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[Trion hiring for untitled SyFy action MMO, looking for XBox 360 programmers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/05/trion-hiring-for-untitled-syfy-action-mmo-looking-for-xbox-360/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/05/trion-hiring-for-untitled-syfy-action-mmo-looking-for-xbox-360/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/05/trion-hiring-for-untitled-syfy-action-mmo-looking-for-xbox-360/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

With RIFT launching in the very near future, Trion Worlds is resting on its laurels and doing absolutely nothing... by which we mean the exact opposite. The team is looking for new staff to help develop the yet-unnamed action MMO created in partnership with SyFy, currently just named the "SyFy Action MMO." This in and of itself is good news for those who had thought the project had been abandoned, but it gets even more interesting when you realize that two of the jobs are targeting XBox 360 programmers.

Assuming that the game is targeting the 360 -- which seems likely under the circumstances -- it would join Final Fantasy XI as one of the only MMO options on the console. That would be a significant boon from a marketing perspective, as would the show/game integration promised back when rumors first began surfacing. The 360 programmers are not explicitly linked to the long-dormant game, but neither are they linked to the two existing games in Trion's stable. Although the job listing alone doesn't promise a future for the game, it's a step in the right direction for what might be a very different take on MMOs after all.

MassivelyTrion hiring for untitled SyFy action MMO, looking for XBox 360 programmers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>action-mmoconsoleconsole-mmodevelopmentjob-listingsjobsmmo-developmentmmo-industrysyfysyfy-channeltriontrion-worldsxboxxbox-360Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan's Morrison talks progression, design]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/20/age-of-conans-morrison-talks-progression-design/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/20/age-of-conans-morrison-talks-progression-design/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/20/age-of-conans-morrison-talks-progression-design/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Armchair designers of the world, take note. If you've ever wanted a peek inside the mind of an MMORPG developer, Craig Morrison's latest personal blog entry might be right up your alley. The Funcom executive and current Age of Conan boss has posted a lengthy look at his thoughts on massive design, and more specifically, progression.

Morrison examines progression versus entertainment, and goes on to contrast the need for the former with the desire for storytelling. He also touches on the vast array of player motivations, ultimately concluding that while "progression, and the need for it, is a bedrock of the expected player experience," future MMO designers should be mindful of the differences between what they want the player to do and what the player wants to do.

Clearly, there is no easy answer to the question of how does one design a good MMORPG. After all, one gamer's soul-sucking grind of death and despair is another's relaxing evening at home. That said, Morrison's perspective illuminates at least one line of developer thinking and is worthy of a read-through whether you're a dev, a player, or both.

MassivelyAge of Conan's Morrison talks progression, design originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocblogcraig-morrisondesignfuncomlevelingmmo-designmmo-developmentopinionpersonal-blogprogressionsilirrionWed, 20 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: Don't hate the playa, hate the developa]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/19/anti-aliased-dont-hate-the-playa-hate-the-developa/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/19/anti-aliased-dont-hate-the-playa-hate-the-developa/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/19/anti-aliased-dont-hate-the-playa-hate-the-developa/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

So I noticed something last week, in the comments section of my piece on UI design, that finally kicked me back into "endless rant" mode. It's a sentiment that I've noticed in the video game community at large for a while now, but I never really knew how to approach it until recently, thanks to my own life experiences with games. It's an idea that's pretty misinformed on how the industry works.

It's the idea that the developers behind any given game are an idiots. According to commenters, they're all blind, non-gamer morons, bumbling around in the dark without the slightest sense of what game mechanics are actually fun.

Why are these bumbling morons in the industry? Why don't they listen to the endless array of golden ideas that pop up on game forums? Don't they realize that these revolutionary ideas will turn every game into double-rainbow-crapping unicorns? Why haven't 15% of my readers (a totally accurate statistic, mind you) figured out how sarcastic I'm being at this point in the introduction?

