Currently listening to: "You Were There" by Avalon

Hey, everybody! I finally got a response from the office of financial aid. For those that don't know, I've been trying to drop all my classes this year while retaining my scholarships. I went to my advisor, got a nice letter printed out, filled out all the forms, etc. They sent me a copy back saying that I needed to attach a letter detailing what I was trying to do. This would be the letter my advisor wrote. The one I stapled to the form. The staple you can see in the copy of the form. Why else would that staple have been there? Sigh...

This Friday is the big DDR-off. I'm trying to work up a strategy to beat Brad. I may have a chance... Hope to have a video afterwards (Justin?).

I felt seriously geeky today. Here's the story:

Being the AIM away message checker that I am, I've noticed the occasional message of one of my friends to be "Playing Maplestory." I did a little Wikipedia searching and found something a little unusual: it's a side-scrolling MMORPG. Maplestory is what is known as an MMORPG. Let's learn, shall we?

Start with the base acronym: RPG. This stand for Role-Playing Game. This is generally defined as a game where the player assumes the role of the character. For example, some may consider a player to assume the role of Mario when playing Nintendo games, though this is a stretch. RPGs are usually heavily based on statistics and math. Generally, characters' statistics fall in the lines of strength (power), dexterity (agility), intelligence (wisdom), etc.

Now let's add on the prefix: MMO. This means Massively Multiplayer Online. This indicates the game is played online with other people. Online chess may be multiplayer and online, but not massive. The massivity of the game indicates more than one on one play. MMOs have several people playing at once, sometimes going well into the thousands. Online communities commonly form, breaking barriers of distance between people playing towards a common cause.

Together, we can break the language barrier between gamers and non-gamers.


Anyway...

I began playing the game last week. In turn, Chip began joined in. With two people already planning, Matt joined in. To form a group of four, Adam joined in. Due to the growing popularity, Zach joined in. Tonight was the first time we all played at the same time. The geeky thing was that we all played in the same room. Adam, Zach, and I got out our laptops and set them up in the CSC basement. Matt brought his computer to the CSC a few days earlier due to its lack of use at his place. Chip... didn't have a computer there, so he went to his room and played. So there we were, all in one room playing the same video game. Being on the same map, we all orally communicated strategies:

"Watch out behind you, Zach; two green mushrooms heading your way."
"I can take out one, but I need somebody to distract the other one."
chip shoot the green mushroom

"Hey, somebody help me out, I'm surrounded!"
"I got your back!"
"Heal! Heal!"

To onlookers, we were a bunch of guys on computers. To the trained eye, however, friendships were being strengthened along with a deep sense of teamwork. Most people find this a bit difficult to understand... To guys, think of it like watching "the big game" with some friends. To girls, I don't know. Relating to girls is a skill I have yet to learn. Speaking of which... well, no it's late. Another post for another time. I see this one is a bit longer than I anticipated.

G' night to you all.