Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Perfect Ten: How to deal with burnout]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/25/the-perfect-ten-how-to-deal-with-burnout/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/25/the-perfect-ten-how-to-deal-with-burnout/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/25/the-perfect-ten-how-to-deal-with-burnout/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Perfect Ten and GI Joe
I remember the first time I got hit hard by the powerhouse slugger known as "burnout." It was during my second stint in World of Warcraft, oddly enough, which by then had extended to a year and a half of solid play. I was clocking in three to five hours of game time on a daily basis (this was my pre-children era, obviously) and enjoying the cruise up through The Burning Crusade's content.

Then one day, out of the blue, I realized I was sick of it. A cold trickle flowed down my spine as I couldn't conjure up any feelings of excitement, pleasure, or interest in this game. All of the accomplishments and achievements I had worked so hard to get became absolutely meaningless to me in the space of a couple minutes.

I logged out, canceled my account, and then fell into a several-day funk when I was thrashing about as I tried to figure out how to fill this now-gaping void in my free time. Slightly pathetic, yes, but no less real for it.

In retrospect, I see how I stacked the deck for such an enormous crash, and many years after it, I now have a much better handle on how to deal with burnout than I did back then. In today's Perfect Ten, I want to pass along my meager wisdom and experience about how to deal with this event... because it happens to most of us, sooner or later.

Continue reading The Perfect Ten: How to deal with burnout

MassivelyThe Perfect Ten: How to deal with burnout originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I feel that right now would be an excellent time to refer everyone to a bit of supplemental reading that should be really fun -- our Code of Conduct! Yes, we have a set of rules that we expect everyone to follow, and no, we are not stupid. If you spend months trying to skirt those rules very carefully, we will be watching hawk-like for the moment you step out of line. And when that happens? There is cake.

Moving right along, it's time for another edition of Ask Massively. This time, we're discussing issues of balance and overall character depth as brought on by recent developments within the world of Darkfall. If you'd like to have a question answered in a future edition of the column, send it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments afterward. Or use the comments to discuss something else; that does seem equally likely.

Continue reading Ask Massively: We do in fact have rules edition

MassivelyAsk Massively: We do in fact have rules edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ask-massivelyaventurinebalancebehaviorcode-of-conductdarkfalldffeaturedgame-mechanicsmassively-metaopen-skillsopinionskill-systemsskillsThu, 21 Jul 2011 21:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Soapbox: The selfish gamer]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/the-soapbox-the-selfish-gamer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/the-soapbox-the-selfish-gamer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/the-soapbox-the-selfish-gamer/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

It happened a couple of months ago. I was in a remote area in Lord of the Rings Online when another player -- the only other player in this small zone -- sent me a tell. "Can you help me? I need to finish this quest, and I keep getting killed in this cave."

Honestly? My first instinct was to say no. It had been a busy day, and I was sitting down to a brief, 20-minute session that would be my only chance to get anything done until tomorrow. I was hoping to knock out a couple quests of my own, and I really didn't want to log out without accomplishing something with that character. So I responded and declined to help, which he took in good humor.

Then it hit me what I just did. In a social online game, I'd refused to help someone who blatantly asked for it, all because I was being self-centered. So I sent him another tell. "You know what? What the heck. I'm sorry; I was having a me moment. Let's do this." And so we did. It was fun, and I logged out 20 minutes later without having advanced my character but feeling as though I accomplished something substantial even so.

It was at this moment that I started to realize just how MMOs have conditioned me to be as selfish as possible -- and I made a promise right then and there that I'd start fighting back against that conditioning. I didn't want to be a selfish gamer any longer.

