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The Daily Grind: Is platforming welcome in MMOs?
Like some of you, at least according to statistics, I am an aging gamer (one who is turning 36 tomorrow). With that comes some loss of sharp reflexes and bladder control, which is why I enjoy twitch gaming less and work within 10 feet of the bathroom. As long as I avoid MMOs with the "action combat!" label on them, I'm mostly OK, although it now seems that I have to contend with an increase of platforming elements in my online RPGs as well. From Star Wars: The Old Republic's Super Mario Datacrons experience to hopping along tree branches in order to get one of RIFT's shinies, platforming seems all the rage, and I don't know whether it's a welcome thing or not. It can be terribly frustrating to try to time the right jumps in a 3-D environment, but it's hard to rail against additional gameplay options in MMOs as a matter of principle. So what say you? Do you like or hate platforming in MMOs, and is the style welcome in our games? 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!
Taun-taunts: Damion Schubert teases future SWTOR vanity pets
Recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic blog Inquisitor's Roadhouse got in touch with BioWare Lead System Designer Damion Schubert to talk about the game's "other" companions: vanity pets. While they may not be the fifth pillar of gameplay, vanity pets in SWTOR are desired by many collectors -- and Schubert has word that more are on the way. While Schubert admits that vanity pets, such as the Hutt Observer and Mouse Droid, weren't at the top of BioWare's priority list in beta, he said the team knew they wanted them as part of the launched game. There are only a handful of pets in the game at this time, but more are to come in SWTOR's next big update. "I don't want to give out too big a hint, but they smell kinda bad on the outside," Schubert teased. He confirmed that currently pets are not limited by faction, although there are some that are restricted to dark and light side players. Schubert said that BioWare will be using vanity pets as rewards for many aspects of gameplay, including the social and legacy systems. Getting them in the future may be more complicated in a good way, however: "One of the things we want to do a lot more of is adding items that take a bit of communal exploration to discover – we're well aware of how popular datacrons and the magenta lightsaber crystal are – and minipets is one place where we've identified adding fun things like that could really pay off."
The Daily Grind: How many times do you try before you give up?
The other night I was sitting on my couch watching my wife tackle a particularly hard boss solo -- the game wouldn't allow her companions or other players -- in Star Wars: The Old Republic. And she died, many, many times. I gave her a few pointers and watched as she continually struggled to overcome this challenge. After 14 attempts, she succeeded and was giddy from the victory. But I could tell she was growing close to throwing her laptop across the room right before that point. I could identify, as a week earlier I had spent an hour and a half trying to master a tricky series of jumps to get a datacron on Nar Shadda, only to land it right before I lost my sanity. So what about you? How many times do you try a difficult challenge in an MMO before you give up? I'd love to hear specific stories about particularly problematic obstacles that resulted in eventual success or frustrated surrender. 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!
