Andrew Corpuz

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Hello! This week I shall be blogging about different player types in MMOs. These player types are based on two studies that are not based on MMOs specifically. The first study is done by XEODesign, Inc. and categorized emotions for different playing experiences for a wide variety of games, and the second study is done by Richard Bartle, who categorized player types in MUDs.

XEODesign's study recognizes four different categories of emotional reasons to play games: 1) “Hard Fun“ = overcoming challenges for a sense of accomplishment; 2) “Easy Fun“ = discovery of new and ambiguous experiences; 3) “Altered States” = therapeutic escapism; and 4) “The People Factor” = player to player interaction. Three of these four reasons to play games seem similar to three of Richard Bartle's archetypes of MUD players. “Hard Fun” highly correlates with Achievers, who are heavily interested in character growth. They also actively seek and fulfill goals, and upon reaching these goals, achievers feel a great sense of pride. Any half-decent MMO rewards accomplished achievers with some degree of visual difference from those who have not accomplished much. “Easy Fun” manifests most greatly in Explorers, who focus more on finding about the minutia that allows the game to function smoothly. They pride themselves in finding new ways to accomplish tasks, cataloging anything, and demystifying the mysterious. A good MMO enables explorers by providing a massive yet detailed world, and giving them the tools to potentially find information that is initially not available. “The People Factor” emotion best describes Socializers, whose primary form of enjoyment is communicating and sharing experience with others. Hardcore Socializers will also behave similarly to Achievers and Explorers, just as long as they are doing the tasks in or for a particular group. MMOs that are capable of catering to Socializers have a well implemented communication / messaging system and encourage players to form groups such as guilds. The emotions of “Altered States” does not seem to be noticeably more prevalent amongst any of the four of Richard Bartle's archetypes. Each player may or may not actively seek out radically different altered states, however, most players probably do it inherently. In my opinion, MMO designers do not have to consciously attempt to create altered states for the players, since certain games, by nature of the intended end product, are more geared towards creation of altered states. Detail and/or visual imagination are key in fantasy/unrealistic environments to create more heightened emotions of “Altered States.” Killers are the most detested player types, to the degree that some MMOs seek to greatly limit players of this type. Killers are the only player type that require the suffering of one individual for the benefit for the other. Because of this, MMOs will often have separate servers and/or areas for those that are more interested in Killer behavior, called PvP areas. However, this intentional segregation destroys some of the joy for Killers since players will come prepared to face Killers. Furthermore, some PvP areas start to become arenas for Achievers to accomplish more goals, instead of killing havens for Killers. If an MMO is to cater Killers without tarnishing the essence of a Killer, an MMO needs to integrate all types of players into a single area, so they can all interact with each other. It should also be noted, that, I do not think “Killers” are limited to games where there is “killing.” Killers can also enjoy ruining other's gaming experiences through cheating to achieve a goal, spamming, creating lag and visual confusion, quitting events, etc. However, we must also differentiate the Killer from the typical Cheater – the Cheater cheats for purely selfish reasons with no regard to how others are affected, while the Killer seeks fulfillment by punishing others and watching them suffer.

City of Heroes/Villains
One of the MMOs that I have been playing recently is City of Heroes/Villains. Though I have not played a significant amount of hours yet, it is clear to me that the game naturally appeals to a variety of players.

There is a lot of Hard Fun to be found in this game, which is typical of popular MMORPGs. Learning powers through leveling up is done through gaining experience. Powers are easily the coolest thing to achieve in the game, as some of the higher level powers give Achievers something to flaunt. By accomplishing certain tasks/missions, players can earn Badges, which can then be used as titles, giving achievers more to flaunt! Once a player levels up a character to level 50, special character types are unlocked which are revered by lesser players.

“Altered States” is one of the key selling points of this game, since players can create a wide array of fantastical avatars, assign a combination of power sets to them, and detail their history. By giving players this extended freedom in who they can create, players are more willing to roleplay and mentally create lengthy backstories. Furthermore, the interaction amongst other players who are almost 100% nothing similar to each other, enhances the level of believability through greater immersion.

