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The Daily Grind: Who's got the best support team?
We like to think we'll never need help. That everything will run smoothly, your account won't get stolen out from under you, that you won't be the subject of routine griefing. Hope springs eternal, but there are whole fleets of people just waiting to help you when you need assistance. However, that doesn't always mean that you'll get it, or that it will be the kind of help you were expecting.With that in mind, then, I know that most of our readers are multi-mmo -- you've all got experience with many different games and companies. When the fewmets hit the fan, who's there for you? Which game has the best player support? Which has the worst?
The Daily Grind: Do you miss Marvel Online already?
We barely new ye, Marvel Universe Online, but already you're gone. In your wake you've left so many questions. What would the three-way tights fight have been like? What would your gameplay, world, and community have been like? Why did you leave us, after all the rumors and questions? Why is Jack Emmert so darn bitter? And most of all, what is your clone-brother Champions going to offer us?What about your questions, Massively readers? Were you looking forward to swinging through NYC with Spidey or taking on the Sentinels side-by-side with the X-men? What kind of character would you have made? Who would you have allied yourself with? Have you turned back to the loving embrace of City of Heroes to assuage your angst? And, most of all ... are you still a true believer?
The Daily Grind: Will your MMO still be here in 2009?
Nothing lasts forever. MMO's come and go, business plans succeed and fail, and sometimes the best will in the world keeps bleeding cash. MMOs and virtual worlds cost a bundle in power and bandwidth to operate and (for decent customer service, GMs, admins and billing) can cost even more in staffing (hint: That's why a lot of operators keep the staff counts down). All the while the developer/operator is trying to keep the cash-burn rate down and recover the costs of the game, in the hope of breaking even before the money runs out. Asheron's Call 2, Auto Assault, Saga of Ryzom, Earth and Beyond, and more are gone. Sometimes subscriptions never quite rise high enough for the long-tail model to be sustainable for an MMO. Do you think your online world will still be here this time next year as the end of Q1 2009 rolls around?
The Daily Grind: Would truly unique items help or hurt an MMO?
Let's indulge in a little thought experiment. Let's say that your favorite MMO has enabled the salvage of an entirely unique, singularly powerful weapon/item. And by 'unique', I don't mean 'Legendary', I mean 'only one person per server may have this thing'. It binds on pick-up for 24 hours, then disappears from your inventory, to become available for the next person to find it.Let's say that for those 24 hours, the wielder of this object is untouchable. Would such an item help or hurt your favorite MMO? Sure, it's an unbalancer, but it's also a goad. If it can only be found, then everyone gets an equal chance for it, no favorites. And who wouldn't want to be GM (or the combat equivalent) for a day? Of course, we know what passions uber items can arouse in the hardcore, but what do you think? Good or bad idea?
The Daily Grind: Swords, spells, arrows, maps, potions or pickaxes?
What do you focus on most in your MMOG? Are raids your especial thing, mixing it up with the team for epic/legendary drops and glory? Are you an explorer, who is out to see the sights and visit the corners that not every player gets to? Are you a quester, trying to get complete all the quests that the givers have to give? Maybe crafting is your primary focus, and you spend the bulk of your ingame time on crafting and the materials for crafting. Heck, maybe it's the ding of a new level that gets you hot. Regardless of why you joined your MMOG, what aspect do you really get the most pleasure from, and is that what you spend most of your time actually doing or do other activities or circumstances in the MMO keep you away from that?
The Daily Grind: Quest designing
Well, as anyone who has been around MMOs can tell you, one of the most commonly complained about quest types is the "kill x" quests -- where x is any number, just like back in algebra class. Quest designers have been accused of everything from being unimaginative, to being downright lazy for using this mechanic so frequently in their games. We keep waiting for someone to offer something more. Today we thought we'd ask you what kinds of quests you'd design if you were able to create MMO quests. (And don't be surprised if we pelt you with rotten produce if you answer with the "kill-x" variable.) Would you use more stealthy missions, quests involving retrieving a certain item that you had to fight your way through a bunch of bad guys to get to? Timed? Escorts? What is your ideal quest design?
The Daily Grind: How long is it?
Well, more properly, how long has it been since you changed your MMO/VW passwords? With your game and virtual world account credentials increasingly becoming more valuable to Real Money Traders than your credit card details are, there's a lot of value for people to be gained in hacking your account. There's certainly enough people intent on getting that information by any means necessary, including hacked devices, kidnapping and murder. Are you one of the folks who changes your passwords every month or so, just in case? Twice a year? Once a year? Or are you one of the set-and-forget types who never changes it unless the service forces you to? Do you feel comfortable about the safety of your gaming and virtual world accounts, given your choice?
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite archetype?
