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[Celebrating five years of Tobold]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/celebrating-five-years-of-tobold/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/celebrating-five-years-of-tobold/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/16/celebrating-five-years-of-tobold/#commentsFiled under: ,

In the MMO genre, celebrating five years of anything is quite a feat. If you think about it, what games were you even playing five years ago? Everquest? Ultima Online? So we acknowledge that the industry is still fairly young, and blogging about it is even younger. This makes Tobold's fifth year anniversary of his MMO blog something to celebrate.

It's a natural fact that blogs come and go. When there's a hot new topic and someone feels passionate about it, they let it all loose in the first few days, weeks or even months, but a very low percentage make it further than that. Tobold is the exception to this, and we respect him for the fine work he's done thus far. The future progression of MMOs and their close relationship with community-driven blogs only makes sense. They go together like tanks and aggro. So here's to many more years of Tobold, and many more years of blogging about MMOs. Cue sappy music.

MassivelyCelebrating five years of Tobold originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anniversarybirthdaybloggerfive-yearsmmo-bloggertoboldWed, 16 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Mythic's efforts aided by WoW, planning ahead]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/wars-got-five-years-of-content-sort-of/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/wars-got-five-years-of-content-sort-of/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/wars-got-five-years-of-content-sort-of/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

In a recent interview Warhammer Online senior designer Josh Drescher remarked that World of Warcraft has actually made it considerably easier for other MMOs to succeed in the market, contrary to popular belief. While nobody has come close to dethroning the Blizzard juggernaut and its 10 million subscribers, WoW has done a lot to expand the the potential user-base, and for that Mythic is grateful. Drescher notes in the interview the rate of success in a post-WoW world is considerably higher than it was before, making for a more friendly marketplace to release a game.

It's this kind of mind for market dynamics and future-planning that's really coming to define the modern MMO game designer. For them, retail release is only the beginning of a long process that can extend as far as ten years into the future. So when it appeared during the interview that Drescher suggested that the Warhammer Online team had content planned out five years in advance, some people were understandably confused about the scope of Mythic's development efforts. Was the game delayed to implement content intended for half a decade from now?

Continue reading Mythic's efforts aided by WoW, planning ahead

MassivelyMythic's efforts aided by WoW, planning ahead originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 May 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ea-mythicfive-yearsgame-designgamesindustry.bizjosh-dreschermythicWARwarhammer-onlineWed, 14 May 2008 13:00:00 EST