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The Game Archaeologist: Origin stories of modern MMO studios
A good origin story always captivates me, especially when it gives me a new perspective on something I've come to appreciate over the years. I love looking back at actors' first few films or hearing about how, say, Atari and Microsoft got their start. With MMO studios, these origin stories abound and are equally fascinating to me. For example, who would've known that the makers of a couple of SNES titles would one day be running the largest MMO in the world? Or what if few gaming hobbyists in the '80s hadn't created MUDs and then gone on to revolutionize online PvP play? Today we're going to go back to the very beginning of several modern MMO studios to see when and how they came into being. Who knows... it might change how you see them forever.
The Game Archaeologist: Rubies of Eventide
I can't say that Rubies of Eventide has been on my radar, like, ever. And yet practically every time I've asked for suggestions of a game to cover in this column, it seems like someone pipes up asking that Rubies gets a little publicity. That tells me that there's some underground love for this title. There are two things that separate Rubies of Eventide from the rest of the MMO pack and make it a fascinating case study. The first is that it's one of the very few MUDs that was transformed into a graphical MMO while retaining its roots in old-school play. The second is that it had an absolutely ridiculous number of playable classes: 104, to be precise. Some days I really miss the era when game designers would aspire to reach these incredible numbers. Faced with the prospect of an early death, Rubies of Eventide miraculously survived and ran for six interesting years. Let's take a look at a MUD-turned-MMO this week, shall we?
The Game Archaeologist: EA's Majestic
"This is not a game. Or is it?" Conspiracy theories and paranoia were hot with pop culture in the 1990s, largely thanks to movies like The Net and TV shows like the X-Files, which had the tagline of "I want to believe." With the rise of the internet during the decade and the fantastic leaps and bounds technology had been making, people were not only experiencing new ways to play games but also growing suspicious that these tools could have a sinister side. It was into this niche that EA stepped to create an ambitious $20 million project that would fuse massively multiplayer interactivity, the growing variety of technological mediums, and conspiracy theories together. The project was Majestic, an alternate reality game (ARG) that would be the most expensive and highest profile attempt to date. It generated great amounts of interest and publicity, had a promising start, and then flared out hard by the end of 2001. Considering how ARGs and MMOs have crossed paths since, most recently with The Secret World, I wanted to take a closer look at an attempt to develop a game that would run parallel in many ways with the industry that we love today.
The Game Archaeologist: How to return to older games
Let's face it: It's just not that easy to either try out or return to an older MMO. It defies logic because you would think that these games would explicitly crave people to come play them, but it's almost like there's a chest-high wall topped with itchy fiberglass shreds warning people away. It's not impossible to surmount, of course, just inconvenient and a little daunting. And so we log back into World of Warcraft or (thrashes around for a random title) Champions Online instead. However, this column doesn't care about them fancy games with their exclamation marks and free-to-plays, no sirree. We're all about the love for classic MMOs, and it would behoove us to consider supporting that which we love. It's that time of year when I feel the call to return to one of my first MMO loves, Anarchy Online. After tangling with the account page, looking for a subscription variant that apparently no longer exists, and mentally adjusting to the extremely dated graphics, I started to wonder if it was even worth it. But a little perseverance paid off, and I wanted to share a few lessons learned about overcoming obstacles when it comes to diving back into the past.
The Game Archaeologist's top MMO stories of 2012
As another gaming year spins to a close, we here at the Institute for Digital Interactive Entertainment have been holding our archaeological department hostage with a trained buffy-tufted marmoset until it delivered a final report. After hours of begging and infected monkey bites, the head of that department, Prof. Justin Olivetti, Ph.D., handed us a scrap of urine-soaked paper with the following article inscribed. While the Institute strongly suggests that you ignore this report and instead work on your button-mashing exercises, the board of directors stated that all such papers must be posted for the public to see. This report is presented in the Yetbari typeface and contains a sequential series of items that number between 11 and 13.