It seems like no matter what game you spend time in, the majority of classes fall into the "trinity" of archetypes. You have your damage-soaking tanks, standing on the front line, drawing aggro and taking a beating. Then you have the DPS classes, who can generally DoT, fear, kite, sneak, stab, shoot, and a myriad of other nasty things to bring the pain. And without the third part of the trinity, the healers, the other two would spend most of the time dead on the floor or fighting mobs while using lots of bandages, med-packs, potions or the like. Once in a while you'll find one class that are a "hybrid" these abilities, taking one or all of the three unto themselves, making for a more solo-friendly character.Personally, I've played all three primary archetypes as well as hybrids. While I've really enjoyed them all, my heart keeps coming back to pure DPS classes, with a close second in hybrids. Whether with stabby knives, flowing robes and fireballs, or carrying a gun, the straight damage classes are fun to me when I've got a good group to run with. When I need to get into a game and see how it works, I tend to go hybrids for their self-reliance. How about you? What's your favorite class archetype (or archetypes) and why?
The Daily Grind: Mobile MMOs and you
Apple's big introduction of the iPhone SDK was big news yesterday for developers, and it (along with the up and coming Google Android) will likely have lots of far reaching implications on the world of gaming, and (considering how connected mobile devices are becoming) the world of mobile MMOs.But are you interested in such a thing? Do you really want to be playing MMOs wherever you go? Lots of people think they spend too much time playing MMOs already, and bringing massively multiplayer games into cell phones and mobile devices might just spread them a little too far into your life than you feel comfortable with.Most WoW players wouldn't mind checking their ingame mail even when they're not near a computer, but from what we've heard from some developers, mobile MMOs might end up being a lot more than that. Are you interested in an MMO you can play anywhere, or would you rather relegate your MMO time to the computer, and be able to step away from it when you can?
The Daily Grind: To upgrade or not
Anyone who has spent any time around Massively is most likely aware of the One Shots column we run daily that showcases many different user-submitted screenshots like the one above. One of the things that strikes me in running it from day to day is how completely different games look from one person's screenshots to the next person's. Obviously, this comes down to things like hardware, whether or not they're running DX10, and the like. For today we'd like to ask you this -- would you, or have you ever upgraded your entire machine just to play one game? Perhaps you just turn your graphics down to the lowest setting and get by? Alternately, do you not mind if you're required to turn everything down, or do you feel like you're not able to enjoy the game as much? With WoW being so system-resource friendly, is it wise to try to push into games that have much higher system requirements -- or do developers risk cutting themselves off from part of the new-MMO player market?
The Daily Grind: Which game has the best admins?
In-game admins (or GMs, if you prefer): they get us unstuck, they deal with bigots on the chat-channels, remove spammers, listen to us whine, look into problems and more. Nine times out of ten, all we do is carp about them when they can't help us with a problem, can't walk us through updating our video drivers, can't restore our lost inventory or when they make a judgement call that doesn't go the way we think it should. Which MMO or virtual world is sporting the best admins? Which of them should be getting awards, pay raises, and celebratory booze-ups for treating us all with respect, sensitivity, boundless patience, and taking on task after task with energy, professionalism and cheerful good humor?
The Daily Grind: Does WoW really need to be 'beaten'?
When will the constant cries of 'Will this be the WoW-killer?' be stifled once and for all? It's an endlessly fascinating debate, apparently, with some huge cachet to be awarded to the winner -- well beyond, of course, the obvious monetary spoils to be accrued. But then, of course, the question transfers to the victor: 'What will be the WoW-killer-killer?'Pfagh, enough. Let's instead concentrate on the far more interesting question: 'Why does there need to be a WoW-killer?' Does everyone think that Blizzard will just hang it up if some new title manages to amass more persistent accounts then they have? Will current players suddenly think 'Thank the gods, there's an alternative! I can escape my slavish chains!' and then recapitulate their drudgery with the new game? Or do people just feel the need to root for the underdog? Chime in with your thoughts, O Constant Readers.
The Daily Grind: What's a good first MMO for a child?
Our Robin Torres writes a column called Gamer Interrupted, about mixing real life with gaming, and it's a wonderful read. In a recent post, the subject turned to how to make MMOs more child-friendly. A few specific titles were covered as well, including WoW and ToonTown Online, but it's worth asking if there are other good first MMO titles that are not only child-safe, but actively worthwhile for a kid to play, either alone or with a parent.Obviously, we can mention Webkinz and Club Penguin, but are there others? Are there, in fact, any non-child MMOs that are safe for children to play?
The Daily Grind: Is combat necessary?
For most of us the term 'MMO' conjures up images of combat, whether within a medieval fantasy setting, or a science fiction milieu. Other images are mixed in there, too, of course, but I'd wager that fighting is the one that pops up most often. It's so common, in fact, that when a game deviates from this norm, attention is called to it. Take Mabinogi, for instance -- many of its features are non-combat-based, like the aging system, or the ability to create MIDI-based music, or the creation and management of a household with a spouse.I didn't realize how refreshing the thought of not having to constantly battle creatures to progress in a game was until Mabinogi offered me these alternatives. This makes me ask the question: is combat really an integral element of an MMO? Would you play a game that lacked it completely?
