the trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers

Runes of Magic has finally introduced the Demon Lord. The whole point of the game, 'til now, has been blocked in place--the main Epic-level quest, the Quest for the Demon Blade, always stopped at some point because Sirloth, the Demon Lord of old, had not yet arrived.

Now? It seems he has. And it's gonna take a full dozen high-level players to even get to him, let alone beat him. If--and it's a big if--the player group beats him? They get the Demon Blade of legend to carry home.

That might just drag me back into the game.

Cryptic Studios strikes again? AKA comparing City of Heroes to Champions Online...two games with the same premise, competing with each other...that were developed by the same people.

Any college students want to know true and deep fear? This is your day.

Jon Wood at MMORPG takes on adaptations in online gaming, especially books/television shows/movies to MMOs. He brings up two short examples on Lord of the Rings and Star Trek, but there's still good points in there that apply to other properties.

[18:50] Bookworm Hienrichs: So. This all comes from a Mystery Science Theater 3000 newsgroup a number of years ago.
[18:50] Searra Weatherwax grins
[18:50] Bookworm Hienrichs: Someone wrote "I might be found picking off unsuspecting children with snowballs (no ice, what kind of monster do you think I am?)"
[18:50] KlausWulfenbach Outlander hears the whine of the weapons warming up
[18:51] Bookworm Hienrichs: Someone named jess replied, "The rocks kind of ruin the sediment?
jess, wondering if a boulder statement than that is possible"
[18:51] Bookworm Hienrichs: So I replied...
[18:51] Bookworm Hienrichs: Ah, jess, igneous as you are, I think you're taking too much for
granite. Must be your sedimentary lifestyle...just sitting around, leaning your arms on the window silt...you really should get more exercise, orthoclase I breccia you'll get sick. Of quartz, it would be gneiss if I followed my own advice...
I really should stop pyrite-ing this, shouldn't I?
[18:52] Bookworm Hienrichs: Another person replied to me...
[18:52] Bookworm Hienrichs: Although I marble at your wit, don't expect us to gravel before you. It's too slate that. Besides people will talc (they're coal that way). So don't use that stone of voice with me - ore else!
[18:53] KlausWulfenbach Outlander: I've seen Caledon do this...
[18:53] Bookworm Hienrichs: My final reply was...
[18:53] Bookworm Hienrichs: Albite already! No need to basalt me, or call the coppers in on this, or get a pyrope. I'm not adamite on receiving adularia-tion for this--having Arseno(pyrite) Hall call me or something. I just want to gabbro a little bit of the newsgroup's attention--you're usually so jadeite about my cascade contributions. It can be quite tuff for me to contribute amusing posts, and have someone say to me "That was really greywacke. I *love* it!" So I'm going to keep at this until you all rutile the day you started it. But I'll mica it up to you...maybe get you all cinnabar rolls.
[18:53] Bookworm Hienrichs: Thankfully, perhaps, for all, it ended there.
[18:53] Bookworm Hienrichs grins.

I had to preserve that for posterity. Had to. It was a moral imperative, or something. Or perhaps it's just my sedimential nature...