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 Soapbox: On MMO negativity]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/the-soapbox-on-mmo-negativity/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/the-soapbox-on-mmo-negativity/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/the-soapbox-on-mmo-negativity/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Unhappy cat
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.

Last week I was given a link to an op-ed piece at Thade's place, and in lieu of posting a comment there, I figured I'd do it on the Soapbox and hopefully generate some discussion (and traffic) for all concerned.

In a nutshell, Thade questions whether MMO pundits actually like MMOs, and he comments on a perceived rise in negativity amongst what are assumed to be fans of the genre.

I don't know if the blogosphere has taken a turn toward the negative, but if so, there's a pretty simple explanation for it. The games have changed, and the old guard who grew up with MMOs (and are willing/able to devote time to blogging about them) have to try a little bit harder to enjoy themselves as each new title gets further and further from what they like. That's OK, though, and it's also OK -- and even essential -- for the disaffected to speak up.

Continue reading The Soapbox: On MMO negativity

MassivelyThe Soapbox: On MMO negativity originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggingblogospherechangecriticismcriticsdo-you-even-like-mmosdo-you-even-like-video-gamesfeaturedindiana-jonesmmo-bloggingmmo-industrymmo-negativitynegativitynuking-the-fridgeopinionpositivitypunditrypunditsrose-colored-glassessoapboxsoapbox-jef-reahardstar-warsstar-wars-galaxiesstar-wars-the-old-republicswgswtorthe-old-republicthe-soapboxthis-suckstorTue, 17 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Making it as an MMO blogger: The bloggers speak up]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-the-bloggers-speak-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-the-bloggers-speak-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-the-bloggers-speak-up/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

You may remember a few weeks ago when we interviewed a handful of community managers on the topic of developer/blogger relations. This topic was first initiated by Ravious at Kill Ten Rats, and the response was overall very positive. Several of the Massively readers commented and emailed us saying that they'd like to see the flip side of these interviews, to get the blogger's perspective.

So we did just that! In this four-page article, we asked seven popular MMO bloggers for their opinions on topics concerning the industry, developer relations and more. As with the community interviews, we tried for a variety of bloggers, covering a wide range of MMO topics, from specific games to a more generalized structure. Because we didn't want this to get as large as the last ones, we opted to ask fewer questions to fewer people. Keep reading below for a brief introduction to each blogger.

Continue reading Making it as an MMO blogger: The bloggers speak up

MassivelyMaking it as an MMO blogger: The bloggers speak up originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggersbloggingcommunityfeaturedopinionMon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Winners of fan-run EVE Online blogging contest announced]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/09/winners-of-fan-run-eve-online-blogging-contest-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/09/winners-of-fan-run-eve-online-blogging-contest-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/09/winners-of-fan-run-eve-online-blogging-contest-announced/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If ever there was a person that could be called the cornerstone of EVE Online's blogging community, it would be CrazyKinux. His gargantuan efforts to get the EVE community blogging have been met with continual success. In his monthly "EVE Blog Banter" segment, CrazyKinux presents readers with a topic to blog on and starts off in-depth discussions. On occasion, the EVE Blog Banter becomes a competition with a few prizes provided by CCP. CrazyKinux and other judges peruse submissions to bring us the best of the month's blogging efforts and reward their writers deservedly. Our own contributing editor James Egan and EON Magazine Editor Richie "Zapattero" Shoemaker have been judges in previous contests.

The latest edition of the EVE Blog Banter was a bumper contest with prizes for the top ten writers supplied by the EVE merchandise store. A record 56 participants wrote their take on why they love EVE Online and what makes it special for them. Amongst some of the more impressive entries, CrazyKinux whittled his choices down to his top 10 favourite entries. The first prize of $100 to spend in the EVE merchandise store went to "Wench with a Wrench", second place went to "Don't Fear the Mutant", third to "Into the unknown with gun and camera" and fourth to "Sered's Lives". If you're interested in seeing what makes EVE special to a variety of players, the six remaining finalists and the other entries in the contest are certainly worth a read. For a full list of winners and participants, swing by the winner's announcement at CrazyKinux's Musing.

MassivelyWinners of fan-run EVE Online blogging contest announced originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggersbloggingccpccp-eveccp-gamescontestcrazykinuxeveeve-blog-bantereve-ccpeve-mmorpgeve-onlineprizeswinnersTue, 09 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Making it as an MMO blogger: The community manager interviews part 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/05/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-the-community-manager-interviews-pa/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/05/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-the-community-manager-interviews-pa/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/05/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-the-community-manager-interviews-pa/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

If you enjoyed our community management feature from yesterday, we present you with part 2!

What level of honesty should bloggers have regarding the benefits and flaws of your game in balancing the interests of the readers and the interests of your company?


