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[Raph Koster categorizes his best game design blog posts]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/15/raph-koster-categorizes-his-best-game-design-blog-posts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/15/raph-koster-categorizes-his-best-game-design-blog-posts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/15/raph-koster-categorizes-his-best-game-design-blog-posts/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Raph Koster
If you're looking for an entry point into the voluminous back-catalogue of game design posts sitting on Raph Koster's web server, look no further than his newest entry, which serves as something of a greatest hits listing.

For those unfamiliar with Koster, most gamers associate him with watershed sandbox titles like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, and he has also written a book called A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Koster first published his website in 1997, and some of his articles date almost as far back. He's arranged the links in what he calls a "rough reverse chronological order," so grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and settle in for a lengthy design-focused read.

MassivelyRaph Koster categorizes his best game design blog posts originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>designgame-designgame-theorykosterMiscellaneousmmo-industryraph-kostersandboxtheoryThu, 15 Mar 2012 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The perfect MMO concept is complete]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/17/the-perfect-mmo-concept-is-complete/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/17/the-perfect-mmo-concept-is-complete/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/17/the-perfect-mmo-concept-is-complete/#commentsFiled under: ,

GamerZines just wrapped up a blog series detailing all the ingredients that make their perfect MMO and they want your feedback. They also plan to pitch these ideas to various MMO studios and eventually compile it all as a full feature in their free MMO magazine, aptly titled MMOZine.

We wrote about parts one through five a couple weeks ago and since then they have come out with a sixth part. In part six, the author suggests "next-gen" MMOs should become more homogenized in terms of their feature sets. Why re-invent the wheel when you can copy a perfectly working system already, they ask. Somehow, we don't think everyone's going to agree with that one.

If nothing other than one man's (or magazine's) opinion, this series highlights a valid point about game development. Because everyone has different gaming tastes, developers are bombarded with strong opinions from all sides. "You should focus on hardcore raiding." "No, you should focus on casual questing." "I want to experience epic large-scale PvP." "But I want your PvP to be solo-friendly!" That has to be difficult, unless you're so focused on your game's vision that you can tune out most of the background noise.

MassivelyThe perfect MMO concept is complete originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 17 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>designgamerzinehomogenizationmmo-designtheorywow-killerSun, 17 May 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Gamerzines blog series on crafting the perfect MMO]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/05/gamerzines-blog-series-on-crafting-the-perfect-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/05/gamerzines-blog-series-on-crafting-the-perfect-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/05/gamerzines-blog-series-on-crafting-the-perfect-mmo/#commentsFiled under: ,

Gamerzines doesn't want to sound arrogant, but they're pretty sure they can design the perfect WoW-killer and because they're such nice folks, they're going to spill the beans in a series of blog posts. There are five parts so far that include their must-have elements for the next best MMO since [insert your favorite MMO title here].

  • Part 1 - User generated content that passes through a quality filter
  • Part 2 - Persistent world and good story
  • Part 3 - Crafting and economy 2.0 (see EVE Online's industry)
  • Part 4 - Old school RPG customization system (stats, appearance, gear, etc.)
  • Part 5 - Real world simulation
This is obviously a pretty bold series if it aims to change the MMO landscape, but the ideas do seem interesting even though none of them are exactly novel so far. That said, they are starting to fit together nicely as newer parts of the series come out.

For instance, allowing players to have a visible and lasting impact on the game and then mixing it with the concept of a more real world simulation could produce interesting outcomes; e.g., too much hunting of one particular species could throw the ecosystem and biodiversity of the surrounding area out of balance.

[Via: Warcry]

MassivelyGamerzines blog series on crafting the perfect MMO originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 05 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>designeve-onlinemmo-designpersistencesimulationtheoryuser-generated-contentworld-of-warcraftwow-killerTue, 05 May 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Terra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/30/terra-nova-looks-back-and-forward-at-the-diku-legacy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/30/terra-nova-looks-back-and-forward-at-the-diku-legacy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/30/terra-nova-looks-back-and-forward-at-the-diku-legacy/#commentsFiled under: , ,


EverQuest, World of Warcraft, The Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and many other MMOs all have one important thing in common. Well, okay; they have a lot of things in common -- like about 85% or more of their gameplay mechanics. But the main thing -- indeed, the reason why they have so much in common -- is that they are all descendants of a kind of text MUD game called Diku.

Acknowledging that, virtual worlds blog Terra Nova published a "State of the Diku" article for the year 2008. The article was written by Timothy Burke. It's mostly a dispassionate look at game design -- serious business. Burke starts out questioning the purpose of "vendor trash" drops (or grey items as they're generally known in many popular contemporary MMOs). Then he analyzes the public quests of Warhammer Online, viewing them as a positive variation on traditional Diku design.

If you're into thnking critically about MMO design, it's worth checking out. We take for granted the fact that most of today's MMOs are based on the Diku formula; maybe that means we're clinging to old ideas that don't make a lot of sense in today's world.

MassivelyTerra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conandesigndikudiku-muddropsgreyhistoryitemsjunklord-of-the-rings-onlinemudpublic-questsstate-of-the-dikuterra-novatheorytimothy-burkevendor-trashwarhammer-onlineworld-of-warcraftSat, 30 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lore and storytelling in the MMO genre]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/27/lore-and-storytelling-in-the-mmo-genre/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/27/lore-and-storytelling-in-the-mmo-genre/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/27/lore-and-storytelling-in-the-mmo-genre/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

KillTenRats has a good commentary up on lore and its role in MMO games. Story in videogames is a tough thing to get right, and it's even tougher in a world where you don't just have one hero-- you have hundreds or thousands of them. (Sidenote: while it's not an MMO, Portal-- my vote for Game of the Year this year-- deals excellently with story, and you should read this long but insightful debate between N'Gai Croal and Stephen Totilo about it). How do you describe a changing narrative in a place where the world itself is designed to be persistent?

The common answer is world events, but those are still so complicated that even their little brothers, instanced events, are still in the stages of infancy. We may be able to clear out a castle in an instance, but can we destroy one? And the very fact that it's instanced means that we can leave, walk back inside the door, and nothing has changed. We chalk it all up to coding right now that the prisoner we just rescued a few minutes ago still remains in his cell, and we simply sigh, resigned to the fact that we're not really changing the world, just leaving it reset for the next group of players.

Still, there have to be some ideas floating around that could work to bring around a great story in a persistent world.

Continue reading Lore and storytelling in the MMO genre

MassivelyLore and storytelling in the MMO genre originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backstorycharacter-advancementgame-designloreportalstorytheoryTue, 27 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST