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Rise and Shiny recap: Pocket Legends
Over the last two weeks, I have been taking a look at Pocket Legends, a fully functioning MMO made for the mobile player. I did not publish a Rise and Shiny last week (I was busy writing up my GDCO coverage) but that is a good thing -- I had no real time to play the game anyway. I've jumped in and out, played through a few dungeons and scoured the cash shop. After hearing Cinco Barnes from Spacetime Studios -- the developer of Pocket Legends -- I really saw how well the company's design choices were working in practice. What I found is a game that works and is stable. While that isn't the most glamorous description, you would be hard-pressed to find a game that has succeeded without either of those traits. The key here is that it runs while in the palm of your hand (or lap, in the case of the iPad). But let me take you through a bit more of the game before I pass judgment.
Free for All: F2P and microtransactions at GDCO
Last week I wondered about how free-to-play would be discussed at GDC Online. After attending the event -- it was all a blur -- and listening back to my audio notes, it seems that free-to-play has reached some sort of level as a standard pricing option for a modern world. It could have been the fact that many of the developers at the event are making browser-based, iPhone or Facebook social games, but the word "subscription" came up rarely. Blended models seemed to be the runner-up. It appears that all the older companies -- the Turbines, SOEs and other western companies -- just cannot let go of that sweet, sweet subscription cash-flow. Can you blame them? It's a good deal for many, and it could be argued that without that subscription, many players would be turned off. Does all this talk of free-to-play and microtransactions signify some sort of change in quality or style of game? No, not really. It's my argument that things are different in only one way: quality has gone way, way up.
GDCO 2010: UTV True Games wows with three new titles
One of the most thrilling aspects of this job is visiting game studios. It's essentially like stepping into a toy factory, complete with strange noises and funny personalities. Nerf guns are a staple, and each desk or station is decorated with all types of toys, posters, and other trophies from Nerd-dom. UTV True Games is no different, so when we were asked to sit down with three (count 'em, three) different teams to preview some new titles, we knew we were in for a good time. Of course, our professionalism prevented us from actually clapping and going "sqqquuueeeee!" every time a new product was shown, but it's very possible that the teams would not have cared anyway. So what did we see? What do we have to look forward to from the same people that brought us Mytheon? Well, click past the cut and let's take a look!
GDCO 2010: Spacetime Studios' Cinco Barnes talks mobile design
Spacetime Studios, the developer of the popular mobile MMO Pocket Legends, was started back in 2005 to create large-scale MMOs. Its founders decided to make a mobile platform MMO upon seeing the obvious marketing opportunity that the iPhone provided. After all, the players would already be connected and would be accustomed to microtransactions through exposure to iTunes and the app store. Of course, development could prove disastrous if the wrong game plan were followed, so Spacetime decided to keep it simple. How simple? Cinco Barnes of Spacetime was on hand at GDC Online to explain how his team members did it. What they found was a chance to do more than they'd initially planned on -- and an audience ready to gobble up everything the studio could create.
Flameseeker Chronicles: Of dungeons, stats, and transmutation
It's been quite a week for the Guild Wars 2 community. Kristen Perry told us about her amazing dye system; some made plans to head to the east coast to hang out with the ArenaNet staff; we learned more about the Guild Wars 2 Extended Experience; John Hargrove made a post on the ArenaNet blog about loot and armor; and PC Gamer in the UK scored an exclusive look at dungeons in GW2. Looking at all that, I hardly knew where to start for Flameseeker Chronicles this week! Undoubtedly, John Hargrove dropped the biggest bomb on the community with one little sentence in his blog post: "With the transmutation system, you'll be able to acquire new items known as Transmutation Stones through our in-game store that allow you to customize your appearance. With transmutation, you take two items of the same type, pick one that is the most visually appealing to you, one that is the most statistically appealing to you, and then you simply combine the two items into what will hopefully become your perfect piece of armor or weaponry." I was tempted to skip the whole mess, but it's been several days, and the debate is still raging. I want to have some fun too, and since Guild Wars 2 Guru forum member Lyssa got her awesome hands on the new PC Gamer and shared all the details, we'll talk about that too. Follow along after the jump!
Free for All: How much for a ten-spot?