This week we're going after some of the common misconceptions about developers and game design, and how making a game as complex as an MMO is really never as easy as you claim it is.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Don't hate the playa, hate the developa

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: Don't hate the playa, hate the developa originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-aliasedbudgetbusinessdeadlinesdevelopersdevelopmentfeaturedforumsgame-designgame-developmentgames-are-easy-to-makemilestonesmmo-designmmo-developmentopinionpen-and-paperpen-and-paper-roleplayingperceptionseras-statistics-are-always-accurate-and-indisputableThu, 19 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Dissent in the EVE community]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/01/eve-evolved-dissent-in-the-eve-community/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/01/eve-evolved-dissent-in-the-eve-community/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/01/eve-evolved-dissent-in-the-eve-community/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Space MMO EVE Online and its developer CCP Games are usually spoken about in a positive manner. We often hear about the awesome things that go on in the sandbox, or how CCP has gotten players involved in game development through their CSM programme. In the past few months, however, negative sentiments toward the company have been growing at an alarming rate. Players have been complaining about lag and the quality of game design ever since the Dominion expansion was released. As far as players can see, EVE Online was in a fantastic state after the Apocrypha expansion's release, and it has gone sharply downhill since then.

Over the past two years, players have made an increasingly vocal case to CCP in favour of fixing bugs and gameplay issues before adding new features. They point to previous features, such as faction warfare, that were abandoned shortly after their release in favour of developing yet another new game feature. Over the years, EVE has been littered with incomplete features in dire need of balance tweaks and gameplay revisions. The past few months, in particular, have seen a worsening of public opinion. The release of the CSM minutes and recent devblogs have caused a significant vocal backlash from the community.

In this controversial opinion piece, I dig into the controversy surrounding CCP's recent communication with EVE Online's playerbase and the reactions forum-going players have had.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Dissent in the EVE community

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Dissent in the EVE community originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angryccpccp-eveccp-gamescommunitycontroversycouncil-of-stellar-managementcsmdissenteveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlinefeaturedmmo-developmentopinionoutrageSun, 01 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Content contentment]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/06/the-daily-grind-content-contentment/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/06/the-daily-grind-content-contentment/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/06/the-daily-grind-content-contentment/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The players have spoken, and they want more content. Unfortunately, those players -- you, our readers, as well as the folks behind Massively -- aren't at all unified when it comes to what we actually accept as "content." Some players don't care if a given piece of content plays exactly like another, so long as it's visually new and interesting and different. Others want a distinct set of lore behind every new piece of content, with the visuals and gameplay coming far later. And still others will complain if the additions play the same, believing everything else secondary to new mechanics.

In short, all developers need to do is constantly churn out a stream of new content with unique textures and models, unique mechanics, and unique lore, and everyone will be happy. Well, except for players who want to see expansion to the game's underlying elements... you get the idea. So what do you want, first and foremost, in your new content? What elements are most important to convince you that it's new and improved, and what elements just seem to be a cheap recycling of existing assets?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Content contentment originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>additionscontentcontent-generationculturedevelopmentmmo-developmentnew-contentopiniontdgthe-daily-grindTue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 5]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/26/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/26/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/26/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Throughout this entire week, we've presented one question a day from an interview we did with the top women in MMO development. We asked them how they got into the industry, how public opinion on women gamers is evolving and what advice they have for female MMO players who want to make that leap into development.

Today is the finale to that interview where we ask our last two questions: "Do you see a change in attitude towards women developers, both from co-workers and the MMO community?" and "What words of advice would you have for women looking to make that leap from player to developer?". Keep reading below for their answers.

Continue reading An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 5

MassivelyAn interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 5 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredinfluenceinterviewmmo-developmentmmo-industrywomenFri, 26 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 4]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/25/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/25/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/25/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Throughout this entire week, we're presenting one question a day from an interview we did with the top women in MMO development. We asked them how they got into the industry, how public opinion on women gamers is evolving and what advice they have for female MMO players who want to make that leap into development.

So starting last Friday and continuing throughout all of this week, we'll present one article a day with one of the questions we asked these key developers. Look for each post to drop at 5pm EST every day until Friday. Keep reading below for today's question.

