MMO Updates |
- Massively's Third Annual Frindie Awards
- World of Warcraft survey asks, 'How much would you pay?'
- MMO Mechanics: Kill 10 rats can be fun!
- Leaderboard: What was the best year for MMOs?
- The Daily Grind: Are you a creature of habit?
- The Stream Team: Send off 2013 with a clean sweep of High Keep in EQII
- Jukebox Heroes: Reader request 3
- The Soapbox: My MMO resolutions
- Hyperspace Beacon: The rest of SWTOR's year-end report
| Massively's Third Annual Frindie Awards Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Game Mechanics, Ryzom, Wurm Online, Opinion, Second Life, Free-to-Play, Browser, Mobile, Casual, Virtual Worlds, MMORTS, Free for All, Miscellaneous, Sandbox  I kept my choices to games that I have actually played this year. I wanted to avoid games that appear to be really cool. If you want a more broad batch of prizes, check out Massively's best of awards. (Side note: I voted for Defiance as my game of the year.) These awards are for games that are being created on a shoestring or independent of massive budgets. Some of them are connected to some money, of course, but instead of trying to define "indie," I will only repeat: You'll know it when you see it. Continue reading Massively's Third Annual Frindie Awards
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| World of Warcraft survey asks, 'How much would you pay?' Posted: 01 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, MMO Industry, Subscription  Among the topics covered is a new annual pass program, whether the Warlords of Draenor expansion should be sold for $39 or $49, and how much players might pay for a character upgrade to level 90. One such upgrade will be included in the upcoming expansion, but this survey strongly hints that Blizzard is looking to monetize the feature as well. Out of curiosity, how much would you pay for these features and what would you like to see included in an annual pass program?
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| MMO Mechanics: Kill 10 rats can be fun! Posted: 01 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, MMORPG, MMO Mechanics  Kill quests have become so common that plenty of MMOs have cheekily referenced the "10 rats" trope by literally making us smash in some rodent skulls, but killing cute, twitchy-nosed creatures is not the real problem. It's the uninspired kill list mechanic that often incites complaints of developer laziness, an argument that I don't think is justified. Kill quests exist to hone your skills through repetition, but they don't have to feel like an arduous grinding task and are actually a very useful mechanic for game designers. In this week's MMO Mechanics, I stand up for the unloved stepchild of questing; I'll show you that killing a list of creatures can be both contextually engaging and mechanistically interesting, depending on how it's presented. Continue reading MMO Mechanics: Kill 10 rats can be fun!
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| Leaderboard: What was the best year for MMOs? Posted: 01 Jan 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Leaderboard  Don't forget 2003, which featured the launches of Star Wars: Galaxies, EVE Online, PlanetSide, Shadowbane, and A Tale in the Desert, just to name a few. Oh, OK, we probably shouldn't forget 2004 either, since it brought us World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, and City of Heroes. My point is, there are plenty of choices when it comes to picking great MMO years. What about the best year in terms of MMO launches, though? Vote after the cut!  Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!Continue reading Leaderboard: What was the best year for MMOs?
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| The Daily Grind: Are you a creature of habit? Posted: 01 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Races, Miscellaneous  Speaking for myself, I definitely have my comfort zones in MMOs. I prefer theme parks over sandboxes, I like hybrid and pet classes most of all, I almost always go with a short race if given the option, and I am quite happy soloing most of the time. But lately I've been trying to challenge myself to try new things, to go through a new experimental phase, and see what I might be missing. I'm giving myself permission to break the habits and enjoy new flavors and new vistas. I'm curious today if there are any others out there that recognize the comfortable routines and choices they've established, and if, like me, you've decided to venture outside of the bubble to lands you've long rejected.  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
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| The Stream Team: Send off 2013 with a clean sweep of High Keep in EQII Posted: 31 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, EverQuest II, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team  Game: EverQuest II Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Send off 2013 with a clean sweep of High Keep in EQII
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| Jukebox Heroes: Reader request 3 Posted: 31 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Aion, Final Fantasy XI, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, RuneScape, Miscellaneous, Jukebox Heroes, Music  So check out what your fellow soundtrackophiles appreciate and stay tuned for a totally rockin' 2014! Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Reader request 3
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| The Soapbox: My MMO resolutions Posted: 31 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Launches, MMO Industry, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Consoles, EverQuest Next, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, WildStar, The Elder Scrolls Online, Destiny, Star Citizen, MMORPG, Buy-to-Play  Ordinarily I'm not the type to make New Year's resolutions. It seems arbitrary to hang important life changes on a date on the calendar. But the end of the year does bring a nice opportunity to look back on my gaming habits over the last 12 months and provides me with an opportunity to draft a list of things I'd like to do better moving forward. 2014 will be an MMO year like no other, so perhaps it warrants a few adjustments in behavior. With that in mind, these are my 2014 MMO resolutions. Continue reading The Soapbox: My MMO resolutions
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| Hyperspace Beacon: The rest of SWTOR's year-end report Posted: 31 Dec 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, Expansions, Patches, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon, MMORPG  Some players find discovery and exploration to be the most important part of an MMO. Others want to achieve the highest scores or defeat the biggest bosses. Some want to prove that they are better than other players in direct combat, and yet other players want to use the game as an interactive chatroom or work with a group to achieve a goal. Few people fall neatly into one category or other, but nearly everyone will have a dominant motivation. A couple of weeks ago, I graded the game based on the perspective of Bartle's Killer type, giving SWTOR a C- in the category. Because of Galactic Starfighter and 4v4 arenas, I raised the grade from the F I gave it during the mid-term report. I gave the game an A- for Achievers, B for Explorers, and C for the Socializer earlier this year. Has SWTOR been able to raise its grade in these other categories? Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: The rest of SWTOR's year-end report
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