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Free for All: Why I play free-to-play
I hid in waiting under a soggy sheet of cardboard for the past three days with stale Cheetos as my only nourishment. I had but a single target, who finally exited his house with bleached skin, a red fuzzy head and blurry eyes. As he stood at his front door trying to shoo away the sun like a vampire, I made my move. At last, I thought, Beau's spirit hood will be mine. By the time I was well into a Keanu Reeves-style flying scissor-kick, I realized an important tactical error. It wasn't the horror-filled eyes of a man who had spent too much time indoors staring at a computer screen that I was looking into, but the fierce come-get-some eyes of a teenager with spiky, dyed hair who was practicing his karate moves. Had I thought beyond simply looking cool as I made my attack, I would have realized I spent every ounce of energy I had to pull off the insane leap-kick that actually looked more like what you'd expect: a tired, wet, dirty, malnourished geek hop-skipping and shouting gibberish through a yard with a piece of cardboard stuck to his back. The three-day diet of stale Cheetos did not give me enough fuel to defend myself from the brutal pummeling that the pint-sized Bruce Lee gave me. It turns out Beau lived in the house next door. He had seen my wild display and subsequent beating, so he came out to help me. He invited me into his house to let me clean myself up, extolled the dangers of trying to live out movie fantasies, and offered to let me write his column for a week. It wasn't a spirit hood, but it was a very nice gesture. The dog-shaped cookies were a nice gift too, although I don't know why he snickered every time I ate one. No. The above tale really didn't happen, but Beau is letting me write his column today so I can tell you why I love to play free-to-play MMOs.
Free for All: Remembering my first F2P experiences
I sit here, racking my brain, trying to think of the very first free-to-play game that I experienced. It's been quite a long time, at least seven years. As a quick history, I started in MMORPGs in '99, by bringing home a box of Ultima Online for my wife to look at. She laughed at me at first, but soon I would return home from work to find her in the middle of a marathon gaming session. We then switched to EverQuest and then to City of Heroes. In between those major choices, I spent a lot of time exploring the internet for new games. I want to say that one of the first free-to-play games I found was FLYFF, or possibly ROSE Online. It's hard to remember exactly. I searched old emails and found a few references to some games, but I can only verify start dates like February of 2004 for games like There or Second Life. On a side-note, my EVE account started on July 30th, 2004. Regardless, I can remember my first experiences with free-to-play games. I recall the grindy-yet-beautiful worlds I visited, marveling at high-level players who must have played for six months solidly in order to achieve their greatness.
Expansion brings new PvP battle systems to Archlord
Archlord fans can expect a new expansion in the coming weeks, and it will bring some new PvP content to the game. Episode 5: The Grand Cross will bring a new system called The Battle Ground to Archlord. The Battle Ground will bring race-vs.-race PvP to the game in a massive battle held every Thursday and Saturday. Players will join an army of their race, infiltrate the enemy base, and seek to kill the enemy players and heroes. Winners will gain not only bragging rights, but a special race spirit ability which will make all members of that race army stronger. Players will also earn Charisma points for kills in battle, which can be used as currency at the Charisma Gate. Keep an eye on the Archlord site for all the details on The Grand Cross, and check out our gallery for a first look at the expansion. %Gallery-97406%
Archlord opens new server, adds new incentives
Archlord has had its share of problems, beginning last September when it was transferred from Codemasters to Webzen. Account creation was shut down for over a month while the transition was made, then Archlord returned with a shiny new class to welcome players back. Things were iffy for a while, and Webzen announced a server merge even as they made plans for new content and support in several different languages. They're obviously doing something right, because Webzen has announced a brand-new server for Archlord, some great offers for those who take advantage of it, and a few extra additions to the game as well. Beginning tomorrow, North and South American players will be able to join the Grazia server, taking advantage of free character transfers if needed. Not sure if you want to switch? You might change your mind after you see the incentives: the server will be set up to grant +300% EXP as well as 200% drop rates for a month. Players on Grazia aren't the only ones who will be enjoying extras in the coming days. Archlord is also introducing the buddy system for the entire community. Adding someone to your in-game buddy list will provide a link to that player that gives you both additional rewards for clearing quests and missions. You can check out all the new information on the Archlord site.
