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[Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/wings-over-atreia-too-much-of-a-good-thing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/wings-over-atreia-too-much-of-a-good-thing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/wings-over-atreia-too-much-of-a-good-thing/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Wings Over Atreia header
Seriously NCsoft, enough is enough!

Now, I know that in the not-even-too-distant past, I openly admitted how much I liked the shiny surveys that popped up occasionally in Aion. Whether they were during events or just out of the blue, the surveys were like a random present just because. And who doesn't like presents? Sometimes you would know what you were getting; other times it would be a complete surprise. I love clicking that little icon and being rewarded with dyes, pets, emotion cards, and other assorted relatively harmless fluff. Yes, I also hoarded the platinum medals and ancient crowns that sprang up infrequently with a near maniacal glee. But there reaches a point when you really can have too much of a good thing (sadly, much like decadent cheesecake) and actually encounter negative repercussions.

Last week I mentioned that the leveling rewards, at least under level 25, got to be a little much. But that doesn't compare to the glut of goods available to every player who logged in during the month of October. I was initially appreciative of getting a few of the "October Special" (stacks of multiple scrolls and power shards). However, the surveys got out of hand before long.

Click past the cut for (no, not a free gift!) Wings over Atreia's look at how over-gifting can actually be damaging to Aion.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing

MassivelyWings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionaion-gamecrafterscraftingfeaturedgiftinggiftsmoney-sinkmoney-sinksnc-softnc-soft-aionncsoftncsoft-aionscrollssurveysWings-Over-AtreiaMon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost Pages of Taborea: A history of Diamonds]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/18/lost-pages-of-taborea-a-history-of-diamonds/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/18/lost-pages-of-taborea-a-history-of-diamonds/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/18/lost-pages-of-taborea-a-history-of-diamonds/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

It's been a long time since we've heard anything about Diamonds being reinstituted into Runes of Magic's auction house. Since that fateful day they were removed, a lot of new players have joined, veterans have left and some things that should not have been forgotten... were lost.

Having Diamonds in the auction house is an important feature that was planned from the get-go. It allows for seamless trading and player-controlled price fluctuations that keep all items obtainable for everyone. It's about having the freedom to play multiple ways. Options are more numerous than simply paying and having everything opened up or not paying and being stuck. With RoM's cash-shop items being integrated into the title's gameplay, there's a grayscale that lets players have many more options in how they want to play.

It's not an overly complex issue, but one worth looking back on. Getting Diamonds back in the auction house isn't a lost cause, but the issue has dragged on to the point that long time players may have given up all hope. This edition of Lost Pages of Taborea is all about looking back at the beginning and bringing players up to speed on diamonds in (or not-in) the auction house.

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: A history of Diamonds

MassivelyLost Pages of Taborea: A history of Diamonds originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>auction-housecash-shopcurrencydiamondsfree-to-playfrogsterfrogster-americafrogster-interactivegiftinggoldjeremy-strattonlost-pages-of-taboreareal-money-transactionsrmtromrunes-of-magicrunewakerrunewaker-entertainmenttradingMon, 18 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ways of designing social into virtual spaces]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/29/ways-of-designing-social-into-virtual-spaces/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/29/ways-of-designing-social-into-virtual-spaces/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/29/ways-of-designing-social-into-virtual-spaces/#commentsFiled under: , ,


One of the strongest glues between a person and their favorite MMO is friendship and community. However, those two things don't come without strong socialization, which in turn is something that doesn't happen in an MMO entirely by accident. A recent blog post by Raph Koster discusses the many ways of making virtual spaces more social by thoughtful design, a subject that we here at Massively take a lot of interest in, strangely enough.

While the first two chunks of Raph's post are arguments for actionable design to encourage socialization, it's the last piece of the post where the fleshy part resides. While there are numerous good suggestions for designing better social opportunities, the ones that strike us as our most desirable for MMOs are gifting, mentors, looking for conversation tools and alternate advancement systems for social elements. Those four items are certainly something that more titles could use -- especially as more and more games integrate web tools similar to Facebook.

It's hard to say whether or not we'll actually see any of these taken to heart in many MMOs, but it's nice to wish for things -- and maybe if we pester developers hard enough they'll figure it out sooner rather than later.

MassivelyWays of designing social into virtual spaces originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alternate-advancement-systemfacebookgiftinglooking-for-conversationmentorsraph-kostersocialsocial-networkingsocializationThu, 29 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST