Shamus Plays Lord of the Rings

This is really funny, at least if you're a gamer. Well, Shamus Young is a very funny guy. In this story, he's on a play-through of Lord of the Rings Online. (If you want to start from the beginning, try this link.)

The game doesn't seem to be anything I'd want to play, but it's still fun to read along. And I'm sure it's not nearly as ridiculous as it's presented here. As Shamus says, "I'm... one of those strange abusive fans who expresses his appreciation through satire and mockery, which is the fanboy equivalent of being a wife beater."

He's done this before, with his play-through of Champions Online. But this kind of thing has become so popular online that I suspect it's as much fun to write as to read. For another example, here Chocolate Hammer does it with Morrowind (that's very funny, too, but you might not enjoy it as much if you haven't played the game).

I guess I see this as part of that new create-your-own-story kind of gameplay I discussed before (here and here). These games weren't designed for that, but the story creation - by the player himself - shows the same basic idea, don't you think?