Socializing is also a strong point of the game. Players can create supergroups which are like guilds in other MMORPGs. Unlike other MMORPGs, supergroups can form coalitions with other supergroups, furthering the level of socialization. Both supergroups and coalitions have their own chat channels. When meeting people, a player may be added as a global friend or as a friend just for the avatars that are currently present, providing the player with more freedom and emphasizing the importance of role-playing. As far as mission design is concerned, cooperation is central, especially since powersets have a limited range of functionality. In the beginning, it is easier to solo, however, as some of the missions become more difficult, it becomes important to team up. Also, teaming up with others adds more enemies, creating greater range for battle strategies.

The weakest part of the game for me is the amount of exploration, or “Easy Fun,” primarily because the world is somewhat bland and repetitive. There are not that many hidden locales nor secret treasures to be found. However, the designers do a good effort to counteract this by giving players tools to make roaming around a little bit more entertaining. Because the game takes place in a cityscape, there is a significantly higher amount of vertical space to explore than in other MMORPGS. Also, the navigation user interface is one of the better ones I have seen in an MMORPG, providing users with a clear frame of reference. Exploring in dungeons is boring though, since, like the overworld, there is little reward to going astray of one's primary objective other than more enemies for experience points.

The Saga of Ryzom
While this game seems to be near its doom, Ryzom provides players with an MMORPG experience that has greater flexibility and customization than others.

Unlike most traditional MMORPGs, players do not choose classes. Instead, players can grow freely in four areas – Fight, Magic, Craft, & Harvest – each with a maximum level of 250. Within each area, there are numerous amounts of skills. Depending on the skills a player learns, a specialization title will be earned that can be used for flaunting. The sheer amount of skills can keep Achievers playing the game for a while, though the variety of the skills within each area is lacking. A player who is highly skilled in the Craft area can create rare armor that can also be used for flaunting!

While Achievers can be thoroughly satisfied by Ryzom, Ryzom seems most aligned for “Easy Fun” Explorers. The Harvest skill area encourages Exploring the most, though the three other areas also matter. Harvesting requires players to search far and meticulously for certain materials which can be used for Crafting, quests, making money, etc. However, Ryzom doesnt just encourage exploring systematically. The attention to aesthetic detail in the world is overwhelming – the leaves in the trees rustle as the branches sway to the wind, ominous sounds briefly surround players in peaceful environments, etc. Furthermore, animals and other creatures behave in very Earth-like manners – some move in packs, others will approach players gently, many sleep during the night, and some hunt NPCs and other animals in a solo predator like manner. Such behavior grants the animals a personality – I felt really horrible when I needed to kill some of them in the beginning in order to increase my Fight. Because there is so much vibrance to be found within the world, typically non-Explorer types will feel compelled to Explore. However, I do think Ryzom could have expanded on its already strong explorer aspect even more with a picture-taking mechanic for example to give greater meaning to cataloging animals and plants within the game. The Ryzom Ring is a scenario editor which allows players to upload their content and share it with others. A beginning player will not be able to add as much as an individual who has explored greatly.

Ryzom also encourages Exploration through Socialization by means other than the typical quality MMORPG fare. Individuals who choose to heavily specialize in Harvest will often find themselves with death penalty XPs if all they do is solo. Therefore, Harvesting in groups is much safer , and players can share the materials that they find. Also, many quests require completion by a teamRyzom also lets players rent apartments, which is an aspect more akin to social-centric MMOs, rather than traditional MMORPGs. However, apartments are, from what I have heard, not well implemented, and currently, there is no option to invite others to a player's apartment.

