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Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous

My days of playing Magic: the Gathering are... well, they're not over, exactly, but I'm certainly not in my heyday any longer. Despite this, I've made no secret of the fact that I still avidly read Mark Rosewater's Making Magic column because the stuff he says in the column is applicable to game design in general. There are a lot of ideas that I've drawn out of there over the years, and one of the ones that's stuck with me is the Timmy-Johnny-Spike split that Rosewater's quite fond of explaining at length.

For those of you not interested in reading a decade's worth of columns just to understand what I'm talking about, the three names in questions are the so-called "psychographics" for Magic's audience, three psychological snapshots of why people play and enjoy the game. They're useful tools for understanding the reason certain cards resonate well with some players and not with others. And they're applicable to almost everything -- even roleplaying.

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Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Massively: We do not make the games edition

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous

Sometimes, I get questions for Ask Massively that I just can't use, and not because they're questions to which the answer is just "I don't know," although I try to steer away from those as frequently as possible because it's such an unsatisfying answer. No, sometimes we get questions for which we're not even the right people to answer, period. You can ask me to put a feature in EverQuest II or to consider developing it, but I don't work on EverQuest II. Heck, I don't even play it.

This week's installment of Ask Massively has been pared down to the questions that I can actually answer, including answers about the potential audience of the upcoming WildStar and the future of Star Wars: The Old Republic as it pertains to allowing user-coded addons. If you've got a question you would like answered in a future installment of the column, just send it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited slightly for length and/or clarity.

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Ask Massively: We do not make the games edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you get game wanderlust?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind

We gamers are a fickle bunch. Perhaps you're a veteran player of Guild Wars and have always loved the game, even when you knew the sequel was coming. But you saw the recent Ranger reveal, and when you logged in you were suddenly struck by an overwhelming urge to play Guild Wars 2 immediately, not this crappy old game that you hate and is terrible. It's not that you're actually dissatisfied with the game, but the promises of new shiny things have left you feeling an urge to pick up and go somewhere new.

The allure of something new and good can be a powerful intoxicant, and it can bring people into strange new locations. Do you find yourself wanting to head off into a new game despite there being nothing wrong with your current main game? Are you tempted to try out newer titles on a regular basis, even if you know you'll end up going back? Or do you convince yourself not to go anywhere when you'll just turn around in the end?

The Daily Grind: Do you get game wanderlust? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are unlimited trials more tempting?

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Academic

Free trials can be... stressful. We recently even had a piece about trying to make the most of the limited time in them, if the point must be stressed. That's no doubt the reason why several companies have begun moving away from unlimited access for a brief time, and started to spread their trials out for as long as the player wishes. Warhammer Online, Champions Online, Free Realms, and Alganon all allow players a chance to try a limited portion of the game for as long as they want. And for someone without a lot of time, it's a perfect way to expand your window of playtime.

Of course, if you've got plenty of time to devote to the trial, it's a bit obnoxious to hit a hard limit before having really gotten to explore the meat of the game at all. For some players, the fact that they're giving away the starting area or first few levels tends to imply they're not good enough to pay for in the first place. Do you find unlimited free trials more tempting or less than the traditional model? Or do you see it as a sign that the game is in trouble or otherwise undesirable?

The Daily Grind: Are unlimited trials more tempting? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reporting gold spammers in WAR now easier than ever

James Egan — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Economy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, News items

The gold seller scourge has fallen upon Warhammer Online, as you've likely noticed. But Mythic Entertainment has taken some rather extreme measures to silence the incessant spamming. To help reach that goal, they're making it easier for players to report gold selling activity and harassment. In keeping with their zero-tolerance policy on gold spamming, Mythic states, "We are committed to making life as hard as we can for Gold Sellers in game and maximizing player enjoyment. To that end we have added a new tool to streamline the gold seller reporting process."

That tool is found within the Appeal Interface, as the stand-alone category "GOLD/PL SALES" -- and is not found within the Violation category (which is used for most other types of harassment) as you might expect. Submitting these appeals via the GOLD/PL SALES category is a straightforward matter, as shown below the cut:

Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

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Reporting gold spammers in WAR now easier than ever originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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