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The Daily Grind: Does instant travel trivialize MMO worlds?
Among hardcore MMO fans, there's a theory that instant-travel is a bad thing. If you can just click a map or teleport somewhere instantly, they say, you lose your sense of place in the world along with your appreciation for the setting. Everything feels close together when you didn't have to meander there by foot, and sooner or later, you won't bother exploring at all. But the opposite's been true for me in practice. I've done far more exploring in (and have a much deeper nostalgia for the landmasses of) titles like Ultima Online and Guild Wars, which boast Recall spells and map travel, respectively, than I have in less-travel-friendly titles, and I'm guessing it's because the ability to get to strange and out-of-the-way places quickly means you'll actually go there by choice -- because you can. If it takes me two hours to walk to that cool oasis hidden away in a secret corner of your map, I'm probably not going to bother going at all. What do you think -- does instant travel trivialize the MMO world experience? 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!
Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2
The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. Guild Wars 2 is on the way (when it's ready), and classic Guild Wars players probably understand that soon they'll be competing with a younger sibling -- a smarter, more attractive one who's sure to get more of mom's attention. And while we're sure that some of the more stalwart Guild Wars 2 fans are also Guild Wars players, not all veterans of the first edition are dedicated to licking up every drop of sequel info squeezed out of blogs, conventions, and betas. Those veterans might just be wondering, what exactly can Guild Wars 2 offer them, other than Hall of Monuments tie-ins? What's changed? What's the same? What will they love, what will they hate, and what could possibly make them jump ship to the new hotness? The first and most important thing you must know is that yes, you can jump in Guild Wars 2! Seriously, though, jumping is more than just a thing you do with your spacebar when you're bored; it's a symbol of boundlessness. Guild Wars 2 itself is trying to jump a lot higher than its elder brother, and probably the essential difference between the games is that feeling that the walls have come down and gravity is letting loose. That alone should urge classic players to take a peek, but if that's not enough for you, fire up your Jeremy Soule soundtracks (yes, he's onboard for an encore!) and read on...
Flameseeker Chronicles: Back to basics
With all the talk of Guild Wars 2 these days, many players are beginning to pay attention to Guild Wars, something they've not done before. And there's good reason to jump into Guild Wars right now. It serves as the backstory to Guild Wars 2; the entire Guild Wars trilogy plus the Eye of the North expansion can be had for a song these days; and there's no subscription fee. Players who are a little burned out on their previous games of choice are thinking that maybe there's something to this game after all, and I've been getting more than a few emails with general questions about starting this five-year-old game. So while we've been focusing pretty heavily on Guild Wars 2 in Flameseeker Chronicles lately, I decided to take this week to discuss why it's never too late to start Guild Wars while you wait for GW2 to arrive.
Still clicking: Our exclusive interview with the Mythos dev team
Considering Mythos' stormy post-Flagship past and its relatively low profile over the past half year, we were pleased to see the team at Redbana unveil a website revamp last month, complete with a slew of vibrant new screenshots to tease the upcoming closed beta. The infrastructure revealed in the images suggests that the game has come a long way since we last checked in with the team; although many players might once have pigeon-holed Mythos as "just another Diablo clone," it's now maturing into a hybrid MMORPG that seems to have as much in common with Blizzard's other fantasy game as with the click-fests of yesteryear. Curious, we commandeered the team at Redbana in order to ask about the progress of the game. Meet up with us after the break as we discuss the transition to Redbana, overcoming the Diablo stigma, camera perspectives, map travel, character customization, and the likelihood that Mythos will be free-to-play. Oh, and did I mention you can play satyrs and cyclopes?!
ArenaNet devs talk parties, games, and map travel
ArenaNet must be feeling generous this week, because we've gotten another hefty dose of new information about Guild Wars 2, a mere day after the last round. After all that talk of death and healing, we're venturing back to the lighter side with designers John Stumme and Ben Miller. We established not long ago that there's an important lighter side to Guild Wars 2 -- a part of the game that's just for playing, having fun, and taking a break from the burdens of war. Follow along after the jump for our take on ArenaNet's look at activities in Guild Wars 2 and a bonus look at travel!