In this week's Free for All, I decided to check out some cash-shop games to see what I might get for 10 U.S. dollars. For the record, some games can be subscription-based and still have cash shops, and some games can have cash shops that have been redesigned and tweaked so that they do not fit into the same old "cash-shop" model. For clarity, I stuck to cash shops that normally pop up while you're in-game -- usually inside their own window. Sometimes, though, the cash shops might be accessed or found on the games' main websites, as well. It was hard to choose, being that I generally don't buy from cash shops any more. It takes a very special product (like Wurm Online's currency) to get me to pay, namely because I do not spend as much time in a single game as I used to. Actually, let me rephrase that before someone starts to write a comment based on that statement: I still spend a lot of time in certain games, like anyone else, but my pace has slowed. Most of the cash-shop items out there are convenience items -- simply time-travel devices that allow the player to speed up his experience. Since I have all the time in the world because of the free nature of these games, speeding up is not something I am interested in. So, let's look at a few cash shops to see what piqued my interest!
Free for All: Five popular cash-shop item types
Over the next few weeks, I would like to take a look at cash shops. Despite many good experiences I have had with them, even my referring to a cash shop can conjure up not-so-happy images for many players. For myself, a cash shop gives me a sense similar to a visit to a toy store -- a toy store where everything is dirt cheap. Good cash shops can not only make you want to spend money, but give you an item or experience that was well worth your cash. Before getting into the heavy-lifting topics, I will go over five of my favorite cash-shop item "types." Bear in mind that there is always some game that features some variant of each of these types. Also remember that there are always more categories, but that these represent what I think are the most popular and make the most money. Feel free to suggest any categories that you think do something similar, or correct me where you think I'm wrong.
Zentia celebrates open beta, new website and contests
Zentia has been one of those surprising little games that seems to have come out of nowhere. You would be hard-pressed to find another game that features so many details under one roof -- as well as so many smart-alec monsters. Well, it seems to be taking off, thanks to its ability to prove itself to disbelievers. With this new-found success comes a series of announcements (as well as an upcoming contest from us here at Massively), starting with open beta kicking off in early October. The developers will be adding four new characters to choose from, exciting high-level content, plenty of new events and access to the token shop. A recent patch also added fixes for common issues. Developer ChangYou also launched a brand-new website for the game and is hosting a screenshot collecting contest to celebrate. The "Legend of the Zentia Seeker" starts with a poem and details being published on the official forums: Heroes! You are charged with a new task, One with rewards greater than you could ask. Complete this quest to gain the treasures you seek, But adventurer be warned: it's not for the meek. Find NPC's from across the land, From the densest forest to the beaches' sands. You will travel far, your search will be wide, But you must discover where they all hide. And once you have found their mysterious locations, Take a picture of each with no hesitations. Follow the guidelines for your chance at true bliss, Break just one rule and your efforts are useless. Now, heroes, I wish you all the best, So get out there and enjoy this contest! You can also like the game on Facebook, or follow the team on Twitter.
Free for All: Turbine's pristine payment plan perfects pay-to-win
There is one recurring statement that bothers me to no end, largely because it is simply not true. Most of the time if I pursue the player who uses the term, he will admit to using it only to justify his dissatisfaction with a handful of free-to-play games. That term is "free-to-play is pay-to-win." Essentially, the term refers to gaining advantages over other players through one's pocketbook, by buying power. As someone who has played, investigated, talked about or interviewed developers of over 100 free-to-play games, I can tell you that a "pay-to-win" scenario exists in the minority of games, not in the majority as some would have you believe. Most of the comments from the "pay-to-win" playbook come in more recent times, but that could be because my column has provided a nice, fertile space for everything anti-free-to-play. But I have found the most vocal of the detractors to be referencing recent free-to-play games like Allods Online, primarily because they may have loved it so much, yet did not want to pay a single dime for it -- and because they simply had not played many free-to-play games before that. Allods Online was, essentially, their main experience with free-to-play. Meanwhile, I am often shown DDO (or now, Lord of the Rings Online) as some kind of "proper" way to do a cash shop. Ironically, Turbine is now not only the largest, but the closest to a true pay-to-win developer. Anything larger would exist outside of North America.