The Game Archaeologist: Asheron's Call 2 returns from the dead
No, the above picture is not some sort of long-forgotten, dusty archive picture of Asheron's Call 2 from back in the day; it's from the live game this past Thursday evening. How incredibly, insanely weird is that? Turbine absolutely stunned the MMO community the other day when it casually announced that it was bringing back its second title, cancelled since 2005, on a new server. Our editor-in-chief burst into the office chat room screaming, "AC2! AC2! AC2!" It took us a minute to realize that she wasn't just discovering the Assassin's Creed series but had in fact learned that the impossible had happened: An old, deceased MMO had been brought back to life. As the resident MMO historian here at Massively, I felt this was kind of like going to Jurassic Park and seeing all of those dinosaurs after spending most of my time merely reading about them. In the blink of an eye, Asheron's Call 2 went from the ancient past to the playable present. We've got a lot to talk about today, including my hands-on experiences with the title and thoughts about what this means for classic MMOs. Let's not waste any time!
The Game Archaeologist: Steve Nichols' The Realm Online debriefing, part 2
This week we continue our interview with Steve Nichols, one of the original lead developers on The Realm Online. After his work on this pioneering title, Nichols expanded his MMO resume with projects such as the never-seen Middle-earth Online (MEO), the seminal Freelancer, the PvP-centric Shadowbane, and the cult classic Dungeon Runners. These days, Nichols is with Retired Astronaut Collective, continuing to create games for all of us nutty players to enjoy. In this riveting conclusion to our talk on The Realm Online, Nichols discusses the difficulties of the game's promotions, lessons learned from his time on the project, and the sundry secrets of hanky-panky in this early MMO.
The Game Archaeologist: Steve Nichols' The Realm Online debriefing, part 1
It's been called one of "the internet's forgotten games," and yet there are those who will never forget the impact that The Realm Online had in their gaming lives. For some gamers in the mid-'90s, it was the very first taste of a graphical MMO. Though it was little more than two-dimensional cartoon graphics added to the then-standard MUD setup, The Realm Online nevertheless helped to forge a path to the brave new world of MMOs. The Realm, as it was originally called, was a project of Sierra On-Line. Development on the title began in late 1995, with a 1996 beta and launch following soon after. As with other early graphical MMOs, Sierra had little experience or comparisons to draw from while making The Realm but somehow made it work anyway. The resulting game featured a strong emphasis on roleplay, trade, and turn-based combat, although a robust questing experience this was not. Sierra On-Line never fully got behind The Realm, eventually selling it off to Codemasters in the early 2000s, which then turned around and handed off the title to its current operator, Norseman Games. To date, it's one of the longest continuously operating graphical MMOs in existence and can still be enjoyed by today's gamers. We reached out to one of the lead developers on The Realm Online, Stephen Nichols, who agreed to an interview on the condition that we give him a very big horn in a tent. Just kidding; the horn is from his private stock. Let's get to it!
The Game Archaeologist: A City of Heroes memorial, part 2
Following the last column's memorial for players' City of Heroes characters, I received an email from Cryptic's Al Rivera. He wanted to share his own memories from the game, here are a few choice quotes from that email: "I was there from the beginning when Cryptic was just 23 people working in a busted office and I was the only system designer. I made the player powers, archetypes and critters while the game was at Cryptic. The game has evolved tremendously since it left Cryptic... I was very sad to see CoH sold off, and now I am again saddened to see this wonderful piece of game history come to an end. "What was most rewarding was to see all those players log into Atlas Park. To see so many people just so happy with what we made was something impossible to put into words. Thank you, City of Heroes, for all the fond memories. And a special thank you to all the heroes that made me laugh and made me proud. You will be missed." Let's wrap up this memorial series by visiting the remainder of player-submitted superheroes and their stories.
The Game Archaeologist: A City of Heroes memorial, part 1
When I first heard that City of Heroes would be given a hero's farewell, I felt for the players who call that game home. I also was depressed because I spent a fair amount of time in Paragon City myself and have a particular affection for the game. But beyond empathy and misery, I knew that the Game Archeologist had a duty to perform: to preserve the memories of what would soon fade into history. Thus, I put out a call for your City of Heroes characters along with their stories so that I could share them with the world at large. Dozens of readers responded, and for the next couple of weeks, we're going to be looking at the digital face of tragedy and memories. These are the avatars who genuinely meant something to someone, and while they are about to be deleted from the servers forever, I hope that by archiving them here, they'll live on for future generations (read: December 2012 readers) to discover. Let's go meet some of them, shall we?
