’dul…

We take a look at how some of the factions work, stop by one of the best homes in town (so far) and talk about Zen and the art of the MMO. Read on…

Zen and the art of the mmo

“A poet is the most unpoetical of anything in existence, because he has no identity - he is continually informing and filling some other body.” – John Keats

If you are like me, when you play MMOs you end up with A LOT of  alts. This last week I asked myself why that is? Why so many alts? Perhaps like the poet we seek to immerse ourselves in some other body. What do I mean? Simply put, a good writer does more than tell a story. They are capable of getting inside the minds and the lives of the characters in the book or poem. A good writer is constantly “filling some other body.”

Now think of your journey from one to 80 as a book and each level a chapter. On the face of it, no matter what the pixels look like it has the same identity – yours – the person at the keyboard. But is that always the case? I listen to a podcast where the host of the show (who is a very level headed person) said those time he played a female character he felt more “caring”. Now on the face of it, this is indeed a stereotyped image that some people have of women. There was a time in my own life, for example when caring didn’t even remotely describe me. That was the time in my life when some people didn’t talk to me because they were afraid to.

But the point is this – although the same person was controlling the pixels, when the look of the pixels changed the persons feelings about the character changed. Not just about how the character looked but about how they “filled some other body.”

Think of it all in terms of Zen – the Zen approach to gaming (in this case the Heart Sutra). The essence of the Heart Sutra is a concept called “Dependant origination”. In other words, the only reason something has existence is because of our conception of it. If I boil a dog and make soup you would, in all probability, be aghast. Yet there were periods in mankind’s existence when one culture would have looked at it as part of a religious ceremony. In other time and another culture a person would have looked at it and simply smiled and said “soups on”. What defines what that dog in boiled water is one’s perception of it.

By changing the way a character looks we “fill some other body” and change our perspective the character. By changing out perspective we change what the character is to us. In the end, by changing the look of the character we change our perspective on that chapter of the book that is our journey from level one to 80.

The virtual world thrives on variety. Why else would we change the way our character’s look? It doesn’t really matter to the way they play. The thing is we WANT to have our characters look different. Ask any woman what she feels like if she and another woman show up in the same place wearing the same outfit - well, ask any woman who isn’t a NUN, we ALL wear the same outfits at some point don’t we?

Travels with Gnomercee…Maj’dul

I have spent a great deal of time this week in Maj’dul.  It was difficult to get used to at first to say the least.  When I first set foot in the Sinking Sands I was confronted by the several tents filled with NPC’s all offering me quests.   The most important ones to start off with were the faction quests. There are three factions to gain standing with in Maj’dul - the Court of Coins, the Court of Truth and the Court of Blades.  Not knowing which one to choose I just walked over and started with the first quest I came to. It wasn’t until I reached  +40,000 faction with the Court of Blades that I finally sought out the different types of three room homes available in Maj’dul.

But there, as Shakespeare would have said, lays the rub. The different factions are similar in many regards with one notable difference. The three room home that I found and liked the best was guarded - guarded well at that - by a large number of guards from the Court of  Coins - guards who are STILL one level above me.

So there I was, I found the home I liked but was faced with the prospect of having to fight my way through 10 guards each time I set foot in the door. Pick a different home? Nope, not for me. Why? Well I liked the style and that is the only place available. Plus the only other three room is in a part of the city filled with outcasts. So there you have it. I was faced with the prospect of having to go from +40,000 faction with Court of Blades to +40,000 faction with the Court of Coins - a long tedious prospect at best, until my guild came to the rescue.

One of my guildies named Gwendalyn spent some time killing guards from the Court of Truth by the hundreds and simply mailed me the coins the guards dropped.

Coins?

Oh yes, coins - for those of you new to the game, as I am, you will find that each time you kill the guards from one faction they drop a coin. Each time you turn in a coin at the Tower of the Moon (located up one flight of steps from the City Gates) to a particular factions representative, you will gain faction with that court. But be aware that just “amiable” faction won’t get you in the front door of one of the courts in Maj’dul - it takes “kindly”.

One other difference, so far, is that when it comes to the keeper of the court treasures each keeper has a unique house pet you can buy at +40,000 faction and above? So what is special about these pets? +200 status cost reduction on your home, that’s what. That is why you see the two spotted leopards in my indoor garden in the picture above.

Better Moats and Gardens in Maj’dul

This week we take a look at the home of one of my neighbors in Maj’dul - the home of “Wanuven”.  In the picture above you will see the front room as Jaeil shows me her master’s home (thats me in my dark elf disguise). What a wonderful front room it is! It is impressive at first sight.  The incarnadine throne and the two side ferrite chairs look great together, and are even more impressive raised on a sandalwood platform.  The rough linen carpets lined end for end, lend a regal air to the room and draw your eye right to the throne.  The potted palms to either side make the front room a throne room.  This is a front room that is a real head turner to be sure.

Next time…

Next time…keep the money that  you might spend on those expensive mounts.  You could go broke trying to pay for one.  Instead get yourself a 40 percent speed increase mount for FREE. How? By getting one of those flying carpets you see people on all the time. Yes they are free and that is WHY you see people on them so often.