Everything has an end, and Cuppytalk is going to have one of its own.  Over the past year+ I haven’t been hardly writing on this blog.  My energies are definitely elsewhere, and I really have no time for this blog.  Originally, I started Cuppytalk because I wanted a platform to rant about MMO games.  It has definitely evolved, since WoW is the only MMO I play and I don’t have much to say about it.  I have little interest in maintaining the online persona under the name “Cuppycake” anymore…it was just a fun blogger name that lasted longer than I had hoped!  My game interests have evolved to a place that my audience hasn’t followed me to (social games, for the most part) and I don’t see a reason to keep this site up.  I also don’t own the site (it’s hosted by the Fires of Heaven admin, and I don’t participate in those forums anymore).

It’s been fun though! I’ve loved ranting and raving with you all over the last 4+ years.  <3

Here’s how you can find me going forward:

• Follow me on Twitter
• Check out my professional site and blog
• Read my social games posts on the Games.com blog
• Check out the feminist gaming blog that I am editor of, The Border House.
• Email me!
• Play my games, Island Life and My Vineyard.

Rest in Peace, Cuppytalk – and thanks to everyone who has read the blog and supported it over the years.

I just got in to the first testing phase of an awesome alpha for an awesome MMO expansion.  I cannot say which, due to NDA and all that but I’ll leave it to your imagination.  I excitedly downloaded it, and then went to log in and had a moment of clarity – “Do I really want to do this?  Do I want to spoil the discovery at launch?”

I’m really bad at betas/alphas when it is a game that I will be playing at live.  I don’t test any of the things that I want to experience when the game is live.  I don’t spend much time in it because I don’t want any surprises to be spoiled.  If I were a hardcore min/maxer, I would be super excited at the chance to experience the new mechanics before anyone else..but I’m not.  Which means this particular beta doesn’t have that much value to me…at least not as much as I thought it would.

When it’s a game that I won’t be playing at launch for one reason or another, I am a good tester.  I provide feedback, I try to uncover bugs, I diligently track and report everything I find wrong.  I’m not a fool though, I know that it’s hard to put myself into the role of “average player” when I’ve worked in the industry and see how things work behind the scenes.  I find myself commenting on collision, seams, textures, physics, etc. whereas most players report typos, stuck quests, major crashes, etc.  I’m probably the kind of tester that the programmers love, but the designers hate.  Oh well, you’re stuck with me!

I’m still trying to decide if I want to play this particular beta.  It’s a hard decision, but if I do, I’m going to take lots of screenshots and write a ton of blog posts that won’t be published until the NDA is lifted.

As y’all know already, my WoW server is the unofficial LGBT server in World of Warcraft.  We have the biggest in-game pride parade, which is totally awesome.  And it’s co-run by my guild, Taint, and our Alliance sister guild The Stonewall Family.  So far, there isn’t much info up yet..but the official website is here.  It will be held on Saturday, June 19th at noon PST.  Save the date!!

Every time I get the urge to pick up momentum here on my personal blog, other things get in the way!  Previously, I was writing my own column for Examiner.com about Facebook games – which was a blast but wasn’t quite earning me the side income I was hoping for.  Since then, I was asked if I wanted to do some freelance side work for AOL’s Games.com blog – which I delightfully accepted.

If you aren’t reading the Games.com blog, it’s either because you don’t know about it or because you’re not interested in the day-to-day news about Facebook games.  It is all Facebook games, all the time.  While eventually I think it will evolve into having more opinion and regular features (like its sister site, WoW.com) right now it is almost all game-specific news/releases and industry news.  If you’re not playing these games, you might be overwhelmed with the mass amounts of news in FarmVille, Pet Society, Treasure Isle, etc. therefore you may find it doesn’t fit your tastes.  It’s not for everyone, but if you want to follow the Facebook games trends and releases – it’s a fun place to get your news.

I encourage you to hop over to the Games.com blog and see if it interests you at all.  At least subscribe to my articles so I know you love me  And, we’re on Twitter!

Keeping up with the WoW tone of the blog lately, I thought I’d mention that I transferred my OLD SCHOOL PRIEST to my new server and account.  She was previously named Cuppycake (the ORIGINAL Cuppycake character of mine, in fact) and was an Undead Priest.  I did all sorts of raiding with her, the vanilla stuff like Molten Core and then through Blackwing Lair.  I still have many of my old purples (like my Robe of Prophecy that I’m wearing in the picture and my Anathema/Benediction) and she is nostalgia to the max.

I’m keeping her Shadow and leveling up with my boyfriend’s Death Knight.  She’s 64 right now and hanging out in Terokkar.  As part of her account transfer, I also gave her a new race and a new name — Sparklepony.  :)

A big KUDOS to Blizzard Customer Service for handling this all so swiftly.  My account is now active, all my items and gold are restored.  This was a very quick and very helpful experience.  I have everything back and I’m ready to roll again.  I am so thrilled

And I will be adding an authenticator and not clicking ANYTHING I realize via email.  I have learned my lesson.  Back to riding my Sparklepony!