Other MMOs – Non MMORPGs and issues with Killers & Cheaters

Second Life and other MMO Social Environments
Social environments are obviously geared towards giving players “The People Factor,” though there is also a lot of “Easy Fun” to be found. In order to cater to both Socializers and Explorers, who are very curious individuals, successful social environments provide their users with a lot of degree of freedom and interactive objects. But with increased freedom comes increased problems. For example, in Second Life, Explorer-esque Killers are rampant as they aim to spam and damage the world in the most creative ways possible. While online social realms focus on housing freedom to create possibilities for Explorers and especially Socializers, they must also find ways to limit the power of Killers as they can completely destroy the game for Explorers and Socializers, and thus, the game itself.

Albatross18
I know I have talked about this game in many of my blogs already, but I feel it is a good game to reiterate how well it accomplishes appealing to Achievers and Socializers, while attempting to limit but not doing its best against Cheaters.

As mentioned in my earlier post comparing ease of socialization in Albatross18 and Audition, Albatross18 has a very robust yet easy-to-use and clear chatting+messaging system. Recently, Albatross18 just added an instant messaging system for friends which can be used anytime during the game. In this new season (episode) of Albatross18, players can also organize interactive chat spaces, where players can walk around course holes and set up shops for selling items. Also, socialization is encouraged through guild v. guild battles which also have some appeal to Achievers. Achievers also enjoy the game in other ways than mentioned in my earlier post about Theme V. Mechanics. Tournaments, rankings, incentives for higher rankings (such as increased statistics and more items available), endless amounts of improvable statistics/records in the user information menu, and more money (pang) to spend on lotteries can keep Achievers addicted to the game by giving them endless goals to reach. Special Events with rare prizes, as in any MMO, gives the game more staying power for all types of players, especially Achievers.

One group of individuals that continues to stay are Cheaters. The most annoying and common type of Cheaters are those who “calculate” or spend immense amounts of time and possibly external programs to calculate the power, direction, and club needed for their shot to land in the hole. One can avoid a cheating player by not joining games where the shot time allowed is 90+sec., or the other player has ridiculous high statistics. Unfortunately, sometimes I get so caught up in trying to find a room with the course that I want to play, that I ready up my character before I notice that the shot time allowed is 90+sec. Albatross18 should allow some way for the user to limit these types of rooms from showing up in the room lobby, instead of detailing the shot time in small text once upon entering the room. However, I accept, that it is still largely my responsibility that I can get caught up in these dilemmas. Players can formally accuse Cheaters of Hacking/Calculating through an in-game reporting system, however, no one really knows the efficacy of this system. Unfortunately, in tournaments and Guild Battles, there is no way to discourage cheating other than limiting the total time for the entire tournament. Albatross18 could add time restrictions for each hole, or add a speed tournament option that has a very short overall tournament time and restricts the use of speeding items. Players can also quit in the middle of a game if they are frustrated enough or are doing poorly, though this increases the quit rate of the quitting player. If the quit rate is high enough, players are punished in various ways, and other players can easily tell who quits often. Quitting harms other players by decreasing the rewards for players that remain. Quitting in game can be seen as a form of cheating, however, the game is punishing enough that Quitting does not become an effective way of cheating. Other than the systems way of punishing the quitter, quitters are often pissed on by the rest of the community.

Just like with Cheaters, the game is punishing enough for Killers. The only real effective way of “Killing” is through quitting, provided the player does not care about the outcome/status of their character. If anything, killers are a momentary entity that resides in all, and emerges more frequently in those that are less patient to finish games in which they are doing poorly and others are doing very well. An ineffective way of “Killing” is when highly ranked players victimize low ranking players. I haven't met any high ranking players who enjoy picking on newbies because of the striation of the server system and the fact that, by nature of the game, it is simply not enjoyable or wise to play against newbies as they take a significantly longer time to finish a hole. Also, newbies are smart enough not to play against highly ranked players, unless they want to do so as learning experience or socialization.

