Archives for 2012

The Naked Gamer is a regular opinion column that strips back the superficialities and looks at the flesh underneath. If you’ve got a topic you’d like discussed, drop columnist Kristy Green a line!

It’s no secret that I enjoy playing The Secret World and I would like to spend this week talking about why. This isn’t a review, I am not trying to be objective or discuss the finer points like what’s good and what isn’t. This is just simply why I love playing this game.

There is nothing I enjoy more in an evening than playing The Secret World with my lights turned down and my speakers turned up. I log in, sit back and let myself be absorbed into the world.

It doesn’t have the best graphics currently around but it does have something far better, and that is atmosphere. I adore the contrast of light and dark –  it’s spooky and the sound effects are superb. It’s actually the only MMO that I play with the sound on. I like having the music set just loud enough to be classed as background noise and running around Kingsmouth hearing all the groans and growls. It is heart in the throat type stuff, I just love it.

I wouldn’t say I am big on role-playing, but I do enjoy creating characters and playing them with a style that suits my little back story of them. Now that I am absorbed into the game, The Secret World allows me to be absorbed into my character. Outfits aren’t designated by gear or costumes – you can wear whatever you want.  My only disappointment is that the female clothes aren’t at all interesting and I don’t really like them. I only hope they design more outfits that suit all fashion tastes instead of the more obvious choices.

Another thing that helps me stay captivated is that we aren’t given a voice. I know it’s been some people’s biggest complaint but there is nothing more cringeworthy than creating your amazing character and then having the game assign them a voice that just doesn’t match. It’s painful having to play through a whole game and cut scenes with a voice that makes just makes you want to shudder.

Speaking of cut scenes, I really enjoy watching them in The Secret World. They use this time to really let the other character’s personalities come through. There is no talking heads or limited movement during these video breaks. Instead, characters use full body language, they move around, they stop and pause; they think and feel and they allow their individuality to shine.

Then there are the investigation missions that can only be completed by figuring out all the clues. The world is slowly opened up and you will discover that not everything is as it seems. The Secret World is filled with secrets that only make me want to play the game more so that I can learn. Oh and the twists! But I won’t tell you about any of those.

All of these things come together to really give you a living, breathing world. When playing The Secret World, I can’t help but be pulled in. If you let yourself go and just fall into the game then you are in for one awesome ride. It’s really intense, fun, challenging and scary. It will have you thinking, wondering, and pondering about everything you see and everyone you meet.

The Secret World isn’t perfect but it’s an experience and one I am glad to have never missed.

(Editor’s note: As you know I’ve raved on about TSW endlessly too – are you seeing a trend here? This is a very immersive game – why not give it a try? And no – I’m not being paid by Funcom)

The Naked Gamer is a regular opinion column that strips back the superficialities and looks at the flesh underneath. If you’ve got a topic you’d like discussed, drop columnist Kristy Green a line!

While most of us have gotten over our weekend of late nights gaming sessions and our infection of Mondayitis (which will just flare-up next week anyway), there are probably still a few fatigued gamers around. These valiant gamers will be daydreaming of sleep while stifling that lingering yawn and trying to survive their work/school day.

This is because on the 20^th of October, gamers gathered (either physically or virtually) from around the world to play non-stop for 24 hours. Whether they were PC or console gamers, whether they played on their phone or through web browser, none of that mattered. All that did matter was playing computer games and helping children.

Extra Life is a charity event that started in 2008 and its current goal is to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia (Sydney). Even if your local children’s hospital isn’t part of this network, you can still organise for your donations to go to them instead. It is really is win-win for everyone – we get an excuse to challenge ourselves playing computer games and our children’s hospitals get more money.

Unfortunately this year, I didn’t participate. As much as I really wanted to, I couldn’t get a team together and I didn’t know any other teams to join. So instead I donated and have been spreading the word about this awesome charity event. Plus, there is always next year.

I know the biggest criticism I’ve heard is that it’s not exactly healthy to stay up for 24 hours, sitting on your bot-bot, probably consuming bad food and drink to raise money for sick children. Sure, if you put it like that then it is a bit ironic. However, the world is how you see it and I choose to see this as us gamers, doing something we love and pushing ourselves for one day out of the whole year in order to put our 1337 powers to good. It’s not like you even have to do the 24 hours in one sitting – while obviously it’s more fun and awesome that way, if you need more than one session then that’s fine.

If you can find a team of great people, staying up so late isn’t that hard. On the first day of Tera release I was up at 3am when the servers went live and didn’t go to sleep till 4am the next day, all without realising it. I really didn’t plan or mean to, it just happened. I was having so much fun with my guild that the time just flew by. Plus, I really did just have to do one last dungeon before bed, I promise.

Another criticism I hear is how exactly is playing computer games classed as anything charitable. While it is true that playing computer games will never be classed as volunteer work, it doesn’t mean we can’t raise money while doing it. There isn’t anything wrong with having some fun and helping out those that need it.

We as gamers have a chance to put our favourite hobby to good use, so I say take it. It seems really hard to argue that raising money legally for Children’s Hospital is a bad thing. Anything we can do to help sick children and help bring the gaming community together can’t really be so horrible, right?

So I hope to see you all next year during the Extra Life Charity Event. Let’s use those thumbs to help save some children!