Webzen celebrates first anniversary with events in three games
MMO developers love to celebrate the "birthdays" of their games, but what happens when the developer itself reaches a milestone? In the case of free-to-play MMO portal Webzen, the answer is "throw a party in every game we have." Webzen is celebrating its first anniversary with special updates and events in MU Online, Archlord, and Soul of the Ultimate Nation. MU Online players will find new content with the game's second major update. New maps, new items and more are being added to the game as well as giveaways of jewels and ZEN. The NPC Leo also has some special gifts for anyone purchasing gold channel tickets before the 18th. Archlord is celebrating by inviting more people to the party, so to speak. Webzen is adding an American server to the game, and invites players in North and South America to join the fun. Finally, Soul of the Ultimate Nation wins the prize for the flashiest celebration with the week-long Mayan festival. The event is going on now, with huge XP bonuses for returning players, special items in the shops, and a "matching" program when you purchase W Coins. Check out the event page for all the details, and congratulations to Webzen!
Archlord announces server and content updates for 2010
Since picking Archlord up in October of 2009, Webzen has been busy making plans to take the free-to-play game forward, and we got a peek at those plans today. They announced a server merge, new multi-language client, and brand new content for the game in the form of a dungeon designed to be accessible to players of all levels. Beginning today, the four existing European servers will be merged into two, and a new realm "Deribelle" will be opened. The merge will increase population on the two "new" serevers, and Deribelle will feature increased EXP and drop rates as well as a "massive cash item giveaway" in order to welcome new players. February will bring further opportunity for new players to check the game out, in the form of a new multi-language client. The new client will support German, French, Spanish, and Portugese. Webzen didn't stop there, however. All the effort in reaching out to new players will culminate in March with some brand new content designed to appeal to the entire player base, both new and old. The Chaotic Frontier dungeon features an automatic adjustment to the entering character's level, making the dungeon available to all players. The first of the new updates arrives today, so if you haven't checked out Archlord yet, this may be an excellent time to start.
Archlord's return heralded by extra buckling of swashes
Fans of the free-to-play MMO Archlord were probably less than thrilled in September, when the game's North American and European hosts lost the rights to the game. Codemasters was "unable to renew a license agreement" and had to shut down their servers for the game, with players left only with the taunting promise of another distributor picking up the game in the near future.The near future, however, is apparently right now, with Webzen having returned the game to operation in North America and Europe. The game has also been updated with the Swashbuckler class, an all-female close-melee combat class that sports rabbit ears. (We're not sure if comparisons to the viera were intended, but they seem largely inevitable and perhaps suitable.)In addition, Webzen is offering a transfer service for all former players of the Codemasters servers, with the transfer scheduled to complete on the 14th of October and offering a small amount of in-game money as an incentive -- that is, the money usually reserved for microtransactions. If you're a fan of the game, this is pretty unambiguous good news. If you aren't, well, now you have a chance to play it again one way or the other, which is always a good thing.[ via Kotaku ]
Archlord to transition from Codemasters to Webzen
Codemasters, while best known for running Lord of the Rings Online in Europe, was never a one-trick pony. While many people have been adventuring through Middle Earth, a brave few gamers were still calling the realm of Chantra, the continent of the archlord, their home. Sadly, however, all things must come to an end as Codemasters will be shutting down their service for Archlord.However, this is not a game sunset, but a game transition. Codemasters has failed to come to an agreement with NHN, the Korean developers of the game, to continue their service. NHN has transferred operation over to Webzen instead of Codemasters. If the images of Huxley and Soul of the Ultimate Nation just popped into your head, then you have indeed remembered the correct Webzen.This transition will move all character data over to Webzen's servers, making Webzen the go-to spot for almost everything Archlord related. What hasn't yet been confirmed is if item data will be transported with the characters as well.Archlord has shut down new account creation until October 2nd, when everything will be transferred over to Webzen. For the full details of the transfer, or if you want to make a new account, check out Webzen for all of the gritty details.[Thanks, Adam and Doran!]
