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That’s Just Good Bad Game Design 2007-06-19 18:10:28 Something’s been bugging me lately. Some of it from other blogs, some of it from forum posts around the net, some from random articles I’ve stumbled across, and they all seem to have a very different idea of one thing relating to MMOs than I do. So, I’m going to write an article on my idea for a part of a game design I would like to see done right. I’m interested to see where it goes to be honest so I’ll take a little extra time to write it, but I’ll let you know which one it is (if it isn’t obvious enough.)
For the record it’s about how player characters relate to the game world…yeah…I’m sticking with that.
TR Beta 2007-06-18 17:31:00 Ethic over at Kill Ten Rats made a post on the forums that drew my attention to this, which I had missed. Well, I’m hoping I get in this round of beta invites. I’m not sure many people want to play the game more than I do, or would be more interested in finding problems with it than I would (crappy launches kill games, and I’d rather this game not be murdered.) Ah well, we’ll have to wait and see. Though…I’m not sure if I’ll be able to say one way or the other whether I got in or not, I’ll have to check out the NDA to see what it says about that.
We’ll see, more on this later.
ncsoft, plaync, tabula rasa, beta test, tabula rasa beta, beta invites
This is Relevant to My Interests 2007-06-22 09:23:52
A couple of things that are really just one thing but I’ll mention them separately. Strangelands has a sort of “Design an MMO” thing going on. This week is a topic about mixing genres, which, in case you didn’t realize, is a great idea.
Cuppy had something else to say though. I’ll quote the piece that interests me for the purpose of this post:
When I start a character, I devise stories for them. I come up with where they’ve been and where they want to go. While I play the game, I’m constantly immersing myself in the world and really create a connection between my game character and the environment I’m playing in. I feel that on a roleplaying level, it would be extremely difficult for me to take my high fantasy characters and plop them in the middle of World War II. My little fairy druid would really be out of place in a steam punk environment. So that’s my take.
Now, first off, I understand where she’s coming from. And, I also mean no of Read more:Relevant
, Interests
Making the Perfect Game 2007-06-21 07:21:47 E
EA
ES
EK
A
AS
AK
S
SK
K
That’s the formula. The trick is making each path meaningful in it’s own way. The other trick is defining each of the above and how they actually end up getting enjoyment from the game. I think it is almost safe to say you can throw out the single letters. So we are left with even less (but the ones we have are more complex of course.) Anyway, throwing this out there as I’ll be using it soon for some other topics.
Read more:Perfect
Contest Reminder 2007-06-20 19:29:59 Just a quick reminder since it is the middle of the week that we are coming close to the end of the contest. All submissions must be in by Friday at 11:59 PM EST.
If you haven’t yet submitted go ahead and take a chance with it.
contest, prize, win, submissions
Read more:Contest
, Reminder
Not as Much as You’d Think 2007-06-25 18:57:18 So, I don’t really get all that many e-mails related to the blog here. When I do, I feel it is my duty to share them with others. And by share I normally mean mock. I’m not cruel though, so I won’t mention names. At any rate basically this person e-mailed me asking what I thought of WoWHead being bought out by a “gold-selling” company. First, there are a few leaps in logic made. The company that bought them doesn’t sell gold or anything of the like. They at one time owned IGE but that’s entirely different. Essentially what he (or perhaps she, I don’t really know) said was do I think it was okay for them to sell out.
Let me put it to you this way. The deal was for over one million dollars. If a gold selling company came to me on this site and asked if I would advertise for them if they gave me 1000 dollars I’d do it, forget one million. It’s all kind of a moot point as the company doesn’t have anything to do wi
Focus 2007-06-29 22:15:01 Economics. That seems to be everyone’s favorite thing to talk about in MMOs. Whether it be how gold buyers/sellers destroy an economy to how crafting should effect it, everyone has an opinion. For the record, I do as well, but that’s not what I want to talk about now. I want to talk politics. Why do we not take this seriously in games? There is almost always some sort of government in these games, why does it take a backseat role to all these other things. Regardless of any views a person has the actual study of politics and government can be quite fascinating, and the way it forces interaction is very interesting. It seems silly, then, to not give it a stronger role in the game worlds.
We pretty much accept that Thrall is the leader of the Orcs…why is he the leader exactly? Or perhaps a better example would be the king of Stormwind…you know, the little kid who’s in charge of everything (because where the actual king is no one seems to know.) A Read more:Focus
Beware of Blog 2007-06-28 15:32:14 I had to laugh when I saw what I got for my blog rating:
Mingle2 - Online Dating
Sorry all you young folk…you’ll have to bring a parent with you to visit my blog I guess.