Smith and Tinker talk of green goo, Marvel partnership
Smith and Tinker is a company that is building products for today's "roaming audience," such as 2009's collectible-monster game Nanovor. Essentially, tweens battled microscopic silicon-based monsters that lived deep within their PCs. While it garnered much attention, Smith and Tinker decided it was time for a re-do. Now, we have Nanovor Evolution, a newly rendered 3-D multi-platform version of the game that offers "every player complete gaming satisfaction anywhere and everywhere, and by evolving our Nanovor digital collective game and future titles onto multiple platforms, we are on track to making that a reality." The new version runs within a browser, with future versions available on iPhone and iPad. After our discussion, I decided to a look at the game myself. True to the company's word, it loaded and ran within my browser and looked great. I walked through an animated tutorial, customized my avatar, learned the basics of combat, and was introduced to the public area -- a square for players to chat safely and challenge each other to matches. Really, it's a miniature version of many full-scale MMORPGs, built to be played on many different devices and while on-the-go. Take a look after the jump to catch a glimpse at the action!
Need for Speed World goes free-to-play
Need for Speed World launched at the end of July with a business model that many MMO fans like to call "free-to-try." Players could zoom around for as long as they wanted at no cost, but with a level cap of 10. Paid players could reach level 50. The NFSW team members have had some time to settle in, watch player reaction, and discuss where they want the game to go from here, and today they announced their decision: the level cap is off and Need for Speed World is free-to-play! We chatted with Producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon about the change shortly before it happened, and he had some exciting things to tell us. Follow along after the jump for all the details and a first look at some of the new content.
Massively goes a little crazy with LOCO
As I ran up to the disgusting-looking tower, several floating squid monsters attacked me. No worries -- I hit a number key corresponding to one of my special abilities and filled the monsters with hot lead from my twin six-shooters. They were dead in seconds, and I took the opportunity to help out my teammate as he attacked the tower with a pair of swords. I punched my uber-ability into action and riddled the fleshy tower with beans of death until it exploded. We moved on to the inner areas of the enemy territory, destroying defenders as they appeared. Soon, we were pressing down on the main building -- the headquarters of the opposite side. Our foes attempted to stop us, but we were rolling downhill, straight at 'em -- our inertia was too great. We destroyed the building and the giant that defended it. We had won, but not without facing a challenge. This is what a game of LOCO feels like to me. It's fast, strategic and fun. It looks amazing and is free-to-play -- that's a winning combination right there.
Rise and Shiny recap: Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online (longest. name. ever.) is perfect for Rise and Shiny: it is unusual, makes some people uncomfortable, free-to-play, and more "indie" than "AAA." I've played it off and on since its release but never found the time or desire to really push into it. After all, the combat in the game takes patience and knowledge, something that requires, well, patience and knowledge. Over the last week I decided to dive right in, changing my normal procedure of blindly downloading, playing, and socializing. I broke my habit of ignoring the wiki and the information from the playerbase, and I have decided to actually immerse myself into a week-long college course on whatever game it is I am playing at the time. The effort paid off big. The combat became more enjoyable, and the game made more sense. I met some very nice community members, and even found myself wanting to go through an epic hour-and-a-half dungeon experience. The game is not without its frustrating moments, of course. Starting out can feel like a pretty overwhelming experience. While there is a great beginning tutorial to help players understand the complicated combat system, many areas of the game require information that is so hidden that you must simply look it up in a wiki.
Hero up! Hands-on with Marvel Super Hero Squad Online
Back in May, I scored Massively's first real look at Super Hero Squad Online, the Marvel-flavored, kid-friendly MMO from Gazillion Entertainment and The Amazing Society. I was smitten with the game at the time, and so when Gazillion offered me the opportunity to take a peek at the newest build earlier this week, I jumped at the chance. Who can resist some hands-on time with such an adorable toy! (Answer to rhetorical question: no one, which is why you should go sign up for beta right now.) Plus, if I learned anything the last time, it was that I have a duty to relentlessly inquire about Squirrel Girl. Am I right? Gazillion PR Manager Keith Mutzman and The Amazing Society's Director of Games Jay Minn wasted no time bringing me up to speed on the progress of the game as the team heads to PAX this weekend, so I'll pay that forward -- join me after the break and we'll dig in and hero up!