David Bass: Bloggers should always be honest. But they should also be fair. Yes, game X might have some issues, but is the company consistently working to improve the game? Are you seeing excellent communication from the team? No MMO is perfect, that's for certain, but in addition to learning where our flaws are, we're also interested to learn what we're doing right. Bloggers aren't there to cater to us as a company, and if your blog is heading in that direction, most readers will notice that and may choose to shy away from it. If you stick to being honest on your blog, that's what will get the company to notice you.

Continue reading Making it as an MMO blogger: The community manager interviews part 2

MassivelyMaking it as an MMO blogger: The community manager interviews part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggersbloggingcommunitycommunity-managementcommunity-managerfeaturedFri, 05 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Making it as an MMO blogger: An interview with top community managers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-an-interview-with-top-community-man/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-an-interview-with-top-community-man/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/making-it-as-an-mmo-blogger-an-interview-with-top-community-man/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Ahh, that eternal debate about what differentiates a gaming blogger from a gaming journalist. We could go on and on about specifics on both sides, but the fact is, we all have the same goals in mind: writing about what we love.

Ravious at Kill Ten Rats approached us with an idea he's been working on for a few months involving MMO bloggers and their relationship with community managers. We thought this was a brilliant idea as a valuable hub of information for MMO bloggers, and offered to help him get it kick-started. So we sent off his questions to nine of the top community managers in the industry to get their take on how bloggers can establish and grow a favorable working relationship with them. With so much information here, we broke it into two parts: one today and the conclusion tomorrow. Follow along for their answers to part one!

Continue reading Making it as an MMO blogger: An interview with top community managers

MassivelyMaking it as an MMO blogger: An interview with top community managers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggersbloggingcommunitycommunity-managementcommunity-managerfeaturedThu, 04 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Are you enjoying The Land of the Dead?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/the-daily-grind-are-you-enjoying-the-land-of-the-dead/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/the-daily-grind-are-you-enjoying-the-land-of-the-dead/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/the-daily-grind-are-you-enjoying-the-land-of-the-dead/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The Call to Arms live expansion for Warhammer Online was over six months in the making. It gave WAR players the Choppa and Slayer classes, RvR tokens, keep upgrades, and culminated last week in the arrival of The Land of the Dead mega-zone. Massively wants to know if you're enjoying it.

We've been keeping tabs on various WAR bloggers who have shared their thoughts. Keen feels that the zone flips a bit too easily but is happy with the new content overall. LotD isn't the mecca of RvR that Bootae had hoped for, but he's still quite pleased with the quality of it (over the quantity). As for Thulf, well he was actually drawn back to WAR after a couple months' absence to give it a shot. It's too early for him to tell whether or not he'll keep his subscription open for it.

This writer is still waiting for the dust to settle. I don't know if there are any major issues with the zone or its effect on RvR, but I'm hesitant to jump in head first and have my experience spoiled by anything. The ancient undead can wait a little longer for this explorer.

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Are you enjoying The Land of the Dead? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggingbootaecall-to-armsimpressionskeenland-of-the-deadmythic-entertainmentthulfwarwarhammer-onlineTue, 30 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Is SWTOR hype peaking too early?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/02/is-swtor-hype-peaking-too-early/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/02/is-swtor-hype-peaking-too-early/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/02/is-swtor-hype-peaking-too-early/#commentsFiled under: , ,


We were bound to get juicy new details about Star Wars: The Old Republic at E3 2009 and we surely haven't been disappointed thus far. In this week alone we have learned about the new Smuggler class, fan art ownership policy, full in-game voiceovers, and an amazing cinematic trailer. Hype is definitely in full swing, but is it peaking too early?

MMO blogger, Tobold, believes it is. He suggests players have seen very little of SWTOR's in-game substance at this point and BioWare is raising expectations to unrealistic heights by hyping the game so early. He cites Mythic and Funcom as examples of companies that built early hype based on fancy words, design concepts, and trailers and then experienced a fan backlash when players perceived that they did not meet those targets.

Darren of the Common Sense Gamer disagrees and believes that the Star Wars lore is being over-hyped, not the game itself. He also argues that anything Star Wars-related traditionally hypes itself and that a great trailer about the game's history and story should be appreciated for what it is and set apart from the game itself.

MassivelyIs SWTOR hype peaking too early? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowarebloggingcommon-sense-gamerfuncomhypemythic-entertainmentstar-wars-the-old-republicswtortoboldTue, 02 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Online's blogging community reaches 235 blogs]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/08/eve-onlines-blogging-community-reaches-235-blogs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/08/eve-onlines-blogging-community-reaches-235-blogs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/08/eve-onlines-blogging-community-reaches-235-blogs/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Like Star Trek and Marmite, the world is divided into two sections: those who love EVE Online unconditionally and those who just don't get it. While I confess I'm definitely in the latter (insert clichéd and overused learning curve reference here), most of Team Massively seem to adore the game - specifically the mining and making-money-to-buy-bigger-ships part.

