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The Daily Grind: Are you tempted by Lineage II's 'truly free' model?
NCsoft recently announced its new "truly free" free-to-play model for Lineage II. This is interesting for two reasons. One, the title insinuates that all those other free-to-play games aren't actually free. And two, well, I just ran out of excuses for not returning to the world of Aden. The new press materials highlighted some 400 hours worth of content, and as a former player, I'd say this estimate is probably a bit on the conservative side. L2 is truly a massive title, and getting to endgame is really the halfway point since you've still got all kinds of EVE-like territorial PvP and metagaming shenanigans waiting for you after you've maxed out a character. For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know if the recent announcement piqued your interest. Will you be checking out Lineage II when it goes free-to-play? 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!
The Daily Grind: Are appearance tabs essential?
Appearance tabs in MMOs are a funny thing. When you think about it, the implementation of an appearance tab is a signal that, on some level, the initial game design has failed to deliver. It's an admission that the best gear often looks like crap -- or is too prevalent -- and many players wouldn't be caught dead wearing it if there were any alternative. Along with housing, crafting, and other MMO gameplay staples that have fallen by the wayside in recent years, appearance tabs are often scoffed at by the combat-only crowd and consequently treated as low-priority by devs and publishers. Clearly a lot of players want to be able to customize their characters, though, as even the mighty Blizzard has finally caved in to fan requests (although it did take World of Warcraft designers a good seven years to wrap their heads around the concept). What about you, Massively readers? Do you feel that appearance tabs are essential to your MMO enjoyment? 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!
The Daily Grind: Have you met your online friends offline?
MMORPGs make for some mighty strange bedfellows. We all approach these games for different reasons and from many different backgrounds. For some players, MMORPGs are firmly in the fantasy-not-reality section of their daily planners, while others form lasting "real-world" friendships with their MMO compatriots -- and some folks even make the effort to hang out with their online buddies offline. Whether you've traveled to a guild get-together, attended a gaming convention, or happen to live in the same town as your groupmates, today's Daily Grind is all about real-world meetups. Have you ever hooked up with your MMO pals in person (and if not, would you want to)? 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!
The Daily Grind: Do you think Diablo III's RMT policy will affect MMOs?
Blizzard made something of a stink in fan circles last week with its announcement of Diablo III's RMT-enabled auction house as well as the lack of offline play (and mod support) in the highly anticipated fantasy action sequel. While hardcore fan- and forum-outrage was palpable, it's likely that the title will shatter sales records anyway, and we'll be that much closer to a gaming world devoid of offline play and festooned with microtransactions. What does all of this have to do with MMOs and Massively? That's where you come in, dear readers. Do you think Diablo III's real-money auction house will affect MMOs? How so (or why not)? 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!
The Daily Grind: How many chances does a game get to hook you?
With the glut of new (and undying) MMORPGs crowding the current market, sampling a large number of them can be extremely challenging. There simply isn't enough time to take it all in, and while choice isn't a bad thing per se, it can be overwhelming. Endless choices can also make it tough to revisit games. In years past, I've often returned to the site of earlier MMO disappointments and been pleasantly surprised by the gameplay experiences to be had after a bit of post-launch seasoning. These days, if an MMO doesn't hook me at launch (or before), that's usually all she wrote unless I've got a pre-existing attachment to the IP. What about you, Massively folk? For this morning's Daily Grind, tell us about your forgiving streak when it comes to MMORPGs. Do you check in on games that didn't meet your expectations in the past? How many chances does a game get to hook you? 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!
The Daily Grind: How long does it take to review an MMORPG?
Evaluating an MMORPG is a tricky business. Massively has a long-standing editorial policy that frowns on "reviewing" massively multiplayer titles. I say "reviewing" with quotes because it's difficult to write about games in a completely review-free manner, and everything from opinion pieces to straight-up news stories often contains observations that might feel at home in a standard review. One of the most difficult factors to reconcile with an MMORPG is the time allotted to the review process. How long does it take to experience enough of a particular title to both form an opinion about it and talk intelligently about multiple aspects of it? The answer can vary from game to game and from person to person, and herein lies this morning's Daily Grind topic. How long does it take you to decide about an MMORPG? Minutes? Hours? Months? Inquiring Massively minds want to know where you stand on evaluating our favorite genre. 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!
The Soapbox: The selfish gamer
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. It happened a couple of months ago. I was in a remote area in Lord of the Rings Online when another player -- the only other player in this small zone -- sent me a tell. "Can you help me? I need to finish this quest, and I keep getting killed in this cave." Honestly? My first instinct was to say no. It had been a busy day, and I was sitting down to a brief, 20-minute session that would be my only chance to get anything done until tomorrow. I was hoping to knock out a couple quests of my own, and I really didn't want to log out without accomplishing something with that character. So I responded and declined to help, which he took in good humor. Then it hit me what I just did. In a social online game, I'd refused to help someone who blatantly asked for it, all because I was being self-centered. So I sent him another tell. "You know what? What the heck. I'm sorry; I was having a me moment. Let's do this." And so we did. It was fun, and I logged out 20 minutes later without having advanced my character but feeling as though I accomplished something substantial even so. It was at this moment that I started to realize just how MMOs have conditioned me to be as selfish as possible -- and I made a promise right then and there that I'd start fighting back against that conditioning. I didn't want to be a selfish gamer any longer.
