It’s been a whole year since Kheri and I discovered Sims 2 machinima and we thought time for a small break from the current projects. Two years ago I joined a beta test for a MMORPG, Lineage 2. I’m a bit of a beta test junkie and I’ve lost count of the number of games I’ve signed up for. I’ve been fascinated with video games since I first clapped eyes on my brother’s ZX Spectrum and Manic Miner, which was released in the early 80’s. Gaming is not something I talk about with my offline friends or family, they’re not gamers and being a thirty-something mother, most other gamers don’t consider me a “hardcore” gamer (not to mention, I simply don’t have the time these days, to be levelling an a avatar for fourteen hours straight).

There’s something about the thrill of playing a game in the beta stages, despite the odd bug. There’s usually a huge group of eager and enthusiastic players, not yet disappointed with certain aspects of the game mechanics and none of the commonplace “I’m quitting” and the “Can I have your stuff then?” posts that litter many games forums after the game has gone Gold. In fact, I had so much fun with L2 that I continued playing after beta and got side-tracked when The Sims 2 was released. So, Kheri and I have picked up our daggers and bows and gone back to the grind.

my dark elf assassin!

It’s quite a different game to the one we left, with three major updates and a new server. Our avatars and all their equipment and gold, was just how we left it. Most of the players we knew are high level and we’re the “old noobs”! The starter towns are deserted, aside from the odd farmer . Our highest avatars, the dwarves, an artisan for crafting and a scavenger are about to make a second class change. Kheri’s avatars, always seemed to have “PK me” on their heads and she was attacked on day one. PK-ing is player killing, in case you’re not familiar with MMORPG’s, and it used to be rife around the starter areas. It adds a certain thrill to the “adventure”, that you have to watch out for these online “bandits” or in the worst case scenarios, just plain griefers.

I didn’t know about machinima two years ago and since L2 has the most breath-taking virtual landscapes, I’m wondering why more people don’t use it for machinima? My sons and I disagree on this, but I think graphically, it’s superior to WoW. There is an ingame camera, I’m not sure if it’s just for siege replays, I’ll have to find out

This probably sounds extremely boring and geeky to anyone who has managed to read this far, so I’ll stop waffling on. If you’re looking for either of us this Summer, you now know where to look…..

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