Massively

The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Humor, 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.

I'm going to start this with a strange admission: I love MMOs. I love them as a lumpy, imperfect collective; I love specific ones immensely, and I love being a fan of the genre. I feel that I have to clarify my stance when I sometimes -- often -- see people who apparently follow MMOs quite closely become a neverending fount of bile and venom toward these games. Apparently, not all MMO fans love MMOs, and that perplexes me.

Odd as that may be, whatever, I can accept that we live in a topsy-turvy world. What I really don't get are the folks who hate specific games so greatly that their entire bodies and minds have been honed into a dedicated game-loathing entity. Mention that title anywhere on a forum, a blog, or in a post, and these people come out to scream through clenched teeth how this MMO sucks beyond the telling of it and that we are all fools, fools for getting anywhere near it.

They aren't just content to say their piece and be done with it, oh no; their vitriol literally knows no end. They will rant, they will attack, they will laugh with derision, and above all else, they will root for the fail. Their greatest desire in life is for this specific game to die so that they can rend their clothes and let out a blood-curdling victory howl. And I don't get it. I feel like an alien in their presence, perplexed at their rage and fixation. Why do people root for MMOs to fail with such intensity? What motivates them and what do they hope to achieve?

Continue reading The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail

The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Game Archaeologist and the dragon of the deep dungeon

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Roleplaying, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous

The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month, he chooses a different title in order to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences.

Part of the holy mission of the Game Archaeologist is to ferret out the roots of history that ultimately led to MMORPGs as we know them today. Another part of the mission is to root out ferrets, as my claw-scarred arms can attest. Some of that history is fairly recent, but today we're going to travel back -- way back -- to a time before many of you were born. Including me, as a matter of fact.

The year is 1974. The world is hip-deep in the throes of shag carpeting, driftwood furniture and the strains of Grand Funk Railroad. It truly seemed like nothing would ever be cool or non-earth-toned again. At this, the lowest moment in all of history, game designers Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson took the concept of miniature wargaming, merged it with a fantasy motif, and sold it under the name Dungeons & Dragons. Geeks everywhere had a reason to rejoice, and through this roleplaying game the foundations for MMOs were laid.

Let's take a brief survey through D&D, giving special emphasis to how this great-granddaddy of RPGs passed down a legacy that we enjoy in our modern online titles. Also, there will be popcorn.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the dragon of the deep dungeon

The Game Archaeologist and the dragon of the deep dungeon originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Celebrate Hello Kitty's birthday in Hello Kitty Online

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play, Hello Kitty Online, Family

Hello Kitty is 36 years old, which should be the sort of thing that makes everyone blink once or twice in surprise. With that sort of pedigree, you'd be surprised not to see a celebration going on -- especially in Hello Kitty Online. Sure enough, there's a huge birthday bash going on right now for players of the game, and participation in the event will have some positive effects in the real world. Sanrio is giving money to charity, based in part upon how many people take part in the birthday festivities.

Players taking part will be sent around the world with sparklers to help cheer up monsters, so that everyone can enjoy the birthday celebration. There's also a small line for upgrading and improving sparklers for maximum effectiveness, with upgrades available in the item shop as a shortcut for participants. A full event guide has been posted, and it promises a special in-game event on November 15th -- which should be an excellent motivator for Hello Kitty Online players to log in and ring in another cat-filled year.

Gallery: Hello Kitty Online birthday event

Celebrate Hello Kitty's birthday in Hello Kitty Online originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Family: A parent's look at Hello Kitty Online

Lisa Poisso — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Free-to-play, Hello Kitty Online, Kids, MMO Family, Family

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family.

Hello Kitty Online is the first of our Parents Guide selections that's aimed squarely at teens and young adults rather than the kiddie set. Say what? We were surprised, too -- but given the mind-bogglingly persistent popularity of Hello Kitty among grownups with more discerning taste (and expansive wallets), it stands to reason that developer Sanrio would want HKO to reach as broad an audience as possible.