Addon Spotlight: Daily Grind
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week: grind, baby, grind. Dailies, dailies, dailies. Dailies are the perpetual new WoW hotness at this juncture -- but really, dailies have been in since The Burning Crusade, introduced in full force during one of the greatest content patches with the Black Temple and then kicked up a notch during the Isle of Quel'danas. We've never really seen a decline in popularity of dailies, as they have been a mainstay in the game for over four years of content. Today's addon for spotlighting purposes is a nice little tool that not only stays out of your way but adds a little functionality to your daily grind. Coincidentally, the addon is called Daily Grind. Are you looking for an addon to manage some of the clicking and dialogue for all things blue exclamation mark? Read on.
The Daily Grind: Do you play MMOs on a PC or console?
It seems a trend is forming. MMOs were traditionally the stuff of PCs simply because of the mouse and keyboard. But now all consoles, from the Wii to the PS3, are becoming more PC-like with the ability to connect to the internet and chat to your friends while you play. This means titles like Free Realms will start on PC but they will also head console-side, in this case the PS3. We've seen controllers used to play PC games with mixed results and many publishers have shied away from consoles, however powerful they might be or lucrative the releases.Now personally I prefer playing on PC simply because it's more comfortable to do so at my desk with two 27" screens that are at eye level. There's something awkward about having my nose pressed against a flat screen TV playing on a controller or balancing a keyboard on my knees, and I'm still trying to find a place for the mouse. In the past couple of years, we've seen numerous games jump from console to PC thanks to Games for Windows, but now titles are starting to make the reverse jump. We've got DC Universe Online and The Agency to look forward to, and that's just this year. What I want to know, constant readers, is which format you prefer? Do you like the idea of playing on your 360 or PS3? Do the controllers bug you or are you a PC purist?
The Daily Grind: Are you playing Free Realms?
Free Realms launched yesterday after the world's shortest beta. This morning, Sony Online Entertainment sent round an email to all beta testers (including myself) reminding us, just in case we'd forgotten, and offering a swanky in-game baseball cap as a thank you. Nice. I've been playing for a few weeks and can see why the game has gotten so much interest. Although I'm not sure about the freemium elements: do I really want to buy Station Cash with real, hard-earned money to purchase an ingame kitty? My heart screams yes; my head 'misplaces' my Amex card.Admittedly since going from beta to launch, I've not logged in. I will later today and craft a new toon but I'm curious how many of you will be playing the game now it's in the wild? Are you playing because of the hype? Are you playing because you want to introduce your kids to MMOs? Are you playing it because it's new? Tell us, readers! Want to know more about Free Realms? SOE's new whimsical free-to-play MMO is already being called a refreshing change of pace for kids and adults alike, and we have just the coverage you need!
The Daily Grind: Is your rig pimpin', or just plain ghetto?
We came across an interesting post at the Twenty Sided blog, titled "PC Games Retirement Home", in which Shamus Young commented on his lack of the need to purchase a new PC in recent times. Although he is certainly a gamer, the next PC games that he is looking forward to won't roll around for quite some time now that he's done with Fallout 3, and most of his video-gaming will be fulfilled by his console setup. In the past, his computer upgrades were frequent, but without major jumps in technology, or compelling PC games on the horizon to force his hand, he's managed to stay with the same PC for the last three years. He isn't saying that PC gaming is dead, but it's impossible to deny that the landscape has changed.He does acknowledge, however, that MMOs are still enjoying some success on the PC platform. Does this mean that MMO gamers have kept up the PC-enthusiast's tradition of owning all the latest hardware? Although it's possible to play many MMOs with an older PC (especially browser-based games or titles like World of Warcraft that aim to fit the masses) newer MMOs such as Age of Conan or Lord of the Rings Online have been designed to take advantage of the latest PC hardware, and you will undoubtedly have a better experience on a flashier gaming rig. A tired old PC might even be a barrier to entry when trying out the most cutting-edge MMOs. So we ask you, as MMO gamers: do you have a beastly PC that you upgrade/replace quite frequently, or have you found that a respectable older rig has been able to satisfy your MMO needs over the last few years?
The Daily Grind: Looking back on the good old days
From time to time all of us look back on "the good old days" of massively multiplayer gaming -- it's something to occupy our minds with while that annoying elf camps our corpse. At least that's what our mind always comes back to after organizing our backpack, arguing about politics in guild chat until we're threatened with being kicked, and passionately arguing the subtle advantages of a 51/5/5 build over a 54/7/0 build on the WoW forums. Ah, the good old days, when the closest you could get to what we now know as "massively multiplayer" was trading messages across a BBS or a dozen people logged on to a text-based MUD or the charming 2D graphics of Ultima Online. (Though, really, there was corpse camping back then, too, wasn't there? No doubt our minds wax nostalgic for prettily painted sprite-based graphics.) So, whether you're being corpse camped or you just happen to be stuck at the office for the next eight tedious hours, let's talk: when were your "good old days?"