Continue reading The Soapbox: The selfish gamer

MassivelyThe Soapbox: The selfish gamer originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 May 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>behaviorcarrotconditioningculturedaily-grinddeadly-sinsfeaturedguildincentivesleadershiplord-of-the-rings-onlinelotroopinionpavlovself-centeredself-centerednessselfishselfish-behaviorselfishnessseven-deadly-sinssoapboxsticktdgthe-daily-grindworld-of-warcraftwowTue, 17 May 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Final Fantasy XI developers answer more player questions]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/25/final-fantasy-xi-developers-answer-more-player-questions/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/25/final-fantasy-xi-developers-answer-more-player-questions/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/25/final-fantasy-xi-developers-answer-more-player-questions/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Let's face it, sometimes Final Fantasy XI players can be all "???" about the game. And that's not apropos of nothing, since the most recent developer dispatch talks about the multi-function "???" used for both Notorious Monster spawns and event triggers. While players had asked to see a change to distinct symbols such as a "!!!" for events, the technical effort required to make the switch wouldn't be worth the relatively minor functional update. The same rule goes for the /names command, which players would like to see toggle for NPCs or PCs selectively.

The latest answers aren't all bad news, however, with one of the more interesting factoids being the roundabout announcement of official forums for the game. There's also news about updates to General Rughadjeen in response to his strange behavior following Protect V or Shell V, a problem originating from the fact that the spells didn't exist when Besieged was created. Final Fantasy XI players are encouraged to read the full list of answers.

MassivelyFinal Fantasy XI developers answer more player questions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adjustmentsbehaviorevent-triggersffff11ffxifinal-fantasyfinal-fantasy-11final-fantasy-xinotorious-monstersnpc-ainpcspatchesplanned-patchesplanned-updatessquaresquare-enixtriggertriggersuiupdatesuser-interfaceversion-updatesFri, 25 Feb 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What do you really think of your game's community?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/the-daily-grind-what-do-you-really-think-of-your-games-communi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/the-daily-grind-what-do-you-really-think-of-your-games-communi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/the-daily-grind-what-do-you-really-think-of-your-games-communi/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


It's a fact of life that community is the lifeblood of any MMO. While a bad game can be salvaged with a group of fellow players to whom you've grown attached, a good game can be utterly destroyed by a bad gathering. As a result, most of us generally say that we have at least a passable community within our games of choice. But let's be honest -- there are communities that don't so much resemble a group of gamers as a batch of particularly unruly howler monkeys with worse social skills.

We've all played games with a supposedly "great" community that seemed snobbish and elitist, and games that supposedly have an awful community but really aren't that bad. Even World of Warcraft can be seen as a game with a good community if you only focus on your friends, despite the wide-ranging belief that the community is immature at best. So leaving aside the people you usually group with, what do you think of your game's community as an aggregate? Is it a good environment for other players, or do you try to stick to your own little corner of the larger playground?
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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What do you really think of your game's community? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>behaviorcommunitycommunity-charactercommunity-dispositiongroupinginteractionopiniontdgthe-daily-grindThu, 04 Nov 2010 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What attitudes can you not stand?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/03/the-daily-grind-what-attitudes-can-you-not-stand/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/03/the-daily-grind-what-attitudes-can-you-not-stand/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/03/the-daily-grind-what-attitudes-can-you-not-stand/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Blizzard has always been known by the fans for going all-out with their jokes on April 1st, and this year was no exception. The entire Equipment Potency Equivalence Number was funny in its own right, but especially as an attitude prevalent not only among World of Warcraft players. No matter what game you play, you know people whose sense of ego and importance at in-game achievements drives you up the wall. For some people it's a minor irritation; for others, it's the sort of thing that is so insufferable it's not worth even trying to work with them.

There are no shortage of helpful and friendly players in games, but there's also an abundance of arrogant gear worshippers, socially inept trolls, die-hard PvP grognards, ineffectual PvE carebears... you get the idea. Almost everyone agrees the extreme cases are bad, but we all think some are worse than others. So what about you? What sort of outlook makes you just quit a group in frustration no matter how the player performs? Is it something hugely removed from your own playstyle and approach, or something that's close to how you normally run and becomes more obnoxious as a result?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What attitudes can you not stand? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>april-foolsapril-fools-2010arroganceattitudebehavioropinionplaystylesocial-interactiontdgthe-daily-grindworld-of-warcraftwowSat, 03 Apr 2010 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Teenager burns peer, blames WoW; WoW incredibly not sued]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/21/teenager-burns-peer-blames-wow-wow-incredibly-not-sued/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/21/teenager-burns-peer-blames-wow-wow-incredibly-not-sued/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/21/teenager-burns-peer-blames-wow-wow-incredibly-not-sued/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

