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The Daily Grind: Is the mystique of MMO questing lost for good?
World of Warcraft is often credited with inserting questing into MMORPGs, but veterans know that classic MMOs like Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call all featured quests, be they simple escort quests for gold or elaborate multi-week quests for epic weapons that required a few dozen of your mates to lend a hand. Those ancient quests weren't designed as "content," exactly; they were a means to an end, and the reward was the point. Quests were just a unique way to gather money or special loot when you weren't hunting or camping in dungeons working on skills and levels. What WoW did was popularize the idea that quests should be the primary method of leveling up through an MMO. WoW's quests provide experience above all else; few WoW quests award gear worth using at endgame, and most rewards are vendor trash. Now, as quests have slowly become core content across many themepark and sandbox MMOs, we even hear gamers refer to "quest grind," when the reality is that quest-driven leveling was intended to replace something far more boring: mob grind. By turning something special into something mundane, have MMO developers shattered the mystique of The Quest as a roleplay and storytelling element? Are you sick to death of quests (and dynamic-events-that-are-really-just-quests) as a character development prop? Can designers make questing feel epic once again, or is it simply too late? 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!
Jukebox Heroes: Ultima X Odyssey's soundtrack
Out of all of the MMOs that never made it to launch, Ultima X Odyssey could have really been something. It had a wonderfully stylized look, an immense amount of resources and talent behind it, the Ultima franchise legacy to draw upon, a cool morality choice system, and a pretty strong following. All of that fell apart when EA pulled the plug on the project in 2004, leaving fans in the lurch. However, since UXO was far enough along in development, it's one of those cancelled MMOs that has an actual soundtrack (just like Project Copernicus, which I talked about a few weeks ago). Composer Chris Field completed and recorded an album for the game in 2003, and although it was never released, it was distributed into the wild for free, and certain portions of the soundtrack were repurposed for the game Lord of Ultima. I have to say that it's a good (possibly even great) score, and it's a shame it didn't get to be in an MMO for us gamers to appreciate. That doesn't mean we can't have a listen right now and speculate on what players in parallel universes might be enjoying right now, yes?
The Game Archaeologist: Classic servers and you
Sometimes players don't want progress into the future; they want to regress into nostalgia. I've always seen this undercurrent of desire for classic servers run through the MMO community, manifesting in lengthy discussions about how cool it'd be to play a game the way it was "way back when." I also imagine developers reading those discussions with a combination of shared nostalgia and anxiety over the work required for such a project. I can understand this desire. We form attachments to MMOs based on several factors, not the least of which are when we started playing the game and what we remember most from it. While we generally applaud the change brought about by content updates, bug fixes, expansions, and the like, there's always a part of us that won't let go of the past. That's where classic servers come into play. Here and there, studios have recognized and responded to this desire for gaming the way it used to be by creating servers that deliberately call back to the past. It might seem to fly in the face of common sense, but I don't think it's that strange when you look at the larger video game community and how strong nostalgia gaming has taken root there as well. So what do classic servers have to offer you and where can you find them?
The Game Archaeologist: Classic MMOs in October
You think your fancy modern MMOs have the patent on Halloween? Mister, classic games own this holiday. They were out picking pumpkins and decapitating spooks long before you were a twinkle in the character creator's eye. Halloween's back in many of our older titles this month, and for those of you who have been away from a beloved classic, it may just be the best time to return for another go. Anarchy Online not only has the return of Uncle Pumpkinhead but some pretty good subscription deals right now. EverQuest has the Haunting of Norrath, Pixel Pirates is offering seasonal items in the store, Guild Wars probably toggled its Halloween 2013 switch, RuneScape's got a brand-new questline, and Dark Age of Camelot is up to its standard tricks with the Pumpkin Moon. Of course, October wasn't just about trick-or-treating; plenty of other events have happened to the classic MMO collective. From a record-setting expansion to invasions to a very happy birthday, this month kept hopping (and growling, slithering, and lurking). Let's check it out!
Ask Massively: The dilemma of the free-to-play sandbox
Reader Sharvis recently emailed the Massively Speaking podcast with a question I felt deserved more than just a quick verbal reaction on the 'cast. That, and we just discovered that the ask@massively.com email address went dead approximately three weeks ago, and I've not been receiving your letters there (so send 'em again!). In the meantime: Sharvis. What makes a sandbox so susceptible to its business model in comparison to a themepark? I'm not experienced with sandbox titles, and I can only guess on some of the implications. For example, selling boosters in a themepark is fairly acceptable, but in a sandbox, as Jef pointed out [in his ArcheAge column earlier this summer], that'd be cutting into one of the main features of a sandbox. I'd guess it has to do with these sort of MMOs being more player-centric, and that's a very delicate system to be messing with. See? I told you this was a juicy one.