Continue reading An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 4

MassivelyAn interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 4 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredinfluenceinterviewmmo-developmentmmo-industrywomenThu, 25 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 3]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/24/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/24/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/24/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Throughout this entire week, we're presenting one question a day from an interview we did with the top women in MMO development. We asked them how they got into the industry, how public opinion on women gamers is evolving and what advice they have for female MMO players who want to make that leap into development.

So starting last Friday and continuing throughout all of this week, we'll present one article a day with one of the questions we asked these key developers. Look for each post to drop at 5pm EST every day until Friday. Keep reading below for today's questions.

Continue reading An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 3

MassivelyAn interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 3 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredinfluenceinterviewmmo-developmentmmo-industrywomenWed, 24 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/22/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Throughout this entire week, we're presenting one question a day from an interview we did with the top women in MMO development. We asked them how they got into the industry, how public opinion on women gamers is evolving and what advice they have for female MMO players who want to make that leap into development.

So starting last Friday and continuing throughout all of this week, we'll present one article a day with one of the questions we asked these key developers. Look for each post to drop at 5pm EST every day until Friday. Keep reading below for today's question.

Continue reading An interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 2

MassivelyAn interview with the most influential women in MMO development: Part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredinfluenceinterviewmmo-developmentmmo-industrywomenMon, 22 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[An interview with the most influential women in MMO development]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/19/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/19/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/19/an-interview-with-the-most-influential-women-in-mmo-development/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

It's not often that we get a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes operations of an MMO, but when we do, we can appreciate the real people seen creating our favorite games. Included in this pool of development talent are more than just the stereotypes you would see on TV or film, depicting nerdy men with thick glasses and severe hygiene problems. There are nerdy women making these games too!

Ok, maybe not all so nerdy, but the fact is, there are many women in the MMO development industry as well. To showcase and celebrate this, we at Massively interviewed 12 of the most influential women in MMO gaming development. We asked them how they got into the industry, how public opinion on women gamers is evolving and what advice they have for female MMO players who want to make that leap into development.

Starting today and continuing throughout all of next week, we'll present one article a day with one of the questions we asked these developers. Look for each post to drop at 5pm EST this coming Monday through Friday.

But first, we'll kick it all off by getting to know these fine developers. Keep reading after the jump for a brief introduction to each participant and a bit more about their time in the industry.

Continue reading An interview with the most influential women in MMO development

MassivelyAn interview with the most influential women in MMO development originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredinfluenceinterviewmmo-developmentmmo-industrywomenFri, 19 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Games with potential]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/04/the-daily-grind-games-with-potential/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/04/the-daily-grind-games-with-potential/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/04/the-daily-grind-games-with-potential/#commentsFiled under: ,


One of the things people chalk growth in an MMO up to is the strength of the IP - especially when you're talking about an established IP in popular culture like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, etc. Of course, some others will point out that there's something to be said for a completely new experience with an interesting story or idea behind it. City of Heroes, while based on comic books, wasn't based on any one comic in particular. EverQuest was general fantasy. World of Warcraft, while based on the Warcraft RTS wasn't nearly as much of a pop-culture buzzword then as it is now.

Assuming all games have good mechanics - do you think that having a well-known IP can offer more potential in terms of creating an MMO these days, or do you feel that a well-timed new concept with a fresh new IP would do better? What particular games do you think have the most potential - and are they new franchises, or old, established stories already well-known to popular geekdom? Will it take a new spin on an old IP to really make things interesting in terms of upcoming games?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Games with potential originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 May 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>conceptsfamiliarityinterestipmmo-developmentpop-cultureMon, 04 May 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The challenges of early-stage MMO development]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/the-challenges-of-early-stage-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/the-challenges-of-early-stage-mmo-development/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/the-challenges-of-early-stage-mmo-development/#commentsFiled under: ,

Brian "Psychochild" Green has up a post to his personal site discussing some of the steps massively multiplayer games take on their way to market. His article was based partially on a post to Elder Game we discussed here on the site early this week. Brian notes that the earlier post took the right tone: actual game development can be a sometimes-haphazard and often-confusing process. Roles are blurred, important steps can get lost in the shuffle.

