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 Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The blogger]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/15/the-game-archaeologists-excellent-everquest-online-adventures/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/15/the-game-archaeologists-excellent-everquest-online-adventures/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/15/the-game-archaeologists-excellent-everquest-online-adventures/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

EQOA
To tell you all the truth, the comments from last week's initial foray into EverQuest Online Adventures bowled me over -- I truly was not expecting so many players to be so passionate about the game! How cool is that? I hope that some of you send me in your EQOA stories to justin@massively.com so we can include them in next week's column.

Today I want to welcome Rick "Stoney" Stonebrook to our neck of the Massively woods. I remember finding Stoney's EQOA blog over a year ago and being so impressed that there was someone out there regularly updating a blog about this low-profile MMO. Stoney agreed to an interview about the game from a player's and blogger's perspective, so here goes!

The Game Archaeologist: Please introduce yourself and your blog! Why did you start blogging about EQOA?

Stoney: Well, I'm 24 and have lived in a lot of places in the past few years. I adopted the name Stoney when I started the blog, eqoa.wordpress.com, in October 2010. The purpose for the blog was simple: compile as much information about the game as I could find using various search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and YouTube. I hadn't played since 2005 and wasn't familiar with any new content. I had always wanted to return to the game. Thus the blog's goal evolved from a collection of memories to an effort to get people to return.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The blogger

MassivelyThe Game Archaeologist's excellent EverQuest Online Adventures: The blogger originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alchemistbetamaxblogbloggerconsoleconsole-mmoeqoaeverquesteverquest-online-adventuresexpansionf2pfeaturedffxifinal-fantasy-xifree-to-playfrontierfrontiersinterviewminidiscsplaystation-2playstation-3ps2ps3rick-stonebrooksocom-navy-sealssoesonysony-online-entertainmentstoneytgathe-game-archaeologistunderfootworld-of-warcraftwowTue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Game Archaeologist and the Quest for Camelot: Your journeys]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/17/the-game-archaeologist-and-the-quest-for-camelot-your-journeys/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/17/the-game-archaeologist-and-the-quest-for-camelot-your-journeys/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/17/the-game-archaeologist-and-the-quest-for-camelot-your-journeys/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

These days just about everyone thinks he has what it takes to be a Knight of the Round Table. It takes more than a shiny shield and a sharp sword, as the Game Archaeologist discovered. It also requires a $14.95 credit card charge.

Former and current knights poured out of the woodwork to offer up some of their very favorite memories of Dark Age of Camelot. It is, in a way, a better testimony to the game than an objective history and developers' opinions. For some, DAoC was their first MMO love, and more than a couple people said it was the single best MMO experience they've ever had. While many players have moved on, these memories burn bright, and it didn't take much prompting for DAoC vets to wing a quick word of praise our way.

Blink twice to clear out any eye irritants, and prepare yourself for a marvelous trip back in time to an era of hodgepodge PvP and fierce realm rivalries.

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MassivelyThe Game Archaeologist and the Quest for Camelot: Your journeys originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>afkalbionalbsclericcraftingdaocdark-age-of-camelotfeaturedflukilyfrontierhiberniahibsiseultknight-of-the-round-tablelancelotmidsminstrelsmuire-tombmythicpellinorpvepvprvrsera-hates-the-word-toon-use-this-information-wiselysiegeskaldthe-game-archaeologisttoatrials-of-atlantiswar-is-hell-and-pancakesTue, 17 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Frolicking in Forochel]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/the-road-to-mordor-frolicking-in-forochel/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/the-road-to-mordor-frolicking-in-forochel/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/the-road-to-mordor-frolicking-in-forochel/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Call me weird, but I am an absolute sucker for winter zones in MMORPGs. For me, the season of winter always evokes a lot of powerful feelings as the landscape is transformed, homes are a sanctuaries for warmth, and hardiness becomes a desirable trait. A zone filled with ice and snow screams to me desolation and death -- more so than a fire or volcano one -- but in a beautiful way.

It's no wonder, then, that I've become entranced with Forochel in Lord of the Rings Online.

