CNN is running an article about how there is no video game associated with the new batman movie, “The Dark Knight”.

This brings up an interesting question: what video game have you always wanted to see that was just never created?

Personally, I could have gone for a “Honey a shrunk the kids” game when I was younger.  How about you?

Archangel has started a debate on the EQ2 forums - we wants to join a guild purely to buy a mount and then immediately disband.  He is being honest about it.

The conversation on the forums seems to be directed towards ‘would you let him do it?’  To me it is more of a question of ‘why would you want to do it?’

When myself and the other EQJunkies came back to EQ2 we had a major decision to make.  Do we join an existing guild of casual players or do we create our own - we chose the later for a few different reasons.

So, how do you feel?  Would you want to take the easy way out and join a guild for a quick mount?

Would you have any interest in letting someone leech of you?  Would you charge them?

I knew when I first created Xailia in Everquest one that I was a straight laced kind of guy. I was not taken in by Dark Elves or by the Gnomes - I wanted my character to look as similar to me in real life as possible. Now, I could have created a human to really go for the affect, but they have no benefits for the Wizard class (back when races in MMOs actually mattered). So, I decided on a High Elf. Throughout the years (and the games) each time I recreated Xailia I always make him a magic casting high elf or whatever is closest. I just can’t break the streak.

Greldor started out as a ranger, than tried a bard - he ultimately went through just about every class EQ had to offer. He ultimately settled on being a Shadowknight - he has been committed to tanking in every game we play. He hasn’t really shown an interest in one race or another though - he will do whatever. He has been anything from a Dark Elf to an Troll.

Landuran has played every type of class and each time we start a new game (or start over) he tries some new combination. He doesn’t seem to be stuck to one type of character or race. Currently he is settled in as a Druid. He has been a Gnome, a High Elf, and everything in between.

So how do you select your character’s look and class for that matter?

I was watching Family Guy the other night; it was the episode where Peter has a segment on the local news: “You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?”.  This post will be the first in a long series.

This got me thinking about the things that grind my gears in MMOs.  I will post them one by one:

Cheaters

Those characters that think everyone else is beneath them.  They have no respect for the game or those around them.  What?  You think you are soooo special because you could solo some raid content? You think you actually earned that awesome gear you are wearing?

Don’t tell me you actually think people respect you or are jealous of you.  You, cheater, are ignorant and worthless.  It really grinds my gears to see you steal a mob at the last moment or to sell 100k on eBay.  I hope that ultra fast horse you are riding kicks you off and leaves you in the middle of the Oasis.

Don’t tell me you actually get a sense of satisfaction from cheating…all you are experiencing is a distorted and misinterpreted sense of guilt.  You are as bad as they come - you grind my gears.

So what grinds your gears in MMOs or anything for that matter?

I have a few plans for Linux tutorials to write out for the site, but before I invested to much time I wanted to get some of your opinions.  So, what would you like to see a tutorial on?

Today I decided to start a new type of blog post: Ask EQJunkies.com (similar to Ask Slashdot) - a post looking for comments from the community.

Today’s topic: Creating your own guild vs. joining an existing guild.

Both have their benefits and their disadvantages.  Here is my brief list:

Benefits of starting your own guild:

1. Control over guild membership and officers
2. Control over guild bank
3. Control over the type of guild (casual, raiding, etc.)
4. Good feeling from investment in the community.  Doing writs for the guild is helping you build upon your investment
5. Sense of ownership

Disadvantages of starting your own guild:

1. Timesink
2. Managing drama and guild members
3. Managing guild bank
4. Convincing people to work on guild progression
5. Managing website, vent server, etc.
6. Not many players at the beginning

Benefits of joining existing guild:

1. Can jump right into a well oiled machine
2. immediate access to guild status benefits
3. Large group of players to play with

Disadvantages of joining existing guild:

1. Don’t know many of the members
2. Most likely limited or no access to guild bank
3. Have to work your way up the ladder to gain trust of members
4. Have to break into potential cliques
5. No sense of investment or ownership of the guild

These are just a few things that come to mind for me - after weighing all the pros and cons, the EQjunkies decided to make their own guild.

Did I miss anything?  What have you done in the past?  We would love to hear your story!