Posts tagged mechanics 
MMO Blender: Game of Thrones, MUDs, and the perfect quest text
Nothing seems to suck me into a game more than a good story. The brilliant thing is that the story doesn't have to be complicated or intense as long as it's original and easy to follow. I want characters to meet, locations to discover. I need to immerse myself into a story more than I need to ...
Star Trek Online outlines the fine details of Romulan ship progression
The Romulan faction in Star Trek Online's upcoming expansion does not play like mirrors of the Federation or the Klingons. The race's ships are less diverse in some ways, but its cloaking devices that allow for stealth even in combat make it clear that this is a race about subtle manipulation and ...
The Mog Log: On the eve of seeking Adoulin in Final Fantasy XI
A while back, I was upset that we hadn't gotten nearly enough information about Seekers of Adoulin. That's certainly not the case any more; we've gotten a fair bit of new information about the expansion, which is good considering that Final Fantasy XI players will be seeking the heck out of ...
The Daily Grind: What game makes the best use of positioning in combat?
Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, and WildStar all have something in common: They all ask characters to jump around. Or roll around or dash around or just generally get out of clearly marked fields that indicate Something Bad Happens Here. Unlike some older games, none of these titles allows you to ...
Guild Wars 2 brings more tricks to the WvW experience, living story [Updated]
In Guild Wars 2 PvP, it's you against the world. Well, you and the rest of your world against the other world. Fans of the WvW system will be happy to learn that there are more tweaks coming to the system in the game's upcoming March patch, starting with the addition of ranks and abilities for ...
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 ...
New DCUO trailer highlights the mainframe feature
DC Universe Online understands that everyone, even mighty superheroes and dastardly supervillains, needs a place to call home. Home Turf, the upcoming DLC pack, will introduce custom player housing. Players will be able to pick from a variety of themes and hundreds of items to create a hidey ...
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's Armoury system, yesterday and tomorrow
Final Fantasy XIV has always sold its class system on the idea that you use it more as an a la carte buffet. Abilities you learn in one class are useful in another class, and as a result, your Gladiator is a mix of several different abilities in a single package. The idea at launch was that ...
MMO Blender: Mike's spaceflight of fancy
You know what I love? Space. Not real space, so much; real space is a vast expanse of horrors that generally confound and cripple the mind if considered too seriously. I'm talking about "space," as in the setting of some of our favorite movies, games, and cancelled television properties. The ...
Final Fantasy XIV previews levequests and group combat
Final Fantasy XIV is changing a lot with its relaunch, but many of those changes are a matter of giving the old a new purpose and function. Such is the case with the much-maligned levequest, previewed in the latest video update from the game's alpha version. The new system seems much cleaner, ...