Such is the way of 2009 that it is possible to gauge the popularity of a game just by seeing how many people blog or tweet about a game. Indeed blogger CrazyKinux has started listing them, and according to his calculations, there are currently 235 EVE blogs with the number growing every day. If you want to take a look at the full, regularly-updated blogroll, you can check it out here.

MassivelyEVE Online's blogging community reaches 235 blogs originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggingblogrollccpeve-onlineeve-online-blogrolleve-online-blogsFri, 08 May 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New blogging community forms around Warhammer Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/02/new-blogging-community-forms-around-warhammer-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/02/new-blogging-community-forms-around-warhammer-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/02/new-blogging-community-forms-around-warhammer-online/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

When gamers passionate about their MMO of choice form a close-knit community of bloggers, it provides a collective window into the game that readers wouldn't be able to get from the major sites alone. A prime example of this is the very active EVE Online blogging community brought together by our friend CrazyKinux, where EVE's players contribute opinions, tips, even tutorials on a daily basis. Given how successful this has been with EVE Online, why can't MMO gamers rally around another title?

It's possible that the next blogging community focused on a single MMO title will be based around Warhammer Online. The WAR-centric blog "Wizards & Wenches" has put out a call to the game's player base in WAR: Age of Blogging. They're declaring January '09 to be the WAR: Age of Blogging month, and encourage any Warhammer Online players with something to say to jump in and start writing, even first-time bloggers. (For those who are relatively new to blogging, there's some support to be found at Blog Warhammer where they can help you get set up with a blogging platform like WordPress or Blogger.)

Massively wishes the new Warhammer Online bloggers the best of luck, and we'd love to see the player community build something that turns out as well as The EVE Blog Pack. If the prospect of joining the ranks of the WAR bloggers has caught your interest, be sure to see the announcement post over at Wizards & Wenches for more info on how you can get involved.
Warhammer Online Coverage WAR has gone 1.1! Check out our full coverage of the 1.1a patch, along with our interviews exploring upcoming content and the open RvR changes. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

MassivelyNew blogging community forms around Warhammer Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggerbloggingblogging-communityblogscommunity-effortscrazykinuxeveeve-blog-packeve-onlinefantasywarwarhammer-onlinewizards-and-wenchesworldpressFri, 02 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The good, bad and ugly of official forums and dev blogs]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/09/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-official-forums-and-dev-blogs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/09/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-official-forums-and-dev-blogs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/09/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-official-forums-and-dev-blogs/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Traditionally, official game forums have been a place for the community members and leaders to get together and discuss their issues with the game, both good and bad. Lately, many game developers have made the decision to skip the forums and let the community sort itself out in that regard. This has allowed players to form their own social groups based on specific aspects of their favorite game, and hence develop forums centered around those shared areas of that game.

However, more and more developers are turning to this new-fangled blogging thing that we've heard so much about. Cuppycake, while being an example of this herself (although she was a blogger long before she was the Community Manager for Metaplace), makes some excellent points regarding the right and wrong way for developers to blog about the game they're involved with. The biggest example of this is with Mark Jacobs' recent blog post regarding the EU WAR beta public outrage. Was Jacobs' post appropriate, or is something like that better handled by a trained PR department?

MassivelyThe good, bad and ugly of official forums and dev blogs originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggingcuppycakedev-blogeaea-mythicforumsmark-jacobsofficial-forumswarwarhammer-onlineTue, 09 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs has started blogging]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/mythic-entertainments-mark-jacobs-has-started-blogging/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/mythic-entertainments-mark-jacobs-has-started-blogging/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/05/mythic-entertainments-mark-jacobs-has-started-blogging/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

When you think of Warhammer bloggers, folks like Syp, Keen, and the guys at the Greenskin probably come to mind first. Then you'd probably think of Josh Drescher and Paul Barnett, two of the WAR team heads who have longstanding blogs themselves. Just recently added to the ranks of Warhammer bloggers is none other than Mythic's head honcho himself, Mr. Mark Jacobs. Jacobs has hung out his shingle at a site entitled Online Games Are a Niche Market, a reference to a bad conversation he had with AOL execs back in the day. Hard to believe AOL could be shortsighted about anything.

He's already put up several interesting posts, which we think are well worth checking out. He reiterates and expands on some of the comments he made in his MTV article when discussing the role of WAR's success or failure in the market. He also directly answers questions from commenters in not one but two posts. It's great to see a busy guy like Mark getting into the trenches to address fan questions; perhaps you've got one for him as well?
Warhammer Online Coverage Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

MassivelyMythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs has started blogging originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bloggingcommentarymark-jacobsmythicmythic-entertainmentopinionFri, 05 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST