MMOGology: Phasing phwns the phuture
It's been fascinating to watch MMOGs evolve over the past fifteen years I've been playing them. They started out as text based worlds populated by a few hundred people with over-active imaginations. Today they're a mainstream hobby endorsed by celebrities like Mr. T and William Shatner. Whoulda ...
MMOGology: Looking for incentive to group
In a post-World of Warcraft world the concept of grouping while leveling has changed. Where grouping was once essential to survival in MMOGs, today it's an optional extra. As a result, leveling up can feel pretty lonely. In most MMOGs it's no longer necessary to group unless you're running an ...
MMOGology: What will microtransactions mean for SWTOR?
Who's afraid of the big, bad microtransaction? Me. Count me with the skeptics when it comes to a microtransaction-based business model for Star Wars: The Old Republic. In case you missed the flurry of news surrounding the announcement, Shacknews reported that Star Wars: The Old Republic would use ...
MMOGology: Can Wrath keep us entertained?
My World of Warcraft guild is fairly casual - so why do we already have level 80s? Pre-Wrath of the Lich King we farmed Karazhan. Gruul's Lair and Zul'Aman were regular runs, but we never tackled Black Temple or Sunwell as a guild. We leveled alts, crafted, PvP'd and told bad jokes in guild chat. ...
MMOGology: Braindead
You tiredly trudge up the cliff-side path, the rhythmic squish of your soaked boots beating a slow dirge. Cresting the ridge of the trail you see the full moon shining over Bloodstone's harbor where several galleons rot in their moorings. It almost looks like a peaceful town from up above the ...
MMOGology: The price to play pt. 2
Why do people continue to game on the PC? There are many reasons; some of them obvious. I'm going to mention what I feel are the three most important. The first reason is one I alluded to earlier: versatility. You can do so many other things with a PC besides game. You can surf the web, you can ...
MMOGology: The price to play
October 20th marked the 30th anniversary of the very first Multi-User Dungeon (MUD). For those that don't remember MUDs, these text based multiplayer computer games were the precursors of modern MMOGs. I think it's safe to say that multiplayer computer gaming was the exclusive domain of hardcore ...
MMOGology: I lost a friend to WAR
Last week I wrote about Blizzard's Recruit-a-Friend program and my experience leveling through World of Warcraft with triple XP. The Recruit-a-Friend program is a seemingly brilliant strategy on Blizzard's part. In addition to recruiting new players, it also serves as way of keeping existing players ...
MMOGology: WoW on easy mode
My buddy Rob and I play World of Warcraft frequently, but between the two of us he's got the most /played time. He's got a few 70s on a PvP server and a few 70s on the PvE server where we're spending most of our time. He's also an alt-a-holic and has tons of mid-level characters. He's played every ...
MMOGology: Why bother with story?
I recently went through a burn-out period on MMOGs. In addition to a job change and lots of personal commitments that limited my time, I'd simply grown bored with the genre. I think we all go through those periods. Times when we're just done with the grind and we need to recharge our gaming ...
