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Storyboard: Mistakes at the creation level

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous

A lot of character mistakes come down to experimentation, essentially. You have what seems like a good idea, but it turns out in play that it's messy or annoying or unfun or whatever. There's nothing in the world wrong with that; you try something out and it either does or doesn't work. While good concept work does a lot to help you catch these things, sometimes good ideas won't work.

But then there are problems that come up time and again based on a fundamentally bad assumption. Something goes wrong right from the point that you click "New Character" because you're making an assumption that can immediately be recognized as a bad idea. So I'm going to go ahead and list a handful of these problems that are bad ways to start off so that hopefully we can all stop making these mistakes in the future and make some exciting new ones.

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Storyboard: Mistakes at the creation level originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What dumb death do your characters repeatedly suffer?

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:00:00 EST

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

MMOs offer players many, many dumb ways to die. Personally, I tend to die by grossly misjudging the safe falling distance. I've learned more about how games handle falling deaths than would seem entirely healthy. Guild Wars 2 just kicks you to a waypoint for your idiocy, while Star Wars: The Old Republic is kind enough to let you treat it like any other death. Albeit a particularly dumb one.

But falling is hardly the only way to kill yourself and feel like an idiot. You can jump into something harmful and not remember to move. You can pull when the tank, healer, or both are away from the keyboard. You can even go AFK yourself in an area filled with things due to respawn in the near future. And while some dumb deaths are accidents, today we want to know what dumb way you keep dying in your games of choice. Even if yours is also falling.

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 dumb death do your characters repeatedly suffer? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: Own your game's mistakes

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

To the developers of the MMO industry, I say this to you: Your game has some pretty big issues.

No, stop. Don't go consult the PR team. Don't talk with the community managers. Don't spend time explaining why those issues aren't really issues. Just say it with me. Your game has some pretty big issues. I don't care what game you call your own; it's still replete with issues, including ones that by all rights should have been fixed months ago. Just say that with me, and then possibly follow it with a "sorry."

There. That wasn't so bad, was it? Kind of liberating, actually. There's a lot to be said for owning up to the failures of your game and admitting that some things are just plain wrong. I can think of great reasons to just take a deep breath, eat crow, and just say that part of your game is a mess.

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The Soapbox: Own your game's mistakes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Storyboard: When I was the problem

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous

I do not claim to have any sort of superhuman intellect. If I understand how people are likely to make mistakes in roleplaying and how to fix those mistakes, it's a product of having made a lot of mistakes of my own. Sometimes it's a result of failing to fix them and realizing what would have worked after the fact. And while I'll write advice on how to fix the things that you're doing wrong, I never want to give the impression that I'm preaching rather than practicing.

Last week's column was all about what happens when it turns out you're the problem, and there's a J'accuse-style rant if there ever was one. In light of that, I wanted to make it very clear that there have been situations in which my character was the problem rather than some hypothetical example. And so I pulled out three of the most notable examples of places where it turns out I was causing a world of disruption within the group.

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Storyboard: When I was the problem originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO Family: Mind your massively multiplayer manners

Lisa Poisso — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Kids, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous

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.

Kids are like sponges, sure -- old saying is old. But are online manners something you really want to leave to chance? Are the interactions your kids so intently follow online the manners you want them soaking up and using themselves? As parents, we know that the habits and attitudes that kids pick up today are what we'll find coming right back at us tomorrow. Teens who are used to trolling in games and forums will have a hard time modulating to a less strident tone in a business meeting. Kids who excuse a lack of scruples with "whatever -- it's only the internet" are due for a big surprise when a thoughtless instant message or careless lack of response to an email slams doors in their faces later in life.

As parents who game, we all have hot buttons that set us off: the guy who always shows up late to raids, beggars, you name it. The point is: Have you talked to your kids yet about these behaviors? Are you explicitly (by both word and example) helping them not to grow up to be That Guy?

I'm pretty sure we don't need a primer in online etiquette here at Massively, but I don't think it would hurt to share some of the things we wish Those Other Parents had taught their kids before turning them loose in our games. I'll share my dirty dozen after the break -- won't you share your own in the comments?

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MMO Family: Mind your massively multiplayer manners originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fileplanet wants you to play Earth Eternal really badly

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, Earth Eternal, Humor

What's this taking up one of the center links on Fileplanet? Is it the upcoming MMO Earth Eternal? Why yes it is! Sparkplay Media's Earth Eternal has made it to the top of the free games listing... except for the fact that EE is still in closed beta.

Fileplanet's link, while enticing, will not get you instant access into the closed beta. What it will do, however, is sign you up for an account that will let you be eligible to be selected for the closed beta. It will not let you play the game immediately, but it will certainly net you a chance at playing sooner rather than later.

According to Sparkplay Media, Fileplanet will be involved with getting the game and the word out there, but it seems they've jumped the gun in releasing their link for the game. It's cool, we all make mistakes.

As to what special in-game items Fileplanet members will be receiving for signing up and playing, well, that's still a secret to everybody.