What HKO brings to the keyboard, then, is less a kiddie game than a crafting-oriented, sunshiny, Hello-Kitty-themed version of an MMO. Sure, it's 2-D. Sure, it's free-to-play. But despite the precious proliferation of pink, you'll find gameplay that's more in line with traditional, fully developed MMOs -- a purrfectly friendly MMO choice for your teen daughter.

Continue reading MMO Family: A parent's look at Hello Kitty Online

MMO Family: A parent's look at Hello Kitty Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

HK-Day arrives: Hello Kitty Online launches in NA and Europe

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Launches, New titles, Free-to-play, Hello Kitty Online, Family

You've felt it -- the tingle of anticipation, the twitch of desire, the color of pink. And now, after years of waiting, it's finally here: Hello Kitty Online has officially launched across North American and Europe. While the game's been widely available for some time now, Sanrio Digital considers today to be the first of many glorious days of cats and their peppy greetings. It's a double celebration of sorts, considering that this is Sanrio's 50th anniversary.

While you and your family can download Hello Kitty Online for free, Sanrio hopes that you'll go the extra distance and head out to a retailer to pick up the premium edition of this kid-friendly MMO. Hello Kitty Online Premium Edition includes a grab-bag of treats, such as $15 in Sanrio points for item shop purchases, an exclusive pet, the game manual, and postcards.

The MMO is tied in with SanrioTown, the company's official Hello Kitty social network, which provides fans with tools to share their love of this world. Obviously, Sanrio is hoping that the worldwide Hello Kitty phenomenon will propel this F2P title to success. You can check out HKO for yourself at the official site.

HK-Day arrives: Hello Kitty Online launches in NA and Europe originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rise and Shiny recap: Hello Kitty Online

Beau Hindman — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, in-game, Reviews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Casual, Hello Kitty Online, Kids, Family, Rise and Shiny

Each week Rise and Shiny asks you to download and try a different free-to-play game, chosen by me, Beau Hindman. Some of the games will be far out of your gaming comfort zone, and some will pleasantly surprise you. We will meet each Tuesday and Friday night at 8 PM Central time, followed by this column the Saturday after. I welcome any suggestions for games, either in the comments or at beau at massively dot com.

This week I asked my readers to man (or woman) up and download Hello Kitty Online by Sanrio Digital. I'm a firm believer in the old saying "Looks can be deceiving" and have tried to keep that in mind as I look for games. After all, what is the difference between fluffy pink and white bunnies and giant robots that throw hissy fits? In fact, if I were to ask my readers what makes up the difference between a game like Hello Kitty Online and a game like Lord of the Rings Online, they might only shrug and say "C'mon, Beau, you can see the difference."

Remember, though, that we can still pull emotions out of cartoon characters just like we can out of more realistic ones, and it has been shown that many moviegoers actually feel more connected to stylized characters over super-realistic representations. I wonder if Hello Kitty Online can inspire the same strong emotions that a hardcore raider feels?

Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Hello Kitty Online

Rise and Shiny recap: Hello Kitty Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty Online's Food for Friends 2 event provides Haiti disaster relief

James Egan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles, Hello Kitty Online, Kids

One of the things that's different about Hello Kitty Online, beyond the pink hearts and stars motif, is that the game ties in with some great charitable causes. Now Sanrio Digital has announced the "Food for Friends 2" guild competition, an event that lets guilds compete for Loyalty Point prizes for use in the Hello Kitty Online item mall while helping people in the real world. Players from select regions (North America, Europe, Singapore, Malaysia) who participate in Food for Friends 2 will generate real money donations (from event sponsors) through their gameplay that will help disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

Food for Friends 2 runs from January 21-30 and getting involved is very simple. Players can log in and head on over to Hello Kitty Online's version of London to speak with an NPC named Cinnamaroll. He's collecting crafted consumable items for the needy. The more people from your guild who donate these items, the higher your guild's point standings increase.

