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Storyboard: Problem children

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard

Sometimes you have a character concept that just doesn't quite work. We've talked about that before, at least in the context of trying to make sure your awesome new idea doesn't wind up on your list of discarded alts. But there are also times when the concept is problematic long before you get as far as playing. There are certain archetypes and ideas that just do not work for various reasons or that (at the very least) require your square-peg character to be shoved in the roundest of holes.

The loner, of course, is the classic archetype that people love to play without its ever working correctly. It's hard to have a proper loner in an environment where socializing is necessary. But there are other problem types that aren't highlighted as often, sometimes because they're not as common, and sometimes because the people who want to play these concepts get very enthusiastic about them. Here, then, are some of the major problem children among character archetypes, as well as some suggestions about how to make them work right after all.

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Storyboard: Problem children originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic fills up the city planet

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Trailers, New titles, Previews, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Think for a minute about what it means to have a city taking up an entire planet. No, really, think about it. Think about the scope involved, the huge numbers of people involved, the sheer scale of any kind of project or even the most humble buildings. It's a massively dwarfing concept, which makes it all the more interesting to see the latest trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic which discusses the creation of Coruscant, capital of the Republic and home to a single, massive city.

In the trailer, the designers mention many of the issues that they faced with designing the planet, chief among them the absolute lack of any terrain on the planet due to its nature and the difficulty of relating it to real-life places and things. It also discusses the events that lead into the beginning of Star Wars: The Old Republic -- the Sith sacking of Coruscant that leaves some portions of the planet still damaged and rebuilding. Coruscant is being set up to help establish the role of the Republic and the Jedi in the larger galaxy, a symbol of everything positive in the galaxy. We also see still more vistas of the city, which retain the polish that Bioware has been long known for.

On the very real chance you're hungry for more visions of the universe after the trailer, the latest installment of Threat of Peace has also been added to the site. But that's only enough to whet our appetites for what's shaping up to be a truly massive and immersive game.

Star Wars: The Old Republic fills up the city planet originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the Team: Lemuel Pew

Lemuel Pew — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Culture, Interviews, Massively Meta, Meet the Team

Once a week our writers will give you a glimpse into their lives, to let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more Meet the Team.

What do you do for Massively.com?

I'm a webcartoonist, I draw the weekly Massively feature, Grinders. That's pretty much the full and half of it.

What is your favourite MMO?

City of Heroes, hands down. I've played most of the MMOs that have come to market since EverQuest, looking for the Next Big Thing, and I didn't even realize I had found it until I was on my third year of playing City. I'm still going strong. The game has enough variety to entertain my short attention span, the gameplay, while unarguably repetitive, has a rhythm that really entertains and relaxes me, no matter what role on a team I'm playing. I never was a fan for loot ("Judge a toon not by the color of their armor, but the content of their attributes."), I blame this mostly on not growing up on Dungeons & Dragons. I'd rather spend points on stats behind the scenes than wear a hand-me-down piece of clothing from a corpse... seriously, am I the only person bothered by that?

Gallery: Meet the Team

Continue reading Meet the Team: Lemuel Pew

Meet the Team: Lemuel Pew originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Watch: Wonderella strikes a blow for our virtual elders

Akela Talamasca — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Second Life, Comics, Virtual worlds, Humor, Comic Watch

Those of you unfamiliar with The Non-Adventures of Wonderella rest assured: She's snarky like that all the time. Second Life residents, try to resist the urge to flame on. In the latest installment of her non-ongoing story, Wonderella decides to check out the world's favorite online hang out Sucking Life (subtle criticism!), with revolutionary results.

Actually, we'd play a giant mechachicken any day of the week! Developers, are you listening?

Comic Watch: Wonderella strikes a blow for our virtual elders originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Watch: World of Kung Fu

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, World of Kung Fu, Free-to-play, Comics, Humor, Comic Watch

This is a little off the beaten path, as far as this series of posts go. What's being highlighted here isn't an ongoing webcomic in the usual sense, but in the same vein as all the in-game comics that fans of WoW put together comes the first World of Kung Fu comic!

Personally, I think they should have combined the dialogue from panels 3 and 4 into the third panel and made that the punchline, but hey, I've never written one, so what do I know? However, if this is merely the first in an ongoing series (as the comic's title suggests), then it makes more sense. But I do like seeing companies stretch out a little bit with their properties. Who knows? Maybe someday we'll be able to buy costumes like the ones in the comic!

Comic Watch: World of Kung Fu originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Watch: Penny Arcade bricks up LEGO Universe

Akela Talamasca — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Puzzle, Culture, Forums, Game mechanics, New titles, Opinion, Comics, Casual, Humor, Comic Watch, LEGO Universe

Oh, Penny Arcade, is there nothing you can't do? The fancy lads have taken on the news of in-process MMO LEGO Universe and applied conventional wisdom to the announcement. To wit: what if LU played like any other combat-oriented MMO?

What strikes me most about this strip is the attention to detail -- all the typeface work, the player avatars, the account holder names -- this is why they consistently rise to the top of most people's 'best comic' list. Enjoy!

Comic Watch: Penny Arcade bricks up LEGO Universe originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Watch: Chocolate Shoes laments 'the real'

Akela Talamasca — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Leveling, Opinion, Comics, Humor, Comic Watch

Christopher Stuck mocks his own entertainment choices in his comic Chocolate Shoes. An updated take on an old classic concept, it questions where the real value in life lies.

Giggles aside, this argument rings more false than ever these days. Videogames are still new enough, anthropologically, to be considered a flash in the pan, and subject to the same skepticism and outright hostility from non-players that rock 'n' roll and the novel were exposed to when they were new. Simply put, value is where you find it, and no one else. It'll be nice when this generation, having grown up with games, comes into its own -- maybe we'll finally stop seeing articles demonizing our entertainment of choice, and move on to the true threat to society: reality tv shows.

Comic Watch: Chocolate Shoes laments 'the real' originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Your favorite gaming webcomics?

Krystalle Voecks — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor

Over the last several years, we've seen lots and lots of webcomics come and go. Many of us make it a part of our daily reading to stop into sites like Penny Arcade, Looking for Group, Dark Legacy Comics and PVP Online. Maybe you've even gone so far as to join one of their MMO guilds! But there are so many great comics out there that it could take an eternity to hunt them all down.

For today's question, we'd like to ask you just what your favorite gaming-related webcomics are? Are you, like us, fans and followers of the adventures of Gabe and Tycho, or do you have an in-game macro that allows you to charge into battle with the cry "for Pony!" We'd love to hear which ones you absolutely can't live without -- perhaps we'll all pick up some great new webcomics in the mix!

The Daily Grind: Your favorite gaming webcomics? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Watch: 'Something Positive' hits Pirates of the Caribbean

Akela Talamasca — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Free-to-play, Comics, Humor, Comic Watch

I am something of a webcomics aficionado. At current count, I follow ... (carry the one) ... Too Many comics. As such, I'm always reading a variety of topics and humor, and occasionally something that approaches Massively-related content will appear. Such is the case with a recent 'Something Positive', which concerns itself with 'Pirates of the Caribbean Online'.

The initiating event of the strip actually begins the episode before the linked comic, but it's not necessary to read for the effect. I'm curious if there really is a swearing-related, bannable offense, as the comic suggests. Barring that, I wonder if anyone's run into the naming issue described here. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series. Check it out, but be forewarned: NSFW language!

Comic Watch: 'Something Positive' hits Pirates of the Caribbean originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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