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  • The Daily Grind: What's the most poorly designed zone?

    by 
    Justin Olivetti
    Justin Olivetti
    05.01.2011

    We've all been there: trekking through the levels, traversing the world, and eventually arriving at... that place. The zone that seems to have been designed to irritate you, personally. Either it's laid out too confusingly, or the quest objectives are too hard to reach, or you get turned around every two feet. It's a poorly designed area, plain and simple. I was pondering this during a recent expedition to the Foundations of Stone in Lord of the Rings Online's Moria. It's not a horrible zone; the creatures are terrifying, the atmosphere is spot-on, and it contains a few of the signature landmarks of the game world. And yet I have to contend that it is a poorly designed place. It's difficult to navigate, the walls are tough on the eyes, and the key quest hub is incredibly hard to find on your first (or second) try. With a few tweaks and a moderate redesign, it could be much more accommodating to the odd traveler. What other zones fall into this category for you? What zones aren't necessarily bad so much as they're just poorly laid-out and structured? 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!