Global Chat: Branching out edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat!
This week is all about trying new things. Burnout, new platforms, and game updates were story topics that provoked a lot of talk, both good and bad. Ready to see what everyone had to say? Hit the jump and let's discuss!
Mobile games -- particularly iOS games -- aren't a new concept, but they're certainly becoming more prevalent. Our story on some new iOS MMO commercials was followed up with wildly varying opinions on both the commercials and the genre. Massively reader Averice had some thoughts on not only the commercials but how he'd like to see Blizzard respond to the rise of the mobile platform:
"I bet those secret gamers lurking out there will check it out on their iPhones. Even then, 10% would be pretty incredible. Even 99% of people not going to the website compared to who is seeing it can translate into huge numbers.
"Anyway, I can't tell if I think what Gameloft is doing is good or bad. I mean, it's a pretty blatant rip-off, much worse than all the F2P WoW clones -- at least those all have their own stories and races and classes. But it's not like Blizzard is ever going to release WoW on the iPhone either, just because it would obviously be pretty sub-par. But it's such a blatant rip-off... how can you let them get away with it?
"Actually, I kind of hope Blizz does start doing some iPhone work... I wonder if they've even thought about it seriously. If Blizz made WoW on the iPhone and did that whole tie-in thing, you could use currency you've earned playing the iPhone game on non-combat pets and such -- aka, you could "buy" the code in the iPhone game by turning in gold in the iPhone game that you can then apply to WoW. I'm glad Blizzard isn't doing anything Facebook-wise, but I think the smartphones could be interesting.
"That's what someone needs to ask them next time they're doing an interview: if they're considering the mobile phone market, and what types of games they could envision themselves making for it."
Burnout on one's favorite MMO is a common problem, one that Brandon addressed regarding Star Trek Online in a recent Captain's Log. Readers responded with various thoughts on combating burnout -- or avoiding it in the first place, as is the case with Stephen:
"I actually can see myself playing this game for a long time into the future, for one simple reason: roleplay.
"Star Trek Online, more than any other game, is just ripe for roleplay. It's practically built for it. Almost every new addition to the game since launch can be seen as something that enhances immersion, and the very story-like focus to the Weekly Episodes, as well as the new remastered ones, enhances this even further.
"If you aren't a roleplayer, I recommend trying it out with some casual roleplay at Quarks or grabbing a few friends for a quick re-do of the Azura mission and roleplaying it there. It's a lot of fun, and when you roleplay, it can draw out the experience even more.
"My main isn't even to Captain yet after two months of play, simply because of how much roleplay I do in the off time."
We think we've found a new reader for Storyboard!
Readers of our interview with Chris Cao about DC Universe Online's Update 2 had opinions in both the pro and con columns, including Furdinand:
"I like the Batcave raid roll-outs so far; hopefully something similar will happen with magic and meta. One thing I would like to see is more iconic opponents in the raids. Most of the Batcave and Khandaq instances are new characters. A raid against more of the Flash Rogues, Superman Revenge Squad, or the Injustice Society (Justice Society for villains) would feel more epic."
Nothing is perfect, though, and Massively reader Itoao had a few well-thought-out comments on room for improvement and the nature of gamers in today's MMO market:
"OK, it's good to hear they are fixing bugs and the UI changes will most likely be welcome. But tell me what the point of spending time releasing holiday content after the holiday is again? It's also nice to change the league tab, but how about they actually make it useful by having the league status work? I am slowly losing interest, unfortunately. I know it's early, but as usual, SOE takes time to perfect features that should work well from the start. Todays audience has so many choices that they are not willing to wait for these things, and it's tough to get them back once they leave."
These are just a few of the great comments and discussion points our readers left this week. As always, thanks to all of you who treated us to some great thought-provoking discussion this week -- keep 'em coming!
Global Chat is the weekly feature that's all about you, our readers. Every Sunday we collect the best, funniest, and most thought-provoking comments from the Massively readers and round them up into Global Chat for discussion. Read over them for yourself, hit the comment button, and add your own thoughts!
