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The Daily Grind: Can you have too many options at character creation?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

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

While Aion may not be your cup of tea, you certainly can't claim that the character creation in the game is lacking in features. It is possible -- easy, even -- to make a tiny, anime-esque sprite or a would-be marble statue, if you wish. Of course, to do that you have to play with several dozen sliders, hair styles, skin tones, eye spacers, and an overall breadth of options that could make some players boggle.

All this, of course, pales next to games such as Champions Online and City of Heroes, which have even broader options. And sometimes you don't really want to fuss with the fine details of your arm length before playing the game; you just want to get in the game and start punching things. So is it possible to have too many options at character creation? Or is that like asking if you can have too much money?

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: Can you have too many options at character creation? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lost Pages of Taborea: Content needs to meet the versatility of gear-upgrading

Jeremy Stratton — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea

Last week I compared looting and class-bending in Runes of Magic with similar features found in RIFT. RoM's system of gear customization was a part of that article. This week, I want to talk business. Don't worry, I'm not a business major about to sling pie charts at you or talk about quarterly earnings. I want to talk a bit about business, specifically about how it might relate to decisions developers make concerning what kind of balance to put into an MMO.

RoM's gear system is extremely flexible on the outside, but inside there are some restrictions. Some of these restrictions are imposed by the game, but some are imposed by players. In this week's Lost Pages of Taborea, let's take a look at how the flexibility and choice of RoM's gear system -- and other systems -- are in opposition to the game's content and some desires players have.

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Lost Pages of Taborea: Content needs to meet the versatility of gear-upgrading originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Freedom

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Expansions, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

I know, I promised you all Stalkers today. But in case you haven't noticed, something sort of trumped the last archetype under discussion. Something like City of Heroes making one of the biggest announcements in the history of the game. And the weirdest part is, I'm writing this before most of the world knows about it, after being on the phone with Paragon Studios and talking about all of the cool stuff that's coming along with City of Heroes Freedom.

Working in game journalism means knowing about what's coming up before other people much of the time. I knew that there was something big en route when I sat down on the call, but honestly I had expected another expansion pack. And that's really what we're getting here, albeit not quite in the format that most players would expect. This is another major expansion to the game, one that will open up the playerbase as well as offering new content to existing players. So this is one of those times when it's almost difficult to sit down and focus clearly enough to write about what's coming, just because the net effects are so far-reaching.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Freedom

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Freedom originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Massively: Can't talk, slaying darkspawn edition

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous

If it wasn't obvious through previous posts, I'm rather keen on the whole Dragon Age franchise. Which means that yes, I've been playing the stupid Facebook game that has just gone into open beta. The next revolution in gaming it is not, but it's got just enough of the setting to tide me over for the moment. Plus, it has player housing, which is conspicuously absent from most of the more modern MMOs out there.

Seriously, guys -- if it's able to fit into a Flash game on Facebook, you can fit it into your umpteen-millionth triple-A title. Get on that.

But I'll put aside the slaying of darkspawn and associated questions about how they're this far north, because it's time for another edition of Ask Massively. This round, we're talking about reviewing new MMOs, the conceptual space of games, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. As always, you can feel free to leave your questions in the comment field or send them along to ask@massively.com.

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Ask Massively: Can't talk, slaying darkspawn edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: How do you like your character customization?

Jef Reahard — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind

SOE's Jens Andersen recently provoked a bit of a discussion with his comments on DC Universe Online's character customization options. In a nutshell, he intimated that they're somewhat limited initially and devoid of excessive "fluff" in order to give players something to strive for as they build their avatars.

This is something of a departure from the tradition established by earlier superhero MMOs. City of Heroes and Champions Online both feature absurdly awesome amounts of individuality and costume customization potential. Even older, non-superhero games such as Aion and Star Wars Galaxies are renowned for the unique looks possible with their extensive character creation tools.

That, dear Massively readers, brings us to the question of the day. Do you buy into Andersen's theory that costume and character individuality is a worthwhile carrot, or do you prefer the CoH/Champions method of options, options, and more options from the get-go? How do you like your character customization?

