Thank you all for the well-wishes and compliments.
I know that I haven't agreed with all of you, and some of you may be happy to even see me go, but it's been a pleasure to get to connect with you all the same.
Unfortunately, the column has just been too much for me to handle lately. While MMORPG.com certainly has its reputation and traffic, when I struggled to get a column out each week and didn't enjoy what I was doing anymore, it was time to move on.
You're all welcome to ask me questions on twitter, Formspring, etc if there's something else you'd like to know. I'm happy to respond.
I'm sorry to see you go I quite understand though - only so much time and space in our lives, no matter how much we wish it were otherwise. Here's to you filling your time with the things that most give you joy and satisfaction!
Everyone's a critic, true, but not everyone thinks things thorugh or speaks clearly; it helps us all to have someone lead a discussion who does a little of both. In your case, you did those things very well.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
Sorry to see ya go, but we've all gotta move to greener pastuers. Keep up the writing and thx again for the articles. You brought a great perspective to the 3-ring circus of gaming.
Thank you all for the well-wishes and compliments.
I know that I haven't agreed with all of you, and some of you may be happy to even see me go, but it's been a pleasure to get to connect with you all the same.
Unfortunately, the column has just been too much for me to handle lately. While MMORPG.com certainly has its reputation and traffic, when I struggled to get a column out each week and didn't enjoy what I was doing anymore, it was time to move on.
You're all welcome to ask me questions on twitter, Formspring, etc if there's something else you'd like to know. I'm happy to respond.
Boom.
For starters, I'll join the crowd that's sorry to see you go. Of the articles on this site, I definitely got involved in reading yours the most. Will be a shame not to have you here anymore.
The yellow bit is something I think everyone here can and should be able to relate to. Sums up the exact feeling I've gotten every time I've left an MMO. Particularly the bit about not enjoying what you're doing anymore, and that goes for anything in life that isn't essential. No sense forcing yourself to do something you no longer enjoy. Another connectable comment in a simple departing post...
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." George Bernard Shaw
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Oscar Wilde
Since my original post was ninja deleted, I'll say again: mmorpg.com should dump the "F2P guy" and pay Jamie double to stay. At least her articles are honest and well thought out.
Anyway, best wishes Jaime.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Thank you very much for all your hard work. Your article was the biggest feature that drew me to mmorpg.com and if I didn't see it right off the bat I went actively looking for it. I really enjoyed reading the perspective of another female gamer too! Good luck in the future.
Your column has been one of the few fun and creative regular pieces to be found on this site (e.g. you go way beyond simply summing up the top 5 things buzzing on a forum and actually present good intriguing stories). Good luck to you in your future and keep writing!
"I won't write for the MMORPG.COM playerbase because they have too much opinion, but I will continue writing elsewhere about the very same thing and simply say a "Thank you" for being "Driven out" by opinion...."
I've read your column for a very long time...However, I have been part of the industry in many ways and many of the people there who are programmers and artists are actually second to third generation gamers. Creating a game is a lot harder than actually playing it and like you said "Everyone is a critic" and with good reason.
I guess as long as games are marketted for profit, they will continue to target those audiences which yield the most revenue. This was true back then when NES was marketted to geeks (you can youtube those early commercials and see what I mean), to how MMORPGs actually emerged into the scene.
I did enjoy that you had a different perspective on things.
The major reason why other genres prosper over MMORPGs is due to competition. First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy and Simulation Games...etc. Companies will create games knowing everyone else is making games and they have to fight each for a piece of the pie. They each bring some incentive to the game and won't dare to completely clone every aspect of gameplay.
But, something happens differently in both RPG and MMORPG. In MMORPG, a Cartel exists where most companies won't try to get in the way of each other's fanbase. Instead they hope to capture a different fanbase because as long as people pay monthly fees they will never want to give up a game and lose their money, time, energy and effort. Due to this MMORPGs is the genre where the fewest titles are played by its gamers. The same is true about RPGs where most of them being Japanese Console RPGs the majority of the crowd focuses on titles released by specific companies and ignore everything else....
When you take all the FPS games, along with their modders, singleplayers and multiplayers out there....you find a competetive atmosphere...while every company who makes an MMORPG, even if they make one with a 100,000 playerbase, they can hope to score at least 1 - 1.5 million in fees per month. All it takes is some loyalty program or advertisement and some hardcore players who believe only in that game.
If people want the genre changed, they have to make a stand and stop posting on the internet about how "bad" or "good" things are. No one who has any real power cares about anyone who posts online. They view it as a bunch of whiny kids....and I say this as a scientist and an artist. The second everyone starts attacking the subscription based systems and F2P systems as well...and force companies to make a new MMORPG, its the second all fanbases will open up and real competition will begin. I would GLADLY pay more for each game and expansion if it meant that no subscription fees or in-game stores existed.
I am unsure if I am glad to see her go or will miss her.
I couldn't have ever disagreed more with the articles she wrote, and thought her writing was full of her own opinion (often contradictory opinion) instead of facts.
But.. hers was the only column on mmorpg.com I ever read. I always read every single word of every new article, even the ones that didn't interest me.
So even if I read each article vehemently just to think "I hate this person!! Rawr!!!" it was by far the most enjoyable column on mmorpg.com and definitely fun to read.
I guess I am the type of person who misses their arch-nemesis or I get sad when I find myself without someone to fight against, lol. Every hero needs a villain! And since I'd probably be considered the villain... I guess I will miss the hero of this column :P
....RAWR!!!
If being a developer means being quiet, mature, well-spoken, and disconnected from the community, then by all means do me a favor and believe I'm not one.
Comments
Gonna miss you. You were the only column worth reading of late.
Thank you all for the well-wishes and compliments.
