Category: Site Stuff

A Ticket to Los Santos

Posted on by Gazimoff

gtaVthanks

If there’s one videogame that’s demanded attention recently, it’s Grand Theft Auto V. Whether you love Rockstar’s exploration of the criminal underworld, or loathe the fictional world they created, it’s undeniably been the catalyst for a massive amount of opinion. Whether you’re interested in game design, interactive narrative or just games as art, GTA V has a huge amount to offer.

Unfortunately, if you’ve been reading the blog lately, things have been a little tight around Gaz Towers. I was expecting Grand Theft Auto V to be something I’d miss out on, eventually picking it up in the bargain bin some six months down the line.

Luckily, the very kind folks over at MusicMagpie offered to send me a copy free of charge, allowing me to get playing and start joining in with those discussions. Courtesy of them, I’ll be able to share my thoughts on the game very soon.

It’s not every day you get mailed a ticket to some exotic location, and I can’t wait to get started. Huge thanks to MusicMagpie for helping me in my time of need!

Fork in the Road

Posted on by Gazimoff

Some big changes are afoot. After nearly two years of writing features, conducting interviews and reporting news, I’m leaving ZAM at the end of the week. There are a handful of interviews from Gamescom to wrap up beforehand though, so keep your eyes peeled for them!

So what gives?

Writing professionally about video games has always been a hobby for me. It’s meant some incredible things – I’ve travelled to places I never thought I’d visit, met and interviewed some incredibly talented people from the MMO scene (including some personal heroes), and had the privilege to share it all with a global audience. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for any riches you could offer.

Unfortunately, it was also part-funded by a day job. During the daylight hours, I’d design new products and services for the mobile/cellphone market at a leading telco here in the UK. I’d start with an idea, then lead a team through building, testing and launching it to millions of customers. I’d worked on things like remote device management, cloud-based support platforms, and integrated sales systems.

It meant that during the daylight hours, I’d be toiling away on some kind of massively multi-user online system, then come home at night and write about massively multiplayer online games. Working on one helped to understand the other – a gamer-centric and customer-centric mindset are very similar.

At the end of this month, I’m being made redundant from that day job. It’s not the end of the world, but it does mean I need to focus heavily on finding a new one. In order to get the time I need to do this, I’ve also taken a step back from ZAM. I will occasionally still write here and there – I enjoy it immensely and find it hugely rewarding – but my main focus is going to be on finding a new job.

So, want to help me with the job hunt? Excellent! If you’ve got any leads, suggestions or advice then please let me know! I’m based in southern UK, but I’m open to the idea of travel.

  • I’ve got a general portfolio/résumé site up at Gazimoff.com, where you can find out more.
  • You can find me on LinkedIn here.
  • I can be reached by email at me@gazimoff.com
  • Or you can ping me on Skype at Gazimoff (please include some details when you add)

At the moment, nothing is off the table. Roles similar to what I’m doing at the moment, the occasional freelance gig and so on would be great. Heck, I’d even consider working on developing games themselves if the right opportunity came up.

Finally, thank you all for your support. To everyone who’s read and enjoyed an article of mine, to ZAM for giving me the opportunity in the first place, and to every developer and industry insider that I’ve worked with, it has been both a pleasure and an honour. Fingers crossed, our paths will cross again sometime soon.

Extended Hiatus

Posted on by Gazimoff

It’s tough to write posts like this, but here goes: Mana Obscura is going on extended hiatus. After two years of having a great time discussing opinions and sharing ideas about MMOs and online gaming, it’s time for me to take an extended break.

The past few months have seen a dramatic change. I’ve gone from a hobbyist blogger to becoming a staff writer at ZAM. I’ll still be writing there every week, so make sure you’re following me on Twitter to stay updated. I’ll also be attending Rezzed in Brighton, Gamescom in Cologne, and Eurogamer Expo in London. Let me know if you’re heading to any of these!

I won’t be shutting Mana Obscura down anytime soon, so all historic posts and archives will remain up. Keep me in your feed readers though, as there’s no telling when I’ll return. This isn’t a goodbye, more of a “back in a bit”.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for more great content to read, you’ll find many fine and stimulating writers in my blogroll.

All the best,

Gaz

And Now We Are Two

Posted on by Gazimoff

Another year, another anniversary! It’s now been two years since I started Mana Obscura, intending to share my views on mages in World of Warcraft. Since then it’s been an adventure through several different MMOs, from Lord of the Rings Online through to the upcoming Guild Wars 2. There’s never been a dull moment!

