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MMObility: How the mobile market is trying to change MMOs
My brother called me the other day to tell me that he had just beaten me in Real Racing 3, an EA title that has drawn some criticism for its use of microtransactions. I enjoyed the heck out of the game, and it seems that EA is not worried about the criticism thanks to the overall positive response to the title. I asked my brother about the in-game purchases and he didn't really know what I was talking about. It was only more evidence that the rest of the market -- especially the huge mobile market -- doesn't really appear to care about persistent worlds or immersive lore. The fact is that pseudo-MMOs or games that are barely on the edge of MMO are MMO enough for many people, even people like my brother, who is no stranger to MMO gaming and has spent years in and out of World of Warcraft raiding and leveling. I was going to write about a game called Raft Pirates for this column, but when I started to look at it, I realized that it didn't quite seem like a "real" MMO, and so I asked the developer to define the game for me. The response I got back only added to my confusion about where the mobile market is going. So in today's MMObility, I want to continue the discussion I started last week, but this time I'll like to look at how the mobile market is keeping things muddy.
MMObility: Avabel Online is almost everything I dislike about mobile MMOs
The mobile MMO market is still so young and underdeveloped that it seems unfair to judge it too harshly. Calling it devoid of quality content is sort of like describing the dark days of early graphical MMOs, a time filled with games that were nothing but a grind wrapped in what we thought was a pretty package. In hindsight, those three-day waits and incredibly tedious levels were "fun" only when we consider that they were all we had to choose from. The mobile market is about 80% crap as it is right now; this is true. I say that as someone who is a massive fan of the platform. For what it's worth, the rest of the standard MMO market is around 80% crap as well, but there are a lot more titles to choose from. Mobile has its star titles and wonderful developers, but when a game like Avabel Online pops up, I cringe at the possibility that an entire generation of gamers might grow up on such tedium.
MMObility: Fifteen fun free MMORPGs for your tablet or smartphone
Mobile MMORPGs are still hard to come by. Sure, there are a ton of pseudo-MMOs and developers who claim to have created an MMO, but the fact is that persistence -- a key to defining what an MMO is -- is often gone from many of these games. I want to be able to log out of the game while the rest of the digital world goes on without me. Or better yet, and in the case of most MMORTS titles, I want to log out of the game and continue to have an effect on the world through trades, wars, or the fallout of diplomacy. Even though the market is often bare, there are still quite a few MMOs out there. Many of them are fun as well! I know, I know, I am making it seem as though the smartphone or tablet MMO market is empty of all content, but the truth is that for its age, it's doing very well. There are more and more coming out all of the time, and hopefully I'll be there to cover them. In the meanwhile, enjoy a list of the specific titles that rest on my Nexus 7 3G tablet, just waiting to be played anywhere and any time!
MMObility: The community portal of Grepolis might just be a model for the industry
Innogames' hit browser-based game Grepolis has been receiving some pretty exciting updates lately. It's one of my favorite MMORTS titles because it's simple to learn and can be played on practically any schedule, so I've really been enjoying the updates that have added music and sound effects, holiday mechanics, and more animations. There's a lot more to come, however, according to Grepolis' developer crew. What sort of things? Well, besides the usual updates and additions to gameplay, the team is promising that how players interact with the community will change as well. Sure, plenty of developers have promised better communication and more interaction, but what Grepolis is promising might just be some of the coolest community tools yet. If they work, of course.
MMObility: Google's Ingress shines light on the good and bad of ARGs
If you're turned on by augmented reality gaming or games that occur at least in some part within the real world, then you have probably heard about Google's latest experiment, Ingress. Google has been in the MMO game before. Years ago the company created a sort of social sandbox called Google Lively. It was a very interesting project, but its disappearance did not exactly fill me with confidence that Google could pull off another one. Still, this is one of the country's largest experimentation-driven companies with some of the smartest people and greatest access to information, so an ARG might just be the perfect fit. I was just given access to the current stage of the game; be aware that everything I talk about or show you is most likely going to change over time.