The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony
You know the story of Roanoke, right? That early American settlement that abruptly went missing with only the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree for later colonists to find? It's a big mystery that might not be much of a mystery at all, but I've always been fascinated with it and other similar tales. There's just something about an abruptly vanishing thing or people to arrest the imagination. So what about an entire MMO that one day just went "poof" and vanished into thin air? And what if it had the ironic name of Lost Colony? And what if I were so bored as to scour the internet for clues as to what happened to it? I think you're going to find out. Lost Colony came to my attention during a recent trip to Planet Wikipedia, where the natives are interesting if not always fully sourced. I was reading through an article on vaporware when this game caught my eye. An MMO I never heard of that just disappeared? I felt a Scooby Doo mystery coming on!
The Game Archaeologist: Happy birthday, Warhammer Online and Fallen Earth!
September is a special month for me because it was around this time that two MMOs personally meaningful to me launched. Four years ago, Warhammer Online came into being amid a flurry of hype, insane expectations, and fan frenzy. It's the game that excited me enough to start my journey as a blogger, eventually landing me a spot here on Massively. And three years ago, Fallen Earth opened my eyes to how much fun an MMO about the end of the world and crafting could be. Despite the fact that neither of these titles qualifies for the title of "success" these days, I still bear a soft spot in my heart for them. I spent well over a year in each game, racking up several memories and useful lessons that I'd carry with me going forward. And I don't regret a single day playing them. Since this month is the fourth anniversary of WAR and the third of Fallen Earth, I wanted to offer a hearty "congrats!" and take a minute to see what's been moving and shaking in these games during this past year.
The Game Archaeologist: Is Ultima Online 2 a doomed prospect?
When it comes to classic MMOs that have strong nostalgic pull with veterans, the topic does arise from time to time what a sequel to any given game would look like and how it would be received in the current gamer climate. We've already talked about updating graphics here in The Game Archaeologist, but I'm talking about more than a new coat of paint -- I'm talking about a new game entirely. A Star Trek: The Next Generation to the classic Star Trek. A One Direction to the New Kids on the Block. A Madden '13 to a Madden '12. I'm stretching here. In a recent franchise producer's letter, Mythic's Jeff Skalski gave fans of Ultima Online a teeny tiny glimmer of hope that Ultima Online 2 might one day be a reality. Depending on your read of it, it could've just been a "stop asking about UO2 already" plea, a shameless way to promote Ultima Forever, or one fan talking to another about something that could happen if both parties work toward a common goal. Considering the troubled past of Ultima Online's sequels, we have to wonder: Is this more false hope than real hope? Is there any conceivable way that this 15-year-old MMO could one day be granted the same honor as EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Guild Wars, and PlanetSide by getting a sequel that actually launches? I have some thoughts on all this, which is good because otherwise there would be a whole lot of white space after the jump.
The Game Archaeologist: Reactions to a free Vanguard
Vanguard's just had its biggest month since its troubled release in 2007, I wager. Its turn to free-to-play makes it the second-to-last SOE title to make the jump, and it's getting a "do-over" of sorts. Personally, I'm glad to see it happen. Without going into depth on Vanguard's past problems, I'll say that this was a highly hyped game that fell about as hard as any MMO could without being outright canceled. For years, it has been subsiding on a meager population and extremely rare updates (I recall a tiny bug update for Vanguard being laughably big news last summer). Now? Now it's received a new lease on life and attention from players and the media. If you've been following the news, you'll know that Vanguard soft launched a week early, talked with Massively about the conversion, officially launched thereafter, and is now part of the PSS.1 deal. But the most important word is that of the player on the street, the ground-pounders in Telon who are checking out F2P (and perhaps the game) for the first time. I've gathered several of these perspectives together for your amusement and edification.
The Game Archaeologist: Neocron and Neocron 2
It's the distant future. The high-tech battle armor you wear sharply contrasts with the ruins of civilization that you traverse. You spot an enemy and raise your pulse rifle, firing off shots as you strafe to cover. Technology hasn't solved the issue of war; it's just made it that much more bloody. PlanetSide 2? Nope -- this is Neocron, the quite-forgettable MMOFPS from the way-back era. I like to call it "that game with the most regrettable cover art in the history of video games," but that isn't quite as snappy. Going into this article, I have to admit that I previously knew absolutely nothing about Neocron other than the fact that it was a sci-fi MMO that vaguely reminded me of Anarchy Online. Oh, also the fact that nobody I know or perhaps ever will know played it. Is it just a myth? A practical joke to make us believe in a MMO phantom? Only sifting through layers of dust and grime would produce results, so I rolled up my sleeves and started digging.
