Hey, if one of the perks of writing a blog is that you can arbitrarily create an award show with precisely one judge who hands out shinies from above, then you’d be a fool not to take advantage of that, right?  Right?  So I now present to you the 2009 Flushies, Bio Break’s first annual award show to whatever I remembered of the year previous.

Also, there are toilets.  We have a theme to uphold.

Sleeper Hit of the Year – Fallen Earth

If you told me back at the beginning of 2009 that I’d be playing this unheard-of MMO — and more than just playing it, raving about it and loving it to pieces — I would have smacked you silly with a smelly fish.  Yes, I keep smelly fish around just for that purpose.  But in one of the most delightful surprises of my MMO career, Fallen Earth slammed through my monitor and knocked me breathless.  Whether it be the post-apocalyptic setting, the bizarre sense of humor, the awesome dev team or the sum of its parts, I’m still recovering.

Innovation of the Year – LOTRO’s Skirmish System

Although I was only with LOTRO for a few months this year, I enjoyed my stay (but curse that North Downs duldrum!) and am continually rooting for this solid title.  Their mini-expansion, Siege of Mirkwood, unleashed a brand-new feature that’s already having other games lusting after it — the Skirmish system.  A fast-paced customizable instance experience, skirmishes let you hop into a quick battle either solo, in a small group or in a raid, and give you a companion character to equip and train for these encounters.

Flash in the Pan Award – [tie] Aion and Champions Online

While their settings, history or gameplay couldn’t be more different, both Aion and Champions shared a couple of eerie similarities.  Both released in September after roaring amounts of anticipation, both were praised for their looks and accessible gameplay, and both were dropped from the public consciousness (as well as several subscriber’s budgets) by mid-October or so.  Once the honeymoon ended, judgment hit these two titles hard, and both were found lacking of substance and long-term interest.

Fall From Grace Award – Warhammer Online

As much as Fallen Earth brought a smile to my face, the saga of Warhammer Online saddened my heart.  By January 2009, WAR was still fun and we were holding out for future greatness — greatness that never seemed to come.  2009 hit WAR hard, with layoffs after layoffs at Mythic, subscriber defections, and a much-hyped Land of the Dead “expansion” that didn’t do much to reverse WAR’s fortune.  Although they hit a couple of right notes with the unlimited trial and the Mac version, WAR’s fallen on hard times indeed.

Biggest Blog Spat – Soloers vs. Groupers

When you write or read blogs long enough, you see recurring themes that never quite get satisfied and/or agreed upon pop up over and over again.  Out of these percolating topics, the biggest blog spat I saw in 2009 was the intense debate between MMO soloers (i.e. those who prefer to spend most, but not always all, of their time in game soloing and appreciate titles that accomidate that) and MMO groupers (i.e. those who feel that multiplayer games should always favor, encourage and design for grouping).  My personal bit on this topic was here, but passions flared bright and hot for a good two-week period before all calmed down and we started jawing about why you might play a character of the opposite gender instead.

Renovation of the Year – Dungeons & Dragons Eberron Unlimited

Seriously, who thought we would not only be talking about DDO at great lengths this year, but actually praising a game that most expected to be on the way out the door?  Not me, that’s for sure –  but DDO’s renovation as “Eberron Unlimited” has injected a huge amount of new interest in the title, and proved that a MMO can switch from subscriber to F2P and make it work.

Trend of the Year – Free-to-Play/Freemium

Microtransactions, MMO stores, Turbine Points, Cryptic Points, Free-to-Play, Freemium and more were all the rage around the virtual water coolers this year, as several titles started exploring F2P options, giving players an unprecedented amount of variety and depth for no money down.  And the good news for both sides is that this is trending well for companies with making money (if they hook you, your wallet will come) and for players on a tight budget.

Most Improved Award – World of Warcraft

It wasn’t the best of years for WoW — the China syndrome hurt Blizzard in the pocketbooks — but the MMO-that-could showed that it wasn’t afraid of reinventing itself with the upcoming Cataclysm, nor of continually expanding the game to make it more accessible and attractive to a broad field of players, with features such as their acclaimed Dungeon Finder tool.  My history with this title might be contentious, but only because there’s still some love there, and I have to give credit where credit’s due.