On Friday night, my World of Warcraft was hacked.  I found this out when my boyfriend looked at my screen and said – “Hey, you’re not logged in, and I see you logged in”.  I was apparently farming in Drak’Tharon Keep.  I tried to log in, and sure enough – there was an authenticator on my account that wasn’t there previously.  Sigh.  I contacted Blizzard Support immediately, and within 2 hours the account was disabled temporarily for investigation.

Here’s the deal, I almost deserved to get hacked for these reasons.  Note, I said almost – no one deserves to be hacked.

1. I clicked on a link in my email about my account being modified.  It was a phishing attempt that I shouldn’t have fallen for, however it was 1am and I clicked the link on my iPhone.  This means I didn’t see the link previews.  I tried to log in on my account and it said “Account unable to access”.  I should have known right then..but I was on a new medication that made me drowsy, I was lying in bed half asleep, and I didn’t even think twice.  My fault.
2. I have an authenticator, but it’s not attached.  I detached it when I got a new iPhone and had to go through hell to get the previous authenticator removed.

In the only positive news, they got me an achievement.  I’ve now looted 1,000 gold, lol.  Thanks to WoW Armory for allowing me to see what my character is doing when I’m not the one playing it.

Here is the email that fooled me.  I never would have thought I’d have fallen for this crap, so I’m sharing it so that you guys can point and laugh at me, and also know not to click on emails that look like this (click to enlarge):

1. Once again, I want to remind people that outspoken bloggers do not represent the gaming community and their views as a whole.  They are a segment of highly vocal, articulate, opinionated people.  They might be loud about adamantly voicing their opinion about outlandish things like selling a virtual horse for $25, but that doesn’t change the fact that people want it.  People want the sparklepony and are willing to pay for it.  Several hundred THOUSAND of these people, in fact.
2. Games are a business.  Sure, they’re art, and they’re media, and they have deep tangible meaning for people , and people have all sorts of personal attachments to them – but they’re STILL a business.  And if this wasn’t a smart business move, I don’t know what is.
3. What YOU as a player wants, is not always good for the business.
4. What YOU as a blogger wants, is not always what the player wants, which is not always good for the business.
5. What I do with my money is my business.  The argument of “what a waste, if you have that much money to spend you should be donating to a charity” is absolutely ridiculous.  This is an entertainment source, and we all have different budgets for entertainment.  It’s like saying that no one should waste time playing these “silly video games” and instead should be out volunteering their time for charity.  Make decisions with YOUR OWN wallet and time, not mine.
6. We all have different playstyles.  Some of us will wear gear with worse stats because we like the way it looks.  Some of us will spend hour in Dalaran, running around and just chatting with people.  Some people enjoy spending hours and hours of their time trying to accomplish nearly-unattainable achievements.  None of these ways is correct, all of these things are monetizable.

In fact, most of these arguments could be used against the massive Turbine/Super Rewards offer wall debacle.  Because lots of stubborn MMO players hear offers and think “Scamville” (but completely ignore all the other successful games that have been using offers legitimately and legally for quite some time) and freak out about it, there are now a whole number of people out there who can no longer get items they want in DDO.  For a lot of people, offers are PREFERRED.  It means they can fill out surveys and use their time to earn in-game rewards instead of spending cash they may not have.  It opens doors for more players to pay and play.  Our players in our games love the ability to partake in offers.

At some point, traditional MMO gamers will realize there is evolution happening and will start embracing it instead of being so afraid of change.   If you don’t like paying $25 for a horse, don’t.  Rest assured that the millions of dollars Blizzard makes off this one horse will still partially go (we hope) towards making the game you love an even better one..and be thankful you didn’t have to spend any extra money.  If these horses running/flying around offend you, there are some issues you should probably resolve.

I am the new proud owner of a Celestial Steed for all of my present and future WoW characters.  I am incredibly excited about this.  My Tauren has wanted to ride a horse for a long time, but I don’t like the undead horses.  This is perfect.  And by the way, for people like me who love fluff/flair/fun items, $25 is not too much to spend.  Especially when it works on ALL of my characters.

I love it.  :)

Here’s the latest roundup of my news from my Examiner column.

PetVille giving away 10,000 Pet Cash, an April Fools joke? (POLL)
Facebook games prank players for April Fools Day
Zynga’s new Treasure Isle combines island tending, farming, and treasure hunting
Fan Appreciation Week in Happy Pets and new attics
Zynga valued at 5 billion dollars
12-year-old boy runs up a $1200 debt in FarmVille
Dogs and puppies come to FarmVille
Island Paradise releases ancient Greece items
How to play Mafia Wars on your cell phone
What FishVille theme do you want to see next?
Zynga’s next game, FrontierVille, leaked to the public