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Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's 2014 report card
In 1996, Richard Bartle published a study of MMO gamers that eventually led to his 2003 book Designing Virtual Worlds, which was at the time the de facto MMO genre's design bible. Of course, this was before World of Warcraft hit the scene, but many of the principles Bartle laid out still hold true. In fact, if you don't believe me, take it yourself: GamerDNA still has an online test based on the Bartle study. Bartle categorized players based on their interests in the game; I would like to do the same this year as I did last year for Star Wars: The Old Republic since it's a good way to measure the game against the average expectations of certain types of players. Bartle divides us all into Achievers, Socializers, Explorers, and Killers. I'll explain what each of those means as I discuss the different aspects of SWTOR. If you know what that means and so you have a point of reference, my profile is SEAK, which means that I interact with all types of players. For fun, I've added a grade-card-style of rating system: A, B, C, D, or F. Just remember the information I give about that score counts for more than the score itself.
Hyperspace Beacon: The rest of SWTOR's year-end report
The end of the year is nigh, and as I promised, I will give you my final thoughts on Star Wars: The Old Republic and its achievements for 2013. I wanted my assessment to be based on something other than squishy feelings. Of course, opinions are extremely subjective, but that doesn't mean they cannot be based on something a bit more substantial. In July, I created a mid-term report card for SWTOR using Dr. Richard Battle's studies as the starting point. Bartle's study allowed me to step out of my normal playstyle and observe the game from the standpoint of different types of MMO players. Some players find discovery and exploration to be the most important part of an MMO. Others want to achieve the highest scores or defeat the biggest bosses. Some want to prove that they are better than other players in direct combat, and yet other players want to use the game as an interactive chatroom or work with a group to achieve a goal. Few people fall neatly into one category or other, but nearly everyone will have a dominant motivation. A couple of weeks ago, I graded the game based on the perspective of Bartle's Killer type, giving SWTOR a C- in the category. Because of Galactic Starfighter and 4v4 arenas, I raised the grade from the F I gave it during the mid-term report. I gave the game an A- for Achievers, B for Explorers, and C for the Socializer earlier this year. Has SWTOR been able to raise its grade in these other categories?
Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR year-end report on PvP
In July, I took the famous Bartle Test and pitted it against the state of Star Wars: The Old Republic at the time. The test, based on the research of Dr. Richard Bartle, measures the types of activities within an MMO that players find fun. Of course, there is plenty of crossover, and very few people fit neatly into one category, but I believe that if an MMO hits all the categories well, it will be highly successful, at least from a player's point of view. In the research, player motivation is divided into four categories: Achiever, Explorer, Killer, and Socializer. I have never been a fan of the term Killer as used to describe the type of player who likes to compete directly with other players, but then, I didn't earn a PhD from the University of Essex, either. The Killer category has always been described as more than someone who likes to PvP in the sense that most MMOs provide PvP. A Killer likes to compete, plain and simple. He wants his skills pitted against the skills of other players, and he wants to be recognized for it. In SWTOR, many Killer-types will hang out on the steps of the Sith Academy on Korriban dueling, partially because they find dueling enjoyable, but also because it is in sight of many other players. (That's where recognition comes in.) In July, I gave SWTOR very poor marks in the Killer category. I wrote, "Later this year, BioWare plans on introducing a content specifically focused on PvP, but given the team's track record, I have my concerns," and then I gave the team an F in this category. Has BioWare been able to raise that grade? And how have things changed since mid-year?
Hyperspace Beacon: Putting SWTOR PvP on the right track
This past weekend, a friend of mine came up from Texas. Not only did we talk about our families and such, but we also spent some time talking about Star Wars: The Old Republic PvP. We have both been following the game about the same amount of time, and we are now in the same guild. I argued that PvP in SWTOR is broken. A couple of Advanced Classes excel while the others are just filler or fodder. Even if there were balance in the classes, BioWare does little to encourage the competitive player. In July, I gave a mid-term report card for SWTOR based on Dr. Richard Bartle's assessment of the different types of MMO gamers. As you might guess, SWTOR failed miserably in the "killer" category. As I talked to my friend, we came to the conclusion that SWTOR is a PvE game with a side of PvP. However, given some of the additions coming later this year, I think our Star Wars MMO might raise itself above the F grade I gave it a few months ago. Today, marks the start of Season One PvP, and in less than a month Galactic Starfighter launches. Both of these additions mark significant changes to the perception of game through the eyes of a "killer."