Biggest Surprise – Torchlight

As action RPG fans continue to wait for the decade-in-development Diablo III, Runic Games quietly came along and stole the show with a casual Diablo clone that took their classic FATE and did it ten times better.  Bloggers and gamers almost everywhere were loving on this title, which is a good sign as they prep to transform it into a MMO of some kind in the next couple years.

Biggest Disappointment – No Guild Wars 2 Until 2011

In 2009, the silence surrounding Guild Wars 2 finally broke, as trailers and first details about this much-anticipated title poured out of ArenaNet.  But almost as soon as fans were whipped into a frenzy, the bombshell dropped — we wouldn’t be seeing this title until 2011… at the earliest.  Suddenly, 2010 became a barren wasteland of a year for many souls.

Best Hype – Star Wars: The Old Republic

Hype’s almost a dirty word for many MMO gamers, but around here, it is what it is — an acceptible and traditional part of being a fan of this genre, and even enjoyable as you anticipate a (hopefully) good game coming down the pike.  Hands-down, Star Wars: The Old Republic dominated the hype-o-meter this year, continually resurfacing to announce new features and classes, and dethroning temporary hype kings such as WoW, Champions and Star Trek Online.  TOR’s hype is a creature that’s grown beyond BioWare’s machinations — the community for this game is absolutely huge, with multiple podcasts, blogs and sites salivating over this MMO.

Most Impressive Numbers – EVE Online Tops 300K Subs

Hitting 300,000 subscribers in a MMO is a respectable number, for sure.  Hitting it after six years of constant growth is, well, almost unheard of.  So kudos to CCP, showing us how to launch and grow a small MMO into a veritable giant empire in a shade over a half decade!

In Memorandum – Matrix Online, Dungeon Runners, Tabula Rasa, Shadowbane

It wasn’t the happiest of years for all gaming communities.  Small and “niche” as they were, these MMOs received their pink slips and went into that final death spiral — some leaving too soon, some lasting far beyond what was expected.  In any case, a toast to the fallen and to players who miss their virtual homes.

it has been claimed by the ancients – perhaps the learned neanderthal poet tabula rasa

even that nature abhors a vacuum

such sweet sounding words yet altogether hollow and empty

for consider this: should such be the case then what explains your existence

as surely nothing if not a vacuum you are

We are socialized interpreters of Scripture. No mind comes to the text as a tabula rasa–deriving unmixed meaning from its Author.

———————————————————————————–
This post’s method inspired by Abraham Piper. Content inspired by yesterday’s lunch conversation with John Hannah.

“Cere-i omului EXACT ce vrei!“ Pentru că deja avem prea mult plumb sau țânțari pe cap și nu putem să ne fierbem bine ideile care ne fulgeră, este mai bine păstrăm firul inițial al bobinei. Deci fără să îl mai despicăm, dar, totuși, dacă ne este imposibil măcar, fie o lecție întru cunoaștere. Cred că este un prescris spre buna funcționare a oricărui sistem. Ușor inuman pentru că noi nu putem fi în echilibru. Precizez doar că inainte de a fi mici dictatori cu ceilalți, trebuie să realizăm minunatul act de a comunica cu apropiații noștri. Armata trebuie să atace la o singură comandă, iar dacă în unele cazuri are mai mulți generali, mi se pare  normal că fiecare să știe exact individul căruia îi reteză capul. Cum ar fi dacă sar doi la gâtul unui singur om și altul să scăpe?  Până nu am zis exact cum vreau să arate o imagine nu am primit nimic peste care să opinez, iar intr-un alt caz, e cam greu ca tu soldat să dai cu sabia când generali fumeaza și lipseste coroama mustrării.  Mai greu cred că este să te simți singur într-o mare de oameni. Asemenea performanțe se concretizează datorită intereselor diferite, bălăcite și doar presupus suținute de pârghiile centrale. Mai cred că trebuie să le folosim, să le canalizăm într-o direcție pozitivă.