Playasport.com
Another based on sports, Playasport.com is a browser-based MMO that has immediate appeal for “Hard Fun,” and attempts to harness the essence of “The People Factor,” but like Albatross18, fails to address the issue of Cheaters well enough. Cheating is done through various methods of training. One way to earn points for training is answering weekly sports trivia. There are random sites on google that have almost the exact same questions as well as their answers. While there are some mechanisms to counteract such cheating, such as limiting the time allotted to finish the trivia, playasport.com could do more such as randomizing the questions and/or not using questions that are on these random websites. Players also train by randomly selecting a group of cards each day for each team/player. Some cards are worth more points than others. Last time I played regularly (I still play now, but I am only managing one team/player), I noticed that there were ways to cheat by manipulating the html so that the player could always select the card that was worth the most points.

Darkness and Light
Some call this game a Defense of the Ancients clone, and thus, is a game geared primarily towards Achievers. Killers enjoy this game as it is primarily PvP. However, the game does a good job of keeping away purist Killers by employing a shifting ranking system that uses both the winners ranking and the losers ranking. Victory over a higher ranked player will grant a player an immense amount of experience, while victory over a low ranked player will grant a player minimal amount of experience. Losing to a higher ranked player will result in a small loss of amount of experience, whereas a loss to a significantly lower ranked player will result in a major loss of experience. This type of ranking system is more effective in deterring the sadistic type of Killer than regular experience/ranking systems such as in Albatross18, though it can only really be implemented in a hardcore game, as this type of ranking system highly discourages casual gamers. This type of ranking system, however, increases the level of competitiveness, encouraging the use of hacking programs. So far, I have only, yet frequently, seen hacking programs used in room lobbies to kick players out of the game. I have heard of many other stories of hacking in-game, though I am sure some of these claims are not legitimate.

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Both Albatross18 and Playasport.com do limit cheating to a degree, while Darkness and Light has some noticeable problems with it. Cheating and hacking seem to be extensively more prevalent in non-RPG, Achievement-centric MMOs than in RPG, Explorer/Socialization-centric MMOs. Achievers have specific goals they feel compelled to achieve, whereas Explorers & Socializers do not. Cheating allows for potentially quicker means to fulfill these goals.

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Travian and other Killer Acceptable/Encouraged Environments
Travian is a browser based MMO that is essentially a civilization-management war game. Other MMO war games such as Planetarion and EVE Online freely accept Killer behavior and may often encourage it. Unlike traditional MMORPGs and many other types of MMOs, MMO war games focus primarily on PvP. Thus, these games do not have to appeal to a wide audience, focusing on hardcore gamers. And, in order to increase the believability of such worlds, greatly powerful players victimizing new players seems almost essential for structure. New players come to these games with the expectation of war, and understand that they may be attacked early in their development.

I spent a lot more time on this than I expected...

Any game mechanic can be fitted to any game theme and make sense. The appropriateness of the pair is determined by how well each is tweaked so that a cohesive, enjoyable game is created. This week, I am going over the appropriateness of the blending of game mechanic and game theme in the games that have been played for/in class.

Set
Game mechanics: With 2 or more people, create a set of three cards that have either all the same or all different quality for each dimension.
Theme: Shapes & Set.
Comment: The intended clarity of the game is conveyed both through the game mechanics and theme. Potentially, one can create a theme instead of shapes like eggs in a farm, however, that might complicate the already complicated thinking process involved when creating sets.

Cranium
Game mechanics: In teams of two, answer trivia questions, perform audiovisual guessing games, solve word puzzles, etc. When a team completes a task correctly, they move themselves on the board with a special die. Win by reaching the end goal first.
Theme: A brain and goops.
Comment: I generally have problems with games that have trivia because 1) the game theme usually does not have anything to do with the trivia, 2) the trivia questions can only be answered by those who are either trivia buffs or are coincidentally acquainted with the subject of the trivia question in question, and 3) a lot of people do not care about the subject matter of the questions, leaving people disoriented. Also, it is not clear what the dice and the race aspect of the game has to do with the game theme. Despite these problems, which seem to be the type of problems endemic to trivia/performance games, the theme of a brain, in a way, does go with the amalgamation of the game tasks together. Because the game tasks are very different from each other, unlike other games where, for example, its JUST trivia or JUST drawing pictures, Cranium intends to work/test different areas of the brain. Therefore, for example, those who have a strong sensory part of the brain can succeed just as well as those who have strong language skills. This is why the game is called Cranium. Of course, I never feel like my brain is taxed, nor does anyone really think of the theme while they play. While Cranium does not have a very strong correlation between the game mechanics and the theme, there may not need to be one. 1) A specific theme could potentially limit the audience, and this game is geared towards the casual, everyday player 2) the selling point of the game is the game mechanics, not the theme.

