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Alter-Ego: Working together is hard to do
The news earlier this week that DC Universe Online is now Sony Online Entertainment's best-selling game probably won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has actually played it. There's an enormous amount of fun to be had in running through the game, and the storylines are incredibly well thought-out. However, for all that I personally love the game, there is one thing that I and many other people I've talked to find to be incredibly lacking, and in this case, it's something so integral to the MMOG experience as to essentially make or break parts of the game. Essentially, what point is there to an MMO in which you can't really reliably interact with the other people you're playing with? It's also rather eye-opening just how much your enjoyment of a game like this can be impacted when you can't effectively talk to other people. As such, this week I'll look at several crucial problems with the DC Universe Online chat interface, as well as things that can be done to improve the overall experience.
MMOrigins: The play's the thing
When it comes to my roots in MMOs, I actually have to start fairly early on with my general introduction to tech geekery. Growing up in my house was a somewhat strange affair. You see, back when computers used to take up entire rooms and ran on giant reels of tape -- later plastic key cards and paper tapes -- my father was working with them. Being part of our household meant one was essentially living with a highly technical mind that worked on and loved things like supercomputers. I experienced ideas and machines that many in the world hadn't, save in movies or on TV. It also meant that there were some pretty strange technical odds and ends floating around our home.
The Daily Grind: Guilds as groups, not just chat?
With the seeming trend moving more and more towards the single-player option of soloing through MMOGs, we've noticed that there's been a move away from guild content in many newer games. Apparently we aren't the only ones who noticed it as there is an excellent post out on Journeys with Jaye that delves into guilds and makes some bold statements about what MMOs are doing wrong - or right - in regards to guilds and what developers should look at doing. The question we'd raise is that considering the slant of games more towards solo content, are we seeing the slow death of guilds as anything more than a communal chat channel you share with friends? It certainly seems that in several newer games - short of raiding or the occasional (rare) group type content - much of the time people will be off on their own just talking back and forth. Do you think that guilds are moving into social-chat-only type structure, or do you think MMOs will change and begin to include more group/guild type content to get people playing together again? Where do you see guilds going in the newest generation of MMOs?
The Daily Grind: MMORPG or MMOSPG?
Over the years I've played in MMOs, I've seen a lot of the social structure changing. I don't think it's entirely just my perception as an old fart - it's more a process of the games changing as well. In EverQuest for example, getting to endgame (at least without lots of death runs) involved grouping. In contrast, you can solo from 1-80 in World of Warcraft without ever having to group up once. While this has opened the genre up to lots of new players who normally wouldn't likely have played MMOGs, some might say it's also taken something away. This morning we wanted to ask you if you felt it was better to have what we'll call a 'classic' MMORPG experience - one where grouping, at least for some small measure of time - is a required mechanic before you hit endgame, or experience all that the game has to offer? Or do you prefer the current MMOSPG (massively multiplayer online single-person game) feel of "in the world with others, but just soloing and chatting" that is seemingly becoming more common? Do you find that games designed for MMOSPG experiences turn you off since nobody will group? Alternately, do you find MMO games that require grouping annoy you?