The Daily Grind: How do you like your character customization? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: Why I play free-to-play

Jeremy Stratton — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Opinion, Free-to-play, Free for All

I hid in waiting under a soggy sheet of cardboard for the past three days with stale Cheetos as my only nourishment. I had but a single target, who finally exited his house with bleached skin, a red fuzzy head and blurry eyes. As he stood at his front door trying to shoo away the sun like a vampire, I made my move. At last, I thought, Beau's spirit hood will be mine.

By the time I was well into a Keanu Reeves-style flying scissor-kick, I realized an important tactical error. It wasn't the horror-filled eyes of a man who had spent too much time indoors staring at a computer screen that I was looking into, but the fierce come-get-some eyes of a teenager with spiky, dyed hair who was practicing his karate moves.

Had I thought beyond simply looking cool as I made my attack, I would have realized I spent every ounce of energy I had to pull off the insane leap-kick that actually looked more like what you'd expect: a tired, wet, dirty, malnourished geek hop-skipping and shouting gibberish through a yard with a piece of cardboard stuck to his back. The three-day diet of stale Cheetos did not give me enough fuel to defend myself from the brutal pummeling that the pint-sized Bruce Lee gave me.

It turns out Beau lived in the house next door. He had seen my wild display and subsequent beating, so he came out to help me. He invited me into his house to let me clean myself up, extolled the dangers of trying to live out movie fantasies, and offered to let me write his column for a week. It wasn't a spirit hood, but it was a very nice gesture. The dog-shaped cookies were a nice gift too, although I don't know why he snickered every time I ate one.

No. The above tale really didn't happen, but Beau is letting me write his column today so I can tell you why I love to play free-to-play MMOs.

Continue reading Free for All: Why I play free-to-play

Free for All: Why I play free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyperspace Beacon: Forced species

Larry Everett — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, New titles, Opinion, Races, Roleplaying, Rumors, Hyperspace Beacon

The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

This week I was excited about the new species introduced to Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the lore-lover in me is still extremely elated despite what some of the commenters said on the announcement article. However, I've had time to think about a few things, and the seed of internal conflict sowed itself in my fanboy psyche. It did not break me, but I do question some of the decisions BioWare has made regarding species-to-class choices.

I do not like to draw attention to negative posts because I believe arguments can be made without berating other people and defiling the English language. But one of the posts in the recent space-combat-on-rails article reflected some of the fans' sentiment towards the game when the poster said this about BioWare's developers: "They have their formula and every new game is just fresh paint." Although I don't think it is exactly that simple, there is a bit of truth in that statement. But that does not, by any means, destine this game for failure (right, Final Fantasy?). BioWare does have a formula, but when it sticks to this formula, it usually produces something very successful.

BioWare's mantra is "story." The company has chanted this from the first day SWTOR was announced, yet for me something still seems a bit amiss. Upon examining past BioWare games, I am not quite sure the reasons for tying species to a specific class actually make sense -- at least not for the reasons the company offers. Perhaps when you follow me through the rest of this article you can help me resolve this inner conflict.

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Hyperspace Beacon: Forced species originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New video highlights character creation in Final Fantasy XIV

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Previews, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

The funny thing about Final Fantasy XIV is that even though it's going to be notably different from its predecessor, most of the previews we've seen have focused on points of similarity to Final Fantasy XI. But the most recent new release of information should help silence some of the comparisons -- it's a video of character generation. While accompanied by something of a silly spy motif, the focus is clearly on creating a character -- and even just with a single Mito'qe, the creator clearly has a great deal of power.

Some of the hairstyles on display will be recognizable to veterans of Final Fantasy XI, some will not -- but the comparisons end there. Characters have a number of different values to adjust, ranging from the obvious (hair styles) to the subtle (you can have separately colored highlights for your hair, if you wish). The YouTube video is embedded after the cut, and it should be an entertaining seven minutes for anyone anticipating Final Fantasy XIV.

Continue reading New video highlights character creation in Final Fantasy XIV

New video highlights character creation in Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Pay the man

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

Back on the first column I ever wrote about City of Heroes, many moons ago, someone made a comment that's stuck in my head. It wasn't negative, just something that stuck in my mind. They mentioned how the game had been portrayed in a somewhat poor light on the site as a whole, and used as an example that it had been used as the title image for this article about microtransactions and other payment goodies.

Go ahead and take a look at the author of that piece, and you might understand why the comment stuck in my mind.