It’s been all change here as well. I’ve since handed the Obscurecast podcast over to the very able Razerbug and Damarai. They’ve since been joined by Sil, with the trio doing an excellent job with the show! My old co-host Pewter has also been busy starting up her new blog under the great title Decoding Dragons.

Then there’s the third piece of news: I’ve recently joined ZAM.com as a staff writer! I’ll be covering new and upcoming MMOs, as well as providing the odd piece of comment and opinion. It’s an interesting role as I’m now writing for an editor, agreeing assignments and having my articles copyedited before they’re published, but I’m learning a huge amount about writing as well.

I’m not going to be sitting back though – the MMO landscape is constantly changing and there’s always going to be something new to write about. There are new games and new designs constantly being revealed, providing a continual feast of material to dissect and chew on. Any hopes of me going quiet are sadly dashed.

I’m honestly grateful to you all for joining me through it thus far, and I really hope that you’ll stick with me for another few years yet. There’s a long way to go on this MMO adventure and I’m only just getting started.

All my thanks,

Gaz

Getting Started with MMO Blogging

Posted on by Gazimoff

In the time since I started blogging about MMOs, I’ve learned a huge amount about writing, sharing and being part of a staggeringly huge community. In many respects though I’m still a noob, bumbling around and making mistakes. Things like the blog going offline due to setup or configuration errors because I’m too stubborn to use a free service, or losing my entire blogroll moving from one host to another.

I also look at the other bloggers and still feel amazed. How on earth does Tobold manage to come up with a new topic to write about every day? Where do Psynister and Cynwise find the time to put together their detailed, well researched guides? How does Spinks manage to read all the things and pull it all together into a well researched reflection of both the community and her own opinion? What inspired I Like Bubbles to convert the rant into an entertaining art form? How is The Daily Blink regularly and consistently funny?

When MMO Melting Pot mentioned that people felt intimidated by long-standing bloggers I was surprised to see my name listed there. I guess I still see myself as a newcomer to blogging compared to a lot of other people. It also reminds me how lucky I am to have created something that seems to work, even though I have no clue how I managed it. Part of me puts it down to trial and error, while another part reasons that it’s just fluke.

Even so, when I started out with MMO blogging I was given a bucketload of advice from a range of different people. There were many good lessons that I learned, but the four most important ones were these. I don’t know if they’re common sense (something I don’t have) or based on old proverbs, but they’ve worked for me. If you’re starting out as an MMO blogger or you’ve been doing it for a while but you’re struggling with it, I hope these are helpful.

Continue reading “Getting Started with MMO Blogging”

Utterly Gobsmacked

Posted on by Gazimoff

This is how I feel at the moment. The last three weeks have left me in a bit of a daze, as I still can’t work out what’s going on. I’m still writing and still producing my fun (I refuse to call what I create ‘my work’ on principle), but there’s been a couple of things recently that have left me utterly dumbfounded.

First there was Justin Olivetti over at Bio break who awarded Mana Obscura “Best New Blog” in his MMO Community Awards. This was completely out of the blue – something I wasn’t expecting to see at all. For me to be listed next to so many great blogs was surprising and incredible and so many other things.

Yesterday was the second clanger – the MMO Melting Pot community awards were announced. These folks had continued the annual “Piggies” after Larísa from Pink Pigtail Inn retired from MMO blogging last year. I was doing some research for something I was originally planning on posting today when the news came up on Twitter.

I’d won the award for Most Solid Content Provider 2011. I still don’t believe it, so I’m going to quote Hugh from the Pot here:

I’m going to let you into a secret here – Gazimoff is one of the few people whose work I will not wait until the evening to read. If I see there’s a new post on Mana Obscura, I’m off reading that bad boy right away. His writing is consistently insightful, intelligent, thought-provoking and entertaining. So, if you’re waiting for me to fix an egregious guide typo or approve your comment, and Gazimoff’s updated that day (which, let’s face it, is more likely than not), I’m probably off reading his post when I should be working. He gets not only the blame for my procrastination but also our award for Most Solid Content Provider 2011

Winner of a Pink Pigtail Award

There are so many great bloggers whose content I really enjoy reading that were also nominated, and I was both amazed and surprised (again) to be listed among them. But to win? Inconceivable. After all, I’m just doing this blog for fun – it was never supposed to become something serious!

If I’m honest, these awards aren’t just for me. They’re also to the close friends that persuaded me to give MMO blogging a shot and who helped me out when I was getting started. They’re to the community over at Blog Azeroth that helped me get started, providing me with both technical and moral support. They’re to everyone who’s left me a comment saying thanks for a great article or responding with their own thoughts and opinions.

