Spring (2019) MMO Archair Dev Session: Elder Scrolls Online

(a.k.a. Recommendations for Elder Scrolls Online II)

Hey, it's ESO's turn. Again. Back to the land of dark anchors and skyshards, but this time also with dragons and playable necromancers. So in the middle of the five-year anniversary celebration for the launch of the game, here are a couple of potential destinations on the road ahead.

 I could just re-post this last set of suggestions, but a link will suffice. A couple of examples are moot with some changes made since then but still a nice list overall. And the last item on that list is *still* a big thing for me as it can help new players and keep the story clear/consistent. The newish zone guides are a good step to helping overwhelmed new and returning players. A good first step. On to the new(?) stuff...

Two year take on The Elder Scrolls Online

  Introduction/Opening

 

These are just my thoughts on ESO, a game I sometimes play. As such, while you may have had a different experience of the game, this is my experience, and my views are based on my own experiences, not yours. If you didn't like something I did, or vice versa, great, but that doesn't change anything. To be as clear as possible I start through my brief background in MMOs, then go through my first year of the game, followed by the second. I end with some summary thoughts of what has been good and bad based on my experiences. This isn't a formal or exhaustive review, just my take on the game. This collection of impressions has notes for people less familiar with MMORPGs, but if you don't play them it will be hard to follow.

To be clear, I don't think such games are the most important thing in the world, and they are certainly not among the most important things in my life. But they can be fun, offer new worlds and stories to explore, and provide entertainment, challenges, and chances to meet and socialize with others. I know some people get obsessive about them, like others do with Harry Potter or Star Wars, while there are those who denigrate them as a complete wastes of time (even as they sit and watch crappy TV for hours or discuss social and political issues just to hear themselves talk or to find something to argue over; to each their own). I just play them sometimes when the mood strikes, so I seek no drama here.

NOTE: Most of the sections that follow about my experience with the game and "Who am I?" to offer such opinions. So unless that interests to you, skip them and head down to the Pros and Cons section.

Opening Post: Real life fiction, game/story fiction, and being an expanded person through exploring stories

Just a quick post after setting this thing up so it isn't empty until I write something more substantial.

As to what I might write here, well, it depends on the day. Basically, humans create and immerse themselves in narratives and stories that they use to interpret the world around them as well as to understand themselves. We have many aspects, or sub-personalities, that form as a result of these stories as part of our reaction to events, so we can be somewhat different people under different circumstances.

Knowing that, I'm not bothered when I am conflicted about how to react to something, or unsure how to respond, or when I suddenly switch frequencies between one aspect of personality to another. Reading fiction (books, comic books, etc), watching fiction (plays, movies, television) and playing fiction (tabletop games, video games) allow us grow and become more interesting, versatile people. We may not always directly pretend we are in that fictional universe as an original character (except for maybe many video games where that's part of the fun), but even vicariously we still learn to see through the eyes of characters we didn't create and don't control.

Beyond that kind of fiction, we have the fiction and pseudo-fiction from our ethnic, political, and religious identities. That isn't to say no political or religious statements are true, but that they too use stories and metaphors that introduce artificial concepts and objects into our consciousness. These can be constructive tools, like negative numbers in math, or they can be obstructions or even dangers. And whatever type of stories we are talking about, people can get their identities so wrapped up in them than they become belligerent or openly violent (see religious and political extremists, members of fiction/gaming fandoms who tweet death threats and dox people seen as "the enemy", etc).

So yeah, there are immature, unaware/unenlightened, small minded turd-farmers out there who try to ruin things for others, but that's the downside. Again, there is much to the upside in terms of expanding who we are, being comfortable with our stables of selves (even the aspects we sometimes find embarrassing or annoying), and connecting to/bringing fun and joy to others.

For me, the journey can be through any medium. If it means exploring esoteric currents in atheism, Christianity, and Buddhism, so be it. If it means observing (or criticizing) how some US conservatives/far right evangelicals continue to develop a separate narrative as their own version of reality gets further from the rest of the world, that's fine. If it means taking a stroll through Tamriel as an Argonian or wandering through Eorzea as a Miqo'te, great. Or maybe on some occasions it might mean visiting the strange, sometimes unsettling worlds of Haruki Murakami or Neil Gaiman. I've explored thousands of stories and the worlds they create, and each expands my horizons and insights.

So I can't really say exactly what will come up here at any given time. But you are welcome to tag along.