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PAX South 2015: Why aren't MMOs more social?
On Friday, Alex Albrecht from ZergID and formerly of the Totally Rad Show headed up a PAX South panel about the social side of MMOs, inviting Patrick Mulhern from Lorehound, Jenesee Grey from Camelot Unchained, and me to join to discuss community in MMOs and why it's seemed so absent in recent years. Meg Campbell from YouTube moderated the panel discussion, calling us the PAX MMO guild. I admit that I considered naming this piece, "How Star Wars Galaxies did everything right and World of Warcraft did everything wrong" because I am obviously biased. But I really was completely surprised at how much SWG came up during the panel. Many former Galaxies players will tell you that there was a lot about that game that was pure crap, but when you talk about the social implementations of SWG, there just aren't many games that compare.
PAX South 2015: Massively's Larry Everett to guest on MMO community panel
For MMO fans headed to Penny Arcade's inaugural PAX South in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend, there's one panel not to miss: Where Did Multiplayer in MMOs Go?. Massively's Larry Everett will guest on the community-oriented panel, which runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday in the Bobcat Theater. You can probably figure out the topic from the title, but here's the official blurb: In early MMORPGs, interacting with other community members in places like taverns and main cities were a necessity for advancement and survival. Today, interacting with random players has become a rare event instead of the tools for survival. Is this what we all wanted to happen? Join Alex Albrecht alongside Larry Everett and Patrick Mulhern to discuss the future of communities in MMORPGs. Larry will join Zerg ID Co-Founder Alex Albrecht, Lorehound Editor-in-Chief Patrick Mulhern, YouTube Gaming Strategic Partner Manager Meg Campbell, and Camelot Unchained Community Manager Jenesee Grey for the panel. Massively's big sister Joystiq will also be represented at the show; Joystiq Editor in Chief Ludwig Kietzmann and Community Manager Anthony John Agnello will host the In(s)ane Joystiq Quiz on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. local time in the Falcon Theater.
The Stream Team: Family MMO night with the Super Hero Squad Online devs
Super Hero Squad Online has been a favorite for several of Massively's writers, Larry Everett being one of them. Today, Larry and his son, Zach, will show off the new SHSO Recharged. And for extra fun, they've invited the developers along. (Maybe they'll have free stuff for you!) Join us at 7:00 p.m. to find out just how awesome this family MMO is for both kids and adults. Game: Super Hero Squad Online Hosts: Larry Everett, Zach, and the Gazillion devs Date: Tuesday, July 29th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below.
The Daily Grind: What are your four pillars of MMO gaming?
A few weeks ago, Massively's Star Wars: The Old Republic expert Larry Everett proposed that "ownership" or perhaps the broader term "immersion" should be considered one of the real four pillars of MMO gaming instead of the four that BioWare picked (combat, exploration, progression, and story). This sounds like a fun mind-challenge to me too because I don't think combat is actually essential to MMOs, I couldn't care less about stock progression, and I don't think any MMO can run a good story from the top down unless it's run by gamemasters. Surely we can come up with some better pillars. Stickiness would be my first pick; games need to keep people coming back because they want to come back, not because they feel they must. Community would make my list as something developers should develop intentionally rather than hope it happens offscreen. Setting to me is far more important than story since how seriously a studio takes its setting determines how invested players will be in their own stories. Customization would round out my quartet; our ability to take charge of our character's development, appearance, home, and activities is crucial to keeping us around. Taken together, those four echo Larry's column -- they're all about ownership in a game, something BioWare's pillars just don't address. What about you? If you were tasked with coming up with the four pillars of MMO gaming, what would they be? 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 Stream Team: Accessing Elder Scrolls Online early
The moment players have been waiting for is here: The Elder Scrolls Online is officially live. Of course, Massively's ESO columnist Larry Everett cannot wait to jump in. He's been up since the wee hours this morning playing. Join him live as he continues his journey through Tamriel saving the world from the schemes of Molag Bal. Game: The Elder Scrolls Online Host: Larry Everett Date: Sunday, March 30th, 2014 Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below.
