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Perfect Ten: Terrible, terrible MMO names
A catchy, vivid title is essential to getting your game noticed and establishing a strong brand. Yes, we as gamers will get used to pretty much any dumb name (unless it's Daikatana), but a great one allows us to mention it in polite society without getting spat on or rejected for dates. The best MMO names in my opinion are single words that sound cool or conjure up a strong association. I'm less fond of ALL CAPS ACRONYMS and any game that can't be more inventive with its title than to put "Online" after it. For the most part, MMOs play it safe and boring with titles, with only a few outliers in the awesome or terrible fringes. Today, we're going to examine the latter. I want to make a couple of quick qualifiers here. I'm not judging these games by their names; an MMO can be good or bad independent of how silly its name is. And while I know that some of these names make more sense in context, I generally feel that if I have to have it explained to me, then it's a fail.
Netmarble announces the shutdown of Arcane Saga
It can only be hoped that during your brief time with Arcane Saga you have not gotten too attached to it. The game relaunched in the US just over a month ago, and now the game has announced an impending shutdown later this year. Somewhat unusually, the actual shutdown date is September 16th, meaning that the game will be waiting for the final shutdown longer than it was running normally. Netmarble has already closed up the cash shop; players are able to spend any remaining cash shop currency on the company's other titles. According to the announcement, the game simply wasn't taking in enough money to remain profitable. Arcane Saga was a relaunch of Prius Online, which had already been shut down once before. Our condolences go out to any gamers who had hoped for a long and fruitful future with the game.
Rise and Shiny: Arcane Saga Online
I sat down on Monday with NetMarble Producer Jon-Enee Merriex to discuss Arcane Saga Online, a remake/re-release/re-launch of the defunct Prius Online. I was actually very excited for Prius Online at one point, but the game fell flat once I got my hands on it. With this re-launch, would the publisher NetMarble be able to capture an audience -- and keep it -- this time? I jumped into the first hour of the game with a bit of an unfair advantage, having Jon-Enee with me to explain many of the ideas and thought processes behind the re-launch. It all makes sense when you hear it from a developer's mouth, but how does the game translate when you just log in and start playing? It turns out that it has many issues but is quite fun a lot of the time.
Arcane Saga launches with Steam bonus packs
Ready to start a new saga? After a brief period of open beta testing, Arcane Saga has officially launched today for players to enjoy a saga all about the arcane. Or a saga that is itself arcane. However you want to dissect the game's title, you can download directly from the official site or pick the title up among Steam's free-to-play offerings. Steam players also have the option of purchasing up exclusive item packs, so that might be an added incentive. Arcane Saga's main selling points are fast leveling, job combinations, and a competitive PvP endgame. The stated design goal is to get players into the meat of the game quickly and provide players ample opportunities to forge their own paths. No events are scheduled to celebrate the game's launch, but considering the number of free-to-play titles that simply add a full cash shop onto an open beta, the official launch is compelling enough. [Source: Netmarble press release]