MMObility: Remanum's trade wars stump this chump
It's been a while since I visited Remanum, an interesting trade-based MMO brought to us by Travian Games, the same studio that brought us Travian and other interesting titles. I was initially turned on to the game's non-combat options simply because combat is used so much that many of the current combat systems are outdated or just plain boring. Non-combat, or optional systems for play like trade and exploration, are the hope for gamers like yours truly who cannot stand to play a game as though they're clocking in to work. The only problem with Remanum? I suck at, well, trading. I know that I can grasp the principles of "buy low, sell high" and other market staples, but I simply can't grasp the finer nuances of buying and selling. I have a brother who seems to have a natural way with numbers, but I've always been more of an artist. Numbers and me just sort of stare at each other from across the table. So why do I like Remanum so much?
MMObility: Innogames' Fabio Lo Zito on cash shops, quality, and PvP
One of the greatest parts of my job is having the ability to take a peek into the minds of some of the industry's most creative developers. If an interview goes really well, I come away from it with not only a deeper understanding of mechanics or policies but some knowledge about the creative process. For me, MMOs represent a perfect storm of writing, music, art, and math; they click my creativity into hyperdrive. I couldn't write about MMOs if I didn't love them so much. I'm not sure why I didn't notice German-based developer Innogames until relatively recently, but its lineup is more varied, challenging, and immersive than many of its rivals. It makes titles that offer a variety not only of gameplay but of accessibility. All of its titles can be played in a browser, and now a handful are available even on mobile. I sat down with Innogames' Fabio Lo Zito during a livestream earlier this week to discuss what makes it all work.
MMObility: Modern War almost gets it, but only almost
Modern War by Gree has some pretty neat things going for it. A lot of the gameplay is not really state-of-the-art, and most of it we've seen before in many social-style games, but it allows for some cool and relatively persistent play on your mobile device. It's hard to find MMOs in today's mobile market. A lot of the time I'll download a new one only to find out that it's not really an MMO at all. There are some really great titles in the mobile/smartphone market, but it takes work to find them. Modern War is a sneaky one. It's more of a pseudo-MMO but does a few cool things that more MMORTS titles should. It also works nicely on my Nexus 7 tablet, for the most part, except for a few odd problems that I'll cover in a minute. After I'm done, you might understand how mixed up the game feels as it's pretty close to becoming a good game.
MMObility: The Chromebook 'All-In-One' project - The pros and cons wrap-up
Well, it's been pretty much a month since I first got my hands on this Samsung Chromebook. In that time they have become a very successful product, and I've witnessed a lot of new 'Bookers falling in love with the device. I wanted to set out to see if I could use one device for pretty much every aspect of my digital life, from work to play. I've had help from my wife along the way, as she quickly got used to how easily the device worked. I've pushed it in every way that I could think of. I've watched videos on it, plugged things into it, written on it and used it to play games. So, what do I think now? Does this little notebook fill every need? Well, yes and no. It's definitely able to do what I want it to do, but I want it to do some pretty specific things. I also wanted to show that gaming, especially massively multiplayer gaming, is accessible from the 'Book. Why? The truth is that I wanted to illustrate how MMO games not only come in all shapes and sizes, but that there are many different communities all over the world that enjoy very successful browser-based, "low-tech" MMOs. As far as Massively is concerned, this experiment was an attempt to sneak in some very cool MMOs under the guise of "cool new gadget."
MMObility: The Chromebook 'All In One' project - Ten pseudo-MMOs
So here we are at the second-to-last installment of my Chromebook All-In-One experiment. This will be the last time I give you a list of games that work well on the Samsung Chromebook, but always keep in mind that some of the other Chromebooks, especially the Samsung 5 550, have more power and do not use an ARM-based chip. What does that mean? Well, some services like NetFlix will not work on an ARM-based machine yet. Spacetime Studios' cache of browser-based titles will not work on this Chromebook yet as well. Don't worry, it's coming soon. Imagine the ARM Chromebook as a tablet with a keyboard attached... it's not a normal netbook or notebook. I also wrote up my wife's take on the Chromebook over at my personal blog. Be sure to check that out. She has been the perfect guinea pig as she pushes devices to their limits, and so the Chromebook has been getting heavy use from her and working wonderfully. Next week, my last installment of this series will be a video and article combo that covers the good and bad of the device, along with my final thoughts. Until then, though, click past the cut and enjoy my list of pseudo-MMOs. These are games that don't quite fit into the MMO category but have a multiplayer aspect to them!
