I saw this domain for sale, according to the appraisals, its worth over $5000.00 usd. It has just the perfect amount of keywords….

Sadly this is the history of many decent games, setup it up free for a time, and if the volume of interest warrants, expand it on a pay basis. Those who are hooked will pay the fees, and those who try to avoid paying will find they can’t get all the superior “kit”, or that there are places they aren’t allowed to go, etc.

I always preferred strategy and puzzle-solving to mayhem, and never got into shooters, until America’s Army. Give it a try, and you too can be “shot by ]Accident[”

On the subthread, ANY behavior that pulls an unhealthy amount of attention from the needs and responsibilities of real life is bad, whether it is an addiction to gaming, drinking, drugs, their favorite sports team or Lindsay Lohan. And if one is meeting those more significant obligations, they needn’t be judged because they sit up late at night and play Halo2 on their 360, or WoW, or Gemstone, or Minesweeper. Balance, Grasshopper.

D0WNT0WN on August 11, 2007 at 3:13 PM

Hate to break it to you Downtown, but gamers are all grown up. The generation that grew up with Atari, and Nintendo has grown up and STILL likes games. Yes, gaming, like any hobby, can be taken to extremes. But the healthy adult gamer knows when to step away and do other things.

Personally, the people that absolutely MUST watch each and every game of their favorite sports team, spend THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of dollars each year in stadium tickets and merchandise, go tailgating and paint their faces on game day REALLY scare me. Dang sports freaks.

- The Cat

As far as I know it’s really free.

Bryan on August 11, 2007 at 10:38 AM

Check out the ‘Purchase Noblestones’ option…PayPal all the way.

It’s still fun, though.

My screen name is Habaroo if anyone wants to DUEL, BABY!!!!!!

Thanks Bryan.

Having said that, I’ve promptly created an avatar and am on my way.

And as a recovering WoW-aholic

See its statements like those that make me take two steps back and scan the room for the locations of the exits. The very fact that you respond to my admittedly “silly jibe” with arguments about demographics and that you draw distinctions between the various types of alternate reality universes, or “games” if you prefer, is amusing to me. Sort of like a coke head citing demographic data about who uses coke and who uses crack and then looking down on crack users.

Having said that, I’ve promptly created an avatar and am on my way. You sold me at “free”.

And as a recovering WoW-aholic, I’m going to pile on Downtown’s really silly jibe about being creeped out by adults who are interested in WoW.

I’m not sure of the actual demographics (no one other than Blizzard, the developer, is), but from my experience only a really small minority of WoW players are under 18. Those aged people tend to be more fascinated by shoot-the-alien type games on the Xbox. I would say the median demographic is probably the “young professional” type who, after returning from work, prefers socializing and gaming on the internet to veging out on the couch watching Seinfeld re-runs.

my brother who is a biochemist plays World of Warcraft and he is in his 50’s.

Rose on August 11, 2007 at 1:59 PM

Not so much fascinated. I’m 47 and I play, but I only started because my son, who is in the Navy, does too. He called one day and asked me to buy it and try it out. It’s something we can still do together even though he’s no longer home.

Kowboy on August 11, 2007 at 12:07 PM

It’s not like people bust your chops for rocking on the porch all day, whittling and yelling at the kids to get off your lawn.

Asher on August 11, 2007 at 11:45 AM

Couple points here. 1) I live in the Bronx and don’t have a lawn. But if I did have one I would have the right to decide who could and could not come on it. Its called “property rights”. Sort of a basic conservative principle. 2) Different strokes for different folks. Individual freedom is another one of those basic conservative ideas. I respect and admire those who dedicate themselves to the pursuit of knowledge like scientists and those who dedicate themselves to the defense of our country. Sometimes you gotta stir the pot but I don’t mean to suggest that my vices or peculiarities are any better than yours. We all engage in forms of escapism.

That all having been said, gamers do creep me out when they talk about gaming. Otherwise, you seem like good people.

If you are fascinated by World of Warcraft as an adult you creep me out.

I have teenage sons that play WoW after homework and chores are done. Sometimes when we’re out, adults start talking to them in deep earnest about the game and they look to me for help to get away from these nutty grown-ups.

My gaming time is spent designing scenarios for on-line WWII flight sims (Warbirds, Aces High, IL2), and it’s been educational in terms of getting a better perspective on the history of the war.

Update – Yesterday, 18:09
We’ve been blown away (regrettably so have our servers) by the popularity of Duels. We’re very grateful for your enthusiasm for the game and your patience with us. We are doing everything we can to get the site running smoothly (ie: up and responding quickly).

We’ve ordered more servers, so we hope we will have them up and running by the middle of next week. One of them is a very large system for the database that should dramatically improve performance. Unfortunately delivery and deployment of servers is outside of our direct control, so I can’t say exactly when they will arrive.

Yes, because it’s so much more productive to sit in front of the television every evening and all day on the weekends.

It’s not like people bust your chops for rocking on the porch all day, whittling and yelling at the kids to get off your lawn.

And what is so productive about playing WoW? I know of three people–two college-aged and one 30-something whose lives were literally ruined by WoW.

At least if you’re on the porch whittling, you can sell it on eBay or something. Maybe etsy. And I agree, adult gamers in general kinda creep me out as well. Gotta run–I sense some non-gaming children outside nearing my lawn!

If you are fascinated by World of Warcraft as an adult you creep me out.

D0WNT0WN on August 11, 2007 at 10:30 AM

Not so much fascinated. I’m 47 and I play, but I only started because my son, who is in the Navy, does too. He called one day and asked me to buy it and try it out. It’s something we can still do together even though he’s no longer home.

I never really mess with the free MMOs as you tend to get what you pay for.

Trembling eagerly yet fearfully like Ted Kennedy in a distillery, or Jack Murtha in an FBI bribe-sting setup, See-Dub backs away from the blog and runs out into the sunshine.

see-dubya on August 11, 2007 at 11:24 AM

Run, see-dub…run! Don’t click the link and be glued there like I’ve been….takin’ a break….I best get out in the sun myself, while I can…

Kralizec on August 11, 2007 at 11:27 AM

Have you tried Civ IV? I hear it’s pretty good. You might also try Galactic Civilizations by Stardock. They’ve been working that game in various iterations and operating system for years. I don’t like online games myself, but I’ll take single player gaming over TV any day of the week.

I feel about this the way I felt about the Voltron post when I got about halfway through reading the comments posted. If you watched Voltron as a kid we are kindred spirits. If you are fascinated by World of Warcraft as an adult you creep me out.

Yes, because it’s so much more productive to sit in front of the television every evening and all day on the weekends.

It’s not like people bust your chops for rocking on the porch all day, whittling and yelling at the kids to get off your lawn.