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[Choose My Adventure: Ballad of a teenage Zorai]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/choose-my-adventure-ballad-of-a-teenage-zorai/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/choose-my-adventure-ballad-of-a-teenage-zorai/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/29/choose-my-adventure-ballad-of-a-teenage-zorai/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

I did get some great screenshots out of Ryzom, I have to say.
Last week, the unthinkable happened. Or at least the unprecedented. Yes, after a dozen or so columns under my belt for Choose My Adventure, one of the "joke" choices finally won a poll. Either everyone thought that the paradise city was actually a thing in Ryzom or the impassioned pleas in the comments the week before had done the trick.

For those of you under the misapprehension that this was, in fact, an actual thing, I apologize for the not particularly elaborate act of deception.

My question to myself, at this point, was what I actually had to do at this point. Did this mean that I had to search through every city in the game to find a paradise, only to discover at the end that paradise had metaphorically been at home the whole time? Was I already in the paradise city, judging by the fact that some people would call the jungle a virtual paradise? The girls were pretty, the grass was green, and by almost any metric you cared to use, Corlede was as close to home as she was getting.

But no, I knew what I had to do. Something I had known since I started playing. I went home.

Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Ballad of a teenage Zorai

MassivelyChoose My Adventure: Ballad of a teenage Zorai originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>choose-my-adventurecmacolumncolumnscriticismculturedesigndesign-decisionsf2pfeaturedfree-to-playgame-mechanicsgame-systemsmechanicsopinionparallelspollpollsryzomsystemsthe-saga-of-ryzomwinch-gatewinch-gate-property-limitedWed, 29 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST<![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[The Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/04/the-soapbox-it-doesnt-have-to-be-for-you/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/04/the-soapbox-it-doesnt-have-to-be-for-you/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/04/the-soapbox-it-doesnt-have-to-be-for-you/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Look, all I'm saying is that melee classes are always better than ranged classes and you're awful for thinking otherwise.
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's a natural problem: MMOs are all about making you feel invested in your character and your playstyle. The best games let you choose your style, your preferred content, the way you want to level, the times you want to play, and so forth. And so it's only natural that you'll gradually start to think of the way you like to play as the one part of the game that actually matters.

Sure, you aren't going to say it out loud, but you still think in your heart that PvP or raiding or small-group content or roleplaying or dancing naked on a mailbox is the real core of the game. Or you think that free-for-all PvP or crafting sandboxes or directed themeparks or whatever are the real kind of MMOs and everything else is a pale imitation. And that's a shame because even if you like those sorts of things, not everyone does.

Continue reading The Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you

MassivelyThe Soapbox: It doesn't have to be for you originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columncriticismculturedesigndesign-targetsfeaturedgameplayopinionpenny-arcade-defenseperspectivethe-soapboxTue, 04 Oct 2011 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Critical feedback on the road to RIFT's launch]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/17/critical-feedback-on-the-road-to-rifts-launch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/17/critical-feedback-on-the-road-to-rifts-launch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/17/critical-feedback-on-the-road-to-rifts-launch/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Criticism, even well-meaning constructive criticism, is never easy to take. "Dealing with constant, live feedback is not always easy. Sometimes it can be a morale hit when people are overly critical of a feature," Trion Worlds' Russ Brown admits. In a new dev diary over on ZAM, Brown explains just how important feedback is to the development process, and how Trion is handling it as the team fine-tunes RIFT for launch.

According to Brown, working on an MMO is different from working on a single-player title because one encounters -- and invites -- a lot more feedback on an ongoing basis. This turns out to be a double-edged sword: It can be disruptive to the team's schedule and require a lot of extra work in response to concerns and issues, but the feedback can also result in a much better product all around.

Ultimately, Brown feels as though the team is actually paying attention to the players: "There have been times when I've come into the office in the morning to find work done by an entire group of developers staying late the night before to fix an instance or invasion. Not because some stuffed shirt told them to, but because they care, and just like the players in our alpha/beta, they want to make the best damn product possible. The only way to do that is to listen to your customers and react."

MassivelyCritical feedback on the road to RIFT's launch originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alphabetabig-damn-productclosed-betaconstructive-criticismcriticismdev-diaryfeedbackriftrift-planes-of-telararuss-browntriontrion-worldszamFri, 17 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage pt. 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/anti-aliased-a-few-reasons-to-cage-the-nerdrage-pt-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/anti-aliased-a-few-reasons-to-cage-the-nerdrage-pt-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/anti-aliased-a-few-reasons-to-cage-the-nerdrage-pt-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


3. Because almost every game has a silver lining

This is a sentence that I abide by in almost everything I do. Even in games I don't like, I can usually find something that really wows me and makes me appreciate the developer's work.