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR mid-term report card
It's history lesson time. In 1996, Dr. Richard Bartle, who earned his PhD in artificial intelligence from the University of Essex, wrote a paper analyzing the different types of gamers who play massively multiplayer games. At the time, these games mostly consisted of MUDs (a genre Bartle helped create), but there were certainly enough data from Bartle's study that could be ported over to MMORPGs, which is exactly what Erwin Andreasen and Brandon Downey did in 1999 and 2000 when they created the Bartle Test. Since then, the Bartle Test, which breaks up online gamers into four general categories (achiever, explorer, killer, and socializer), has been used as a standard in discovering which online games players would enjoy most. Why bring this up? Well, we are about six months into the second year of Star Wars: The Old Republic. The first year was fraught with high expectations and slow delivery. Many failed attempts at greatness made the first year of SWTOR a bit of a downer. However, in this second year, in light of the ever-changing market of MMORPGs, the Star Wars MMO took steps to put itself on a better path. Using the Bartle Test as my litmus test, I will break down and grade this year's performance so far.
The Road to Mordor: Rise of Isengard report card
It's been a half-year since Lord of the Rings Online's third expansion, Rise of Isengard, opened the doors to Dunland and beyond. It was an interesting expansion compared to what came before in several ways: It finally took us into the pages of The Two Towers, it introduced Rohan and the Rohirrim, and it introduced what I consider to be the most compelling villain this game has seen to date. While the game's hinted and alluded to Saruman and his White Hand back-up dancers leading up to RoI, the expansion finally unveiled the mastermind behind many of the machinations of Middle-earth's mischief. His was not an overt city-crushing type of evil; instead, he's a crafty politician-type who attempts to woo and seduce minds to his cause. More than the Witch-king of Angmar or Sara Oakheart, Saruman gives us a perfect target for our justified outrage. This is a guy we don't want to see succeed, ever. So with six months under our belt, I thought it would be a great time to evaluate as much of Rise of Isengard as I've experienced with the ol' report card treatment. Where does it get good marks -- and where does it need tutoring?
Report Card: Phase 4 daily quests
Phase 4 is now well underway, with about 50 servers having it unlocked according to us.gorgonnash.info at the time of this writing. There's still a few more things to unlock, but for the most part, the Sunwell Isle is complete, and what you see is what you get as far as resources and places to fight. So, once again, it is time to ask the question: How do these quests fit into your busy up-to-25-daily-quests-to-do lifestyle? They fit pretty well, actually!
NIMF gives games industry 'C' in 12th report card
Poor video games. It seems that you will not, as you had hoped, be receiving a complimentary personal pan from Pizza Hut, the true prize of any straight-A student. Their pizza-free afternoon is the fault of the National Institute on Media and the Family, which gave the industry a "C," saying it was in an "ominous backslide" since the 2006 edition of the report. Most troubling is the NIMF's finding that 50% of underaged kids are still able to buy M-rated games, up from 32% last year. Parents also get slapped on the wrist with a "C" for not understanding the rating's system.The ESRB (which itself received a "B-" for its education efforts) lept to the industry's defense, saying the report card "contradicts recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) findings related to parents' awareness, use and satisfaction with ESRB ratings." Wow, looks like the NIMF just got a "B" ... "B" for "burned," that is. Also included in the report is the NIMF's list of games to avoid this holiday season, which we've included after the break.
PSP dominates on list of games for parents to avoid
The National Institute on Media and the Family has just released their annual Report Card, and are advising parents to avoid buying certain games for their kids. All of the titles feature "M" ratings, but meh... parents are too busy to actually look at ratings! Here are the games to avoid, with PSP titles bolded: Gangs of London * The Sopranos Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories * Reservoir Dogs Mortal Kombat: Unchained * Scarface: The World is Yours The Godfather: Mob Wars * Saints Row Dead Rising Just CauseThis list tells me one thing: the PSP really is for the mature crowd. Four of those titles are either exclusive, or enhanced on the PSP, making this system easily much more evil than the childish DS counterpart. At least the Institute recommends Loco Roco for the holidays, which should distract the kids from downloading porn onto their systems.[Via Joystiq]
GameDaily grades the consoles, PSP gets a B
AOL-owned GameDaily recently gave grades to all of the consoles. They gave the PSP a very respectable "B." Here are some excerpts of their review:Though overshadowed by the Nintendo DS, the PSP still holds its own with a more mature game lineup, plus music playback, Web browsing and media storage... The UMD movie market may be slowly dying, but the game supply is holding steady. Younger gamers will like Daxter and Loco Roco; the nostalgia gamers can relive the past with Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins and Capcom Classics Collection; and mainstream players can pick up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Madden NFL '07."The system is praised for its more mature game variety. They recommend that a price drop would do a lot to help the PSP, and it would make the system "an easy choice for those who aren't into Nintendo's style." Nintendo's style, of course, net the Nintendo DS an "A" because of its position as a "gotta-have gadget."[Via Cold Pixel]