The Stream Team: Rockin' it out in Free Realms
Massively's Larry Everett and his son Zach want to get some time into Free Realms before it shuts down. Join them at 7:00 p.m. EST as they tour their favorite places and play their favorite minigames in SOE's kid-focused MMORPG. Hop in the game with them if you'd like; maybe they can get a full demolition derby team together! Game: Free Realms Host: Larry Everett Date: Tuesday, February 18th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below.
Choose My Adventure: Saying goodbye to Age of Wushu
During a Q and A with Grant Bowler, SyFy's leading man in its new series Defiance, the actor tried to explain some of his love for MMORPGs and gaming in general. He talked about EVE Online and how he once stayed up for 36 hours due to an in-game war. He bragged about how players often lose everything they have in the game and smiled as he explained its "learning curve." He even likened playing the game to being married to Woody Allen, a strange yet somehow accurate description. Am I comparing my time with Age of Wushu to being married to en elderly comic genius? No, but I am very familiar with the lawkeeper's description of his favorite game. It's the same description that Age of Wushu players use when we talk about the game, although I disagree with how wonderful the "learning curve" is. Still, I had a blast over these last few weeks.
MMO Family: The many ways video games teach children
Video games get a bad rap these days, but we've looked at several ways that they do redeem themselves. One area in particular is games-based learning, and there are some great games that are helping bring about a revolution in how we look at education. But there are some more subtle ways that video games are teaching our children, too, and Forbes Contributing Editor Jordan Shapiro has put together a list of five types of learning through video games, regardless of whether a child is playing a serious game or is just putzing around. Let's look at the "other" side of learning through gaming, and see how it's perfectly tailored towards kid-friendly MMO experiences.
Hyperspace Beacon: TORWars gets candid for its 100th episode
Before its release, Star Wars: The Old Republic had one of the largest crops of fan sites that a single MMO has ever seen. But after most MMOs release, their fan sites diminish. Obviously, the same happened with SWTOR. But one of the sites that has weathered the storm of hate and boredom that follows any MMO release is TORWars. TORWars stands out among its peers because of its fun, honest, and dare I say, professional atmosphere. Not only will you find some of the most enthusiastic SWTOR articles on TORWars, but those bits of news and editorial content are released daily by quality writers. I wanted to get in on the site's celebration of its 100th podcast, so I asked hosts Jeff Hollis, Deirdre Hollis, and Brian Waggoner for an interview, to which they agreed after I bribed them with alcohol. We spoke for over two hours about the ups and downs of running one of the most popular SWTOR fan sites. Unfortunately, that's too much text for a single column, but I have grabbed the highlights, wrapped them up in a bow, and presented them here for you to enjoy. (The bribing with alcohol bit may or may not be true.)
MMO Blender: Larry's roleplay sandbox
I can't say that I represent every roleplayer in the MMO space, but I have been a part of MMO roleplay communities going on eight years now. I think it's safe to say that I have a pretty good handle on what roleplayers want out of MMOs. Fortunately, there are existing game designs that can give us what we are looking for. When developers stop giving roleplayers new content, we -- unlike other gamers -- start to create our own. In fact, the vast majority of us don't rely on the game developers to give us any story content beyond the backdrop of the world our characters are living in, but that's not to say there aren't tools developers can give us that help with our level of immersion. Let's explore what makes a great sandbox for an MMO roleplayer.
MMO Blender: Larry's old-school 16-bit MMO
In August of 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in North America, kick-starting what would eventually be the biggest boom in console roleplaying games. Granted, some of us had been playing RPGs on consoles like the original NES, but RPGs didn't see as big a console boom as they did on the SNES. In fact, console RPGs haven't seen the same level of popularity since the SNES. A quick jump over to VGChartz shows us that out of the top 50 games sold world-wide on any individual console, RPGs on the SNES dominated the NES, the Playstation, and even the Nintendo DS, boasting titles like Dragon Quest VI, Final Fantasy III, and Super Mario RPG. If you take into account some adventure games that should be considered RPGs, like Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, then you have arguably the best platform of all time for the genre. Nowadays, with online gaming and indie companies sprouting up all over the place, a 16-bit online RPG would probably sell really well, especially if it took some of the best elements from the classic console RPGs of the NES/SNES era. Isn't that right, Cthulhu Saves the World? Let's see what I can throw together from some of my favorite 8- and 16-bit games.