I know Darkfall is one of those games that many people just really don't like. I'm the same way -- I don't care for the way the game handles itself. But where it failed in game design, it didn't fail on unique vistas and sharp combat. Sure, the graphics aren't top notch, but there are still areas in the game where you just have to go, "Wow, that's an incredible sight." Plus, it's real time combat in a MMO. That's really, really hard to do and kudos to an independent developer for pulling it off.

"You've heard that everyone's a critic, yes? Well everyone's also apparently a game designer."
Even when you completely hate a game, I urge you to look back at it and consider your experiences. You wouldn't have played it for a while unless there was something that made you enjoy the experience even a little bit. Then again, maybe you hate it all. But if you do, see the piece of advice above before you begin nerd vomiting all over forum threads.

Although... there certainly are gaming exceptions to this rule...

2. Because it doesn't help anybody

This is the part where people seem to totally and completely miss the boat. And when I say miss the boat I mean that the boat as totally pulled away from the dock, is 500 feet away, and people still run off the dock and jump into the sea holding their suitcases.

Nobody benefits from aimless criticism that amounts of nothing more than the screaming of biased opinions. You get to look like an inconsiderate idiot, the community gets irritated at your groundless claims, and the developers learn nothing about how to improve their game.

Bad criticism isn't bad as long as it's appropriately constructive. It's actually some of the best stuff you can possibly get in regards to your product. Positive feedback means you're going the right way, but constructive feedback shows exactly what's going wrong with your current design and where you can improve.

"If you think making any game is easy, then I challenge you to sit down and start making your own pen and paper roleplaying game, or a board game, or a card game."
My favorite comment in this regard was made by a Bungie developer during the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. A journalist asked him, "What did you learn from this beta test?" and I recall the developer responding that all he got from the bug reports was that the level sucked. He didn't know why the levels sucked because everyone just wrote that they sucked.

1. Because you may not know what it's like to make a game

You've heard that everyone's a critic, yes? Well everyone's also apparently a game designer. Everyone knows what's best for a game, how to balance the design, and how to make it so "X class doesn't suck."

I think that many people think it's super easy to make a game. Slap some abilities in, render a few areas, get a server, and you have an MMO, right? Heck no! You have programming bugs, design bugs, art asset bugs, pathing to worry about, scripts to run, a whole set of connections between servers to worry about, and much, much more.

So here's my challenge. If you think making any game is easy, then I challenge you to sit down and start making your own pen and paper roleplaying game, or a board game, or a card game. Share it with your friends and see what they say. But, above all, see how long it takes you to make a "simple" game. Include with that the testing you do with your friends, the fine tuning you may make to the rules. You'll find it's more work than you probably through it was. Believe me, I know, I'm doing it.

So next time before you rocket fire your hate mail out onto the intarwebz, think about a couple of these things before you trash someone's game. You might just find yourself holding back, just because you understand a little bit more about gaming and a little bit more about how frivolous it is to hold such pointless grudges.
Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who hates aimless hate. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angeranti-aliasedcommentscriticismdarkfallfeedbackforumsgame-designnerdrageopinionWed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/anti-aliased-a-few-reasons-to-cage-the-nerdrage/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/anti-aliased-a-few-reasons-to-cage-the-nerdrage/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/20/anti-aliased-a-few-reasons-to-cage-the-nerdrage/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


There's so much anger in the consumer market these days. It seems like when a new product comes up, there has to be this bandwagon of people who roll in and start nerdraging over the product. Oh, APB isn't up your alley? Better nerdrage about that! You don't like Warhammer Online? Rev that nerdrage engine nice and loud so your neighbors can hear it.

Everyone's a critic and gaming consumers are far from an exception. Some of the comments around these parts are some of the most spiteful sentences that could be constructed. You have console hate, game hate, genre hate, even particular MMO genre hate. But, honestly, why? It obviously doesn't help anyone except maybe the person doing it. A catharsis, perhaps?