Added to the game in April of 2008, Forochel became a bit of an anomaly in the LotRO experience. It was a (then) max-level area that was off the beaten path, created to cater to solo players seeking adventure. In fact, if the epic story hadn't taken us to Forochel in Volume 1 Book 13, I doubt many players would have sought it out on their own. It's a shame if that's the case, because Forochel offers both breathtaking vistas and a unique questing experience that should be encountered at least once in your LotRO career.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Frolicking in Forochel

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Frolicking in Forochel originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chicken-playered-luineskimoevendimfeaturedforochelfrontiericeice-bayice-ice-babyice-sledice-to-meet-youinuitlord-of-the-rings-onlinelossothlotromiddle-earthmisty-mountainsnorthrendsnowthe-road-to-mordorturbinewinter-zonesworld-of-warcraftWrath-of-the-Lich-KingFri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/11/mmorigins-lifes-funny-like-that-page-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/11/mmorigins-lifes-funny-like-that-page-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/11/mmorigins-lifes-funny-like-that-page-2/#commentsContinue reading MMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2

MassivelyMMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>amigablizzardccpcomputer-sciencedungeons-and-dragonseaElectronic-Artseliteeve-evolvedeve-onlineeverquest-2everquest-iifrontiergame-designjagexmassivelynyphuroceanprogrammingrunescapesocialsocialisingteam17universityFri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MMOrigins: Life's funny like that]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/11/mmorigins-lifes-funny-like-that/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/11/mmorigins-lifes-funny-like-that/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/11/mmorigins-lifes-funny-like-that/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

We all got started gaming somewhere. For a lot of people, it was the Sega Mega-drive, the Atari 2600 or the NES that signaled their first steps into gaming. For me, it was the Commodore Amiga, a machine that was more a complete home computer than a games console. It was on the Amiga that groups like Team 17, Ocean, Electronic Arts and Blizzard first really made their mark on gaming and it was a great time of innovation in the industry. I recall long nights spent playing Frontier: Elite II, scooping hydrogen fuel from the corona of a star or wormholing into deep space. Another favourite that I still play occasionally was K240, an early space 4x game and still one of the best I've ever played.

It was the public domain market on the Amiga that really caught my attention. It's one thing to play a game, but here was the opportunity to make one and sell it via a page in CU Amiga magazine or a PD order disk. I've always been more interested in making games than playing them but being young with no programming experience, I was limited in what I could do. I tooled endlessly with the "Shoot 'em up Construction Kit" and "Reality Game Creator" packages, making countless primitive prototype games that only I ever played.

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MassivelyMMOrigins: Life's funny like that originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>amigablizzardccpcomputer-sciencedungeons-and-dragonseaElectronic-Artseliteeve-evolvedeve-onlineeverquest-2everquest-iifeaturedfrontiergame-designjagexmassivelynyphuroceanprogrammingrunescapesocialsocialisingteam17universityFri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Is the genre too commercial?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/the-daily-grind-is-the-genre-too-commercial/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/the-daily-grind-is-the-genre-too-commercial/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/the-daily-grind-is-the-genre-too-commercial/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Every industry has its Wild West period. Seemingly crazy folks move forward with what turn out to be not-so-crazy ideas. They work together (or in competition) to usher in something totally fresh and new. Some of them stumble. Okay, most of them stumble. But some of them create something so inspiring it births a whole new industry.

If you played the early MMOs, you know that it was an exciting frontier. But in recent years the industry has settled into a groove. Yes, it's been a turbulent groove, but it's impossible to deny that in terms of design, most games these days are following a similar formula. This formula -- introduced by EverQuest (well, Dikus, actually!) and refined by World of Warcraft -- is used now because it works. It makes money most of the time -- more often than the other formulas or the wild-eyed ideas, anyway.

But since the genre has settled on this formula, has it lost something? Has the massive success of World of Warcraft replaced the exciting frontier with a commercial empire that's short on inspiration and character? Put another way: do you feel like the new games are so focused on commercial appeal that there's no trace of love or passion for the endless as-yet-unimagined possibilities of virtual worlds left over?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Is the genre too commercial? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>commercialcommercialismdikudiku-muddikumudeverquestfrontiergenreindustrytdgthe-daily-grindworld-of-warcraftFri, 01 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EST