Continue reading Hello Kitty Online's Food for Friends 2 event provides Haiti disaster relief

Hello Kitty Online's Food for Friends 2 event provides Haiti disaster relief originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty Online joins the Toys for Tots charity drive

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Hello Kitty Online

Hello Kitty and Toys for Tots, two names that are pretty recognizable at first glance. Well, the two are teaming up for the holiday season, as Aeria Games is using Hello Kitty Online as a platform to drive charitable contributions in a pretty unique way.

Instead of offering a buyable pet and giving the proceeds to Toys for Tots, HKO players will get to search the grand virtual lands of Sanrio for Short Sticks, Webley Webs, Shells, and Bramble's Comfort. Each set of items collected will go to creating a special in-game Crab Plush Toy for you and will add one more donation to Aeria's real life toy drive. That's right: An in-game quest with a real life reward of helping get toys to children for the holidays. That's one quest that you can't drop from your log.

GMs will be picking up item sets on December 14th, 15th, and 16th. For the full information on what needs to be collected to make a set, check out the event page on HKO's main website. Don't miss out on this great chance to help children in need!

Hello Kitty Online joins the Toys for Tots charity drive originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty officially middle-aged, celebrates in Hello Kitty Online

James Egan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Hello Kitty Online, Kids

She may have thrown out her back last week raking up hearts and stars in her back yard, but that's not going to stop Hello Kitty from celebrating her 35th birthday in Hello Kitty Online. Masters of all things cute and cuddly Sanrio Digital announced details of the virtual birthday party commemorating Hello Kitty's middle age milestone. Although Hello Kitty was born on the first of November, the festivities are already underway in Hello Kitty Online and will continue through the cultural icon's actual birthday.

HKO players can earn tokens by completing birthday quests and playing mini-games. Those tokens can be exchanged for limited edition birthday items in-game. Any players who unlock at least four of the limited edition items gain access to a November 1st birthday bash held in (HKO virtual) London. Those festivities aren't just for the players who rack up the most virtual swag, as birthday celebrations will also be held in game locales like Florapolis and Paris.

Continue reading Hello Kitty officially middle-aged, celebrates in Hello Kitty Online

Hello Kitty officially middle-aged, celebrates in Hello Kitty Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Valentine's Day event in Hello Kitty Online open to everyone

James Egan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Events, in-game, MMO industry, Quests, News items, Casual, Hello Kitty Online, Kids

The day will eventually come when the world burns itself out and society as we know it collapses. In the final days, tin foil hat theorists will suggest many reasons for humanity's demise, ranging from Skynet to MMO addiction and everything in between. Regardless of how or why it happens, once we're gone, the cockroaches will evolve into a global hivemind and inherit the earth as nature always intended. All they will know of their simian Mountain Dew-guzzling predecessors of the ancient world is one thing: they apparently worshipped a cute little animal with an off-kilter pink bow, the cat-goddess Hello Kitty. The day they encounter her is the day they will know their new master, and labor to rebuild the world in her image.

It's true -- well, not the apocalypse bit -- Hello Kitty will remain an enduring aspect of our times, if the past 35 years of her reign as a cultural symbol is any indicator. The world's ultimate iconic character from Sanrio has adorned 'all our stuff' since 1974. Perhaps more than ever, kids (and quite a few adults) are absolutely in love with Hello Kitty. The estimated USD 1 billion per year she's worth confirms she's hardwired into our pop culture consciousness, a fact which isn't lost on the game industry. We've already seen a legacy of Hello Kitty games spanning multiple iterations of consoles and handhelds, as well as PC releases. Hello Kitty's involvement with gaming is about to enter a whole new era though, with her introduction to the world of massively multiplayer online games through Hello Kitty Online.

Continue reading Valentine's Day event in Hello Kitty Online open to everyone

Valentine's Day event in Hello Kitty Online open to everyone originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty Online: gazing into horror

James Egan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, New titles, Previews, Casual, Hello Kitty Online, Kids

We write about Chaos Chosen freaks wreaking havoc on the RvR battlefield. We've been known to write about interstellar mercenaries and anarchists publicly executing enemies of freedom. Things like these make the job fun.