I know that I haven't agreed with all of you, and some of you may be happy to even see me go, but it's been a pleasure to get to connect with you all the same.
Unfortunately, the column has just been too much for me to handle lately. While MMORPG.com certainly has its reputation and traffic, when I struggled to get a column out each week and didn't enjoy what I was doing anymore, it was time to move on.
You're all welcome to ask me questions on twitter, Formspring, etc if there's something else you'd like to know. I'm happy to respond.
Thank you for the interesting articles and good luck!
I'm sorry to see you go
I quite understand though - only so much time and space in our lives, no matter how much we wish it were otherwise. Here's to you filling your time with the things that most give you joy and satisfaction!
Everyone's a critic, true, but not everyone thinks things thorugh or speaks clearly; it helps us all to have someone lead a discussion who does a little of both. In your case, you did those things very well.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
Sorry to see ya go, but we've all gotta move to greener pastuers. Keep up the writing and thx again for the articles. You brought a great perspective to the 3-ring circus of gaming.
Boom.
For starters, I'll join the crowd that's sorry to see you go. Of the articles on this site, I definitely got involved in reading yours the most. Will be a shame not to have you here anymore.
The yellow bit is something I think everyone here can and should be able to relate to. Sums up the exact feeling I've gotten every time I've left an MMO. Particularly the bit about not enjoying what you're doing anymore, and that goes for anything in life that isn't essential. No sense forcing yourself to do something you no longer enjoy. Another connectable comment in a simple departing post...
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
George Bernard Shaw
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Oscar Wilde
Since my original post was ninja deleted, I'll say again: mmorpg.com should dump the "F2P guy" and pay Jamie double to stay. At least her articles are honest and well thought out.
Anyway, best wishes Jaime.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Thank you very much for all your hard work. Your article was the biggest feature that drew me to mmorpg.com and if I didn't see it right off the bat I went actively looking for it. I really enjoyed reading the perspective of another female gamer too! Good luck in the future.
Thanks Jamie,
Your column has been one of the few fun and creative regular pieces to be found on this site (e.g. you go way beyond simply summing up the top 5 things buzzing on a forum and actually present good intriguing stories). Good luck to you in your future and keep writing!
Somthing in return, you have a knack for choosing the best topics to discuss, hence I always found your columns very absorbing. Keep it up.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Good riddance, seriously.
I enjoyed your articles and sad to see you go. As with all good things at some point they must end or move on.
Good luck and I will look for your column/writings around. Always a pleasure to read your articles.
Gikku
Translation:
"I won't write for the MMORPG.COM playerbase because they have too much opinion, but I will continue writing elsewhere about the very same thing and simply say a "Thank you" for being "Driven out" by opinion...."
I've read your column for a very long time...However, I have been part of the industry in many ways and many of the people there who are programmers and artists are actually second to third generation gamers. Creating a game is a lot harder than actually playing it and like you said "Everyone is a critic" and with good reason.
I guess as long as games are marketted for profit, they will continue to target those audiences which yield the most revenue. This was true back then when NES was marketted to geeks (you can youtube those early commercials and see what I mean), to how MMORPGs actually emerged into the scene.
I did enjoy that you had a different perspective on things.
The major reason why other genres prosper over MMORPGs is due to competition. First Person Shooters, Real Time Strategy and Simulation Games...etc. Companies will create games knowing everyone else is making games and they have to fight each for a piece of the pie. They each bring some incentive to the game and won't dare to completely clone every aspect of gameplay.
But, something happens differently in both RPG and MMORPG. In MMORPG, a Cartel exists where most companies won't try to get in the way of each other's fanbase. Instead they hope to capture a different fanbase because as long as people pay monthly fees they will never want to give up a game and lose their money, time, energy and effort. Due to this MMORPGs is the genre where the fewest titles are played by its gamers. The same is true about RPGs where most of them being Japanese Console RPGs the majority of the crowd focuses on titles released by specific companies and ignore everything else....
When you take all the FPS games, along with their modders, singleplayers and multiplayers out there....you find a competetive atmosphere...while every company who makes an MMORPG, even if they make one with a 100,000 playerbase, they can hope to score at least 1 - 1.5 million in fees per month. All it takes is some loyalty program or advertisement and some hardcore players who believe only in that game.
If people want the genre changed, they have to make a stand and stop posting on the internet about how "bad" or "good" things are. No one who has any real power cares about anyone who posts online. They view it as a bunch of whiny kids....and I say this as a scientist and an artist. The second everyone starts attacking the subscription based systems and F2P systems as well...and force companies to make a new MMORPG, its the second all fanbases will open up and real competition will begin. I would GLADLY pay more for each game and expansion if it meant that no subscription fees or in-game stores existed.
I enjoyed the reading and will continue to look for your work.
May the muses continue to pave your path with inspiration.
Many thanks and good luck!
Good luck Jamie. Your articles were always very enjoyable to read.
I am unsure if I am glad to see her go or will miss her.
I couldn't have ever disagreed more with the articles she wrote, and thought her writing was full of her own opinion (often contradictory opinion) instead of facts.
But.. hers was the only column on mmorpg.com I ever read. I always read every single word of every new article, even the ones that didn't interest me.
So even if I read each article vehemently just to think "I hate this person!! Rawr!!!" it was by far the most enjoyable column on mmorpg.com and definitely fun to read.
I guess I am the type of person who misses their arch-nemesis or I get sad when I find myself without someone to fight against, lol. Every hero needs a villain! And since I'd probably be considered the villain... I guess I will miss the hero of this column :P
....RAWR!!!
If being a developer means being quiet, mature, well-spoken, and disconnected from the community, then by all means do me a favor and believe I'm not one.