Via Patrick
Read more:Beware
The Big Bad Wolf 2007-06-28 13:54:07 I don’t understand the whole “sandbox” theory of game design. No, more importantly, I don’t understand why we accept stupid terms like sandbox for what we are looking for in a game. I don’t want a sandbox. Have the people who use this term ever played in an actual sandbox? It sucks. Nothing sticks together, there is absolutely no cohesiveness. Anything you build will fall apart. Why are we willing to accept a game being built with shoddy materials that can’t stand up to real use? I understand where people are going with it, in a sandbox you create the fun, you use your imagination. You are not forced to interact with the object the way it wants you to, you can interact with it on your own terms. That’s great…but sand? Really? The best you could come up with was sand?
Honestly, I don’t want to play in a sandbox where no matter what I do the sand just sits there. I want what I do to matter. I want to be able to change h
Congrats Cuppy 2007-06-26 18:10:52 If you haven’t already seen it…
Congratulations! I look forward to bothering you at least once a week from now on asking inane questions…don’t worry, you can just call it training
We’ve Got a Live One 2007-07-03 07:01:01 I must say that hearing back from an actual person rather than an automated response is absolutely the way to go in relation to almost anything. I’m all for automation when it makes sense and makes life easier, but automatic responses to 95% of inquiries are just a bad idea. Sure, sometimes it is incredibly frustrating to deal with dozens or hundreds of the same thing every day over and over again, but that’s life, deal with it. A real person responding to a question, one that isn’t a form letter mass-mailed out to dozens of people with only the name changed, can make a person’s view completely change. You’ll probably find that 9 out of 10 times you’ll gain more time, money, and respect from that person than the time and money you put into giving that real response.
AA Is Gone 2007-07-03 06:05:13
Or it will be soon. It seems Auto Assault is going to be closing up shop come the end of August. For all the information check out the story listed on their site or the MMORPG.com story which has a bit more information.
From a business standpoint, this honestly doesn’t bother me. In fact, I am kind of surprised it lasted over a year as it didn’t ever seem to have many people playing it. Still, it was kind of odd seeing this announcement on the PlayNC page just two weeks ago. I’m not saying it was a hasty decision by any means but it just seems odd to go about normally and announce new content that will never be seen.
Just my take anyway.
plaync, auto assault, net devil, game closing, shut down, auto assault closing, auto assault shut down
More LFG Talk 2007-07-02 18:36:49 So, quite a while back I talked about how to re-work the WoW LFG system that was implemented to make it better. Apparently LFG tools, on the whole, haven’t gotten better.
I decided, that being the case, that I would take the time to work on further ways to improve how grouping is done in MMOs. Tomorrow I’ll be looking into how this will work exactly but there are a couple of key points that are important about the system.
1. Depth - The system should allow for a lot to be done. That is, it needs to be a powerful tool in getting groups and should allow extra options for those that want them, but shouldn’t require a manual of it’s own to figure out…which brings me to…
2. User Friendliness - Let’s face it, if people can’t understand how to use it, they won’t (and most times when they do understand how to use it they don’t anyway.)
3. No spam - Very few people like the LFG spam flooding the various chat channels, encourage th
How ‘Bout that Session Play 2007-07-06 15:34:25 If you haven’t heard about Session Play in LotRO I suggest you check it out. Basically it boils down to this, you get to play through the eyes of some(one/thing) else. It’s actually an interesting idea and sounds like it could be fun to me. I do see where some people are coming from though. Playing as a chicken isn’t exactly what people probably had in mind when they envisioned the next content update and what it would have in it. I mean, nothing in my time spent playing MMOs has ever made me say “I wonder what it would be like to play as random critter X.”
Still, I don’t see how people can really fault Turbine too much, I don’t think session play is the only addition to the game, just something they thought would be worth highlighting. LotRO looks like it is trying to establish itself as a casual-friendly MMO, with plenty of stuff to do for those who aren’t at max level as well as those who are. That’s not a bad thing. And,
New Link 2007-07-06 08:15:06 As I normally do when I see a new incoming link I’ve decided to give a bit of free publicity. Today’s lucky winner (and by “winner” I mean “person who linked me”) is Backle. Apparently, Backle has nothing to say. I’m working him into my rounds now but I have only one problem with the blog so far…he’s mentioned the CU/NGE and how great SWG was before it. Don’t get me wrong, everyone seems to talk about SWG at some point, and I’ve no real problems with that, but I think it’s time we remember how great SWG actually was pre-NGE. Here’s a hint…it wasn’t. The game wasn’t incredible, it wasn’t the best MMO since Ultima (or EQ, if that was your thing) it was an interesting game, which had the potential to be great but wasn’t long before the CU/NGE happened.
