The idea to write an article about this came to me the other week while I was knee deep in discarded appliances up in the attic searching for an old CRT monitor that I had not seen in years.

By Dean Sherwin

Me fumbling around in the dark wishing I had brought a torch up, too late to go back though, it occurred to me that writing an article about this would be just the thing. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with the story of my peril finding a dusty old monitor, what I am going to bore you with instead is with the cool little trick I found out you can do if you have two PC screens.

All you have to do is hook them both up to the back of your PC, you may need an adapter if there is only one visual outlet, fiddle about in ‘control panel’ and hey presto you have two fully functional PC screens working off one PC.

That may seem like the silliest idea since a unicycle, but it can work wonders when it comes to playing an MMO. Think about it, with most, you have tool bars, maps and other stats taking up nearly half the screen while you have a little square to peer into this vast world. What I did was set the dimensions of the screens so that my tool bars in 4Story and WoW appear in the old CRT monitor (which I had cleaned up at this stage) and the main game play screen in my shiny LCD screen.

Let me tell you, best decision I have ever made. The game got a lot better and the whole issue of scrolling the mouse cursor between the two screens just was not an issue which I though it would be. There are tons of websites that I found offering instructions on how to do this, but to be honest..it is straightforward! Just hook everything up and go to control panel. From there it is pretty self- explanatory.

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Despite the initial ‘buzz’ that surrounded the release and honeymoon stage last year, Age of Conan seems to be going downhill and does not have any brakes. The games publishers and developers Funcom have recently announced that they will be closing down 31 of the 48 servers. The most obvious reason for this is that they just are not being used by enough players and are unprofitable to keep up and running.

By Dean Sherwin

Most expected the game to be major competition for WoW, (Which has been at the top of the market for the last 4-5 years) but it just never caught on as expected with the gaming community. The game offers a host of intriguing and well-developed features such as property owning system, not to mention the storyline. However, because of the lack of interest in the game and thus the knock-on effect of severely under populated servers, the game has gone downhill with many users complaining of boredom within the game.

The issue of keeping servers adequately populated is an issue with all developers as social interaction and busy town are necessary but cramped servers can often lead to much activity on screen, overwhelming the player, not to mention the lag caused my so many characters.

Funcom have stated that by reducing he numbers of servers, they hope to increase player enjoyment and interaction. However, it is more likely that they are simply trying to cut-costs while keeping a steady income flow coming their way during the development and testing of their future release ‘The Secret World’, which is though to be due for release sometime in 2010.

This news has come as many other free games such ad Bounty Bay Online, are preparing to expand servers and begin beta testing. In such economic times, perhaps the free MMO scene will take the upper hand.

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Back in the hay days when a great PC game could be bough from Todd, the young office intern, grimly copied onto a floppy disk and sold outside the toilet for five bucks, you did not exactly need a computer borrowed from NASA to play the thing. You just had to pop it in, aim for the office high score and pray the boss did not happen to walk by and see you playing Tetris or Space Invader or in the later years, Doom. Some say that games were more enjoyable then without the storyline to bog you down and the millions of other players with whom you had to interact. But, whoever says that is just plain crazy.

By Dean Sherwin

Now in the new year of 2009, we will be expecting this year’s upcoming release of PC hardware sometime around April of March after they sell last years stock during the post-Christmas sales. Millions will be running out to by components or even full PCs to take advantage of the updated systems so that they can squeeze just a little bit more graphical quality from WoW. These people may seem a little crazy but they are actually quite on the ball in gaming terms.

Whilst you do not necessarily need a top notch PC to enjoy video games, it is worth making sure you have a little bit more power than what recommended on the back of the box. This makes the game more playable when it comes to a point where you have hundreds of players all gathered in a town during online play or you’re engaged in a heated fire fight, pop up for just a second to take that perfect shot and everything freezes on your PC while the other guy fills you with lead. My point is that perhaps buying a few sticks of RAM or a new video card when your PC is around the two-year mark will give it a second burst of life. Believe me, when you pop in a stick or two of RAM you notice the difference in the old girl straight away, whether it is playing games or not.