Fileplanet wants you to play Earth Eternal really badly originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC09: Spending time with the cruise director of Azeroth pt. 2

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Quests, PvE, Opinion

Mistakes of World of Warcraft

Kaplan was quick to note that Warcraft was far from perfect, and he wanted to highlight some of his own mistakes inside of the design.

The first mistake was the idea of the "Christmas tree effect," otherwise known as having so many quests in a quest hub that the minimap lights up with exclamation points like a Christmas tree. While players enjoy this, Kaplan wanted to say that the developer loses call control over the player at these points, as the player will not read any quest text in their clicking frenzy. There's no control over what quest leads into what or which order the player will do the quests in.

The second was the internet adage of "too long, didn't read." Quest designers don't need to write a book to get their point across with the quests. He brought up that video games had a type of "medium envy," where sometimes they get too preachy with their topics. Games should be fun first, story second.

Mystery also falls in this category. The story can provide mystery, but the quest log should never have any mystery to it. The quest log should always point where to go and what to do, but the overall story of those quests may provide some solution to some mystery.

Also avoid poorly placed quest chains, like the Chains of Myzrael questline in Arathi Highlands. The Myzrael line was hard to find, ended up spanning 14 levels, and ended with killing an elite mob that was level 44. This quest line was a "brick wall" according to Kaplan, because most players never stuck with it.

It's good to have quest chains that span content, but quest chains like this break down trust the player has with the developer. When the player runs into a chain that he can't finish with a monster he can't kill, the player loses trust in the developer's sense of guiding them to fun.

He also emphasized to avoid inserting "gimmick quests." His example here was part of the Oculus dungeon where players ride on dragons. These types of quests center around doing something the client may not be able to properly handle. Warcraft was not designed to accommodate vehicles. When developers resort to putting in parts of the game that center around a gimmick, it can detract from the fun of the rest of the game.

The horror of collection quests

Kaplan's speech ended with an analysis of why people hate collection quests so much, and a few tips on how to make collection quests into a better experience.

His problems with the quests stemmed from three areas -- dense creature population, too few of a creature to kill, and having a wide variety of items required for the quest. Having a dense creature population can put off people, especially when there's a lack of the monster required for the quest. If someone has to kill four lions for every one raptor required for the quest, then there's a problem.

His other point was that collection quests shouldn't require an insane amount of items. To everyone's amusement, he brought up the Green Hills of Stranglethorn quest chain (a chain he wrote) as the exact thing a designer should never do. Collection quests should be an easily obtainable number of items, and not such a long grind fest with the hope that your required item might drop.

Lastly, never have the player question why they're collecting the item required -- it should be clear from the onset. Kaplan brought up the infamous gnoll paw collecting quests, in which gnolls may or may not drop paws upon death, where obviously a gnoll has four paws and not a number between 0 and 1 (which everyone applauded at loudly). Quests should make sense and not become a gimmick in their own right. This causes the player to once again, lose trust.

Most of these points that Kaplan has brought up pertain to Warcraft, but can easily be applied to any game on the market. With all of this in mind, perhaps we'll get to see some better design in our MMOs from other developers, now that we're all on the same page... of the Green Hills of Stranglethorn.

GDC09: Spending time with the cruise director of Azeroth pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know you work for a company destined for failure when...

Chris Chester — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion

In a recent blog post, Elder Game's Eric Heimburg takes a sardonic look at some of the more heavily worn bumps on the road that is MMO development. Without naming any names, Heimburg suggests developers conduct an intervention if their company meets a certain number of the criteria, lest their game join the cavalcade of mediocre to crappy MMO releases on the market.

Among the more prescient of the criteria in this blogger's mind is the one where instead of having a lead designer, companies design by committee, or the one where the publisher imposes changes to the core game from outside. If only fans had a clearer picture of the way their favorite developers were structured, they could apply these criteria beforehand and weigh the odds of a stinker before sinking their hard-earned cash on it. Makes you wonder how many of these criteria Auran met before Fury fell flat on its face.

You know you work for a company destined for failure when... originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 May 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Player vs. Everything: The importance of morale

Cameron Sorden — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game Mechanics, Grouping, Opinion, Player vs. Everything

We've all been there. Any little thing can start it. Maybe the tank messes up and pulls two groups when he meant to pull one. Maybe the healer was distracted by his cat and some people die. Maybe the mage doesn't watch her aggro and the mobs take out the DPS. Something happens, and the group wipes. The seed of doubt is planted: Can this group really pull this dungeon off? Am I grouped with a bunch of idiots? How big is my repair bill going to be tonight?

It's like watching a chain of dominoes. Sometimes, the group can laugh off a wipe or two. But if a simple mistake turns into a pattern of someone screwing up, or if luck goes against you and you have a few simple mistakes in a row, people start losing their morale. Suddenly, people aren't using their consumables (why bother when you're just going to die again?). The tanks and healers get frustrated and start getting sloppy. The DPS gets angry and starts getting cocky. Everyone thinks everyone else is a moron, and each pull is a little less likely to succeed than the last. Each wipe spirals you further down. Finally, people start having mysterious "emergencies" and have to leave the group (do a /who check to see them farming somewhere in 30 minutes). You might not realize it, but your group's morale is hugely important to your success.

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Player vs. Everything: The importance of morale originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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