I don't think that City of Heroes does a bad job with their microtransactions. I actually love their setup and like to point to it alongside Dungeons & Dragons Online as a prime example of how to do an item shop correctly. And I'm fairly sure I'm not the only person who feels that way, although there's doubtlessly the other side of the story that thinks they do an awful job. So strap yourselves in, because today we're going to be diving headfirst into the cash shop and my enthusiastic praise for same.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Pay the man originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: How important are options?

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Leveling, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Saying that a game is linear is almost a dirty word in the field of games, at least when it comes to RPGs and their close genre relatives. The advent of games that allow you to decide whether to trek through the Desert of Certain Doom or the Forest of Inevitable Demise has spoiled us a bit -- we expect to have a choice.

MMOs are hardly exempt, and in some ways even worse off, with players who want to choose which quests they do, which abilities they learn, and what their character likes in a pie. Of course, by the same token, it's better to have one path that's fleshed-out and interesting than a half-dozen with hardly any expansion to them, whether it's a path to the level cap or just a chain of learning abilities.

So the question is, how important is the power of choice? When leveling, would you prefer variety of zones without as much quality to each area, or a full dint of quality in far fewer different places? Do you want your characters to learn anything even if there's not much to learn, or do you prefer a single path that has been expertly balanced?

The Daily Grind: How important are options? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What are your top 5 MMO must-haves?

Brooke Pilley — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

As more and more MMOs release, our options grow. That said, most MMOs utilize the same basic features, styles, and mechanics. Almost all of them feature combat, RPG progression, questing, avatars, classes, etc. These are the things we usually judge when choosing which MMO to play. We will say to ourselves, "Hmmm, I won't play that because it doesn't have this or that feature." or "Oooh, I'm definitely playing that because the game has these specific qualities!"

What are your top 5 MMO must-haves? Do you only play fantasy-themed MMOs? Does a thriving player-driven economy make your list of requirements?

My personal list includes:

1. Polish and a general lack of bugs

I know -- I chose the wrong genre if this is my top must-have! Unfortunately, I get really annoyed paying an initial box price and then a monthly fee to support incompetence...

2. Meaningful PvP

"Meaningful" is a loaded descriptor and includes things like progression through PvP (gear and XP), ranking, consequence, and obviously a story- or design-driven purpose/reason for it all.

3. Class variety or variety within my class

Warhammer Online has 24 classes which are a little bit different from each other. That's cool. World of Warcraft has 10 classes but allows you to specialize through numerous talent combos. That's cool too!

4. Casual-friendliness

"With great age comes great responsibility." I had plenty of time to game/grind when I was in high school and college but now I'm pushing 30 with a family, job(s), and a house. I don't mind working for something, but please don't insult me with tedious design that makes things difficult for no good reason.

5. Interesting and diverse PvE

I'm a PvP-junkie first and foremost, but I still realize that variety is the spice of life. I enjoy PvE a lot more when it isn't mindless, repetitive, lazy, and generally grindy. For instance, I enjoyed WoW 1-70 but the raiding endgame and daily quests weren't my idea of fun.

The Daily Grind: What are your top 5 MMO must-haves? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CoX: New web-based display options

Jonathan Northwood — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: City of Heroes, City of Villains

Supporting the theory that the world should know more about the CoX universe, you'll soon be able to configure the game client to display or hide certain information on the web. It is a bit convoluted, however, so please be sure to note the information contained in the official forums.

In the Miscellaneous section under the General tab (Menu > General), you will have the option of hiding your Statistics, Powers, Badges, and Friends list from inclusion on the public web page. If you choose to show them, leave each option disabled; however, if you wish to hide them, enable the option. If you're a private person, simply enable the Statistics option, and all other options will automatically be hidden. One other thing: unlike graphic settings, these options are configured on a per-character basis, so if you want everything hidden, you'll need to properly configure each character you have on each server. The only caveat to this is if your character has not been logged in for at least 90 days: at that cut-off point, all options are hidden.

Although a final go-live date for this feature has not been announced, it's planned for a relatively short lead time. There will be more information available in the official forum as the release date approaches; and, as always, if you have any issues, concerns, or comments, NCsoft wants to hear from you in the discussion thread.

CoX: New web-based display options originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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