MMO Updates |
- Guild Wars 2's Zadorojny clarifies that Cantha and Elona are still possible
- Are developers afraid of the MMO label?
- The Daily Grind: How do you define hardcore?
- Player-driven economy 'at the very heart' of Pathfinder's design
- Champions unleashes new lockbox-powered story arc
- The Summoner's Guidebook: Anything except solo top in League of Legends
- New FFXIV videos continue the tour of Eorzea, demo group finder
- The Guild Counsel: Finding common ground in guild management
| Guild Wars 2's Zadorojny clarifies that Cantha and Elona are still possible Posted: 05 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Interviews, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  Zadorojny explained that these regions still have stories to tell and that the living world setup allows the Guild Wars 2 devs to explore these regions in the future and add permanent content down the road if they so choose. He further stressed that the game has added what he considers to be an entire region's worth of content since its launch, with more coming as part of the game's current update schedule. [Thanks to Andy for the tip!]
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| Are developers afraid of the MMO label? Posted: 05 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Miscellaneous  In a recent editorial at Eurogamer, several top MMO developers chime in on the fate of our beloved genre. "I don't see the traditional MMO having much of a chance in the future, but games that bring tons of people together -- they're definitely going to exist," says Ragnar Tornquist who recently left Funcom to concentrate on a continuation of his The Longest Journey game series that was successfully Kickstarterted in March. Even the rare successful MMO companies are voicing a bit of concern. "Definitely the landscape of the industry is changing," says ArenaNet's MIke Zadorojny. But the editorial goes on to point out that it's not so much the genre that's changing, it's the label. Games are still massively, online, and multiplayer, but not in the traditional sense. Five years ago, everyone and their grandmother were making an MMO version of top IPs, but now, developers are actually distancing themselves from the three-letter buzzword. Ubisoft's The Division, Bungie's Destiny, and even the highly anticipated Elder Scrolls Online have all stated that their games are not traditional MMOs. So where are we headed, and how do you feel about the changes? Check out the full article for more and let us know what you think in the comments.
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| The Daily Grind: How do you define hardcore? Posted: 05 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  I found the conversation interesting because it shows that many of us disagree on what terms like casual and hardcore mean. I think hardcore comes in all flavors: hardcore sandboxers like Jef, hardcore PvPers like Patrick, hardcore roleplayers like Eliot, even hardcore traders like me. There are even hardcore dabblers, who turn trying out new games into an 80-hour-a-week endeavor. But today, we're asking you -- how do you define "hardcore"? Is it about breadth vs. depth? Time invested? A specific, arbitrary activity? Honorable kills? Or do we use the terms merely to minimalize others -- is it time to retire these words in a genre so enormous?  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!
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| Player-driven economy 'at the very heart' of Pathfinder's design Posted: 04 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, Pathfinder Online  GoblinWorks' Ryan Dancey writes about the player-driven economy which is "at the very heart of the game design for Pathfinder Online." Key talking points include harvesting, processing, and of course crafting, as well as the developers' role as the "central bankers" with the power to control everything from money sinks and faucets to resource injections. There's a fair number of moving parts in GoblinWorks' design, and that fact isn't lost on Dancey. "We are concerned about the complexity implied by this system when it's reduced to inventory lists and markets," he explains. "Obviously the potential exists to shock players with huge lists of similar goods with very minor variations, making buying and selling decisions difficult. Our plan currently is to tackle this problem with UI design so you can filter and sort these lists quickly and understandably."
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| Champions unleashes new lockbox-powered story arc Posted: 04 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Champions Online  Lockboxes apparently factor into the arc quite heavily, as they'll drop from monsters but will require a 100 Zen Cosmic Key of Cash Shop Power to open. The arc features five new digitally themed costume pieces.
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Anything except solo top in League of Legends Posted: 04 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook  The solo top lane is the bruiser lane in League of Legends. It's most typical to see melee fighters and tanks there, and it tends to be a little more chaotic than the other lanes. I dislike playing solo top largely because it is the one lane where players are really encouraged to fight each other, and we all know that I prefer to farm peacefully and dislike being aggressive. However, for whatever reason, I have a lot of successes there. I'm nowhere near as good in top lane as in bottom lane (in either role), but it's a place I can go and not feel like dead weight. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Anything except solo top in League of Legends
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| New FFXIV videos continue the tour of Eorzea, demo group finder Posted: 04 Jul 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, News Items, Final Fantasy XIV, Dev Diaries, Dungeons  Square Enix also released its fourth developers' commentary video. In it, Producer Naoki Yoshida and community team member Toshio Murouchi discuss and demonstrate the "Duty Finder," a feature that helps players to find and form balanced dungeon groups even while on different worlds. Once formed, the group will be automatically transported into the instance and then back to each member's original spot once completed. Before you run off to watch fireworks (if that's your thing), watch both the latest installment of the Eorzea tour and the devs' group-finding demo after the cut. Continue reading New FFXIV videos continue the tour of Eorzea, demo group finder
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| The Guild Counsel: Finding common ground in guild management Posted: 04 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guilds, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  Given that fact, I sometimes feel it's an impossible task to write a column about guilds and have it resonate with everyone. And last week, Massively reader Justin brought up that very subject. Is there common ground when it comes to lessons of guild management? Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Finding common ground in guild management
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