MMObility: The Chromebook 'All In One' project - Ten standard MMOs
It's time for another installment of my month-long look at the Samsung Chromebook, the newest in the line of all-in-one devices brought to us by Google. Everything has worked pretty well so far, but the light notebook does have its issues. I'm so used to using my Google Nexus 7 tablet for reading emails and now reading articles and magazines that I am having a hard time without the pinch-to-zoom. I love the instant zooming; it's much easier when I am reading or surfing the net. (Wait, do we still say "surfing the net"?) In fact, the main issue with the Samsung Chromebook is its size. I have to hit ctrl-+ to zoom in pages often. Other than the smaller fonts, few other issues have cropped up -- I've found gaming has been really fun on this little guy. I've noticed that everyone who reads of gaming on the device is sort of perplexed. Why would I want to game on such a non-gaming machine? It's simple, really. As the title says, this is another attempt of mine to find the perfect device for doing all that I do using only the browser: writing, gaming, gaming, writing, watching videos, writing, and playing games. This week, I have 10 "standard" MMOs for you. These are games that act more like a common, client-based MMOs than the MMORTS titles I covered last week, but with some exceptions. The desktop browser can handle amazing, 3-D graphics, but a Chromebook does not allow downloads like Unity or Java. Keep that in mind.
MMObility: The Chromebook 'All In One' project - Ten MMORTS titles
Last week I introduced you to my newest device, the Samsung Chromebook. Yes, that's the official way to refer to the newest $249.00 Chromebook, according to my contact at Google. I have pined after one for a while, but the price point finally became too tempting and I nabbed one at my local Best Buy. Why? Why didn't I just spit out a few more bucks and get a "real" laptop or netbook, one that runs Windows 7 or 8? Well, it runs silently and almost without heat. It's essentially a keyboard attached to an 11-inch tablet that runs Flash. The Chromium OS is very secure, and it auto-updates every six weeks. But you're here to read about games. This week I am going to talk about the MMORTS genre and why it works so well on the Chromebook. I'll list 10 of my favorites -- a drop in the bucket for all the MMORTS games out there, but these are easily some of the best and run well on the Chromebook. Stay tuned for future columns, where we'll look at even more Chromebook-friendly MMOs and pseudo-MMOs as well.
MMObility: The Chromebook 'All In One' project - Introduction
For the next five MMObility columns, I'll be taking a look at my new Chromebook, a device I have dreamed of owning since it was first announced some time ago. I've decided to name it the "All In One" project, representing the ability of a Chromebook to do almost anything, all within the confines of a browser. Today's Chromebooks are much different beasts than the first CR-48s that were sent out for testing and reviews. The current flagship Chromebook, the Samsung Series 3 XE303C12 model that utilizes an SSD and a processor that you would normally find within a tablet, is well-built, instantly and silently updated, fun to use, and best of all, pretty darn inexpensive at $249.00 US. Over the course of these columns, I will cover gaming on the device. Yes, gaming, as in MMORPGs. I've been a massive browser fan for a long time, so I already have access to a list of at least 100 different MMOs that run on very basic tech. I will be listing these games over the next few weeks while explaining how they work. Don't worry, techies; I'm covering the guts and tweaky stuff on my personal blog at Beauhindman.com. This will be a two-pronged attempt at using the Chromebook in real scenarios, something that is often missing from tech reviews. So let's get started!
MMObility: A look at the location based MMO Life is Magic
I've been looking forward to checking out Life is Magic since I first took a peek at it during GDC Online 2012. The art style, slick presentation, and location-based gameplay drew me in, but I've had it for only a short while since then. I've now been able to snag enough time to get a great idea about what the game holds for players, and so far I can say that there's definitely a polish to the game that I haven't found in many mobile MMOs. So what is so special about this one, especially compared to other location-based MMOs like Fleck or Parallel Kingdom? There are several differences, most of them focused on the art style, unique world map, and cool collectible card game-ish system that ends up being the best part of the game. %Gallery-173874%
MMObility: How Facebook's recent changes affect MMOs
As you might be aware, Facebook is officially changing its policy on how an embedded MMO interacts with the famous social network. I'm no fan of reading through lines of policy changes and attempting to interpret them exactly, namely because reading about changes and fully experiencing them are two different things. Both can lead to different conclusions, as well. I want to know how these changes affect MMO developers. I would also like to clear up what Facebook is. I've covered it many times before, but there is always a section of players and readers who have no idea or have only heard what Facebook is and what it does. To many of them, Facebook is FarmVille and spam, period. While I will not deny the existence of either of those things, I'd rather take this week to break down what Facebook is to developers, how it actually works, and how recent changes might affect players like yours truly who enjoy playing games through, on, or by utilizing Facebook.