„Proiecte”. Alcătuim, lucrăm și desfășurăm proiecte. Toți facem parte dint-un proiect, măcar unul inițial, și de care cam uităm: uităm să ne ajutam co-echipierii , uităm să .. ce mai, am uitat. Cu cat mai multe cu atât mai bine; putem! În lipsa lor, depinde de fiecare : unii înfloresc, unii sunt liberi, alți tâmpesc, alți devin claustrofobici, unii zboară, alți se normalizează și incă multe altele care depind de fiecare;  o zic două specifice mie ca să nu mă înșir: voință și experiență. O vorbă este „dacă nu ai batrâni cumpără-ți”, eu aș zice „daca nu ai experiență fați-o sau cumparați-o” din moment ce ne naștem tabula rasa. O sa ști cat poți bate, o ști unde  să te oprești ca sa nu te oripilești de tine sau de ce gășesti, poți să dai povețe,  o sa fi prevazator, cum spunea Machiavelli- o calitate de care are nevoie orice bun conducător, dar mai mult de atît o sa te cunoști pe tine însăți. Când mă gândesc la cuvântului „proiect” leg de semnificația lui alți oameni. Inteleg lucru în echipă. Știu că sunt și proiecte individuale, dar o lucrarea ți-o corectează un profesor, un campanie de orice fel vizează un public și chiar niște parteneri că doar nu pot face de la idei până la producție, pentru un copil este nevoie de un cromozom x si unul y. Fi acolo unde zici că esti, dacă nu retrage-te;  o să ai și tu, cîndva, proiectul tău.

I normally start out every Warhammer Online article with a now famous quote by Vice President of Mythic Mark Jacobs, but at this point perhaps we can manage with just a bite,

“If you’ve seen a game consolidate servers, you know it’s in deep, deep trouble.”
-Mark Jacobs

Following the huge layoffs at Mythic, and the hints of desperation summoned by the endless trial system, it comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody that Mythic has announced that more servers will be shutting down in the near future.

On the American side, Dark Crag and Phoenix Throne are shutting down, where Europe has at least one server shutting down in the near future. Transfers are set to begin soon, if they haven’t already, and players will be given 20% experience bonuses on their new servers to ease the pain. After this shutdown, Warhammer Online will have five servers in North America, and Europe with eleven servers.

More on Warhammer Online after the break…

I don’t find the server closings any more disturbing than I do the recent address by Executive Producer Jeff Hickman, who assured players that the game is going to continue being improved upon, turning around what was indisputably a disappointing first year. Being an avid MMO player, I’m not stupid (seriously), and I’ve heard this before:

And going from there, I think it’s fair to say that every product all the time is being looked at for how it’s performing and things like that, and we see improvement happening in Tabula Rasa. We’re encouraged by it.
-David Reid, NCWest President of Publishing.

David Reid said this in an interview with Massively in September 2008, voicing his assurance that Tabula Rasa was improving and had the full support of NCSoft. To those of you keeping score, NCSoft would announce the closure of Tabula Rasa two months later. Oh and that NCsoft hardly mentions Tabula Rasa to this day, and when they do it is with nothing but contempt and disappointment.

I don’t take glee at the financial failures of others, but I had to give a hearty chuckle at the thought of Warhammer Online having only slightly more servers than Star Wars Galaxies. The main difference in the two titles is that at least the Sony team has a sense of humor, if unintentionally, when it comes to shutting down servers (“We’re doing so well, that we’re consolidating!”) where all Warhammer Online has is a quote that not only makes their situation seem worse, but provides plenty of fodder for fanboys/trolls of questionable motives.

Christ versus Allah

dangle from the x, y axis

an asymptotic relationship

the crucifix, the hijab             

stalk variables below

feeble disciples

drink the x or y axis

shape shift

 Mongolians to Asians

 tabula rasa at its finest

El Volumen Cinco: ”Redención” dará comienzo con dos horas muy especiales con la presentación del misterioso Circo cuyas intenciones serán completamente desconocidas, mientras que las caras que ya conocemos se adaptan a sus nuevas vidas que desafiaran todo aquello que conocen con respecto al mundo y sus poderes.

Claire luchará por ajustarse a su nueva vida estudiantil en la Universidad, todo ello se verá truncado cuando se suceda una misteriosa muerte que hará que la joven se embarque en la aventura de desentrañar la verdad tras el crimen. En otro lugar, Hiro y Ando continuarán su noble búsqueda para seguir dando utilidad a sus poderes. Nathan pronto descubrirá su verdadera identidad; mientras que Matt se obsesionará con un invitado sorpresa que busca algo que ha perdido y que sólo tiene Matt en la mente. Tracy Strauss y Noah Bennet unirán sus fuerzas, pero pronto Noah tendrá que ayudar a un viejo amigo. Mientras nuestros héroes se van cruzando por el camino, un misterioso circo, dirigido por Samuel Sullivan, acaba de aparecer en la ciudad y todo indica que tiene planes para todos y cada uno de nuestros protagonistas.