The Daily Grind: What would you pay for?
At this year's Game Developer's Conference, a lot of hay was made over the concept of microtransactions and the free-to-play model. Attendees seemed split right down the middle, some for, some against. It wouldn't be a stretch to characterize the Massively readership as similarly split. But for those of you who love your free-to-play MMOs, is there anything that would get you to pay a monthly fee?Many titles have the option to both play free and pay a monthly; Dofus, for example, and Second Life too, to polarize the offerings. Are there any such models that have shot themselves in the foot by making the paid content not appealing enough to energize users to pay? If not, what will it take?
The Daily Grind: What's your gamer fuel?
We saw this above image at our sister site, WoW Insider, and we couldn't help but wonder -- do these folks know their market or what? Personally, I'm working on my 3rd cup of coffee (hooray, hazelnut) and glad of both the caffeine and warmth considering a cold weather snap in my area. Our very own Moo Money is notorious for getting sugar-free Red Bull by the case because she likes the carbonation. Getting between Moo and her Red Bull can be a dangerous thing. We haven't tried the above "mana" potion elixir, but we've heard it tastes like Flintstones vitamins. (Of course, in a pinch and needing more energy, there are those among us who would probably drink one anyway.) Have you tried one? Do you like the pre-packaged energy fuel for gaming, or are you more the tea and coffee type? What's your favorite gamer fuel?
The Daily Grind: Is Second Life the internet of the future?
It seems like I've written that before... In fact, just over a year ago when I was a very new blogger on Second Life Insider I wrote "Is the future of the internet on course?" But it's close. I am not claiming in this piece at all that Second Life is perfect. I'm not going to pretend there aren't major changes I'd make in it, as well as major changes in the pipeline that we report on. I'm more thinking from a developmental point of view.Let me tell you a quick story. You'll probably recognise parts of it. About 25 years ago there was this geeky thing called the internet. No-one but the really hard-core used it. About 10 years later it started to become more commonly available. There was a mixed reaction. Some people leapt in. Some dithered. Have a look at www.nissan.com if you don't believe me - it's not a car-manufacturer. Take the example of bookstores - most traditional bookstores didn't do much, but a few people tried, and a few new people got into the mix. Many of the new ones, and many of the traditional ones fell by the wayside. This totally radical new company started to establish itself. Who hasn't heard of, and almost certainly used Amazon (either in the US or in their own country or both.Let's assume the next major evolution of the internet is a 3D virtual environment - like Second Life. Someone will become the Amazon, the Google of the 3D internet. We keep hearing that there is a competitor to Second Life coming along - but they keep failing to actually manifest. The odds suggest that the longer this carries on, the more likely it is that Second Life will be the basis of the 3D internet. It's not a guarantee of course - anyone remember Netscape?So, what do you think? Is 3D internet the next big thing? Is Second Life the Amazon and Google of 3D internet, or is it the Netscape? If it is the Netscape, who is the Firefox? The Internet Explorer? The Safari?
The Daily Grind: How can Tabula Rasa be improved?
Honestly, I haven't had any desire to try Tabula Rasa. Well, that's not entirely true; when I first heard that Lord British was developing a science fiction MMO, I was terribly excited. And if all I knew of the game was what I saw in screenshots and gameplay video, I might still be tempted to give it a try. However, being a part of Massively means that I'm privy to every bit of news and stories that come down the pike, and some of them aren't so complimentary to ol' TR.In fact, posts that talk about 'giving it another try' and 'there's no endgame' and 'the hybrid classes are lame' make me less inclined than ever to even give it a chance. Listen, I know it's got fans so it's not entirely broken, but nothing exists in a vacuum, and there's always room for improvement. So tell me, fans, how would you fix Tabula Rasa?
The Daily Grind: When will you be done with WoW?
Who knows if/when World of Warcraft will ever end? While I'm by no means a power player, if WoW disappeared tomorrow, I'd be a little saddened by all the things I hadn't gotten to experience in it. At the same time, however, no matter how often I drop in, I eventually reach a burnout state before the month is up, and I cancel service until the next time I get the urge.So, for me, it's just a general malaise that sets in that makes me quit WoW. For those of you who've quit, even briefly, what did it? And what would make you stop playing, forever?
The Daily Grind: Your favorite news from GDC?
The Game Developer's Conference for this year is a wrap, and from what we've seen, it looks to have been a roaring success. There's been all manner of great news, views, and more coming down the wires! For today's Daily Grind, we thought we'd ask you just what you thought was the most interesting news coming out of GDC this year? Is it one of the new titles we heard about, or did one of the myriad of excellent panels catch your attention?
