Posts tagged massively-staff 
The Think Tank: What do you look for in a guild?
Guilds are what make MMOs. It's that social interaction among real people that defines a massively multiplayer experience, but our guild preferences differ greatly. Some of us like to stick with the same guild throughout multiple games, some of us only play with real-life friends, and some of us ...
The Think Tank: The best MMO of 2013... so far
At the end of each year, we like to put our heads together and figure out the year's best MMOs in several categories. Often times, the games released earlier in the year aren't as fresh in our memories, so we might not be as excited about them by the time December rolls around. But in this week's ...
The Think Tank: What got you started in MMOs?
Can you remember your first MMO buying experience? What series of events led to your interest in massively multiplayer gaming? What made you finally accept that paying monthly for a game is a thing that's OK? Or did you wade through countless free-to-play games before finding one that suited you? ...
The Think Tank: Would you play a chat-free MMO?
Last month, Justin asked you in a Daily Grind article whether you'd play a chat-less MMO. His examples included The Endless Forest, where communication is done through emotes and symbols, and Journey, where players use visual cues to signal intent. As MMO players, we feel that massive ...
The Think Tank: Have you ever quit an MMO over an update patch or expansion?
One of the beauties of the MMO is that it's ever-changing. This means that the world expands, the community grows, and skills are always being re-balanced. Sometimes this comes in the form of a patch or update, and sometimes it comes in the form of a full-fledged expansion. But when these ...
The Think Tank: Does studio drama affect your opinion of a game?
Drama is a human condition that plagues some more than others, but it's generally unavoidable. When drama comes from a game developer, we, as players, usually respond with our own drama in the form of forum posts containing lots of all-caps. Whether it's an out-of-context interview faux pas or ...
The Think Tank: The curse of IP-driven MMOs
Whenever a new MMO with a popular IP is announced, there's a palpable sense of dread in the Massively virtual offices. Multiply that dread by a thousand if the IP is being overused in other media or the game is being produced by a studio with a reputation for churning out junk. Whether we're ...
The Think Tank: What is the one MMO mechanic or feature you can't live without?
Your most popular MMOs usually share some type of common denominator. Whether that's a familiar UI, a skill tree that makes sense, or a cast of classes involving the holy trinity, it's safe to say that many MMOs are very similar. But in recent years, developers have been stretching their ...
The Think Tank: Should the government regulate video game content?
While government regulation is welcomed in some corners of our lives, it's not always welcomed everywhere. After recent gun violence has been making headlines more than ever, U.S. President Barack Obama set out to "find the cause" through new funding for 23 executive orders that pertain to the ...
The Think Tank: What elements make up your perfect business model?
The topic of the MMO business model is a hot one lately as studios are in the Wild West of experimentation, discovery, and limit-testing. New games are going free-to-play every week it seems, and we, as consumers, are accepting more and more as these business models become standard. But that's ...