That being said, it certainly was a different breed of MMO when it first came out.
At any rate, that’s the new link
Not Paying Attention 2007-07-05 12:28:52 I haven’t really been following The Chronicle of Spellborn at all. I don’t know why, I guess I just don’t have the time to devote to each and every game that is coming out and this one fell by the wayside. At any rate though, I did want to bring attention to an interview Cuppy did over on her blog about the game.
I must say, maybe I’m missing a lot, but nothing is immediately jumping out at me from what they say. That’s not a bad thing, because chances are, if something did jump out, it would be negative. I’ll try keeping an eye on this one from now on…you know…one of my extra eyes.
chronicles of spellborn, interview, cuppytalk, cuppycake
PS3, Almost Worth It 2007-07-11 19:52:00 It’s getting closer to time to buy myself one of these. NCSoft signed on to an exclusive deal with Sony. I think Microsoft may have some explaining to do with their online offerings now. With NCSoft and SOE (obviously) working exclusively with Sony for online gaming, it may turn things around.
I’m curious, will they be porting games over, or are they going to work on some completely new stuff designed and built for the PS3 technology? Have to wait and see I guess.
Read more:Almost
, Worth
Worth a Chuckle 2007-07-10 21:05:25 At least.
A poster on the MMORPG.com forums pointed out this article from Monsters & Critics. The important thing to find here is this quote:
John Riccitiello, CEO of California-based Electronic Arts, has warned that the industry’s formulaic reliance on franchise and series sequels could lead to consumers drifting away from their favoured pastime. Riccitiello also issued a call to gaming companies to more readily appeal to the world’s casual players.
“We’re boring people to death and making games that are harder and harder to play,” Riccitiello commented in a Wall Street Journal interview. “For the most part, the industry has been rinse-and-repeat. There’s been lots of product that looked like last year’s product, that looked a lot like the year before.”
So, yeah. I won’t leave any comments on that one, but hopefully you all can have fun with it.
Read more:Worth
Duality 2007-07-09 14:46:39 What follows is a double rant. Technically speaking, a rant on two generally different subjects that just happen to be mildly related. This being the case, I’ve combined them into one rant because I am lazy that way.
Now then, on to it. Darren decided to put up a post about Age of Conan and it’s sometimes lackluster reception by people. The argument here is that there is finally a mature game coming out and adults, who claim they don’t want to deal with the hassles of a WoW-esque community, aren’t biting that much.
The comments pretty much sum up all the problems with that. The world of Conan is filled with 2 things: Sex, and Violence. I’m not saying that’s all there is too the lore, or that it is a shallow experience or that it doesn’t touch on other issues, but that is what Funcom is selling this game as. Come check out our game filled with sex and violence. And people are curious as to why the adult community isn’t impressed? Read more:Duality
More Later 2007-07-13 22:14:57 Some interesting things are going around at the moment, none of which I will comment on at the moment. That said, some upcoming games are really starting to take shape and I’ve gotten the chance to check out a few of them. I’m liking what I see for the most part. Of course, as I said, I’m not sharing anything yet, but there is definitely some cool stuff on the way.
What exactly is it? Sorry, I won’t even give that away. Soon though.
Another One 2007-07-12 19:52:07 I’m not sure I’m liking this. Thanks to a poster on the MMORPG.com forums (again today, crazy) I found this little gem. Particularly important is the following quote:
Austin, Texas-based NCsoft North America, for instance, is planning — for the first time — to sell and insert ads into its popular online multi-player games such as “Lineage,” “Guild Wars” and “City of Heroes,” as well as into its forthcoming fantasy game “Tabula Rasa.”
“We’re really intrigued by it,” said Dorothy Ferguson, NCsoft North America’s vice president of sales and marketing. “It has the potential to increase (revenues), but it’s really also about enhancing the game-playing experience.”
I’m not sure I’m liking where this is heading. Not so much the idea of ads in games, I’m not completely against that, but I don’t know if I can justify $15/month cost plus deal with having ads inside
Burning Crusade $25 2007-07-17 08:22:59
So, it seems The BurningCrusade
expansion has, at least for a time, dropped down to only $25. If any of you WoW players, are former WoW players haven’t picked it up yet, now is as good a time as any to get it and save yourself a few bucks in the process.