According to the Beijing News, a teenager was recently hospitalized by another, who set him on fire with gasoline, claiming later to have 'transformed into a Fire Mage' a la World of Warcraft. The author of the referring article has it right: had this occurred in America, Blizzard would have been sued by the victim's parents. Apparently the legal mechanisms for doing this are not (yet) in place in China, so this did not occur.

This is an old, old topic, but since it's come up, I'll throw my 2 cp in. I've always thought it odd that whenever something like this occurs (which is all too frequently), parents and the media are so quick to demonize videogames, yet this behavior has been around since the dawn of mankind itself. Violence in movies is so much more pervasive and visceral than anything you could possibly see in a game, yet movie scenes are very rarely cited as the source of antisocial behavior.

Continue reading Teenager burns peer, blames WoW; WoW incredibly not sued

MassivelyTeenager burns peer, blames WoW; WoW incredibly not sued originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>behaviorblamebreakingchinafire-magepongspace-warviolenceworld-of-warcraftFri, 21 Dec 2007 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The concept of MMOrality, and how players pass it around]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/08/the-concept-of-mmorality-and-how-players-pass-it-around/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/08/the-concept-of-mmorality-and-how-players-pass-it-around/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/08/the-concept-of-mmorality-and-how-players-pass-it-around/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Ryan Shwayder has a look up at what he calls "MMOrality"-- the idea of a calling within any given game that determines how we as our avatars act. When newbie players first sign on to a new game, they are innocent in every meaning of the word-- they have no idea how to act, and even though they may do things that are against the ingame code (killstealing, ninja looting, grabbing quests without grouping, and so on), they are innocent, because they don't know yet what's right and wrong. Only after they're introduced to the "MMOrality" within the game can they figure out whether they want to be immoral, and go against the codes put in place by the game, or moral, and follow the etiquette and standards laid out by the other players.

It's an interesting thought, and not a new one-- just as we have morality in the real world, our virtual worlds also have their own codes that can be upheld or broken. Shwayder speculates, however, that this morality requires PvP-- players can only uphold the morality they've put in place if they have the option to control other players by ganking them. But I'm not so sure that's true.

Continue reading The concept of MMOrality, and how players pass it around

MassivelyThe concept of MMOrality, and how players pass it around originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>behaviorguildsmmoralitymoralitypvepvprulesvirtual-worldsThu, 08 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA['Anti-social' behavior much more innocuous in Second Life]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/02/anti-social-behavior-much-more-innocuous-in-second-life/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/02/anti-social-behavior-much-more-innocuous-in-second-life/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/02/anti-social-behavior-much-more-innocuous-in-second-life/#commentsFiled under: , ,

An interesting new experiment from University College London, UK has an unmanned avatar wandering around Second Life randomly accosting residents in an attempt to study how people react to their 'personal space' being invaded.

The description of the methods used to make the bot operate have me giggling a little -- "The control software sends the avatar off in a random direction until it finds another avatar or object to watch or interact with." How often have I seen someone stumbling around examining this or that object, awkwardly bumping into people, and generally behaving cluelessly? At least 3 times per login session. This 'anti-social bot' is the perfect 5th columnist!

However, I have to take umbrage with the concept of personal space in SL. Other factors influence how we drive our avatars that don't exist in real life, including avatar occlusion and line-of-sight issues. I personally have no problem with someone walking right up to me, but frequently will back off just to be able to see the other person's avatar better. In its effort to understand SL, perhaps too much hay is made of it hewing too closely to real life. Not all conventions come across the same way. Remember this the next time you log in; learn a new vocabulary!

Massively'Anti-social' behavior much more innocuous in Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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