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The Soapbox: Respecting the IP and why developers shouldn't
Here's how it is: 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. If you've never heard of Firefly, you're either afraid of things that are awesome or you've had an unfortunate gap in your viewing history for the past nine years or so. If you have heard of it, however, you're more than aware that simply referencing the show is enough to send most gamers and fanboys into paroxysms of quotations and general gushing. To say that the universe remains well-loved is an understatement. And if you play MMOs, Firefly seems like a setting that's too perfect to be true. Who knows how many moons are out there in the black, how many crews are left to explore the 'verse and make a fortune? The game never went beyond an announcement, and it still topped our list of games that have gone MIA, after all. And the best part is all of that open nature plays right into the structure of an MMO, with no need to change the wonderful IP set forth in the slightest.
The Daily Grind: Are you mollified by developer apologies?
If you're playing Final Fantasy XIV or just following news about the game, you've been witness to developers repeatedly eating crow for any and all flaws with the game. In the eyes of some players, of course, the damage has been done, and no amount of apologizing will help. For others, however, a simple apology makes things more palatable. Whatever flaws the game might have are made more bearable when you know the people in charge are working on cleaning them up. There are a lot of times when development teams have been forced to take public blame, putting out letters and dispatches to assuage player concerns.. The real question is, does it make a difference? If you get a heartfelt apology from the development team and a promise to fix things up, do you feel placated? Or do you just wonder why the problems that prompted the apology weren't addressed in the first place? 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!