Rumor: Codemasters chief operating officer has left unexpectedly
Edge Online has picked up a rumor that Tony Williams, the chief operating officer of Codemasters, has unexpectedly left the company while Codemasters has yet to make an official announcement.Williams was the managing director at Bam! Entertainment, which was responsible for Carmen Sandiego: Secret of the Stolen Drums, Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo, and various Cartoon Network video game adaptations, until coming on board with Codemasters in 2005. Edge Online has been unable to confirm his absence, as their calls to Codemasters were left unanswered.Codemasters is responsible for publishing Jumpgate Evolution and Lord of the Rings Online Europe, as well as ArchLord in the United States.
MMO / movie mashup wins award, opens in New York
Some of you may already be aware than an MMO is playing a major part in a motion picture currently seeing release in the New York city indie film scene. The film, entitled Ben X, follows the exploits of a young man dealing with the pressures of ... being a young man. He struggles with bullying and self esteem issues, but does so in a somewhat filmicly-novel way: by playing an MMO. It got a mention at GamePolitics, pointing at a New York Times review of the Flemish movie.Despite winning an award at a Montreal film festival, the NYT reviewer doesn't seem to think the film is all that great: "However representative of the chaos in his head, the film's relentlessly paranoid aesthetics come off more as a formal exercise in social dissonance than an empathetic study of human suffering." From this bloggers perspective the MMO in question - Archlord - just isn't that great either. So ... good to see an MMO get bigtime recognition on the silver screen, but we'll wait for the World of Warcraft movie.
ArchLord to get expansion
Codemasters Online has released information about its upcoming expansion to the free-to-play ArchLord. Titled Episode 3: Spirits Awakening, the also-free expansion will feature 3 new game zones, over 80 new class skills, new ruling ArchLord abilities, new collectible armor sets, and new monsters and zone bosses. For those who haven't heard of this title, one of ArchLord's unique properties is that any player can rise to the top and become the ArchLord of their particular server, gaining access to a castle, stronger spells, and a dragon. Needless to say, the title is in constant flux, which provides a great incentive to continue to play. The press release doesn't give specifics for the actual expansion release date other than it's due in a few weeks. Once it arrives, we'll take another look at this MMO.
Codemasters plans to bring MMO development in-house
Well-known European games publisher Codemasters has announced that they plan to move some MMO development in-house. The company currently acts as publisher for a number of Western massively multiplayer games, such as Lord of the Rings Online and Jumpgate Evolution. It also acts as an EU partner for the Korean games and RF OnlineArchlord. Today vice president of Codemasters Online Gaming David Solari has informed GamesIndustry.biz that in-house development was 'always a part of the plan.'In a lengthy interview with the site, Solari notes that entering the PC MMO marketplace is a daunting task - but they feel they're prepared. The numerous games they've licensed will give them an edge, and has given them a great sense of where the industry is going. His concluding statement is especially interesting, given recent comments by Bobby Kotick in the growing tit-for-tat war between EA and Activision/Blizzard. "I don't think you can compete with Warcraft. In two or three year's there will be something else that will be able to compete with Warcraft but nobody will be able to tell you what that is now. Chucking money at something isn't the answer."
Codemasters to reveal new MMO in March
Codemasters -- the U.K. company that runs DDO, LotRO, RF Online, and ArchLord in the European market -- has announced a coming announcement. Is that anything like having a meeting to talk about having a meeting?Wisecracks aside, here's what the folks at Codemasters want every one to know: they will be announcing a new MMO at the Connect 2008 event in March. Connect 2008 is Codemasters' own online gaming expo of sorts. It will take place in Birmingham. Oh, and the game will be playable at the event, too. If you're in the U.K. and you're an avid player of one of Codemasters' games, it might be worth a trip.So mark your calendars for March 14th; then and only then will we know what this mysterious European release is! There's a sign-up sheet for event-related news alerts in case you want to be really, really on top of this, but rest assured that we'll bring you all the info as soon as it comes.