The Game Archaeologist interviews Puzzle Pirates' Matt Jensen
Two weeks ago, we opened the book to a strange game indeed. The odd combination of swashbucklers and minigames has sentenced Puzzle Pirates to the fringe of MMO society, yet it's thrived there as an offbeat title that caters to a... very select and fanatical crowd. Which is totally cool with me, by the way. I love MMOs that take a path less-traveled. Today I got the pleasure of sitting down with Puzzle Pirates Lead Developer Matt Jensen to talk about what it's like to work on the lovechild of Captain Hook and Bejeweled. If nothing else, he convinced me that it would be awesome to work at Three Rings Design because the dress code every day is peg legs and frilly blouses. His team also has one of the coolest offices ever.
The Game Archaeologist: Puzzle Pirates
Up until this point in my life, Puzzle Pirates has always been that "oh yeah, that actually exists!" game to me. Even when I do lists of pirates in MMOs, this title slips right off of my radar. Maybe it's because Puzzle Pirates doesn't make waves (har!) these days, or maybe it's been around for so very long. I can't be the only one; the last time Massively talked about Puzzle Pirates was three years ago. I think that part of Puzzle Pirates' forgettability is that it doesn't exactly scream MMO. I mean, its combat is more cerebral than anything else, it's all cutesy and stuff, and even its name suggests a casual flash title than anything deep and substantive. Yet I have friends with a long and abiding love for this game, people who always chide me when I forget it. So to peer pressure I bow: It's high past time that we gave Puzzle Pirates its due as part of the MMO genre. Avast, ye landlubbers, and swab those peepers: We be goin' to sea!
The Game Archaeologist: What if World of Warcraft had never happened?
As you know well by now, I do love me some "what ifs?" from time to time. In an industry as volatile and unpredictable as this one, it's not hard to imagine a world where, say, Ultima X did launch or where Bill Roper is coming off his fourth straight successful game or where a different studio secured the rights to a popular IP over another one. Perhaps the king of all MMO "what ifs" deals with the former (yes, former) king of MMOs. What if World of Warcraft never happened? Putting aside our own personal reaction, which may range from heartfelt relief to severe heartburn, we should look at this question without bias or emotion. Today I'm going to step way, way out on a limb and talk about an alternate universe where one of the biggest MMOs of all time simply did not happen. In that universe, how did the MMO industry unfold from 2004 on, and what would we be looking at playing today? Maybe it's an impossible mind exercise, but I've been mulling it over for a while, so here are six outcomes that I think are quite likely.
The Game Archaeologist: Will classic MMOs survive without free-to-play?
It's amazing to me how quickly the industry has shifted to where we don't just welcome free-to-play as a business model in MMOs -- we downright expect it. Take a look in the comments of any new MMO that dares to launch with a subscription-only model: People will be tripping over each other in an attempt to predict just when said game will break down and admit that it needs F2P. Whether or not BioWare's admission that it's looking into F2P for Star Wars: The Old Republic surprised you or not, it's a sign that no game is immune to the allure, dollar signs, and downright necessity of the popularity and flexibility of this model. I think this brings a pressing question to bear in the field of classic MMOs: Will they survive without free-to-play? It's a pretty important question for a few reasons. One, a surprising majority of remaining sub-only MMOs are older ones; two, people now expect free in games they try; and three, players aren't exactly flocking to classic MMOs anyway. This week I want to explore the conundrum that these games are in and why some players may have blinders on when it comes to the fate of their favorite games.
The Game Archaeologist: Maze War
It's hard to know how far back to go when chronicling the history of early MMOs and their ancestors. After all, the Game Archaeologist has looked at several titles (Air Warrior, Habitat, Neverwinter Nights) that do not fit the modern definition of an MMO yet were bound in blood to the genre nonetheless. So if today's game seems to be somewhat tenuously related to our favorite hobby, I beg your forgiveness in advance, but I do feel it's pertinent to our exploration of this wonderful genre. The game in question is Maze War, and it holds a general's uniform's worth of medals depicting firsts in the infant genre of video games. Most importantly for us, Maze War was the first graphical video game to be networked and allow players to interact and fight each other. You can see why that may tie in to our current situation. While the game itself certainly never attained the complexity of modern shooters or RPGs, its innovation and pioneering certainly make it worthy of examination. So let's dust it off and get to it!
