Massively

The Daily Grind: How many games have you committed to in your gaming history?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Committing to an MMO isn't like committing to beating a single-player game. With the latter, you push through to the end, and barring the odd bit of DLC here and there, you'll be done. No, marrying yourself to an MMO means you're in for the long haul, a year or more. It's the time when a six-month subscription starts to look like a great deal because of course you're still going to be playing in another six months, and hey, less money overall.

But today we're not wondering whether right now you're committed to Star Wars: The Old Republic or RIFT or whether you're waiting for your next long-term flame. No, today we want to know how many long-term flames you've had in the time you've played MMOs. Have you committed to several games for a year, then drifted into the next one? Have you never really settled down beyond a month or two hither and yon? Or have you been playing Ultima Online since launch and never really had reason to move to newer pastures?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: How many games have you committed to in your gaming history? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: What you loved is still there

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

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.

One of my greatest fears as I slouch toward 30 is that my tastes will become immutable in certain fields -- music, especially. The last thing I want to do is be the obnoxious guy listening to music that was popular when I was in high school complaining about how bad modern bands are. So I try to broaden my horizons because I know that everything I already like is still waiting for me. I want to create a broader range, not just stick within the familiar.

It's probably for the best, then, that I don't share that worry about video games in general and MMOs in particular. I don't cry for a return to the MMOs I played in older days because in most cases they're still running. True, in many of them a great deal has changed to the point of unrecognizability, but I never ask what happened to the game I once loved. After all, just because I loved it doesn't mean that anyone else did.

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The Soapbox: What you loved is still there originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What game have you fallen back in love with most often?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Some games you just can't quit. You might unsubscribe and head off for a time, but you always wind up back in-game before too long. And some games just give you new things to enjoy each time you log back in. Even if you're bored with one part of the game, you start playing a bit differently and suddenly it's like the first time. Put simply, you fall in love with the game all over again.

Most of the games we play for long periods wind up in the catbird's seat more than once. But there are games that you fall back in love with, and then there are games that you keep falling back in love with all over again even if you'd prefer not to do so. So what game have you fallen back in love with most often? Is it a game that you think of as generally one of your favorite or one that you have sharply divided feelings about to start with?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What game have you fallen back in love with most often? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: It's a game, but not just that

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

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.

There are things about the MMO community that bother me. If you consider the number of Soapbox columns I've written over the last year or so, this will probably shock absolutely no one. But there's one thing that draws more ire from me than any other, one statement alone that implies an attitude that really gets my goat. It comes from MMO players, from non-players, from all sorts of different sources, and it bothers me every single time.

"It's just a game."

The statement that, say, Guild Wars is a game doesn't bother me at all, just like it doesn't bother me when someone says that Australia is a continent. But that addition, the sentiment that it's just a game bothers me immensely. It's insulting to a lot of people, and it's something that I try to avoid ever mentioning in my own writing because MMOs aren't just games, even though they are games, and the idea of "just a game" alone is missing the point something fierce.

Continue reading The Soapbox: It's a game, but not just that

The Soapbox: It's a game, but not just that originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life rolls out Linden Realms publicly on December 1st

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, News items, Second Life, Free-to-play, Browser, Virtual worlds, Miscellaneous, Sandbox

Something very unusual is coming to Second Life on December 1st: a game. All right, that in and of itself isn't all that unusual, since the virtual world has long empowered users to create their own systems and their own games. But this is still something different because it's not a user-created game. Linden Realms has been developed specifically by Linden Lab, and as of December 1st all users will be able to experience what a first-party game for the virtual environment feels like.

Second Life content creators will, rather unfortunately, be facing off against an in-house project. Luckily, the tools used in the development of Linden Realms will also be made available to the community, giving everyone a chance to play with the new tools and improve upon gameplay experiences. Whether or not this is a good thing or not for the game's overall health remains to be seen, but it may well provide an interesting boost to the community's user-created content.

Second Life rolls out Linden Realms publicly on December 1st originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What game would you play if you had the time?

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

There are a lot of MMOs on the market at the moment, and while it can be argued that many of them are drawing inspiration from the same well, there's still plenty of variety available. You can roam in post-apocalyptic Nevada, soar through a variety of spaceways, or slay a truly staggering number of different dragons in the myriad worlds available online. But you are limited by one force no matter what -- you only have so much time during a single day. That means that there's necessarily a game you'd love to play, but you just don't have the time.

No matter what, the game you can't quite fit into your schedule is a game you like. It's usually just a case of not liking it quite enough to ditch the game (or games) you spend most of your time on. So what game would you love to play if you had more time for it? Is it an old favorite you've moved past, a new game that interests you, or a title that's long been on your radar but never quite moved into being a must-play venture?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What game would you play if you had the time? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Hero Squad Online fires up closed beta

Krystalle Voecks — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Family, Super Hero Squad Online

Get ready, true believers! News has come down the wires today that Gazillion's Super Hero Squad Online has officially headed into closed beta. What this also means is that with this announcement, the open beta for this family-friendly MMO is one step closer. Hopefully, it also means that we'll be seeing some forward momentum on the other (read: more adult) Marvel MMO, which Gazillion has indicated is under development as well.

For those not familiar, Super Hero Squad Online is based on the saturday morning cartoon, The Super Hero Squad Show, which has introduced the Marvel characters to a whole new generation. SHSO will be releasing as a free-to-play game with an optional subscription to unlock more content -- no word on the price point, currently. Another thing of note is that the game will be playable via browser, offering players a fast in to the action without exorbitant pre-downloads. A promotional comic for Super Hero Squad Online is also available at Taco Bell, which gives a bit of story and offers up a code for an "exclusive super-hero" according to Gazillion's release. So, if your kids -- or you -- would like to hero up with Super Hero Squad Online, head over to the official site and get signed up. Excelsior!

Gallery: Super Hero Squad Online

Super Hero Squad Online fires up closed beta originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Updated] Massively's big fat Black Friday roundup

Krystalle Voecks — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Promotions, Miscellaneous

Can you feel the love? The food comas? The day of sitting around napping while the kids sneak into the kitchen for another piece of pie? ~~As you can see from the holiday e-card we've gotten~~, the gorging has already started in certain MMOs. However, for the rest of us who aren't virtual-demented-clown versions of Mr. Creosote, the promise of great deals looms once the turkey and pie are dispensed with. As we here at Massively are always on the lookout for a good deal, we've rounded up some MMO and hardware deals worth putting on your wish list.

Join us behind the break for some of the best 100% frosting-covered-clown-free bargains we've found. Also, if you spot anything particularly tasty in terms of sale prices, be sure to let us all know in comments!

[Updated] Switched the image out due to unintended offense, and adding more deals in as we find them!

Continue reading [Updated] Massively's big fat Black Friday roundup

[Updated] Massively's big fat Black Friday roundup originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Did you take advantage of Black Friday sales?

Seraphina Brennan — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, Opinion, The Daily Grind

So, it's Tired Saturday -- the day when you spent the previous night with your friends, out enjoying the beginning of the long weekend after stuffing your face on Thanksgiving. Of course, you might have been doing something else that was very important yesterday -- shopping.

Whether it was online or in the stores, the Black Friday sales were everywhere! We even made a guide about some of the deals so you, the MMO fiend, would know where to shop and what to keep your eye on. With so many deals, we couldn't help ourselves to picking up a few titles.

So did you guys take advantage of what was being offered? If so, tell us all about your Black Friday spoils, or perhaps any other sales you're looking forward to! We're eager to hear what you claimed in the madness for yourself!

The Daily Grind: Did you take advantage of Black Friday sales? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gen Con 2009: MMOs in the E-gaming area

Mike Schramm — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Galleries, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Trading card games, Roleplaying, Free Realms, Champions Online, Legends of Norrath, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Massively was at Gen Con 2009 yesterday in Indianapolis, Indiana, and while most of the (gigantic) convention was involved with more traditional types of gaming, from dice and board games to collectible card games and RPGs, MMOs made their own splash in the "e-gaming" area. Sony Online Entertainment probably had the biggest presence -- in among huge posters of Free Realms and Star Wars Galaxies, they had demos running of all of their current games (though we didn't see any previews of DCUO or The Agency running). A costumed model posed for pictures in front of a large Legends of Norrath poster, while over in the CCG area, SOE held tournaments of the game for players.

Gallery: MMOs at Gen Con 2009

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Gen Con 2009: MMOs in the E-gaming area originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Childhood memory MMOs

Krystalle Voecks — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

The sheer amount of "oh how COOL" and squeeing when we first heard about the LEGO MMO was pretty heavy around the virtual Massively offices. While it wasn't entirely universal, many of us fondly remember playing with Legos for hours in our youth. (Hell, some of us haven't stopped playing with them.) Then we heard that the people behind Pokemon won't consider doing an MMO, which made some of us sad - that was from our youth too. Since then we've dreamed up all manner of childhood MMOs behind the scenes; from ones based on Voltron and Gundam, to trying to recreate worlds from young-adult reading like Harry Potter. This morning we thought we'd toss this question out to you - what childhood memory would you like to see developed into an MMO? From young to old, there must have been something you thought was a fantastic toy to play with, or world to imagine - can you see it developed into an MMO? What childhood memory MMO would you make if you could?

The Daily Grind: Childhood memory MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: Serious business guys, serious business pt. 2

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, PvP, Raiding, Endgame, Grouping, PvE, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

You might see where this is going now...

This is a hard concept to explain, yet it's the concept that drives all social games, real-life based or online based. If you're taking the game so seriously that you're not having fun, then you've found the line where the problem begins.

"Serious business" sounds like a joke, but all games have some degree of seriousness in them. The only ones that are truly unbound by this rule are the ones that are entirely luck based, like The Game of Life, Chutes and Ladders, or Trouble, where the dice determine the progress of game play. Players have no true input into the game, thus no true focus is required.

"So are games getting too serious? Nope. They're doing the same things they've always been doing."

Once decision making is introduced, strategies begin. Once strategies are introduced, players will formulate efficient ways to win and those winning methods will always win unless luck determines otherwise or a more efficient strategy is found. Regarding our MMO games, which require player movement, button presses, and (to some degree) luck, you will need players who are focused. If players aren't standing in the right places or if the right skills aren't being used, then loss will almost constantly occur. Players don't gather in raids to lose, they gather in raids to win.

A football team and a raiding party are actually closer than one might think. Both get together to overcome a challenge presented to them, whether it be the Blue Mountain Eagles from the other side of the county or Patchwerk of Naxxramas. The fun comes from the work of overcoming the challenge; from "winning" the game. Sure, there might be rewards involved, like trophies or purple loot, but there is also going to be work involved. So are games getting too serious? Nope. They're doing the same things they've always been doing.

So next time you're in that raid group, or next time you're on that PvP team, or in that corporation war, or sieging that city, remember that focusing is not being overly serious. It's about working to get the task done, not screaming at one another. It also means that perhaps you might want to save your list of jokes and gossip for another time.

There's always more time to kid with friends. But right now is one of the few times you may be standing in front of Malygos.

Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is still forced to make decisions he totally doesn't want to. 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.

Anti-Aliased: Serious business guys, serious business pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xfire free to play vs subscription MMO debate today

Krystalle Voecks — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion

If you were a follower of the Xfire Debate Club before you'll be glad to hear that they're starting the Debate Club back up again, as of today. That's right, at 5pm EST / 2pm PST (22:00 GMT) today, you can join a group of MMO journalists, developers, and other industry insiders as we debate the ins and outs of free to play vs subscription models.

Some of the many points that will undoubtedly come up over the course of the Xfire debate are:

Free sounds good, but what are the trade-offs?
Does quality or quantity matter more?
Is one business model more sustainable than the other?
With Free 2 Play games becoming such a driving force, where do you see MMOs going in general?

I'll be there to speak as part of the Massively team, but we'll be fielding some questions from those who show up to participate as well. Among the other guests are Cody Bye from Ten Ton Hammer, Randall Price from ArenaNet, Arend Stührmann from CCP, Christian Wehrlin from Games Masters, Josh Sell from Aeria Games, Adam Mersky from Turbine, Fred White from YNK Interactive, and Tony Colafrancesco from MMO Life as special guest moderator.

With such a great group of panelists to debate this with, it should prove to be an interesting and lively discussion. So be sure to grab a copy of the Xfire client if you haven't already, and come by to discuss the future of MMOs with us!

Xfire free to play vs subscription MMO debate today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nickelodeon's 1600 games and what it means for MMOs

Mike Schramm — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry

Word's been floating around the gaming news space that Nickelodeon has put up a gigantic order for online games in their content space: they want to add 1,600 titles to their library, including some created by users. Obviously not all of those are MMOs (if you've ever spent any time around a kid in a browser, you'll have seen all the crazy flash games there are out there for them), but Nickelodeon's stable does include Neopets and Nicktropolis, both of which are super-casual virtual worlds.