Albatross18
Game mechanics: Select the right clubs, meter-based timing to strike the ball, special shots, character building, roaming around,
Theme: Cute, casual & hardcore golfing.
Comments: To me, the various game mechanics go well with the game theme. The game appeals to real golfers and those who have never played golf because the mechanics and theme are very approachable and fantasy-like yet have elements of realism. Therefore, though the game is played by many, it takes skill and a lot of practice to become elite. Casual gamers can relate to the simplicity and clarity of the interface as well as the immediate positive feedback that is received from accomplishing simple strokes. Fantasy gamers enjoy character building and the excessive cuteness of the characters. Real golf gamers enjoy the club selection, the course/hole variety, the concept of correct ball placement and stroke timing, and the competition. Hardcore gamers also enjoy the competition, but also the nuances and shortcuts in the courses and the difficulty of perfecting special shots.

Kaneva: A simpler blend of Second Life and Myspace

Well, for this week, I am to blog about a “virtual hangout.” yah. I didn't want to play anything too bland so I tried out Gaia Online. Unfortunately, I was expecting more of an immersive virtual environment instead of a format that is geared for casual gamers. The interface is entirely browser-based – the user interacts both with a browser and a small, more interactive window that pops-up if you want to go through towns. While the lack of immersion did cheapen the experience for me, I found the games' users to be extremely nice. In fact, I made a friend within 1 minute of town-browsing and she started following me around, even though neither of us knew what we were doing. So perhaps precisely what I was complaining about, the visual simplicity of the world, works in the game's favor – trying to gear to a kinder, more innocent audience. Well anyways, I stopped playing a few minutes later because I wanted to try something else.

I had read about OzWorld on mmosite.com a while ago, and I thought, “well, now here is my chance to try it out!” So after downloading the client, creating an account, and reading about the cool things I could do in the game on their website, I was definitely excited to start playing. However, upon loading the game, I was horrified by the atrociousness of the 3d graphics and was quickly disappointed to learn that much of the game revolved around fishing... basically, standing and throwing a rod into the water waiting for fish.

I guess I was just looking for and expecting to experience something really new, fresh, and polished, so I drew upon my best experiences in the past with virtual hangouts, notably Habbo Hotel, There, and Second Life. After doing some research, I stumbled upon Kaneva, which while still in Beta and greatly lacking in population, provided me with a glimpse of the level of immersion and uniqueness that which I was craving.

When describing Kaneva to others, the most succinct description to give is “a mix of Second Life and Myspace.” When I first went to the Kaneva website, I first thought, “this looks like a cheap imitation of Second Life.” The avatars on the main page all look the same and less polished. But then I noticed pictures of real people below those avatars, which intrigued me. Then, when I clicked on “Virtual World” and watched the introduction video to learn more about Kaneva, I started to learn that the focus of Kaneva is much different than the focus of Second life. While creating an account and personalizing my browser-based page with a real picture of me, I realized that I wasn't just recreating myself in a virtual world, but that I was also enhancing myself in my real world. Confused? I shall explain.

At first glance, Kaneva's virtual world looks extremely similar to Second Life. Once I started playing though, I realized how different they were. After creating my avatar, which, was not very customizable, I was transported to my home, something that can only be possessed with real money in Second Life. At that time, in my home there was a TV, a TV Stand, and a light. I tried turning on the TV and watching some stuff but I couldn't because I needed to upload some media first. So then I tried changing the textures of the walls // adding a picture, got bored, and decided to go to the mall. I was able to buy a full outfit and plenty of furniture without spending any real money. While it is easier to buy things in Kaneva, there is far less customizeability and interactivity in the items themselves. I also do not think there is anyway to create your own items. Thus, I saw a lot of people wearing the same clothing, and a lot of similar houses. But, the plus side of this lack of customizability and interaction is that everything looks cleaner and there is significantly less confusion. Also, this simplicity shifts the users' focus into other things such as socialization, which is enhanced by real-world profile pages that are attached to the in-world Kaneva characters.

