So, I've been playing Star Wars for a while. And I like it. Most of it, but after a month and half of playing, I'm starting to see more of what I don't like. And it's hardly enough to keep me from playing, but it has made me drop out of the Civil War.

One of the most experimental and radical gameplay element in an MMRPG has to be the Entertainer and two of its advanced professions, the Musician and Dancer in Star Wars: Galaxies. (Herein described as "Entertainers" in general as their function is primarily identical. There is a third Entertainer class, the Image Designer, whose role lies in a totally social/ascetic realm.) These professions are designed as almost purely social classes, their primary function in the combat world is restoration of mind wounds and battle fatigue, a type of healing that no other profession can perform, insuring the need for Entertainers by all classes that find themselves in one time or another in combat.

Call me weak minded, call me what you will. George Lucas is the true Sith Lord (and SOE apparently his apprentice), and I got a little taste of it this weekend when I was unable to resist the call of Star Wars: Galaxies, An Empire Divided.

Saw this link on a message board today...

Conspiracy theorists abound: Sony trying to expand the market, or are MMRPGs really taking over our world?

While yes the case could be made that the socialization found within an online RPG does mirror the society found outside of the game (since it is in fact, real people playing), and thusly our economics, does a group of bored teenagers and tech-saavy twenty-somethings really hold enough social value to study? I'm sure I'd like to read some of the research these guys do.