Gambling Revisited...Again

Greetings, Spiralites. All is well here in the wonderful land of "College". It's busy enough that I don't have much playtime...but then I do finally get around to poking Twitter for the day and find out that there's yet ANOTHER gambling bit. Yes, there's a wonderful new Jungle-Themed bundle, complete with 2-seat mount. Check out Friendly's blog for news on that. I'm here to reassert the view that KingsIsle is teaching children how to gamble, and possibly getting them addicted to it. The first time it was a little bit interesting.

Maybe, just maybe, we thought, it would be a one time deal. And then came the advent of the Wyvern's Hoard with not one but five unique mounts for the collectors (myself included) to try and obtain. And now we have this. The Nightmare Pack. Once again it has a cool new pet, an astonishing new mount, and some spectre-tacular new robes. Any one of those things in the Crowns Shop and I'd be signing up and hopping in line in a heartbeat to get my hands on some shiny new gear. The way it's going right now, though, I'm not spending one red cent on any of it.

This is actually pushing me further away from a game that I felt so passionately good about that I voted for it for GDC and have actually joined the "community" of. Never had I done that before, and now I'm seeing more than ever that politics + growing company = less enjoyable gaming experience. Growing company = more monetary need. I get that.  Larger companies require more money to operate and expand effectively. This expansion model, though, while effective, will eventually disenchant a large segment of the player base.  It just boggles my mind why a company so focused on family-friendly gaming would begin putting so much focus on a lottery aspect.

Yeah, that was semi-ranty-getting-thoughts-outy and not a fantastic reading experience. Oh well, it's out. And now that it's out, it's staying out. Maybe eventually enough people will realize what's going on and stop supporting it. Maybe they already have and I'm late to the party. Drop me a comment with your thoughts/views/questions/comments/complaints/rants/queries/remarks/suggestions and otherwise general forms of communication and I'll publish that right up for you.  KingsIsle is a good company, and I'd hate to see it go down the pipes because they get greedy.

Your [Ranty] Friend Always,
John Lifeglen

Ravenwood Radio for 50, Please!

Ok, so maybe playing this like Jeopardy isn't the best start. Oh well. Yeah, I've been keeping a low profile for a while now. Not by choice, but by the forces known as college. Many of you see random spurts in twitter action as I update everyone to my Magic: The Gathering antics or, as of today, Humans vs. Zombies. All little time killers with friends also on campus.

The real point of this, though, is to clue everyone in on a little secret. Ravenwood Radio is turning 50 today. It's funny to think about how far Ravenwood Radio has come since episode 23, where Stephen and Leesha had a table full of sorcerers along for the ride. That seems like only yesterday!

Congratulations and many thanks for 50 fantastic episodes to Stephen Spiritcaller, Leesha Darkheart, Christina Icedreamer, Wolf Redfist, Kevin Battleblood, Fallon Deathslinger, Cassandra Dragonheart, and Lady of Blades for their hard work on Ravenwood Radio from the beginning to current times. It wouldn't be the same without each of you.

And now I need to get going to work...and avoid the zombie infestation while I'm walking. I'd love to be there for the show tonight, because it's going to rock, but I'll still be at the dining hall doing closing procedures and boring stuff of that nature. I request that everyone who reads this goes and has a good time for me!

Your Friend Always,
John lifeglen