But this... is seriously over the top. Three videos, all lined up below the cut. You may be able to handle one. Some of you may be able to take two. But three -- we don't think you can do it. In fact we know you can't. These clips are NSFW. Be advised.

Continue reading Hello Kitty Online: gazing into horror

Hello Kitty Online: gazing into horror originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The week in Massively features

Michael Zenke — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Massively Meta

	MMO Mash-up: Age of Hello Kitty Welcome to a new column here at Massively, where I'll take two massively multiplayer online games and chop them up into little pieces, so I can put them back together with electrical tape and staples. This is the MMO Mashup, where you can expect to see everything from the startlingly strange to the ubiquitously unusual. Lets get straight into it then, with the pink-yet-dark world of Age of Hello Kitty.
	Massively goes hands-on with LotRO Book 13 video We could write reams of text that describe in loving detail all the features that await you in Lord of the Rings Online's Book 13 content patch. We could lay out screenshot after screenshot that could perfectly capture the chilly northlands that are being introduced, the eerie agent of Angmar who is tearing apart the land or the monstrous beasts that roam the wintry tundra.
	MMOGology: Sex games What are the risqué features in Age of Conan and what will their implementation mean for future MMOGs? If Age of Conan is successful can we expect other developers to push the envelope further, or has someone already beaten them to the punch? If you're easily offended you may wish to skip what follows after the break.
	Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 2 Massively Speaking Episode 2 runs down news and features from Massively.com for the week of April 14th-20th. Shawn and Michael are joined by blogging regulars Akela Talamasca and Jonathan Northwood to talk about the next LOTRO Book, the Epic Villain Archetype video, and (of course) Age of Conan!
	The next EverQuest 2 expansion is ... So what is the Shadow of Odyssey? There are so many unexplored plot threads in the Norrath of EQ2, and the title is so vague, that it could be almost anything. Still, we have a few good ideas. If we had to put money on it, we'd bet that the shadow in question has something to do with the Void, and the mysterious Shadowmen. Or, Odyssey could refer to the long-lost homeland of the Erudites, the magic-weaving spellsmiths of yore.

Continue reading The week in Massively features

The week in Massively features originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty Online enters closed beta on the 23rd of April

Akela Talamasca — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, New titles, News items, Virtual worlds, Hello Kitty Online, Kids

Thy doom draws nearer, O Learned Readers, for with each passing day, Hello Kitty Online becomes more and more a reality! The latest information is that those of you fortunate enough to have gotten access to the closed beta will finally find out what it will be like to inhabit the world of Sanrio. The test runs from the 23rd of April to the 7th of May, and interestingly enough, testers will have a DVD of content sent to them, which will include at least a folder of video tutorials, though nothing else has been confirmed at this time.

This MMO has excited a ton of interest in age ranges well beyond the pre-pubescent that one might expect -- expect a First Impressions before too long!

Hello Kitty Online enters closed beta on the 23rd of April originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty Online to feature character creation and ... farms

Chris Chester — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, Hello Kitty Online

I have to apologize in advance to any stalwart fans of the Hello Kitty franchise who are anxiously anticipating Hello Kitty Online with baited breath. Perhaps it is a sad commentary on the inherent cynicism and snarkiness of your modern blogger, but I have serious doubts about whether or not you will ever see a post about HKO here on Massively without some at least a touch of sarcasm or irony. Fault us for our taste if you will, but never doubt or honesty!

Having said that, this official trailer for Hello Kitty Online demonstrates such innovative new features as character creation, personalized avatars (which is different than character creation, in some way that eludes me), virtual community, farms, in-game items, houses, and mini-games including fan favorites like Rock-Paper-Scissor! In this respect, the game appears less interested in re-inventing the wheel, than in ensuring it is super cute and perhaps slightly creepy. As the game moves into beta in the near future, look for more impressions and news to surface.

