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Massively's Third Annual Frindie Awards

Beau Hindman — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST

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

It's time once again for me to throw out my awards for the best of free-to-play, indie, and oddball MMOs, a real niche-within-a-niche. It might seem that I am assigned many of these titles as though I were some modern day Mikey, but the truth is that I get a huge thrill out of finding a new game but get even more of a thrill when I realize that no one is covering it. I had to really think hard about the criteria for the awards this year, mainly because "indie" is quickly becoming one of those often hard-to-define words, alongside "MMORPG" and "free-to-play." Fortunately, I think I know it when I see it.

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.

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Massively's Third Annual Frindie Awards originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMObility: Introducing Deepworld to Minecraft fanatics

Beau Hindman — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Game Mechanics, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Mobile, Casual, Humor, Family, Miscellaneous, MMObility, Sandbox, Crafting, Steampunk, Player-Generated Content

My nephews are visiting this week; they are nine and seven years old. And if there is one truth about these two, it's that they love Minecraft. Oh, they're also creative and smart young kids, but Minecraft is always a ready topic of conversation. Jeff, the younger one, loves to drill me on my knowledge. "Did you know..." is how it starts off, followed by some cool fact about the game. John, the older one, is calmer about the situation, and he has gained the ability, thanks to his elder status, to pull his gaze away from the game (I have it running on three different PCs and three iPads) in order to maintain an air of politeness. When I ask him something, he can give me an answer that has nothing to do with Minecraft!

I thought this week would be a cool time to introduce Deepworld to both of them. Deepworld is a fantastic iOS-based Minecraftian MMO that is free-to-play with optional and fantastic cash-shop items. The last time I looked at it, I bought an entire private server for only 10 bucks! I logged in this week for the first time in ages and found my server still sitting, waiting for my creations.

Then I showed it to my nephews.

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MMObility: Introducing Deepworld to Minecraft fanatics originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Oct 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMObility: Manyland is deceptively simple and surprising

Beau Hindman — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Screenshots, Video, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Hands-On, Casual, Miscellaneous, MMObility, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content

Is the primitive 8- or 16-bit design movement becoming too much of a good thing? At first it presents a cool way to see and interact with the game world, and it does so with a style that is familiar but in many ways more fresh than anything we've experienced for a while. But, then we grow used to it and it starts to feel a bit dated... even though it's only been introduced (in its unique way) in recent years!

If you're a designer and you design a game with mining and artwork that looks like something that came from an 80s arcade, do you risk a backlash from writers and gamers who yawn and say "ah, more Minecraft stuff?" Of course you do. That doesn't mean that fun things can't be done within the genre, and Manyland is a great example of that. It's also free and runs right in your browser, so you have zero to lose in terms of checking it out!

Continue reading MMObility: Manyland is deceptively simple and surprising

MMObility: Manyland is deceptively simple and surprising originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Oct 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny: Deepworld

Beau Hindman — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Launches, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Mobile, Mac, Casual, Rise and Shiny, Sandbox, Crafting

When I first got my hands on Deepworld, a new iOS sandbox MMO by Bytebin, I knew I was holding something unique. Sure, it took some cues from Minecraft and came from one of my least favorite schools of design -- steampunk -- but it was being built by a young team of indie developers who simply wanted to make a world that was free-form, open to a player's creativity, and multi-platform. After spending some time with the game, I'd say that they have mostly succeeded.

There are some issues with the game, and I have played enough indie titles to know how rough games can be when launch rolls around. So far, however, the issues are relatively minor and could be easily fixed.

Gallery: Deepworld screenshots

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Rise and Shiny: Deepworld originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: The second annual Frindie Awards

Beau Hindman — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real-Life, Sci-Fi, Asheron's Call, Contests, Culture, PvP, Ryzom, The Matrix Online, Wurm Online, PvE, Opinion, Second Life, Vanguard, RuneScape, Free-to-Play, Browser, Mobile, Casual, Virtual Worlds, Mabinogi, Kids, Alganon, Free for All, Family, Miscellaneous, Enter at Your Own Rift, Sandbox

It's time once again for the Frindie Awards, my attempt to shine some light on the best indie, browser-based, free-to-play, and unusual MMOs that are all-too-often ignored by press -- and players. This one is for the little guys! Well, mostly. It's also for those games that seem to have passed under the collective radar of Massively readers or that seem to be very misunderstood.

Picking the winners this year is just as hard as it was last year, maybe even harder. 2012 was an incredible year for MMOs, so I would rather have just put together an article that highlights every single favorite. In the end, it's more helpful to make myself pick out a winner. It's a rare thing for some of these games to even receive a nod on a major website, something I still can't figure out. Either way, it's best to think of all of the MMOs on this list as my favorites from 2012.

Anyway, let's get to the awards!

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Free for All: The second annual Frindie Awards originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rise and Shiny: Goodgame Empire

Beau Hindman — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Video, Business Models, Game Mechanics, PvP, Opinion, War, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, MMORTS, Rise and Shiny, Livestream

Goodgame Empire, by Goodgame Studios (makes sense, huh?) is a pretty casual MMORTS that sports some nice art, tempting cash-shop items, and the accessibility that still comes with Flash-based MMOs. Despite the beating that Adobe's baby took over the last year, Flash-based games do still offer some great benefits. Primarily it's the ability to play a Flash-based game from almost any configuration of PC that makes it worth it, but that's a delicate line to toe. Often Flash-based MMOs have issues and crash browsers. I had no such issues with Goodgame Empire, but that's probably due to the lack of intense, real-time animations.

The game looks great. I love stylized games, and love it when all of the art within a game fits together. Many Flash games look fantastic; Goodgame Empire does too. All of the tiny units, map icons, and bits of UI match each other and look fun. But great art does not save the game from suffering from some common MMORTS blues.

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Rise and Shiny: Goodgame Empire originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMObility: Free-to-play and mobile at GDC Online, part 2

Beau Hindman — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Mobile, Casual, Miscellaneous, MMObility, Sandbox

Let's continue my look at how free-to-play and mobile gaming showed at GDC Online this year. If you missed the first part, you can check it out in my last Free for All column. There was so much to cover that I had to wrap it into a two-parter. I truly think this was the best mobile showing since I first went to GDC Online four years ago, so be sure to check out all of the games I mention. Mobile is growing, as is free-to-play, and it couldn't be more obvious than when we get to witness so many good games being developed.

If I have anything to do with it, I will be playing these games ASAP. That means that you get to read what I think about them, and you get to play along as well!

Continue reading MMObility: Free-to-play and mobile at GDC Online, part 2

MMObility: Free-to-play and mobile at GDC Online, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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