The Daily Grind: How many MMOs?
Let's face it-- MMOs are time-consuming. Just one great MMO can steal all your free time, but there are just so many out there that it's hard for some of us to stick to just one. I'm paying for two subscriptions at the moment, but with free-to-play games, and a couple of betas, I'm up to about five different games that I occasionally sign on to about once a week or so..I can't say that splitting myself between that many games makes much sense-- I mostly do it just to keep up with what's new in all of them, so I'd guess that I'm a little higher than average. So let's put the question to you all today-- how many MMOs would you say that you play regularly (about once a week)? Are you a one-game player, or do you figure the more virtual worlds you get to visit, the better?
The Daily Grind: IRL
I really like Sanya Thomas (although she's Sanya Weathers now, isn't she?)-- I read her stuff every day when she was writing ye olde Camelot Herald as a Dark Age of Camelot CM, and and while her blog, Eating Bees (as in a job you signed up to do) runs a little blue sometimes, it's definitely an interesting read for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes of MMOs.And in this recent entry, she lashes out at folks who use the term "in real life" to describe something that occurs out of game. She says that saying "IRL" makes the time spent in an virtual world somehow seems less real, when really, you're actually sitting at an actual computer, and having actual interactions with other people online.Now, her argument is a little more academic than practical-- of course there's a difference between virtual worlds and "real life," and most of the people who use "IRL" don't do it to devalue their ingame activities; they use it to describe something that happens in a place that (we assume-- whoops, this just got deeper) is real.So what do you think? Does "IRL" imply that what you do in a virtual world is somehow worth less respect? Are the friendships you have with the people you know ingame not "real" friendships, or the achievements you're earning not "real" achievements? Or is it just a phrase you use for lack of a better one? And if so, is there a better one? "Nongame"? "Out-of-game"?
The Daily Grind: In my MMO...
Kill Ten Rats says that in his MMO, using phrases like "u r" (as in "you are"-- yeah, I don't do it either) should flag you for PvP, as should writing "lol" ten times, or using the word "ghey".I'd have to say that I agree, but what if you could design your own MMO, tailored especially to your own tastes?In my MMO, ganking someone below your level would give them a 10 minute buff that would make them stronger than you for 10 minutes or until they killed you, whichever came first.In my MMO, NPCs would be extremely excited and generous even after seeing you complete the simplest of quests. "Wow, you killed all those rats in my basement? Here, have this Holy Avenger Sword!"In my MMO, anyone who needed a group could get one without waiting, and all group members would instantly appear wherever they needed to be once the group was formed.These are all pretty nice, but what can I say-- I'm a nice guy. Your wishes might be a little... harsher. If you had a designer at your beck and call to create the MMO of your own personal dreams, what would be "in my MMO"?
The Daily Grind: Massively useful!
The cat is out of the bag, and what we've been doing for the last while is now out for you all to enjoy. We crawled around the Internet, assembling a crack team of both veteran writers and fresh new talent. We debated and dreamed about what was important to us for Massively to cover -- and then built the site based on our vision as a group of gamers dedicated to the MMO cause. We've been assembling news and views and putting in playtime on old MMO favorites and hot new titles. We ruthlessly stole the comment system from Joystiq, allowing you to have your own user icons and comment voting. We've talked to developers, gone to events like E4A, and got a whole slew of truly amazing swag to give to you, our day-one readership. We've also made sure to listen to what the community cried out against and as such have done away with Google's AdSense on both Massively and WoW Insider. You can be assured you won't see gold/gil/isk/etc. sellers all over our front page unless we're calling them out.So for this, our first ever Daily Grind, we'd like to ask you just one question. After you've had a chance to kick the proverbial tires and drive Massively around the block, pop back here and give us your .02. Community is key in the games we all love, and a site about them should really be no different. As such, tell us this -- what would you like to see in your MMO site?
The 9-5 of MMOs
Gaming Steve has an interesting piece up about how the endgame of World of Warcraft can be more like work than, well, work. With forty-man raids and guild rules that include a 90-day probationary period and mandatory attendance, the boundaries between work and pleasure really do start to blur.This isn't unique to WoW, though; "uberguilds" have cropped up to take advantage of the most hardcore features of many MMOs, some even spanning different games. Many teams in other game genres, such as FPS clans, also have strict membership conditions, requiring members to put in regular hours or else get the boot. However, WoW isn't a competition game; being in the best guild, or wearing the best armour, isn't going to net you any tournament prizes. Perhaps WoW should be introduced to competitive arenas such as MLG and CPL? Hardcore competitive gamers may look down their noses at MMOs, but with some endgame guild members putting in enough work to rival the most dedicated FPS player, they may be surprised at their potential.