[Via ZergWatch]

Hello Kitty Online to feature character creation and ... farms originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Criminal profiling is coming to a MMOG near you

Matt Warner — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:08:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Politics, Legal, Virtual worlds

With an uprising of terrorists and other criminals playing MMOGs like Hello Kitty the U.S. Government believes it is essential that Gnomeland Security monitors online behavior in virtual worlds. Humor aside, I'm not making this up.

The U.S. intelligence community wants to employ counter terrorism measures by utilizing data-mining and profiling software in various online spaces such as video and even online gaming. In the unclassified Data Mining Report Act, (pdf) one initiative called the Reynard project would determine the feasibility of detecting suspicious behaviors and actions in a virtual world that could indicate a threat to national security. You read that right.

"Reynard is a seedling effort to study the emerging phenomenon of social (particularly terrorist) dynamics in virtual worlds and large-scale online games and their implications for the Intelligence Community."

"The cultural and behavioral norms of virtual worlds and gaming are generally unstudied. Therefore, Reynard will seek to identify the emerging social, behavioral and cultural norms in virtual worlds and gaming environments. The project would then apply the lessons learned to determine the feasibility of automatically detecting suspicious behavior and actions in the virtual world."

This is probably a good time to stop referring to my spells as WMDs, and reciting The Communist Manifesto in guild chat. I don't want to end up in a secret prison somewhere drinking a lot of water because I'm obsessed with engineering and PvP. What the CIA should do is recruit top ranked WoW Arena players to infiltrate the Chinese servers to steal gold farming secrets.

[via Wired]

Criminal profiling is coming to a MMOG near you originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hello Kitty FOR THE HORDE!

Akela Talamasca — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:24:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Screenshots, Opinion

Actually, the Hello Kitty UI interface is faction-agnostic. And I'm not sure how HK would voice her allegiance anyway -- she has no mouth and she must scream. Regardless, Alice over at Wonderland links to two separate instances of a Hello Kitty-themed interface for WoW, one of them from famed virtual worlder Joi Ito. As she says, "Bloody hell ... it's horrible :o)"

If Blizzard released an epic set of Hello Kitty armor tomorrow, how many of you would jump at it?

Hello Kitty FOR THE HORDE! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Virtual World Boom

Matt Warner — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:52:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry

Looking for a great escape from reality? Nothing comes close to a Virtual World for a thrill seeking whimsical adventure that doesn't require you to crash your bank account or take some time away from work-- except when an expansion is released or you that long-awaited beta invite shows up, thank you sick leave! It's only natural that people from all walks of life and ages enjoy being entertained by an interactive medium that offers socialization, avatars, items, mini-games and other various shenanigans. Everyone from Webkinz moms, Club Penguin kiddos, the voracious World of Warcraft indulgers and in between is getting in on some Virtual World action.

The whole Virtual World genre is going to get a lot more crowded as big media conglomerates take notice and throw staggering piles of cash around in an attempt to attract new visitors. Recent findings by the Virtual World Conference suggest that from October 2006 to October 2007 more than 1 billion dollars was invested in 35 virtual worlds companies. Over at Business Week, there is a great write-up from Paul Heyman of Game Daily about the stirrings from the last Virtual Worlds conference and where some of this money is coming from and where it's going. You won't find any Jeff Kaplan quotes on "welfare epics" but it's still worth a gander if you are interested in an upcoming subset of the genre that will probably prove to be more popular than traditional based fantasy MMORPGS.

It isn't the promise land for every Virtual World. Mike Schramm recently reported on the MMO Boom and how it isn't always peaches and cream. This year has been rough on Auto Assault and Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising as both MMOGS shut down permanently while Ryzom is still hanging on for dear life. Despite the pitfalls, MMORPGS will thrive or World of Warcraft will at least, for how long? If Ultima Online has lasted 10 years, WoW will easily top that. 2008 should prove to be a better year for MMORPGS with Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures set to hit our desktops. My hope is that these Virtual Worlds, the ones with elves and fireballs and not Hello Kitty, will be just as fun to explore as their predecessors.

The Virtual World Boom originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments