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Global Chat: January 1-7, 2012
We love hearing what the Massively community has to say. What better way to salute the smartest reader opinions and posts than by sharing them in a weekly column? Join us every Sunday morning for Global Chat, where we do just that! This week we've got a poke at the lighter side of game bugs, some thoughts on development costs and how they affect us in the end, and some compliments (we always love those). Ready to see what they are? Click past the cut and let's get started!
The Daily Grind: Would you use an official wiki in your game of choice?
Some of us were chatting around the Massively (virtual) water cooler yesterday and came to the conclusion that one thing a lot of MMOs are missing is a reliable, up-to-date official wiki. With a few exceptions like the Guild Wars Wiki or EVElopedia, the majority of the MMO game list lacks a comprehensive official wiki -- a central hub for update news, gear and loot details, gameplay guides, and so on. Many games have but don't maintain them, and many more don't have them at all. Is this something that should be remedied, or is the lack of supply due to the lack of demand? What do you think -- should more developers put resources toward the creation, expansion, and maintenance of this sort of thing? 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!
Global Chat: December 25-31, 2011
We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Welcome to the first Global Chat of 2012! This week is all about some of your responses to our MMO predictions for 2012. You all chipped in plenty of great thoughts, so follow along after the break for the best of what our readers had to say last week!
The Daily Grind: Did you get gaming gifts for the holidays?
The holiday season is winding down and the gift-giving days are done. People are sitting back and enjoying their break from school or work, and maybe enjoying some new items that Santa dropped in their stockings. Last weekend the Massively staffers talked about what gaming-related goodies they were hoping to receive, and we posed the same question to you. So what's the verdict? Were your holiday gaming wishes fulfilled? Is your Steam wish list shorter? Is your pile of gaming boxes taller? Do you have some shiny new game time codes to use? Leave a comment and let us know what your newest gaming goodies are! 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!
Global Chat: December 18-24, 2011
We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Merry Christmas, Massively readers! We're enjoying some time with our loved ones today here at Massively, and we hope you're doing the same. We've prepared a few things for you to read in your downtime today, though. One of them is this week's Global Chat, so follow along after the break for the best of what our readers had to say last week!
The Mog Log: Forward impressions of patch 1.20
As I write this, patch 1.20 is not actually live just yet. All I have to go on is a monster list of patch notes and the various previews we've been given thus far. Of course, by the time you're reading this, the patch will have released, and I have no doubt that some people will have played through everything it has to offer a couple of times over. So I'm working at a bit of a disadvantage. In some ways I'm actually not in that terrible a spot. The last two patches have done great things for Final Fantasy XIV, and the patch notes are long enough that I can at least make some reasonable guesses about how things will play out. So I'm going to do precisely that, with the obvious caveat that I might be punching at the wind. Long story short: I'm confident about this patch; only a few bits irritate me.
The Daily Grind: What MMO holiday event are you looking forward to?
December is here, and with it comes the usual crop of MMO holiday events. Developers may tweak events to fit the game lore or pull straight from the real-world holiday season, but the foundation of each celebration is usually similar. Special drops from enemies, seasonal quests with fun loot, and extra goodies in the cash shops can all be found throughout MMO-land during most of December. So what are you most looking forward to? Will you be sticking with the familiar, long-running traditions of Wintersday in Guild Wars? Are you hoping for more of last year's hilariously misinterpreted holiday traditions from the citizens of Fallen Earth's Wasteland? Or are you dying to check out RIFT's very first holiday celebration? What holiday event are you looking forward to and why? 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 Mog Log: Narrative voices
One of the things that I've said for years about both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV is that these are MMOs that love story. Other MMOs have a narrative, sure, but it's in Vana'diel and Eorzea that story is really a big part of the game's appeal. There's a definite push in both games for players to take part in a narrative, to feel as if they're taking part in an epic story. So let's not kid ourselves. There's another game coming out that offers to do the exact same thing, and it's doing so with a real set of chops. Star Wars: The Old Republic is on its way, and it's staking claim to the same territory with a very different presentation. Both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV are niche games that are never going to have the same sort of mass-market appeal as BioWare's behemoth; that much is a given. But the real question is what happens when one of the big selling points of these niche games is co-opted. Is the story in Star Wars: The Old Republic better? Will it even matter? What happens when someone else decides that story is a good place to hang a design philosophy?
Richard Garriott predicts the death of consoles as a gaming medium
Considering his influence on the realm of MMOs, many gamers would argue that it's hard to dismiss Richard Garriott's thoughts on development out of hand. A recent interview with the man includes him predicting the fall of traditional console gaming in favor of portable devices, and the end of MMOs as a major market share compared to social and casual games. As Garriott puts it, the era of MMOs was chiefly between 2000 and 2010, and the explosion in social gaming is now a new part of the overall game development cycle. Naturally, since Garriott's current company, Portalarium, is targeting specifically that demographic, he might be just a little bit biased. But he's hardly the first industry insider to claim that modern games need to be easily be picked up with little to no up-front cost. Take a look at the full interview for more, including Garriott's thoughts on how present designers are lazy and his self-comparison to Tolkien.