Really, the main point of Kaneva is to intertwine real-world with virtual-world. The minute I saw a youtube clip of Family Guy on a flatscreen in someone's house that I had just entered, I knew I was playing in a virtual world that sought to do something different from the other virtual worlds out there. In Kaneva, you can right-click on player's avatars and direct yourself to their “My Kaneva” pages which look somewhat like Myspace pages, with comments, friends, interests, videos, etc. You can also “rave” other people and places both in-client and in Kaneva community website which is basically like giving a “thumbs up” approval. You can also leave “blasts” which are shorter versions of Myspace “bulletins.” To use your television in the game, all you have to do is upload videos or links to videos and create a playlist. TVs are also hooked up to various channels which users can upload their media to. As Kaneva is still in Beta, I expect them in the future to add more in-game features for other types of media that which you can already upload such as “flash widgets”, games, and music. This level of connectivity between the real-world and virtual-world is not achieved so easily with other virtual worlds.

Unfortunately, for now, while the site gets many unique users, there aren't that many people on Kaneva at certain times. Maybe the link between fantasy and reality is just not what the market wants right now. Perhaps linking the two can only be successfully done for a mass audience in a purely browser-based casual aspect, i.e. Something where you DON'T have to download a massive client. Perhaps the absence of customizability fails to maintain player intrigue, something to keep players invested in the world for a longer period of time. Really, as of right now, the virtual world of Kaneva is simply not interesting enough to compete with the big guns of virtual space. However, the idea of linking virtual and real is fresh enough for me to see Kaneva's potential.

My biggest beef with the Second Life universe was many people's reluctance and sometimes downright aversion to talk about real life experiences. I remember one of my Second Life friends telling me to always be cautious about asking people about their real lives because “Second Life and Real Life don't mix.” Many seem to be so focused on enhancing their Second Life and living Second Life fantasies rather than enhancing their real life. In fact, I've met many a Second Lifer who have cybersexual relationships in Second Life while maintaining real life relationships as well.

The reason why Second Life does so well for many is that it appeals to their fantasies while Kaneva is viewed as a meager virtual Myspace. Thus, if I were to simplify the dichotomy... Second Life is an explorer's game while Kaneva is truly a social game. Potentially, Kaneva appeals more to our social instincts while Second Life appeals more to our curiousity. Butterfly v. Monkey.

Side Note:
Something I noticed.... the willingness by the Kaneva designers for the users to think “real world” really infiltrates many aspects of the Kaneva experience. For example, when signing-in to kaneva, you are prompted for your E-mail and your password, just like Myspace and other social networking sites, not your avatar name and password, like Second Life.