Mr. Green lays out the different disciplines that are involved in bringing an MMO to fruition. He moves on from there to describe a 'blue sky' version of milestones for a game in this genre. Over00's Dave Toulouse points out how similar these milestones are to your average software project's. For anyone interested in software development or getting into the games industry, the post is an interesting insight into the process. It is, of course, important to remember that the list is an idealized version of reality; SOE's Grimwell notes that putting 'Feature Complete' before the 'Beta' phase could be seen as a note of humor. "I'm not sure we've ever seen that goal accomplished," he states.

MassivelyThe challenges of early-stage MMO development originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 May 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>brian-greenelder-gamemmo-developmentpsychochildSat, 24 May 2008 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Building a better MMOusetrap: To topple the King!]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/building-a-better-mmousetrap-to-topple-the-king/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/building-a-better-mmousetrap-to-topple-the-king/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/building-a-better-mmousetrap-to-topple-the-king/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,



Can WoW be killed? This is the question on the tongues of my WoW playing friends since the announcement of FunCom's upcoming title Age of Conan has been pushed back another 8 weeks. Some think it's to polish it just that extra little bit, so that they can come out of the gates running, but honesty I think they just want to make sure they are putting out as high a quality game as possible. Really this idea of a WoW Killer, has been going around for a long time, and frankly I think the whole idea is a bit silly. Like my compatriot Kevin Stallard states on a recent edition of 'Ask Massively', there are games like Ultima Online that have been plugging strong for over a decade now, without any real notion of stopping soon.

Certainly over the years MMO's have risen and fallen from the top spot, it started off with UO holding the torch, then moved along to EQ and pretty much since it's launch WoW has held fast and continued to gain popularity. And with ActiBlizzard's recent announcement that the World of Warcraft has just broken the 10 Million subscriber mark, it's unlikely we're going to see them toppled any time soon. To take a moment and put those numbers into perspective, 10 million subscribers would be like if every man, woman and child in Belgium did nothing but play WoW all the time. I know I'd certainly take the next flight out to Bruges, and settle in next to the Muscles from Brussels playing my Shaman for the good of mother Belgium!

But really, I don't think that there is any risk of a WoW killer, not because I don't think that AoC and EA Mythic's Warhammer Online aren't going to be 'as good' or even be able to compete against WoW, but because frankly I don't think it matters. From what I've seen so far from both of these titles, neither one is trying to be a WoW clone, and I think that's the rub right there. Nothing is going to "beat" WoW, just like nothing beat UO or EQ, they simply lost subscribers to the new evolution of the genre. There are still a great deal of people who play the older titles, things like FFXI, UO, EQ, and so on, but most MMO gamers aren't tied to a single title. I bet you that of those 10 million WoW subscribers at least 30% play at least one other title, and most of them have probably taken part in at least one beta test for another game.

Continue reading Building a better MMOusetrap: To topple the King!

MassivelyBuilding a better MMOusetrap: To topple the King! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionage-of-conanaocblizzardbuilding-a-better-mmousetrapea-mythicffxifinal-fantasy-xifuncomgame-developmentjean-claude-van-dammelord-of-the-rings-onlinelorelotrommo-developmentmmo-industrytabula-rasatrwarwarhammer-onlineworld-of-warcraftwowFri, 25 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Building a better MMOusetrap: PPOrnography in games]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/building-a-better-mmousetrap-ppornography-in-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/building-a-better-mmousetrap-ppornography-in-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/16/building-a-better-mmousetrap-ppornography-in-games/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quick turn out the lights, shut your door, and unplug the phone... today we're going to talk about boobs. shh shh shh, I know, please keep it down, don't get all worked up, it's really not anything to worry about. I'm not actually going to show you any boobs, just talk about them, or rather about morality, censorship and the like in our favourite type of video games. As I'm sure you're all aware, as informed gaming news readers, you've read the latest load of tripe about our beloved "sex-boxes" and how they are filling us full of sodomisingly good times. Well, I decided to take a look at MMOs under the same plate, but before you fill the comments section with slander, and my inbox with hate, let me just say I think the fellow who wrote the article is a grade-A ass, but he did make me think about a few things.

First off, let's look at the ESRB rating that comes on most of our MMO titles, generally they are rated T (for teen!) but have the wonderful disclaimer of "experience may change during online play". Now frankly that's pretty much a carte blanche to do whatever they like, because if they get pulled into court they can just grab their Objection! sign and point at the rating. But I think that for the most part MMO game developers take a lot of strong steps towards keeping the playing environment relatively tame. There certainly aren't any terribly un-graphic alien lesbian love scenes in Paragon City, and last I checked, even though the Mithra are cute little cat ladies, there hasn't been any rampant cases of cross-species hot loving in Vana'diel.

I think what I'm trying to get at is, that game developers do in fact keep our online experiences as puritanian as they can (violence aside of course), because they don't really see a need to change their games into online porn. Certainly there are the usual video game metrics of unrealistic body types (for both the women and the men), and the fact that somehow the more armour a female character puts on, the more like a princess leia golden bikini (link is semi-NSFW) it looks. But other than that things are generally tame, that is, until it gets into the hands of the players.

Continue reading Building a better MMOusetrap: PPOrnography in games

MassivelyBuilding a better MMOusetrap: PPOrnography in games originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>city-of-heroescoxdevelopmentffximmommo-designmmo-developmentmoralitynsfwpolitics-in-gamingsecond-lifeworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 16 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Building a Better MMOusetrap: Adventures in babysitting]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/building-a-better-mmousetrap-adventures-in-babysitting/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/building-a-better-mmousetrap-adventures-in-babysitting/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/09/building-a-better-mmousetrap-adventures-in-babysitting/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Guilds are as much a part of online gaming as the overuse of horrible internet memes (Mr. Norris I'm looking at you, and your amazing roundhouse kick), and people who play far too long, and bathe too little. Some games call them different things, Linkshells, Corporations, and so forth, but at the end of the day they are all the same thing and serve the same purpose; to give online players a way to easily access content by joining forces with a group of (sometimes) like minded individuals. They are often a great source of fun, and can even lead to life long friendships outside of the game, and I personally think that the games I have played would have been lesser without them. But, along the same vein there are some days I'm sure we all have when we log into our game of choice, and find ourselves in the middle of a Battle Royale of epic dramatic proportions where we just want to click that quit button and run off to our own private corners of the game and stab/shoot/maim things.

Guilds are a strange and mystic creature, never to be truly understood, but for most of us also something we submit ourselves, and often try to create perfection. I don't actually think there is such thing as the perfect guild, because no matter who gets invited, who is in charge and who the big players are, there are always going to be problems. Some people will almost always form cliques inside a guild (or guilds inside guilds in some cases), and other people, try as they might just won't be accepted. Some people are loved by everyone and that works out well for them, but also, some people are hated by everyone and that works out for no one. Some leadership teams are too passive, others too aggressive, and there are always other problems that come up when things like loot and fame come into play.

There are a lot of different types of guilds, from family guilds where it's just a small group of friends and family who play together and use their time online to connect where they otherwise couldn't. There are hardcore raiding guilds, who lead the bleeding edge of content in whatever game they choose, like Nihilum and Death and Taxes in World of Warcraft (the raiding game I follow most), where they become not unlike the rock stars of their game. But the majority of guilds I've found in any game, are the ones who generally sit somewhere in the middle, holding up the status quo. They don't push themselves to be at the pinnacle of content, but are happy coasting along at their own pace, as long as it stays fun and interesting. These sorts of guilds often times have the most varied groups of people involved in their rosters as well.

Continue reading Building a Better MMOusetrap: Adventures in babysitting

MassivelyBuilding a Better MMOusetrap: Adventures in babysitting originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>eveeve-onlineffxifinal-fantasy-xigame-designguild-relationsguildsmmommo-developmentmmo-industryworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 09 Jan 2008 19:30:00 EST