EVE Evolved: Sandboxes make the best stories
Every MMO has stories to tell, some written by developers and told through quest content and others created by players through everyday gameplay. Themepark MMOs lead every player through the same fictional story and give no real control over the outcome, but I have to wonder whether the effort invested in that story is even worth it. MMOs are meant to have long-term replayability, and a linear story is new only the first time you play through it. After a while, players find themselves skipping dialogue, ignoring quest text, and grinding yet another character to the endgame. In contrast, sandbox MMOs tend to eschew their own storylines in favour of letting players make it up as they go along. Sandbox MMO EVE Online has spawned some incredible tales and videos over its lifetime, with stories of political goings-on, wars, and record heists hitting the news every year without fail. EVE stories usually also appeal to many people who don't even play the game, an effect uncommon in other MMOs. It's not often that the in-game exploits of a themepark MMO guild will reach the media or generate the same level of interest as a big EVE story, so what is the magic sauce that makes stories from EVE so appealing? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the best stories and videos from EVE Online and ask why EVE continues to grip us with its stories and themepark MMOs don't.
MMO Blender: Larry's Firefly Effect
Many MMOs suffer from not actually having immersive worlds. As a player, I always find a separation between what I am doing and what the rest of the playerbase sees. My personal gameplay has little to no effect on anyone else. MMO communities need to have more interdependency -- positive and negative. I also believe that player choice also plays a major part in making a believable world, and I don't just mean just in some arbitrary dialogue choice, although that can be part of it. Actions in the world should play a part, too. Many MMOs have the pieces already in place to make wonderful, immersing worlds, but for some reason, no one has ever put all the pieces together. What does it take to make a believable, fun world for a player to not only live in but feel that he is a part of the greater universe?
Massively's double-dose of SWTOR beta impressions
For the last few weeks, two members of the Massively staff, Larry Everett and Jef Reahard, have been romping around in the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta, enjoying an extended look at BioWare's upcoming story-driven themepark. Today, we can finally reveal their thoughts on the current state of the game just two months before launch. Larry is our SWTOR columnist; he's been following the game for us for more than a year and a half. And Jef is our Age of Conan specialist (and former Aion and EverQuest II writer) whose love for sandboxes and soapboxes is well-known. Both are die-hard Star Wars fans. Sit back and savor a double-helping of SWTOR beta impressions!
The Perfect Ten: Predictions for The Old Republic
I'm going to share with you a deep secret about the Massively staff: Pretty much all of us hate Larry. Oh, as a person he's likable enough, and he showers regularly, so no complaints there. He even saved the President's dog once and earned the Merit of Patriotic Pooches. Women swoon at his feet, and men occasionally throw their billfolds at him just so that he can afford to live the luxurious lifestyle that he obviously deserves. No, we hate him for a different reason entirely. You see, Larry gets the privilege and honor of being the Star Wars: The Old Republic reporter in these here parts, which has earned him no end of envy from the rest of us. Whenever we're all talking about TOR, Shawn will come in the room and tell all of us to cut it out -- except Larry. "Larry, it's your job to talk about The Old Republic. Keep on truckin', pal! You're the best!" And then Larry sticks his tongue out at us and makes pretend lightsaber noises for an hour or so while we grit our teeth. But then I remembered: I have a top ten column! In which I can talk about anything! And if that subject so happened to be TOR, then for one glorious week I could actually talk about BioWare's upcoming MMO without fear of reprisal from upper management! So today is all about my predictions for The Old Republic. Nine of them will come true; one will not. Have fun guessing which one!