Este Post se estara actualizando cada semana conforme salgan los demas capitulos

Este post se estara actualizando conforme salgan los nuevos capitulos!

Capitulo 1 y 2 – Orientation & Jump, Push,Fall / Acceptance

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Capitulo 3 – Ink

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Capitulo 4 – Acceptance

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Capitulo 5 - Hysterical Blindness

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Capitulo 6 – Tabula Rasa

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Capitulo 7 – Strange Attractors

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Capitulo 8 – Once Upon A Time In Texas

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Is it at ‘he was a difficult child’

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R910261000

Stephen Pinker chalks it up to the blank slate
Ted Talks

18.11.2009

There are always things that’s itching under my skin at times.
Currently there’s an discussion me and my friend Kami had, only a few days ago. The discussion was related to the Tabula Rasa theory, and concerned mostly the question if a human being consist of more than just instincts. I’m of cause more of an academically interested person; thinking more in the lines of people having their own will to change any presented problem into anything the person may like.

The only flaw seem to be that not a lot of people are as good and helping as they ought to be. A reoccurring problem it might seem, but even so, I’m inclined to change the opinion. As people seem flawed due to the nature of the tabula rasa theory, there are quite a few variations of it that sends light on each of the different scenarios the theory can be used in.

First I’ll visit the original theory and explain what the theory really concerns and then the variations of it: The original Tabula Rasa theory revolves around the same principles as the name translates to; Empty Table. The theory as it’s originally written state that every person is an empty table when born, it’s what the person consist of that’s the important point, in an psycological kind of way. Which in easier words mean that a person is like an piece of code. When you start an new document, it’s empty, but after a while, as it grows, it becomes more advanced and able to do more things.

The main point, as it seems then, would be that everyone start with the same privileges (unless handicapped) as everyone else, and it’s just the ethical and moral settings that evolve the character into the person it is at that given time.

Problem with this is that a good person can have been subjected to horrible treatment in the past, and still turn out good. As it seems, it’s not a foolproof theory, but the variations of it holds the key of it’s true genius. Different scenarios hold the different keys of the theory.

The first real argument against the theory would be the thought of family relations, and how we tend to take perks from our fathers, mothers and further up the food chain.

Counter argument is that a person that takes up the qualities from their parents and grand parents are just subjected to “remote controlled code typing”, meaning that they are just experiencing the same thing as everybody else that’s been around friends. we augment each other and often people tend to choose people that’s close to themselves in the search of friends. This often results in scenarios where friends often means the same thing and so on and doesn’t interfere with the tabula rasa theory, since the effects are not genetically written, but imprinted through a series of situations where the person in question learns something from an elder of situation of importance.

On the other side, as the question arises, a person which turns out as the opposite to the situations and people of it surroundings, there’s a different part of interpreting the theory to explain the problem and counter argument:

The power of choice and logic. The tabula rasa theory builds heavily on the theory of having a free mind. We may choose to do what we (culturally and morally) think is the right choice, and otherwise. In that manner it’s perfectly possible to observe a person becoming the opposite of the subjects parents and friends. But that free mind comes with a price. Seen as the theory builds on the fact that we are culturally and morally bound to another it’s only as free as we can believe it to be.

Seeing that a person takes it’s choices built on logic and not instincts, we can conclude that a human mind is built on different aspects than the one of an animal. But, the following question would then be if those cultural and (what seems to be) logical choices point us back again to the instincts of human mind. The definition of instincts are:

“instinct – inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli.”

When an in learned way of acting, according to the represented culture of the geographical area or law, is shown, is it then an inborn pattern of behavior in response to a specific stimuli? The question have been a tough one to answer, but it’s hard to define if the reaction would be inborn of learned? In defense of the tabula rasa theory we may say that such an reaction (as f.eks moving away when something is coming really fast towards you.) counts as an instinct since it’s just logics making the body move accordingly to the reactions our senses gives us.

Problem is that depending on how you see it. We’re all bound to the culture we’re born and / or living in. Depending on how the culture views on different subjects it’s recognized as different meanings in our world. In Norway it’s not rude to shake hands with the left hand, depending on what hand you use as your master. But doing this in an Arabic country (or even Mexico) is a horrible insult, due to the different cultures making different rules for the person in question.