Global Chat: November 20-26, 2011
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Games we love, games we don't, and games we're not sure of are all on the menu for this week's Global Chat. Everyone loves to talk over upcoming games and expansions, sharing his thoughts and debating various points. Follow along after the cut to see what our readers had to say about that last week!
Global Chat: September 26-October 2, 2011
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! We're all about crafting and complaining in this week's Global Chat -- hopefully not at the same time, though. Follow along after the jump to see some of what our readers had to say this week, and pitch in on a conversation you may have missed!
Global Chat: September 3-10, 2011
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! We're all about comparing communities this week on Global Chat -- free-to-play vs. pay-to-play communities as well as PvE and PvP. As an added bonus, we've got a laugh to share from a Massively contest winner. Follow along after the jump to see what some of our readers had to say this week, then lend your voice to the discussion!
Global Chat: Tough decisions edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Today's Global Chat focuses on developer decisions. From business models to mechanics and even platforms, our readers had some interesting things to say. Follow along after the jump to read, then add your own thoughts!
Global Chat: Follow the money edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! This week's Global Chat is all about paying for things, not paying for other things, and giving even more things multiple chances. Follow along after the jump to see some of the best of what our readers had to say!
Global Chat: Free-to-play edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Free-to-play seemed to be the name of the game this week. Our readers were looking for new free-to-play games, talking about the business model, and making suggestions to one another. Follow along after the jump to see what everyone had to say in this week's Global Chat!
Global Chat: Valorie Vamp edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! This has been an interesting week, complete with virtual vixens, potentially nervous investors, and not-Paladins. If you've missed a few Massively articles that had some great discussion, this is your chance to weigh in, so follow along after the break to see what the Massively writers liked best in this week's Global Chat.
The Daily Grind: Would you like more sprite graphics?
Back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, nearly all video game graphics were produced as a series of animated pixels, or "sprites" as they're more frequently known. Sprites have evolved from the basic pixel-block format seen in old Atari games to being complex collections of fluid animation, producing graceful and evocative art. Of course since each and every frame of a sprite's animation has to be hand-drawn and can often be quite involved, vector-based three-dimensional graphics have become the standard for games both online and offline. World of Warcraft and other triple-A titles are never likely to be dominated by sprite graphics, since the result is usually less character customization, more work for the art team, and only a negligible actual benefit. But what about you, the player? Do you like seeing games where the landscapes and avatars are rendered with sprites instead of polygons? Does it give you a sense of nostalgia and familiarity? Or do you dislike the style and want to see a move away from what was once the predominant graphical style? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our 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 The Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Do you have essential peripherals?
The funny thing about getting used to a new way of playing a game is that sometimes you just can't go back. Case in point: the Razer Naga. It's the sort of mouse that forces dedicated action bar clickers to start using hotkeys, and it's hard to start using one without getting deeply invested in the way that it feels in-play. After all, when you can free up your left hand completely for movement... suffice to say that it earns its moniker as an MMO mouse. Sometimes it's a favorite headset or a particular keyboard with a familiar layout. We all get accustomed to the computer we use for gaming, but is there a specific piece of hardware that feels just plain vital to log on and play your favorite game? Is it something that notably improves your performance, or just a familiar item that's been a constant through your years of playing online? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our 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 The Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Singing the PUG blues
Recently I've been having a hard time finding a decent pickup group in Age of Conan. I'm excited to run some of the Khitai 6-man instances as well as the old-world dungeons that I've yet to experience like The Iron Tower, Onyx Chambers, and Atzel's Fortress. That said, whether it's due to being under-geared and one of the thousands of DPS-types crowding the server, or the fact that the high-level game is very cliquish and/or guild-focused, I can't seem to make it work. If it's gear that's holding me back, then it's the classic chicken-or-egg dilemma (how can I get geared if I can't get a dungeon group?). If the answer is a guild, well I've got one, but I'm one of the very few high-level players; the rest are still slogging their way through the middle levels. Whatever the reason, PUGs (or actually the lack of them) are becoming something of an annoyance. What about you, Massively readers? Are you constantly on the outside looking in or can you get a group whenever you want? Does your game of choice feature a plethora of endgame PUGs or is it mostly premade guild groups?
An interview with veteran supergroups in City of Heroes
Today is rather the day of City of Heroes, and with good cause -- six years old, with many changes and exciting new parts in the wings. And the game is still open to new players of all sorts, with plenty to enrapture players who've never once set foot in Paragon City. But there's also a special place for players and groupings that have been around for nearly all of the game's lifespan -- something that's quite an accomplishment for more than half a decade. We were lucky enough to have a chance to speak with two veteran supergroups as part of the anniversary celebration: ICONS and Fusion Force. To help compare and contrast responses, we asked both groups the same set of questions, and what follows is their responses. Some of them are close to one another (for instance, everyone seems to want to go into space), but others are very different, even with similar amounts of experience. Whether you're a City of Heroes veteran yourself or just curious about the game's history, jump on past the cut for our chat with some of the game's longer-running player groups.
