I have finally gone and done it. I have purchased my first Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game for the PC, Star Wars Galaxies, from LucasArts.
I have dabbled with the game for a few hours today and have found it to be quite entertaining. I am beginning to see the appeal of this genre. Certainly, there is a fair amount of battling to be done. But most impressive is the interaction with other people simultaneously logged into the same game. Wookies, Rodians, Humans and others make up the various species one can choose. The game goes so far as to allow endless permutations of characters design by selecting eyebrows, skin color, height, weight, clothing and even whether or not your character has freckles. My character is named Mmoc Leoj (figure it out) and is a human who looks remarkably similar to myself. I believe you can take a screen shot from within the game and will attempt to do so and post it for a future entry.
Then there are the skills a player may choose from. Mercenary, Marksman, Artisan, and Entertainer are among the many classes of skills available. Few things are more entertaining than having your battle fatigue healed by watching a wookie do the Macarena. As for myself, I have chosen a Marksman route and am quickly learning the basics of the game. Note to self: do NOT venture outside the city limits without companions!
But here's the kicker. When you initially launch the service, you must agree to LucasArts terms of service before being allowed to play the game. It is standard boilerplate stuff. However, the last paragraph of the agreement reads like this...
"Parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software, or
filtering services) are commercially available that may assist you in
limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. If you are
interested in learning about these protections, information is available
at www.safetysurf.com or other similar sites providing information on such protections. "
How about that! A link to one of my sites within what may end up being one of the top selling games of the year! Of course, I don't expect much traffic from it as no one really reads the fine print, but I thought it was cool nonetheless.
More on Star Wars Galaxy as I delve further into the incredible universe created by George Lucas several decades ago. Or was that a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
July 4, 2003 03:55 AM
Cool - sounds *vaguely* like a souped-up Ultima in a way ;-) Ah... the old days when the games were DOS-based... "First, thou must prove thy allegiance! Tell me the name of a member of the Great Council, so we might dispatch the traitor!"