Basically, online gaming for the youngster set is huge, and only growing bigger. And while what they're playing now isn't too exciting (most of it is all clones of each other, with not much more social interaction than chatting between minigames), today's AddictingGames.com players are the MMO players of tomorrow.

Think 10 million players is a big number for WoW to hit? That's nothing compared to the flood of young online gamers coming up right now. To them, there's no difference between online or offline games -- games are online and social, and Nickelodeon's big order only means there are going to be more and more of them.

Nickelodeon's 1600 games and what it means for MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WRUP: In like a lamb edition

Mike Schramm — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Quests, Massively Meta

Is it just me or has March been pretty slow so far? Guess that means things will get a little crazier in the second half of the month -- with SXSW and Connect08 on the way, that's probably not too far off from the truth.

But in the meantime, What aRe yoU Playing this weekend? Me, I've been in Guild Wars more than anything else lately, but I've also been jonesing for Age of Conan more than ever -- May seems like it's a long way away. I've been on an extended break from EVE Online as well, but I may get back in the mining barge this weekend if the urge hits me.

What's your game in the world of MMOs this weekend?

Previously on WRUP...

WRUP: In like a lamb edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WRUP: Shadow on the moon edition

Mike Schramm — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Opinion, Browser, Massively Meta

Yes, I don't know if any of you saw it (I did in Chicago), but this past Wednesday, we had ourselves a lunar eclipse, which means that the Earth went directly in between the moon and the sun, and a shadow crossed over it. Has really nothing to do with MMOs (although it probably made WoW's Lunar Festival a little more appropriate), but it was neat to see.

But today is Friday, and so it's time once again to ask you what you'll be playing this weekend. I continue to strive on towards my third 70 in World of Warcraft -- there's something about hitting that ceiling that just seems to keep pushing me onward. And I've been playing a little beta PMOG as well, in between all my usual browsing. I haven't come across too much yet (though I did complete a mission to look at a bunch of video-related sites, like YouTube and Videosift), but maybe this weekend I'll place some missions and mines around Massively and WoW Insider. If you're in the beta, watch out!

So What aRe yoU Playing in the world of MMOs this weekend?

WRUP: Shadow on the moon edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: WRUP?

Mike Schramm — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Our good friends over at Xbox 360 Fanboy have an awesome weekly feature that we're planning to steal from them for Massively. It's called WRUP, which stands, in a cool, acronymic way, for "What are you playing?," and it's just a weekly question of what their readers (and soon, you readers) are putting their game time into each week.

It'll probably officially start up this coming Thursday or Friday, but for this Sunday morning Daily Grind discussion, I'll kick it off-- what are you going to be playing this week in terms of MMOs? Me, I've been rolling on EVE Online lately-- my (now former) corp just got flooded with war declarations, so I split from them earlier this week, and I plan to use the newfound peace and quiet to get some good mining and skill training done. I was also thinking of jumping into Hellgate: London, but the reviews haven't been as great as I'd hoped, so I may just fall back on WoW and try pushing my 68 rogue the final stretch to 70.

What are you playing this week, and what goals in those games are you aiming for?

The Daily Grind: WRUP? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: MMO players play more... and get more

Mike Schramm — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:16:00 EST

Filed under: Dark Age of Camelot, Culture, MMO industry, Leveling

Apparently playing MMOs are worse for your health than regular games, but they're also more fun, too. That's the conclusion of a Syracuse University study that sent groups of students out to play four types of games-- arcade games, a Gaunlet PS2 game, Diablo II, and Dark Age of Camelot. Apparently the DAoC folks reported that their game had a more adverse effect on their health, and that their social and student lives were more affected by their playtime.

But they also had more fun-- the students who played DAoC reported that they enjoyed their playtime more, and had even made more friends ingame than any of the other games. The professor who commissioned the study wisely strayed away from the word "addiction," and says that addiction is completely different than what happens to gamers. Instead, he says, more attention should be paid not to violence in games, but to the "enthrallment" factor. Some games are easy to pick up and put down, and other games, while more rewarding, are more likely to involve you as a player. Online games, says Raph Koster, are "more intense."

So I can't exactly tell what the study solves, but most of the reasoning sounds all right. My only worry is just how old the games are-- seriously, Gauntlet? Dark Age? It would be interesting to see if a more recent MMO (like LotRO or WoW) was able to balance the enthrallment/timesink factor a little better without losing the payoff.

[ via DungeonRun.com ]

Study: MMO players play more... and get more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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