Hello! I will be comparing how social activity is enhanced by these two casual MMOs, Albatross18: Season Two and Audition. Though the gameplay between the two is somewhat different, I chose these two games because they both have similar interface layouts and both are timing and meter based gameplay mechanics. I will preface this entry by letting you know that I have played Albatross18 5000 times longer than Audition; however, I have played Audition enough to comfortably talk about it.
Audition and Albatross18 are set up quite similarly. Both require the user to download their client (as they are rather large files) and install into their computer. After registering and logging into the games, the user is shown a screen which has gateways to several “areas” that the user can enter (ranking, match, shop, etc.). If the user chooses to enter one of the vs. or tournament servers in Albatross18 or one of the “TV Station” servers in Audition, the server's lobby is displayed.
First, I shall talk about social interaction within the server lobbies of vs./tournament/TVStation. In both Albatross18 and Audition, the biggest portion of the screen shows a scrollable list of rooms. In Albatross18, the user can right-click on any public room to see more detailed information about the room and who is in it. Below this portion of the screen is the server lobby's chatting portion of the screen. To chat in this screen, simply type whenever! The user can be clicking on other portions of the screen and type at the same time. While the general layout of these two portions of the screen is similar in the two games, the chatting system is more fleshed out in Albatross18. In Albatross18, graphical emoticons are generated depending on user input, just like many non-game-based messenger systems like MSN and AIM. While they aren't customizable such as in AIM, these graphical emoticons are extremely styilized, giving the user social experience a lot more flavor. Comparatively, in Audition, there are no emoticons whatsoever. Also the whispering system differs. In Audition, just like in other chat room clients, if you type “/w username text”, you can whisper “text” to “username.” You can do the same in Albatross18, however, that users name is also enrolled in a little scrollable menu right next to the chat input, allowing the user to scroll through all the members to which he has recently whispered and possibly whisper them again, without having to remember the exact username. Also, the chat portion of the screen and the chat text is larger with respect to the rest of the screen than the chat portion in Audition, generating more focus towards the chat area.
Still in the server lobby, the portion to the right of both the chat and room list portions of the screen differs in the two games. By default, in Audition, the right portion displays a giant version of the user's graphical avatar and some game performance information. Below the giant version of the user's avatar are three buttons, “Inbox,” “User List,” and “Messenger,” which is basically a friends and crew (guild) list. In Albatross18, the right portion of the screen does not display a giant graphical avatar. Instead, by default, the player list is loaded, with three different tabs at the bottom, “View All”, “Buddies,” and “Guild”. Therefore, in Albatross18, it is easier to see who is currently in the server and online because there is less to click through. There isn't this giant avatar by default that the user can not interact with. Also, above the player list in Albatross18, are three medium sized colorful buttons that allow the user to get “user info”, “request buddy” or “whisper” another user that is highlighted in the player list. Right-clicking on a username in the player list is a shortcut to summoning user info. In Audition, one must right-click on a username first to pull up a menu which allows the user to also view their “user info,” become their buddy, or whisper. Also, to display the “user info”, you must have premium messenger service, which I assume costs money. This, like displaying the userlist, is more difficult than in Albatross18. However, while Audition has these shortcomings, the user can do a few things that can't be done in Albatross18. First, there is no “Inbox” option in Albatross18. There is a way to send e-mail style messages in Albatross18, however, it seems that the user has to be the receiver's friend, and there does not seem to be, to my knowledge, a GUI for an Inbox. In Audition, the user can also send a user an inbox style message through the user list window popup. There is also a GF/BF heart button in the right portion of the screen, however, I have been unable to click on it so I am not really sure of it's purpose.
In either game, once the user enters an available room, there is a room lobby screen. In Audition and in non-tournament modes in Albatross18, there will be the room information and things that can be customized in the bottom and right portions of the screen. Right above the bottom portion of the screen are the chatting areas and right above that portion are the graphical avatars of the players in the room. While chatting is pretty much the same for both games in the server lobbies, there are some differences. In Audition, the chatting portion of the screen isnt really its own portion – posted text somewhat bleeds into the above portion with the graphical avatars. This makes the already-small-text seem even smaller than it is. With regards to acquiring user info, in Audition, the user can get another player's user info without the premium messenger service. However, in Albatross18, it must be noted that there is a lot more information about the user in the “user info” section, which gives users more to talk about. Also, in Audition, there can be spectators, which are people who aren't playing the game, but can chat during the actual game.
Once in an actual game, Albatross18's degree of social activity seems to conquer Audition's. However, this is largely in part due to Audition's inherently more active pacing, and Audition did make some smart decisions to attempt to combat this fact. In Audition, the only time the user can have a conversation with anyone is in team modes where there are breaks in between player's turns because the game is otherwise very fast paced. Thankfully, Audition made it easy to chat as anytime the user types anything and then presses “enter,” small white text with the user name is posted on the left-side of the screen. In Albatross18, the user has to press “enter” first and then type and then press “enter.” While this may not seem like a big deal, most users often experience small annoyances when they don't notice that they did or did not press “enter.” However, in Albatross18, the user can chat when it's not his/her turn and between swings. This usually means a user can put out a lot of text and hold long discussions with other users much more freely than in Audition, especially since some of the games in Albatross18 can last for a few hours while in Audition most games usually last for only a song. Also, Albatross18 has “Chat Macros” which allow the user to create phrases that can be assigned to any of the function (F1-F8) keys. In Albatross18, you can also team chat by going in the same menu that has enrolled whispers and scrolling and choosing “to team.” The user can also click on different user's portraits and bring up the same “user info” screen.
Because of its easier to navigate user-interface, great range of customizeability, and nature of the game itself, the community in Albatross18 has a significantly broader range of personalities. So while it is significantly easier to make friends in Albatross18, it is also easier to be pissed off at others. I noticed that in Audition, I will find it common for the room host to ask its visitors which “song” they would like to choose to dance to. The opposite occurs in Albatross18, where, especially in tournament modes, the visitors will nag, beg, and harass the room hosts to change the course, time per shot/tournament, etc. to their own liking.
Unfortunately, I have to go to class now, I still have more that I can talk about, but too bad for you! Let's wait in anticipation for Albatross18: Season Three!