So what's this Anti-Aliased about? Honestly, I need rant article that's all about ranting. A hate article on game hate. Do two hates make a happy? I dunno, but I'm interested enough to try it out. So here's a few reasons why you should cage the hate and think twice before you open your trap on the forums you love so much.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angeranti-aliasedcommentscriticismdistressfeaturedforumshatejoystiqfeaturesnerdragenoobzopinionWed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Varying perspectives on EVE Online's new player experience]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/17/varying-perspectives-on-eve-onlines-new-player-experience/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/17/varying-perspectives-on-eve-onlines-new-player-experience/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/17/varying-perspectives-on-eve-onlines-new-player-experience/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


The sci-fi massively multiplayer online game EVE Online has long been known for its harsh setting but also for its (almost) equally unforgiving learning curve. That is, until the Apocrypha expansion launched, bringing EVE's New Player Experience (NPE) with it. CCP Games aims to slowly ease new players into what is a rather complex game, giving them a feel for what they can already do and what they want to do in New Eden over time.

So how well does the New Player Experience for EVE Online tackle the difficulties of learning how to play one of the most complex MMOs on the market? Writing for Eurogamer, both Jim Rossignol and Oli Welsh write about the New Player Experience. Rossignol, from the viewpoint of a veteran player, and Welsh from the fresh perspective of a rookie. The end result is an overview of how EVE has changed, including a revamped tutorial and Neural Remapping (attribute respecs), as well as Epic Mission Arcs that allow players to make choices in how EVE's mission storylines progress.

Continue reading Varying perspectives on EVE Online's new player experience

MassivelyVarying perspectives on EVE Online's new player experience originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apocryphaattribute-respecsccp-gamescriticismepic-mission-arcseurogamereveeve-onlineexpansionsgame-mechanicsjim-rossignollearning-curveneural-remappingnew-player-experienceoli-welshopinionpraiserespecreviewsrookiesci-fitutorialuiuser-interfaceTue, 17 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Player vs. Everything: Choking on graphics]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/02/player-vs-everything-choking-on-graphics/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/02/player-vs-everything-choking-on-graphics/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/02/player-vs-everything-choking-on-graphics/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

I managed to get my hands on an Age of Conan beta key this morning, so off I went to excitedly download the client. I'm a big fan of Robert E. Howard's original pulps, and I've been looking forward to the grim and gritty world of Hyboria for a while now. Most of what I've read about it so far has been very positive (with a few notable exceptions due to some of the design choices). Our own write-up of the overall beta experience from Michael Zenke was very encouraging with regard to the combat, gameplay, and feel of the world. Overall, it seems like there's a lot to be excited about. There's just one glaring issue that everyone seems to be having: the graphics are choking their machines.

This isn't a new phenomenon. It seems like every new game on the market in the last few years wants to beat our poor, 1-3 year old computers into lifeless heaps of rubbish with their outlandish and ridiculous system requirements. Even World of Warcraft, a game celebrated for its accessibility and ability to be run on older machines, wasn't that way at launch (though it was substantially better than its major competitors at the time, EverQuest 2 and City of Heroes). However, this strategy of supercharged visuals has made things hard for a number of games. Vanguard in particular suffered a lot of criticism for having ridiculous system requirements when it launched, and that's just one example. Given that people would like to actually be able to play these games, why on earth do game designers insist on shoving next-gen graphics down our throats when the vast majority of us have last-gen machines (or worse)?

Continue reading Player vs. Everything: Choking on graphics

MassivelyPlayer vs. Everything: Choking on graphics originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 May 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>accessibilityage-of-conancity-of-heroescomputercomputerscriticismeverquest-2featuredgraphicsgraphics-cardhardwarehardware-salesplayer-vs-everythingsystemsystem-requirementstabula-rasavanguardworld-of-warcraftFri, 02 May 2008 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Are games Art? It doesn't matter]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/14/are-games-art-it-doesnt-matter/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/14/are-games-art-it-doesnt-matter/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/14/are-games-art-it-doesnt-matter/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Something I keep hearing and reading in my favorite gaming podcasts and blogs is the notion that our beloved industry will finally have 'arrived' when games are taken seriously as works of Art. That somehow, the media will stop vilifying our favorite pastime and welcome us with open arms and hearts if only we could justify our hobby by making it more palatable to the public, under the imprimatur of Art.

Jim Preston at Gamasutra takes this idea on by suggesting that the 21st Century's idea of what Art is is so disparate and devalued that the term itself bears no particular cachet. It's a great piece and deserves your eyeballs, but I'd take it even farther: Not only is it unimportant for games to be considered Art, but that the concept that Art is something that should be valued for its own sake is completely meaningless.

Continue reading Are games Art? It doesn't matter

MassivelyAre games Art? It doesn't matter originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>artcriticismgamasutrajim-prestonopinionroger-ebertsnobberyvalueworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 14 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST