Okay, I’m going to leave the details of what really happened to Tim, in case he ever feels he wants to discuss it.  What I will say, though, is that Tim is new to RPG’s of the Massive Multiplayer Online variety and, as such he hasn’t found that sweet spot for control set-up that those of us who have been at it since the launch of a particular Warcraftian World have.  I’m not a veteran by any means, but I do run with a more comfortable confidence in the controls that he has yet to find but is easily on his way there.

It goes without any further insistence to the fact that SWTOR has jumped to the top of my list of Gaming Greatness.  And, one of the things I love the most about it is the bonuses you get for playing with other people.  Sure, the Story questlines are the same either way, but the meat is in the sidequests.  These little bits of content filler are usually relegated to talking to someone, clicking “Accept” and then immediately heading out into the wild to kill and/or collect whatever number of whatever item is required without so much as a second thought as to why you’re doing it.  Not only does SWTOR make this grind-heavy tedium something you actually care about doing with fully interactive, character-driven story, but they also serve them up as some of the best moments in the game.

 Numerous are the times now where I’ve sat in eager anticipation as I awaited my party member’s dialogue choice and the result of the subsequent roll.  Often finding myself laughing at how incredible it was to see just how opposite—or, in Tim’s case, alike—we are playing our characters.  How a story that would have been 100% controlled by me and, therefore, holding a slightly predictable outcome, has now blossomed into something you can only watch unfold.  The strip before this one is a prime (and true) example of how such things might play out.  In that scenario, my character was struggling with the decision of murdering a woman whose real crime didn’t match up with the punishment we were asked to dish out and, though “he” had decided to let her go, the Sith Warrior with him had other ideas.

 It’s things like this that set SWTOR head-and-shoulders above its competition.  Sure those other “Worlds” have been around longer and have solidified themselves as the base of comparison upon which everything is measured.  But, in the post SWTOR world, it’s going to be interesting to see how they change to make themselves comparable.

 Oh, on another quick note, if you are one of the few frequent readers of this comic and the inane ramblings I dribble out beneath them, you will soon be heading to another URL to find them.  I am in the early stages of putting all my creative efforts on one easier-to-navigate site.  What this means, in reality, is that I’m going to be hosting Only a Geek and Fyreball (which will hopefully see an upturn in output soon) on same site.  With this, I will post other creative projects, be them sketches of works in progress in the blog feed.  My hope is that it will be easier for you guys to find what you’re looking for—and maybe something new—with less hassle.

 Either way, it should be interesting, so stay tuned…or, y’know…whatever it is you “stay” on the internet…

Later!