But as I may conclude, since I’m getting really tired, it’s on the border to instincts, since we don’t consider the different outcomes of the same situations at all times. But we may change the pace just to make a difference; making it a part instinct, part logic, part cultural pollution and part human impulse.

A funny thing, the human mind.

Sincerely
/Fluffy

Massively got a response from NCsoft about my article on the future of CoH/V. The terms “alarmist” and “sensationalist” are used, as are how “excited” NCsoft is about the future of CoH/V.

All fair enough and par for the course. This blog is my opinion and NCsoft is completely free to challenge that opinion. If any of the facts are wrong, I’m happy to admit a mistake and fix it. But ultimately I stand by my opinion of how things might shake out for CoH/V.

NCsoft West has had some big successes, but also some big failures. My concerns are that CoH/V has to hit some home runs with Going Rogue in terms of active player numbers or else Paragon Studios is going to find its resources / people diverted, just as many of those working for NCsoft Europe did. CoH/V won’t be canned overnight if Going Rogue isn’t deemed a success – it still brings in about 7% of NCsoft’s annual worldwide sales revenue, according to the Q4 2008 Earnings Report – but I can’t see the same level of reinvestment continuing into the title either.

As for NCsoft being excited for the future of CoH/V: it was just over two months difference between Tabula Rasa being “triple-A and here to stay” and its cancellation. I fully believe that NCsoft will completely support the future of CoH/V, right up to the point that it stops.

That’s just the way it works.

Einstürzende Neubauten é um grupo completamente fora de todos os padrões já existentes no mundo ao chegar ao ponto de se revoltar contra tudo que há antes e depois deles e criarem seu próprio estilo musical e meio de vida. A banda alemã veio de Berlim e foi formada em 1980 durante um movimento social denominado Die Geniale Dilletanten que propagava o dadaísmo musical, cujo propósito era por fim a qualquer forma musical existente e criar uma verdadeira revolução do gênero. O grupo rejeita o rótulo de Industrial, o qual considera um ‘’ reducionismo da mídia massificante’’ e prefere que sua música seja apenas considerada contemporânea ou futurista, mas sejamos claros que o Einstürzende Neubauten é extremamente complexo e urbanista. Seus temas estão associados a estados alterados e psicológicos da mente, tais como amor, medo e frustração e possui um ritmo muito intenso, minimalista e às vezes, vivo… Orgânico! O nome do grupo significa em português ao equivalente de ‘’Prédios Novos Desabando’’ e seu front man é o incomparável gênio da música destrutiva, Blixa Bargeld. Além de todo exotismo e até esquisitice, a banda produz música de uma maneira peculiar: Serras, eletrodomésticos, canos, tambores, gritos, aço distorcendo, pratos quebrando, pedras atiradas em paredes, facas, latas etc… Tudo isso se mistura num barulho que era para ser esperado como infernal, mas juntos produzem um som extremamente complexo e harmônico, claramente plausível. O grupo está na ativa até hoje e continua com suas inovações tal como no primeiro show deles da história – eles tocaram no interior de uma igreja velha enquanto esta mesma era demolida durante a apresentação pondo em risco a vida de todos, inclusive da própria banda! Aqui para download o álbum Tabula Rasa      Download

1 – Die Interimsliebenden

Adam Martin picked up on my previous entry and expanded it in a fantastic way based on his time there – basically, NCsoft Korea has too much money to bother with small projects, so only big projects are worth considering. I am a complete outsider here – not worked for NCsoft Korea or any other MMO developer – but part of my experience is in business / market analysis and what Martin says feels right. Big companies don’t sweat the small stuff, even if it might be good for them.

... particuarly if you sweep them under a big rug marked "Cancelled".

However, from that business analysis point of view I just thought I’d cover a criticism I’ve seen of NCsoft: why don’t they sell off their failures, make a bit of money back and perhaps even let the game survive? Even the most misshapen MMO apparently have enough fans to try to mount a ‘pass the hat around and we’ll all buy this game‘ attempt. In Ryzom’s case, it almost succeeded. And if the fans can’t afford it, there probably are corporate entities who could afford to pony up the cash to buy a failing MMO. Even the developers of a title might be interested – it is what saved EvE Online, after all. The publisher gets some money back, the game lives on, the players are happy – that’s what matters, right?

