Normally I like Tobold, but lately he's been posting opinions about monthly fees on new and upcoming games that I strongly disagree with. Specifically in his articles "WAR is expensive" and "Pirates of the Burning Sea is too expensive". I think he's making some overly simple assumptions about information he's just not privy to. I don't think these are fair claims to make in the face of the significant financial hurdles that face independent developers like Flying Lab Software.

To be fair, Tobold tempered his opinions recently with "Listen to me! Or rather not", which was refreshing.

Are blogs journalism?

It's the conundrum with blogs, isn't it? Are we just players with an opinion and some webspace? Are we journalists, do we follow the ethics of journalism? Do we skip those ethics, like much of the recent media does and just spout whatever is on our mind? Some of us have significant readership, with fans who could take our meandering thoughts as facts, so do we take responsibility for that?

Truth is, Tobold is just as human as I am.

Speaking for myself, I've been a videogame journalist (official, card carrying so-to-speak). I've got my credentials and I can stand up and say I know a thing or two after years inside the industry.

But this blog is hardly journalism.

I'm not a journalist anymore. Something snapped for me a little while ago, where I realized my passion for games was being watered down from the inside. Playing games again just as a player was so enjoyable. Dammit I love games. But I couldn't let go of stuff I knew and opinions that begged to be expressed. So I converted my personal blog to this. MMOROG as a name is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, I'm not all encompassing within MMORPGs by any stretch. I don't want to be a pundit and I hesitate to jump back into journalism.

Too many Pundits

I'm uncomfortable with Pundits, they stick their feet in like roots and twist information to suit them, branching off in tangents stacked on one assumption after another. More and more blogs seem to be falling into punditry. Meanwhile, the journalism side of the videogame industry has been stuck in its corrupt game reviews system for decades.

I want to read opinions from other players who're comfortable to post just as players. Or the rare journalist that manages to maintain that honest perspective that's not hinged on an advertising (or web traffic) agenda. Perhaps with the independence of bloggers we'll see more of this, but so far the likes of Kotaku, etc. haven't been encouraging.

So here I am, trying to keep myself in check and I guess it's natural for me to act a bit like a watchdog now and then toward others. I'm sure Tobold means well, but I've been around the block and sometimes I sniff something that smells funny to me. I'm jaded and I'd like to see more validity from anyone reporting on games, bloggers or otherwise. That includes myself.

If anyone has any other reading sources for MMORPGs that they trust and respect, I'd be happy for some new links. They don't have to be chalk full of information, just express an insight or two.