There’s also the people who I’ve bounced ideas off, who’ve given up lunches or afternoons just to talk about some game concept or other. There’s the people on Twitter and tons of other places whose random comments have given me an idea. There’s the video game journalists and bloggers who report the industry news and provide a steady stream of food for thought.

All I do is join the dots and write what I see. It’s all of you that put the dots there in the first place. For that, for the awards, for the recognition, for being there, for everything, thank you.

Access Denied?

Posted on by Gazimoff

During the SOPA and PIPA protests of January 18th 2012 this site was blacked out. All content was removed and replaced with the message below. Although the protest is now over (in the UK at least) and signs indicate that voices globally have been heard, your continued support is vital. Thankyou for your understanding.

Get used to the message above – you might be seeing a lot more of it in future. The U.S. Government is currently considering the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) – a move which could seriously damage the Internet as we know it should it become law.

  • It makes website owners liable for content posted by their users. Expect to see blogs close their comments and forums close their doors, just in case a user posts something that gets the site shut down.
  • It gives the U.S. Attorney General the power to seize websites that hold or link to infringing content. There’s no request for content removal and no court process or oversight. Places like YouTube, Reddit and Twitter could be pulled offline overnight.
  • It forces advertisers, payment processors and internet providers to block blacklisted sites, again without prior notification, court process or oversight. Sites could see themselves cut off from any revenue.

Gamers should be especially concerned by this proposed legislation – it’s got the potential to stop gaming blogs using screenshots, gameplay and howto videos being uploaded to Youtube and streaming tournaments through places like Twitch.tv. Many of the writers, voices and faces that are a part of the online gaming communities would be unable to operate in a post-SOPA world.

Continue reading “Access Denied?”

To The Future!

Posted on by Gazimoff

What a year it’s been! There’s been a couple of major launches with both RIFT and Star Wars: The Old Republic attracting a lot of attention and enjoying success. There’s been a whole series of subscription MMOs switching to a free-to-play model and doing really well with it. And regrettably there’s also been a few shutdowns, with both Lego Universe and Star Wars: Galaxies switching off their servers.

I’m told that it’s traditional to spend today reflecting on the year just gone and make resolutions and predictions for the future. I’m not going to bore you with my own version of  the Year In Review – there’s some great month-by month roundups over at MMO Melting Pot. I’ve donned my Soothsaying Hat though (it’s very impressive) to bring some forecasts for the future, though I’m not confident they’ll all hit in 2012.

The last year has been a little strange for me. I’ve been playing World of Warcraft for nearly seven years now and I keep on expecting for a game to replace it. So far none have provided more than a few week’s diversion, but now that I find myself playing Warcraft only to raid I think the switch can’t be far off. I’m currently playing both SWTOR and Warcraft, with the former grabbing the most of my gaming hours. I’m not sure how this will evolve in 2012, but I’m expecting one of them to lose out to Guild Wars 2.

Continue reading “To The Future!”

Rebuilding My Blogroll

Posted on by Gazimoff

If you saw the splash page earlier or read one of the various tweets on Twitter, today there’s been a bit of a change going on at Mana Obscura. I’ve decided that it was high time to move from shared hosting to a virtual private server and save a wedge of cash every month in the process. What’s the difference? One’s like buying a toy car while the other’s like an Airfix model. Some assembly required.

As always when moving home there are some things that get broken, and websites are no exception. It seems that in the move from there to here my blogroll has been lost. The list of sites I read and recommend has vanished.

I could try and scribble it down from memory but I’d probably miss a ton of great blogs that I really should be reading. So I figure it’s about time to give it a refresh anyway – off with the no-longer-updated and in with the fresh new content!

If you think there’s a blog out there I should be reading (even your own) then post it in the comments! I’ll be updating my blogroll over the weekend, adding ones that fit with the theme of the site (gaming, MMOs, geek culture, etc). Don’t be afraid to suggest podcasts as well while you’re there!

Thank you all for your help and patience while I finish ironing things out and unpacking stuff from teacrates. Hopefully it won’t be much longer.

The Finished Next-Gen MMO Machine

Posted on by Gazimoff

Apologies for the lack of updates, but I’ve been a little busy. I’ve previously talked about putting together a new PC to handle the next range of MMO games on the horizon. This hasn’t been some kind of hypothetical question about building something in my mind – I was really planning on building a new rig. After months of planning and some heavy work during the weekend, it’s finally done!

The parts were ordered, checked and prepped ready for installation. I’m told variously that the dining table looked either like some kind of Geek Christmas or a Shrine to Technology. Either way that makes me some kind of Geek Santa or techno-Oracle, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.

Continue reading “The Finished Next-Gen MMO Machine”