Why videogames are not art, and are unlikely to become it anytime soon.

Some time ago now, the great but ailing media pundit Roger Ebert wrote a statement to the effect that videogames are not art. He gave some reasons why. And the whinging from fanboy idiots who were clearly too young to even know what the word Atari means in this particular context was precious to behold. Not because Ebert‘s critique of videogames as an industry was especially well-informed, but rather because the near-illiterate responses betrayed a simple fact about the people making them. Specifically, they had no idea what the word art really means.

Guild-building in World Of Warcraft

So I did what I have been speculating to myself about for some time, and started a new guild of my own on World Of Warcraft. The act of starting the guild, in itself, was quite a learning experience. Whilst it has changed over time, the present system with founding new guilds involves getting a charter, getting five signatures from unique players, and then turning it in to an NPC who basically hands you the keys to your new guild. So whilst I have my own guild that I am very slowly building up to what I want, I am also very slowly and staggeringly learning the ins and outs of running the damned thing.

The things that people in the World Of Warcraft believe.

World Of Warcraft, even in the face of peaking and declining subscription numbers, has more players than any other online multiplayer game that exists. At one point, the count was said to be eleven million players. Whilst this is hardly a large slice of the total world population, it is a lot compared to prior videogames that have made the news. However, when attempting to start the game for the first time, a lot of players tend to feel lost or confused. The following, therefore, is a guide to how to get along with players who fill the various “roles” in the game.