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With the launching of the new online portal – PlaySega – we see Sega entering the casual gaming scene in both the U.S, and Europe. A literal plethora of different game types have been announce, including arcade, word, card, puzzle, quiz, Sonic-themed games and sports titles. There will also be original games exclusively built for the portal, alongside old favorites like Ice Shuffle and Aquatic Word Burst. PlaySega also features Sonic at the Olympics, the mobile release, ported for the web. Appropriately, the virtual currency will be called PlaySega Rings.

With achievements displayed via leaderboards for all games users can tailor the site and their profile pages with new decorations & backgrounds to better display their scores. Building on a sense of community, users can invite their friends to view their favorite games with their achievement levels & scores too.

There is also a plan to build a VIP area where paid access will be implemented. Here users will gain access to some additional exclusive titles for PlaySega only & classics from the Sega lines. These titles will include games such as Columns, Puyo Pop, Chu Chu Rocket, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Super Monkey Ball Tip ‘n Tilt.

The intention is to provide Sega fans a place to come onto the site with the new players & build a community around classic vintage titles, and have the opportunity to get access to the new titles developed exclusively for the PlaySega portal. The rumor about the locked vault of retro titles over in Japan has also been confirmed.

The network business director at Sega Europe has received many game suggestions from all over the company. The feedback provided by all employees – from the CEO to all levels of staff – has been overwhelming, but very welcome.

Like other publishers of games, bringing their inventories of existing products to the web will strengthen their position in the industry & position them for growth as their communities fill up with new & seasoned users of their content. The tendency to capitalize across offline & online worlds will continue to fuel the growth of these digital media giants as they see opportunities to bridge the real world & the virtual world with similar offerings. Unique branding & creation of products with synergy in real & virtual worlds will become a masterful way to grow a media business into an empire. Good work Sega, here’s hoping it pays off.

For some sick MMORPG wallpapers and final fantasy RPG Wallpapers go to RPGWallpapers.com

All over the world, at any given time, you can bet that someone, somewhere, is hacking their avowed enemies to pieces with a two handed axe. It’s not as horrific as this may sound however, as they are parked in front of a computer, and their enemies are imaginary.

In fact, more often than not, their enemies aren’t even human, they are NPC (non-player characters) designed with the sole purpose dying by your hand, and helping you gain levels as they do. This hacking of enemies to bits is often accompanied by atmospheric Celtic music, and continues over a myriad of landscapes, including villages, fortresses, and mountain ranges.

Fanatics typically play for six to eight hours at a time, sometimes almost every day, and often joke about wishing they could hook themselves up to an intravenous feed so they wouldn’t have to stop playing for the inconvenience of eating. It’s a scary thought to those that have never experienced an MMO ‘addiction’ – but to those of us that have – it’s heaven on earth.
These endless role playing fantasy worlds envelop players, drawing them in with a series of battles to be fought, and a plethora of treasures to be collected. The game’s compelling charms can often lead to the kind of obsession that causes problems in other areas of life, such as the college kids who cut class and forget to study.

Such compulsive, all-consuming game playing can lead to a lot of changes that aren’t positive. For example, they can lead to changes in sleep and wake cycles that can negatively affect concentration, memory and physical health. It can also lead to the neglect of meaningful personal relationships, as the gaming world becomes more satisfying than the real world.
Statistics from the American Psychiatric Association indicate that 90 percent of American children play video games. Of these, fifteen percent have an addiction. Out of adult players, 10 to 12 percent play more than 6 hours a day.

Video gaming isn’t technically an addiction. Online video games like Runes of Magic can be habit forming, however, and this can have an effect on the brain, gamers experience an adrenaline rush and a feeling of satisfaction from playing. The games basically press the buttons of our instinctual reward systems, and gamers repeat their actions in order to get those rewards. It’s similar to compulsive gambling – but not technically an addiction.

Although online gaming is thought of by most people as a social activity, many gamers naturally enjoy the social aspect that comes included in an MMO. Online games involve a real community of real people playing, and earning rewards and respect from other players is a big part of the fun. Games like Atlantica Online pay homage to this, with a large and robust community of welcoming members.

Sometimes college students become so obsessed with the games that their professors, upon seeing the condition they’re in when they show up for class, may think they are using drugs. Many professors believe that compulsive online gaming is one of the causes of kids failing in their subjects that seem to fly ‘under the radar.’

As with most things in life, gaming provides benefits when done in moderation. They are often difficult and require an intricate thought processes. But remember, there is a fine line between a hobby and an obsession. If gaming crosses the line into an obsession, then maybe it’s time to stop, even if it means getting help.