As the Worlds Turn: Land of the Free
Free. Everyone likes things that are free. Well, except when it involves a free kick to the twig and berries. These days, free things are often accompanied by plenty of small-type that make it anything but free. Requiring you to sever a limb or to sign over half of your first born does not constitute free. However, there has been a glut of free-to-play MMOs emerging on the market. Some of these have been around for a while that somehow lost the desire to charge people and others have come out of the gate with no fees like a naked hippy at an outdoor music festival. What I'd like to do this week is take a look at some free-to-play games and see what they have to offer in the realm of game design and development. If you're looking for a review or a first-impression on any of these games, you're in the wrong place. There are far more capable people than I who can do just that. So put the wallet away, we're about to go free ... just keep the clothes on.
As the Worlds Turn: Neverending Stories
Imagine, if you will, the following: In a dimly lit boardroom, a collection of men and women, disheveled and sleep depraved, stare blankly at a room filled with wads and scraps of paper. A broad shouldered man sits alone at the head of the table, the only indication he is there is the low red glow of his cigar. Finally someone speaks. "Ok, how about this? There is this ancient evil that lives ... um ... in a castle and ... ah ... there is a good king who lives in another castle and ... he needs heroes to help defeat this big, bad evil king ... dude." A thick silence falls on the room. Through a puff of gray smoke, "I love it. Let's pump a couple million into this baby. Let's make sure we set up the billing structure and get me some in-game advertising! Let's roll, people!" I confess. That might not be entirely accurate but what role does the story play in our lovely MMO games? It serves as the backdrop for all the contextual details of the game but beyond the introduction movie, what importance or what prominence does the story play in MMOs? We're going to look a few of the more popular MMO games out there and how they deliver the backstory. We'll start with the obvious.
ArchLord moves to free play, Codemasters desperate
Codemasters has announced that its ill-received MMORPG ArchLord will no longer be paid-subscription based. It's free -- starting January 4. Codemasters also plans to offer the game's second major content update, Episode 2: Season of Siege, for free. The giveaways don't stop there: newcomers will be offered a 3,000-credit bonus for opening an account.Sure, these moves imply that Codemasters is desperate for players, but we prefer to look at it from a glass-half-full perspective. Fewer players, means we're in the running to be crowned Archlord! Muhawhawhaw!
ArchLord beta surpasses 150k PCUs in China
Developer NHN's ArchLord had a successful launch in its native Korea earlier this year, and now boasts over 150,000 peak concurrent users in China's open beta after just three days. Shanda (Legend of Mir, DDO) hosts ArchLord in China, while Codemasters will be operating the MMORPG in Europe and North America.Expected to debut stateside in September, ArchLord contains a mix of 2500 story-driven, PvP, and FedEx-style quests, as well as a soundtrack performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Players will also have a chance to become ruler of Chantra (not to be confused with Guild Wars' Cantha) in the main quest, and those who succeed will have their names immortalized on the walls of the ArchLord castle.Gametrailers has several teasers and character background movies.
New Codemasters MMO in the works
Codemasters have recently secured the rights to North American and European distribution of the MMO ArchLord, currently in open beta in Korea. The game has an interesting premise; every month, one player becomes the ArchLord and can "leverage the mystical power of ancient relics to gain complete mastery of the fundamental forces of creation, unleashing chaos and devastation upon their foes."However, Codemasters have yet to release their nascent MMO RF Online, and have also taken on the mantle of community, technical and billing support for Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach. Their ambitions certainly seem well-placed, but are they taking on too much at once? We'll wait and see if they can prove themselves with one MMO before judging their ability to manage three. If Codemasters learn the tricks of multi-MMO success, then perhaps NCsoft should start worrying.
