I guess I got a BINGO on the previous post, smack through the middle.

I think that was the easiest of the bunch to score upon.  There was certainly a lot of opportunity for surprises… which didn’t really show up.  To me, the high points are:

• Diablo 3 is getting DLC (necromancer and D1 retro)
• After 7.2 we go to outer space again in WoW (not sure how an entire planet becomes a patch and not an expansion…)
• That WoW actually has something planned past the next patch!
• Varian and Ragnaros in HotS.  Especially the latter who can transform into a raid boss.
• Blizzard’s own esports league. Why?  Starcraft 2 can’t be there.  There’s no real esport in HS.  WoW hasn’t had any since arenas were a thing.  HotS doesn’t work at that level.  Overwatch seems the only candidate…maybe something else is in the pipes.

Overall, not disappointed with Blizzcon but not impressed either.  Wasn’t really expecting much either, given that WoW and Overwatch launched to acclaim this year.  Guess it means next year…

Mobile Stuff

I like idle games.  They scratch the RPG itch of growth, the rogue-like of restarting, and don’t require full attention.  I have played a metric ton of them as well.  Soda Dungeon is right at the top for set-it-and-forget-it gameplay. There are countless others in that stream and most people have to try a couple out to get a feel for it.

The one currently hitting the right notes in Endless Frontier.  It has the same level progression as others, plenty of characters, guild wars, PvP battles, dungeons, and pets.  It’s a rather complicated system to grasp at first but it is quite generous with mistakes.  The best part is the dev’s approach to in-app-purchases.  Gems are used for nearly everything, but you get an ample daily credit, and more during special events.  In a good week, you could get 20k or more.  So while you certainly can use the IAP to progress, it isn’t mandatory at all.  It is exceedingly rare for a game to find the right balance on this front, and eventually they all tend to tip towards dumbness (hello Non-Stop Knight!)  Might as well take a look at it today if you can.

US Elections

Up here in igloo-town (Canada, eh?!), our media cycles are captivated by the US election.  I am also quite curious to see what goes down.  Regardless of what happens, I think the end result is that everyone will have a poorer opinion of the US overall.  For a country that prides itself on the “best of the best”, the options that are on the table are so dramatically polarizing, it boggles the mind.

And that’s on top of a congressional approval rating (11%) that is lower than most warlords in other countries.

It’s just a sad state of affairs, and one I hope that they can get out of without dragging the rest of the world through the wake.  That said, I think we’re all going to wake up to a different world-view tomorrow.