Online games are an equal opportunity pastime. They give women of all ages a chance to get involved, and lately it seems advertisers have been taking notice. A study by a game industry research firm has shown that advertisers have spent close to $150 million on ad buys at casual game sites, or inside the games themselves, in the year 2006. In 2002, they spend $74 million.

Advertisers recognize that the audience for casual online gaming is fast expanding to all genders and ages. Nowadays players tend to spend more time online and less time consuming traditional media. Ignoring this niche leads to missing out on an opportunity to reach target audiences at a time when they are paying the most attention.
Women can’t seem to get enough of mind-bending puzzle and strategy games. The total female online gaming audience grew 27 percent over the previous year to nearly 43 million visitors. The number of female gamers in the 12-24 and 55-64 age groups grew even faster. This fact is indicative of a substantial opportunity for advertisers, who have looked to the gaming industry as mainly the province of young males. The increased interest in online gaming from teenage girls and adult women is convincing marketers to shift a larger percentage of their advertising budgets to the free online gaming space. And it’s not only game distributors doing this; pharmaceutical advertisers now use online game portals as a way to reach female customers as well.

The online gaming industry is fanning the flames by developing gaming content, portals and websites that are geared toward the interests of a female audience. This strategy is a way of making sure the popularity of casual online gaming among women will continue its explosive growth.

Women are also the most dedicated players of casual online games. Adult women are twice as likely as men to spend 20 hours per week playing PC games. Casual online game sites, it can be concluded, are amongst the stickiest sites on the web. An advertiser who can tap into this highly engaged audience has a better chance of having consumers pay attention to their message than other advertising venues, which consumers tend to tune out.

Ad formats in-game can also be quite innovative. Online games offer – in some cases – (and in addition to the traditional banner ads and rich media) in-game advertising, contest sponsorships, and branded ad-games. These formats broaden the advertisers’ brand engagement, and give a more tangible return on investment to advertisers when compared with traditional media buys.

The bottom line on all this is as follows. A fast growing, diverse female audience is looking to casual game sites for a number of reasons. They can, for one thing, connect with like minded people. They can also make new friends and have fun. These sites are sticky, and people tend to come back to them and get to know them quite well. Advertisers and media buyers, therefore, can win big by purchasing space in these online game destinations, and taking advantage of innovations like in-game advertising.

The Guild is a comedy web show based around a group of MMORPG players known as The Guild. While a lot of the humor is clearly inspired by World of Warcraft, the name of the game the actors are playing is never mentioned, and the comedy should strike home for any video game fan, MMORPG players especially. Each show is about 5 minutes in length, which is great for those of us who have important video games that take up most of our time.

For its primary storyline, The Guild humorously examines what happens when online game players meet in real life. In season one, Zaboo, played by Sandeep Parikh, decided to show up at the doorstep of Codex, played by Felicia Day, after a misunderstood online message. So far, season two has Codex trying to rid herself of Zaboo’s company.

This is where the humor of The Guild does most of its work – in the meeting of the game world and the real world. For example, one of the funniest running gags is Zaboo’s constant use of the “‘d” construction at the end of words, as referenced in the title of the second Webisode. Zaboo uses phrases like “obvious’d” and “Kinko’d,” presumably references to “pwned” from the online gaming language ‘leetspeak’. Only, Zaboo uses this language in real life.

The climax of the first season came when the entire group decided to meet in person for the first time to discuss guild business. Again, this show is ultimately about the intersection of real life and gaming culture.

Of course, MMOs have been a ripe spot of humor for a while now, going back to things like Leroy Jenkins. But, more often than not, people are laughing at us MMORPG players and gamers in general. With The Guild, I think the creators are laughing with us, which is a refreshing change.

The Guild is a hilariously funny show and definitely worth the five minutes a week. In fact, you can still watch the entire first season in about an hour. The new season is available in HD on MSN Video, in the Zune store, on YouTube, and even on Xbox Live.

Among the computer gaming community, many are saying that boxes and CDs or DVDs, may be a thing of the past very soon. Most in the industry believe that all computer games are moving toward digital distribution. Children born today — even those who are already alive — may never buy a DVD, a CD, or a game in a box. Who would say such a thing? No less than the president of Sony, Phil Harrison.