MMObility: How RuneScape's Evolution of Combat changed my game
RuneScape has long been a favorite of mine, but I have to admit to being more of an explorer than anything. Combat was always sort of sluggish and tedious. It just wasn't very exciting. I see so many comments from players who AFK, watch television, or play a second game while simultaneously grinding in RuneScape. Luckily RuneScape is a living, breathing, open MMO that comes from the olden times of MMOs but still adds on new bits of design and updated systems. There aren't many other MMOs that are updated as often as RuneScape, and hardly any of them provides as much to do. Along comes The Evolution of Combat. Jagex has called it the biggest thing to happen to RuneScape, probably ever, and after playing with it for a few day, I tend to agree. What does it change, though, and why do I enjoy it so much? Let me tell you.
MMObility: Why the closing of Glitch matters
When it was announced that Glitch was closing, I felt a blend of shock and sadness. Glitch is one of my favorite MMOs, but it's special for a number of reasons. The game achieved a lot in a crowded market that is filled with the same gameplay, same lore, and same stock characters that we have seen for years, and it achieved all of this within a Flash-based browser environment. The official announcement gave us a lot of clues as to what happened, but it looks like the money was just not enough to keep the game afloat. It's also very possible that the money was enough, but just barely. Running a business is hard, and running an MMO that is so unique and unusual can be the same as living paycheck to paycheck. It's stressful and scary when the future is never certain... sometimes it's easier to call it quits.
MMObility: A deeper look at Fleck and its adorable zombies
Fleck is a very interesting title that has quietly been doing some great things in the location-based MMO space. A location-based MMO is essentially an MMO that utilizes the real world via Google maps or real-life landmarks as a background for an MMO. Imagine that you are at your favorite eatery and you take out your phone and are instantly shown a world built on top of the world you're in now; that's location-based gaming. Fleck works like many other location-based MMOs but doesn't link itself to the real world as much as some of the others. Instead, it allows players to build and explore freely all while attempting to avoid (or defeat) zombies of varying strengths. Yes, zombies! There are some really cool features in Fleck, one of the them being real weather updates like rain, snow, or fog that changes according to the player's location. If a player wants to, she can build a house literally on the spot where she lives in real life or anywhere else in the world -- on top of a Google map. There's much more to the game, and this week I want to share a recent video I made and look into just how unique this game is.
MMObility: Windows 8 and gaming in the Metro browser
So, you've heard about the recent Windows 8 release but aren't sure whether or not you should upgrade? How will the operating system affect your gaming, and are you going to go with any of the Microsoft Surface products? All of these questions can be answered in numerous ways, but I wanted to answer it from the standpoint of a mobile gaming fan. After all, it is my belief that mobile gaming will soon dominate gaming in the world... might as well be prepared! But how does Windows 8 affect a mobile MMO fan like yours truly? Well, Windows 8 does a heckuva lot. It offers a ton of flexibility and fun new ways to interact with your PC. But it can also be a very confusing new addition. I sat down to figure out some of these issues with the help of Ben Adams, CTO of Illyriad Games. He knows more about mobile tech than I do and was able to sort out the differences between the Windows 8 browsers for me. Let's get to it.
MMObility: Are Glitch's Feats smart design or mindless grind?
Live events are a funny thing. They can be some of the most exciting content and can possibly cost developers very little. Sure, there are massive big-budget events like anything building up to a World of Warcraft expansion, but there are also wonderful smaller events like welcoming new characters to Ryzom or tournaments in Illyriad. Live events can be very, very simple but can also be absolutely thrilling to players. We don't need much to make us happy, and live events are a great way to do it. Glitch has been mad about live events for a while, although developer Tiny Speck and the players might refer to them as something else. The example I want to talk about today is Glitch's Feats, great events that not only pull parameters from lore but give almost every player from every experience level something to do. Some see live events like Glitch's Feats as nothing more than excuses for overly passionate players to grind their way into virtual glory. While there is definitely some of that going on, I have to ask whether it's possible to have a live event that gives grinders something to shoot for while allowing casual players like yours truly something to do as well. We all want to feel included, and Feats do a pretty good job of that.