Thanks to PacoDG for the tip.
burning crusade, wow, world of warcraft, tbc, blizzard, amazon, price drop, cheap prices
Read more:Burning Crusade
GuildCafe.com - Check It Out 2007-07-16 20:26:06 Normally if I’m plugging a site it isn’t anything huge. It’s more often than not another blog. This time is a bit different. Guild Cafe is a community for online gamers and they are doing a lot of things right. On the whole I’m not a big community person. Actually, that’s almost the exact opposite of the truth. I love communities. I love managing them, I love moderating them, I love creating them, I’m a huge fan. The problem with most community sites I’ve seen is, well, they aren’t that great. Blogs and forums are great community but so many sites seem to think they can call themselves a player community site with just those things in place. Don’t get me wrong, if you have those things you can have a great site, in fact, I’m a member of plenty of sites like that and enjoy my time there, but that doesn’t make you a real resource to any group of people.
What Guild Cafe is doing has. They are a great resource a Read more:Check
Perfect MMO 2007-07-19 20:22:02 Unfortunately people’s opinions are so varied that it is hard to try and decide what is “perfect” for people. However, I think you can make a reasonable attempt at developing something good that will reach a large audience.
I mentioned a while back about how to make a good MMO. You know, the one with the letters and nothing else. Well, there was a topic over on Guild Cafe about what you would have in your perfect MMO, so I went ahead and replied with a few little things I wanted to say, but then thought I’d like to more fully flesh these ideas out over here. I’m thinking I may touch on these early next week in more depth, but I wanted to quote my post now. Feel free to ask any questions before I get ready to write the post completely otherwise I’m sure I’ll be missing things.
Setting
Multiple. Essentially taking place along various moments in the game universe’s time-line. The Isaac Asimov book The End of Eternity gives the best depi Read more:Perfect
What You Should Read 2007-07-18 20:27:04 In case anyone missed it, here’s a couple of items you need to check out. First, an interview with Mr. Bartle, yes, that one. And second, some follow-up comments on his blog.
Read them, I think you’ll enjoy.
GW: Eye of the North 2007-07-20 19:12:09 I haven’t really mentioned anything about Guild Wars recently but after viewing the new trailer of the expansion pack coming out, I’m interested. You can check it out at the official site. It’s looking pretty cool.
I’ve never really disliked GW, just couldn’t get into it (mainly because of the lack of a jump button, yeah I know.) That being said, I do own all of the campaigns that are out (Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall) and have been playing the game more lately than ever since I’m doing a bit of waiting for various MMOs to come out.
Anyway, I’m interested to see what they do with this expansion and for GW 2 which will be coming out as well. Have to wait and see on that front though.
Read more:North
Where’s the Big Stuff 2007-07-24 20:46:06 As has been quite obvious my posts of late have been rather short and lacking any real flare. This isn’t with good reason, certainly, but it also isn’t because I’ve just been sitting around doing nothing. I’m working on several different things at the moment one of the most important being a bit of a change in what I’ll be covering on the site. Given that the name of the site is “MMO Gaming” I’m obviously not going to be straying too far from what you’ve already seen, but things will take on a slightly different light.
I’m hoping to make this change around the same time that I make another change in what I’ve been doing. This other change will in a lot of ways complement the changes to the site I’m making here. Unfortunately I’m not quite fully ready to go about saying everything about these changes just yet but I’m hoping to make an announcement next week with more details.
Way Behind 2007-07-23 18:03:45 I don’t know when I missed this bit of brilliance but now I’ve got to try it. What’s not to love? E-mail…with spam as fat dudes that can be eaten by sharks? Who doesn’t love that idea? Maybe not exactly an MMO but an interesting concept and something I wanted to share in case anyone else is, like me, way behind the times and missed this when it first came out.
Random Info 2007-07-26 14:35:46 Apparently Issue 10 of CoX launched and I missed it. This one looked like it was going to be pretty good but seeing as I don’t have a level 50 character and I’m not currently playing I guess I shouldn’t care all that much…still, I would have loved to see this issue, it just sounded like a ton of fun.
Also, I happened upon my July Warhammer Online Newsletter. Amazingly enough they tell me all the things I already know, namely that the game isn’t released yet but they are still doing things. Yeah, I was shocked too.
Other happenings? Well, as I alluded to a few days ago I’m still working on things but I’m hoping to be able to do the big reveal “soon.” This “soon” is not the typical MMO developer soon, I mean it will actually be happening only a short time in the future. Anyway, let me get back to working on that for a bit.
Read more:Random
Tabula Rasa Contest 2007-07-25 21:18:29 There’s a pretty cool contest that TR is running. Basically it’s write the backstory for a character. I’m thinking maybe I’ll take the time to write something up, of course, the trick to that is to find some time to do it. Anyway, anyone else going to give it a go? I’ll be interested to see what the winner comes up with.
Read more:Tabula
, Contest
, Tabula Rasa
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