Free for All: Island of misfit games
Call me naive, or perhaps call me stupid. To be honest, I am not sure which one applies to me more. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment, or at least I am very forgiving. Either way, I have a lot of fun exploring the edges of MMORPG gaming. I live to dig through websites, searching for a title I haven't heard of. Often I am a little more than surprised when I find a brilliant world tucked into one of the many gaming forums I visit, and I think "Why didn't you email me? Didn't you know I was looking for you?" I try to act as the filter that these tiny games couldn't afford. It's hard to get a well-written press release out of a team whose community budget consists of hardly enough to eat out for the weekend. Don't worry, I tell them, let me come to you. Someday, if I have anything to do with it, that tiny game will have enough players to pay for more patches and updates. See, I like misfit games. I like to give them a chance.
The Road to Mordor: Frugal free-to-play
Two weeks! Two weeks, people! Why are you just sitting there, all calm-before-the-storm-like, instead of following my lead and running around like a chicken with its head... well, you know. Two weeks until Volume III Book 2 launches (and a little earlier for current subscribers), and I am psyched. There certainly is something for everyone here: a F2P version, store options, a new zone, instance scaling, more dungeons, DX11, the wardrobe, a revamped beginner experience, three new servers, the next chapter in the epic story, class tweaks, a haunted cellar, and, of course, demonic goats. Did I miss something? I probably did, but it's kind of crazy around here. One of the highlights I'm anticipating is all of the new (and returning) players giving LotRO their time due to the multiple payment options, including F2P bliss. I'm always a huge fan of options in my games, and I truly feel that the implementation of this free-to-play model will benefit a wider range of players than the current subscription core. Mmm, that Kool-Aid tastes great! If you're thinking about heading into LotRO in two weeks but are unsure how much "free" will come with your F2P, when you'll be hit with the big catch, or whether you'll be forced to subscribe at some point, I have some great news for you. There are a variety of routes you can take to experience a good chunk of Lord of the Rings Online without denting your bank account. Read on for five valuable strategies to save a buck while saving Middle-earth!
Free for All: Three games to keep an eye on
There is so much to be excited about in the MMORPG world that I am always perplexed when someone claims lack of innovation in the market. I tend to think that this comes from an inability to play more than one game, or to support more than one idea in gaming, rather than from the actual state of the market. The fact is that there is so much happening in the world of gaming, and specifically free-to-play gaming, a player should feel almost overwhelmed. I wanted to point out three games now in development (or very close to release) that I believe will do very well. Think of this as a list of predictions -- in fact I am going to have some fun with it and predict just how well these games will do. I have always enjoyed testing my gut. Concerning these three games, my gut is very, very excited. So, let's get right to the list.
The Road to Mordor: Rep pony riots
Last week I received a note from a LotRO player named Shawn who was concerned about one of the controversies revolving around the LotRO store and was wondering if I was going to touch on it. Now, it's no personal surprise that the store was going to have controversial aspects to it -- I can't even imagine a scenario in which it wouldn't -- but I assured him I'd tackle the subject and more after downing a few strong drinks and subjecting myself to 414 straight pages of forum rants. My reluctance to talk about this is due to a combination of (a) not feeling that strongly to the point of frothing at the mouth about a lot of these items for sale, and (b) the fact that no matter what position I'd take, I'd lose with at least some readers. Hard place, me, rock. So what the hey, why not take the reputation horse by the reigns and see how I can muddle through this and come out with a majority of my skin unflayed! I'm only going to do this with one provision, however -- that next week I get to talk about what I actually like about the store. There may be hugs and ballads involved. To controversy and beyond, tallyho!
Exploring Eberron: My shopping cart
Today I was hoping to open up my full purchase history at the Dungeons and Dragons Online store and do an analysis of everything I've bought since the store was put into the game. Unfortunately, I've since discovered that -- short of saving each and every confirmation email that Turbine sends me -- there's no accessible store history, either in the game or outside of it. Clicking "View Purchase History" in the store simply showed me a couple Turbine point buys, but that's it. That makes me a sad panda barbarian. So pushing aside the issue of why Turbine doesn't want me to see my order history ("Perhaps so you don't question future purchases," the quiet cynic inside me whispers), I'll have to do this via questionable memory. I've been a subscriber since the DDO F2P switch, which nets me a portion of "free" TP per month, but I've also dropped additional money -- perhaps three times -- to beef up my TP reservoir so that I could get a couple big ticket items. So seeing as how I don't have to worry about purchasing adventure packs, on what have I been spending my allowance? Hit the jump to find out!
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.