No, not really.

Despite being called ‘games’, MMOGs are multi-million dollar service entities. For a dedicated publisher of multiple MMOs, it makes no sense to sell off a failed title for a cents in the dollar when the chance always exists that the new owners will turn the game around and create major competition for you. Again, EvE Online  is the best example of this, going from a failed and almost cancelled title in 2003 to over 300 000 active subscriptions in 2009. Simon & Schuster Interactive probably don’t care (given they no longer exist) but Vivendi probably wouldn’t have minded to hang on to another successful MMO. Or to have killed it and see a portion of those 300k subscribed to something else.

NCsoft doesn’t sell off its failures because it doesn’t make sense to them to do so. Firstly, they can use any failures as a tax write-off and if they go down this path, the larger the cost the better (to a point, obviously). Secondly, they don’t to be creating competition for their own titles further down the line. Finally, someone else turning your failure into their success is just embarrassing. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert on the cultural impact of embarrassment in Korea, but I suspect that avoiding embarrassment is something NCsoft Korea would attempt to do.

Imagine NCsoft sold Tabula Rasa to an well-known existing MMO developer heading up a venture capitalist consortium. They aren’t going to pay full development costs for the title, only what it is worth now in the market. NCsoft gets cents back on the sale and still has to announce a huge loss (quietly in their P&L statements). The well-known developer gets to work with his studio, turns Tabula Rasa into a 500k+ player MMO, earning rave reviews and kudos. Could you imagine how NCsoft would feel about Brad McQuaid’s Tabula Rasa?

For the record, shooting horses to put them down doesn't have to be seen as fair or right - it's only what is.

MMOGs are NCsoft’s business. If an NCsoft MMO fails (and Tabula Rasa did fail despite extended attempts to let it succeed), they cut it off clean. Players get offered free passes to other NCsoft titles to try to keep them generating revenue. New titles are offered on the horizon to keep players interested in NCsoft products. But if NCsoft can’t get a title to succeed, it doesn’t deserve to live. Giving a failed title the chance to live by selling it off has few upsides – a few extra million dollars back (doesn’t matter on a development debt of $100 million) – but plenty of downsides – increased competition and embarrassment for the company.

To put it as a restaurant analogy: sometimes it looks like you’ve got a good deal by only selling pieces of your restaurant offering to a buyer, but there’s always the chance you’ve just done a deal with Ray Kroc.

And as for the players: if the cancelled game only has 50k players at the end of its life, it doesn’t matter if none of them ever play an NCsoft title again (really, truly never play… not just forum posturing) when a new NCsoft title comes out and attracts 400k players.

For big companies, size matters.

It always pains me to see an MMO fail before it is even launched, especially when it is canceled before the company even gets to hit that big red launch button for the live servers. As is the case with Mechscape, Jagex’s upcoming Science Fiction MMO, a spiritual successor to Runescape, as CEO Mark Gerhard confirmed to Eurogamer today that the title is indeed canned.

In an interview with Mechscapeworld.com, Mark Gerhard had this to say:

“Sadly the game was not as complete as we wanted and we spent the first few months trying to “fix” the game where we could. About a month or so ago we took the decision to stop trying to “fix it” as we still wouldn’t have the game we wanted and the game certainly did not meet all the objectives and specifications established in the original game design document and therefore it would be better to go back to the founding principles and build the game we always wanted –Andrew [Gower] is now overseeing the project and working very closely with the team to build Stellar Dawn, not all was lost as we naturally have developed the game engine substantially over the last few years and the new designs benefits massively from this as well as a ton of experience within the team as to what works and what doesn’t. So whilst the content and a lot of the game play will change from what was previously built almost everything else will go straight back into Stellar Dawn.” – Mark Gerhard

With the death of one comes the rise of another. Innovations brought about by the production of Mechscape have gone towards the production of Stellar Dawn, a different yet somehow similar MMO to the little guy who never had a chance.

Hopefully Jagex has learned the same truth that Richard Garriot learned with Tabula Rasa: Just because you are an established name, does not guarantee all of your products will succeed.

On that note, it is good to see Jagex catching up to the rest of the mmo world in terms of features. The company just launched a name changing service, and is currently beta testing a feature to see a log of your character’s activity, including amount of time played (see WoW Armory)