Harrison also believes that huge-budget, single-player games are on the way out. He doesn’t think that indicates a lack of ambition to do really incredible games with high quality, high execution and high innovation, just that they won’t be one player, narrative-driven, beginning-middle-end type games.

Chances are boxed games may continue to exist for a long time. This however doesn’t mean that the mainstream gaming world isn’t flowing elsewhere. The recent explosion in online gaming testifies to that. The trend is currently toward games that are more social, and even games that involve stories, such as role playing games, and open-ended adventures.
Furthermore, free gaming – in various forms – is really catching on. Games installed on sites like Facebook and MySpace have become overwhelmingly popular. Unlike earlier generation video games, they are inherently social. For many online games, you don’t need to round up your friends to start playing—indeed, if you have a profile on Facebook, chances are you have already gathered enough friends to play.

These games, though, are the tip of the iceberg for massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. There are many types of MMOs, and they range from casual gaming, such as the Scrabulous game installed on Facebook, to intense, absorbing virtual worlds the likes of Atlantica Online or Runes of Magic. These games that are technically free, and involve optional micro-transactions to increase gameplay enjoyment.

There are also several different Online Poker games, that generally come in one of two flavors. Free ones, such as the games built in to Facebook, that are for fun only, and the kind that are considered a legitimate form of gambling. Some online poker players have become so good at playing that they make their living at it! Online poker is good news not only for those who live in remote areas, but for those who are lousy actors — no one will notice your tell if they can’t see or hear you!

Another immensely popular form of online gaming is the massively multiplayer online role playing game, or MMORPG. MMORPGs are often free to play, and feature vast worlds for you to explore — full of both player characters and computer generated characters. Many follow the traditional swords and sorcery genre, with Lords of the Rings like activities such as seeking treasures and battling Orcs, but many have become more innovative in terms of subject matter — for example, there are games based on popular TV shows and even warped, satirical versions of fairy tales.

Online gaming is the wayof the future, and is definitely here to stay. Once you discover this world — if you haven’t already — you may never buy another game in a box again, regardless of your age.

It has been reported that The Walt Disney Company will be launching their first ever MMORPG world with the much anticipated Disney Fantasy Online -  expected for release in the Spring of 2009. Disney have partnered with NetDragon Websoft Inc. – to bring us this title, who are known as a leading developers of online games in China.

This is a significant event for Disney, as it shows that they may be seeing their mainstream audiences toward the MMORPG industry to spend time playing games. This might just be able to create a new source of revenue for Disney. It also might be helpful with curbing  the loss of revenues they are seeing from other product lines because their target market is spending more time online, less in the movie theaters & even less time at theme parks.

We all know about Disney’s media prowess to generate an experience that immerses their followers in a highly engaging visual experience. That experience tends to keep the audience glued to the screen for a fixed period of time. Now the games that they produce can be live & online, and can be seen as building a community of players rather than just a solo or small group experience.

Details of the games features were discussed in a press release on Yahoo where the creative aspects of the games operation were discussed. With a free to play model in mind, the opportunities for revenue would most likely draw from the utilization of Disney character persona’s. Mounts & interactions with the Disney-themed game were laid out & impressed many with their broad adoption of traditional MMO design techniques.

Disney is now offering validity to the gaming styles & user engagement approach that others have seen when mixing offline & online consumer marketing & revenue generation strategies. These opportunities to cross populate the markets of digital media, movie theaters,  theme parks & now the online MMORPG gaming markets will surely be watched closely by many players.

The game will evolve with opportunities for new content, more playing styles & even the creation of a users own pets, virtual castles, communities to explore the game experience together with others, making the experience tailorable to their own interests.

It isn’t yet known if Disney has any long-term relationship with NetDragon, as details of the relationship don’t seem to be available at this time, but an entry into this market with the Chinese gaming market alone could be huge for building the China market for Disney & then migrate into other parts of the Globe.

The opportunity to link the China market with others is also huge, and if the Chinese government allows their MMORPG players to connect outside of their country then the opportunities to bring other cultures together into the MMORPG gameosphere will be huge.

Stay tuned for further developments in the Disney MMORPG launch and watch them make their move into this potentially huge market. They will likely set records and position fantasy gaming as more mainstream choice with this development – and that’s great for everyone.