i was in 290 and one of my teachers was talking about cottage cheese ceilings, but was referring to the wrong type of ceiling - the grid kind which are common in offices, schools, & hospitals, where you can push out panels of the ceiling and hang stuff between the framework and the panel. i thought maybe i was wrong about what cottage ceilings were but alas i google and i am not wrong.

i don't really like cottage cheese or "popcorn" ceilings because they really freak me out and make me feel uncomfortable, although I can get used to them. people say i have a minor case of claustrophobia and these ceilings dont help that at all. im also freaked out by the fact that a lot of them have asbestos. in my old house, the one i lived for in over 18 years of my life or whatever, a lot of the ceilings were "cottage cheese." and in my apartment that i live in now, (the pad, conquest student housing), they are "cottage cheese" as well. so basically, i'm used to the ugly crap, but they still give me the heebee-geebies.

well, after verifying what exactly cottage cheese ceilings were using google, i found a link to a blog on google, and there was this deriding entry about how much cottage cheese ceilings suck, and i found this comment to that blog entry, that involves film (hence why i post it in this blog)

"My favorite cottage cheese ceiling film moment:
In Raising Arizona, when HI raises his fists over his head in a ready-to-conk-you-on-the-head-wrestling-move and accidentally scrapes his knuckles on the popcorn/cottage cheese ceiling.

Now that’s pain. "

Now, I haven't seen the movie, but I know from personal experience, the cottage cheese ceilings dont hurt when you scrape them. But that's what makes the idea of the scene so comical for me because the ceiling looks so damned ominous and dangerous looking that u wouldn't be surprised if it could easily rip off your knuckles or consume your hand like the blob if you were to attempt a frustrated, rebellious punch at it.

I dont really understand the purpose of such ceilings. They're ugly, horrifying, unpleasant, and worse of all, if you hit it, it literally sheds off. But unfortunately for me, I have to continue to live with the poop. I think i've had too many a nightmare of eating cottage cheese in my sleep that next time i look for a place to live, the absence of a cottage cheese ceiling will be mandatory.

Does anyone else do gameFAQs character/whatever battles! I generally do pretty well in them... except last one cuz i picked Final Fantaasy over Legend of Zelda... dies.

what do u think of this season's battle? The girl ones are hard to choose because a lot of them aren't well known by many to begin with. The guy ones are easier to choose because those are the ones that are more typical gamefaq battle fare.

Ill post my pathetic entry once it starts. I hav ea feeling i'm not going to do so well on this one haha.

yay wooo first ENTRAAAAAY ;)

now all i have to do is figure this publishing platform out

and how to put up an avatar like the rest of these cool peeps