Posts tagged character-development 
Storyboard: A second descent into madness
I had a lot of stuff to talk about on the subject of madness. As it happens, I had so much to talk about that I elected to split it up into two columns instead of writing one monster, scratching and crawling about in a lone column's space. And as I sat down to write this column, I realized that I ...
New Defiance developer diary explains what makes an MMO shooter
If you like playing an MMO but also like shooting things, you may enjoy the gameplay underpinning Defiance quite a bit. The latest developer diary for the game might be answering questions you hadn't asked, however, as it's focused on explaining how the game blends the MMO and shooter genres ...
Storyboard: The hook brings you back
We're told, at a young age, not to judge a book by its cover. The problem with that statement is that when you're out buying a book, the cover is pretty much all you have to go by. Publishers understand that, and while a great book can overcome a lackluster cover, pretty much every book goes out ...
Storyboard: Navel-gazing cardboard cutouts
When you create a character for roleplaying, most of the time your creation is something of a mess. He or she has a huge pile of issues, regrets, fears, mental blind spots, and possibly even physical ailments that should have a lasting impact on telling stories and creating drama. And your goal ...
Storyboard: Rubicons
It was a great time for a character to die. The problem is that roleplaying isn't a novel. Ms. Lady's character had just had one of her eyes put out, had been left to die by the people she had been working for, and was blubbering for her life to another woman who had every reason to take that ...
Storyboard: Mistakes I know I was making
When I write this column, I talk a lot about what works within the context of roleplaying. I make suggestions, declare certain things as being bad ideas, and otherwise make a point of speaking as someone who knows what he is doing. This is not unfounded; I've been playing MMOs for eight years and ...
Storyboard: Making it worse
Last week, I talked about how cross-eyed the whole roleplaying dynamic looks when compared to MMO progression models as a whole. Some of you probably looked at that column and shook your head in confusion, either because you don't roleplay or because you have a much lighter method for RP (which ...
The Road to Mordor: Not all who wander are lost
These are exciting times for Lord of the Rings Online, for sure. The Fellowship -- and hundreds of thousands of groupies following in its wake -- has moved south, and we are growing ever closer to Mordor and Mt. Doom. In a month, Middle-earth will grow significantly with the addition of Rise of ...
Hyperspace Beacon: For over a thousand generations...
I know this column has covered a lot of lore in its nine months -- wow, nine months! I can't believe it's been that long. We have discussed the Empires of the past and future, the Jedi's rise and fall, and the lore behind each of the eight classes. Cultures have been examined and specific ...
Hyperspace Beacon: It's against my programming to impersonate a deity
We all know what god-mode means from Doom, right? It pretty much meant that you could mow through all the monsters without blinking an eye, you had every weapon at your disposal, and you could not get hurt. What if we were to take this god-mode idea, move it away from game mechanics, and apply it ...