The Stream Team: Decisionally challenged weather edition, October 7 - 13, 2013
I don't know about you, but in my neck of the woods Mother Nature is suffering some kind of identity crisis. In the span of a single day we have had bone-chilling cold and frost, sun-scorching heat, and monsoon-inspired rainstorms. Every time we have a season-appropriate cold snap, the second I go to remove my air-conditioner, we have a blistering heat wave. People were pumpkin harvesting in shorts for heaven's sakes! Is it fall? Or is it summer? If the weather is any indication, we need to institute a new season. We could call it Summall. Or maybe Falmer. Then people can just expect to employ heavy coats and shorts within hours. Like they do in Colorado! Like the weather of late, I'll admit to being decisionally challenged at times (especially when trying to pick what to do in a game with so many options!). Luckily, for any who suffer that same affliction, your favorite Stream Team hosts will never conflict on the Massively TV schedule. So who's playing what when this week? Check out the schedule and see!
Happy 16th birthday, Ultima Online
I've taken my share of ribbing from the youngins on the Massively staff (as well as the readers!) about my continuing obsession with Ultima Online, but I can't help it: It's hard not to love the game that effectively started it all, especially in an age when MMORPGs have veered so dramatically from the standards set for them by the earliest titles. Next week, Ultima Online turns 16, and you'd better believe we'll be at the party. To honor the game, of course -- not just to gobble free cake. Earlier in the summer, we took a deep dive into the current state of the game (as well as its music!), but since that article ran, Mythic has been ratcheting up the update machine. It's bringing out new veteran rewards, an anniversary event complete with the usual round of anniversary festivities, and a new patch that includes tweaks to the Clean Up Britannia rewards and turn-in system, new Halloween content, and new character titles. Oh, and did I mention players will be embarking on the first part of a new dynamic story arc? With any luck, this one won't end with the brick-by-brick destruction of a beloved NPC town (but hey, at least actions in the game have permanence!). The big party is happening this Saturday, September 21st, on the test server so that everyone can attend no matter his home server. Expect a hedge-maze scavenger hunt, design contest, and storytelling event, complete with some pretty pricey prizes. See you there, and happy birthday, UO!
The Game Archaeologist: Classic MMOs in August
How few players do you need to have before operating an MMO becomes ridiculously unprofitable and in need of closing? In the case of The Matrix Online, we found out that the magic number was 500. I wouldn't have even guessed that so few people were in that game when its shutdown was announced, especially considering the vocal anguish that arose when SOE lowered the boom. I guess it goes to show that we're often quite clueless what goes on behind the curtain. There's always this balance between the number-crunchers (who need players and money to justify continued operations) and the passionate creators (who are often developers putting in the effort because they simply love the game and its community). If nothing else, it reinforced my belief that SOE does bend over backwards to keep these games running as long as possible, much longer than some other studios would in a similar situation. So what other news regarding classic MMOs happened this past month? It's time for another one of my patented roundups, complete with archaeological commentary!
MMObility: Ultima Forever is tons of fun, even with repairs
EA's new toy, Ultima Forever, is a fun mobile game that is loosely related to the first great MMO I ever played, Ultima Online. It's set in the same universe, 21 years after the events of Ultima IV, and it made me happy to see many of the same names and places that I remember from my yearly field trips back into the original, but the game still plays and feels differently from the classic. You'll have fun with the mobile version anyway, hacking and slashing your way through classic dungeon after dungeon. But is the effort worth it? Is EA just asking for veteran players to come along and torpedo this latest effort in the Ultima series? How will potentially curmudgeony old-school players adapt to a title that forces them to play on a tablet (or later, a browser)? Because after playing Ultima Forever for a while now, I can safely say that this is not a game made only for veterans.
Veteran developer Kirk Black Kickstarting new kid-safe MMO
Oftentimes, Kickstarter is used by developers trying to break into MMOs. In the case of Enspira Online, however, it's a 20-year industry vet looking to bring his project to the market. Kirk "Runesabre" Black -- known for his roles as lead engineer and producer of Ultima Online, lead dev on Star Wars Galaxies, and more -- has been creating a non-violent, kid-safe game geared for the younger MMO players. Players in Enspira Online are challenged with reviving and tending the magnificent gardens of the Gnomes, who have been imprisoned by spiders. On top of this, players can build personal islands, own a home, and explore the world by boat for more adventures. Black's goal is to provide a vehicle for kids to experience and learn valuable life lessons like helping others in need and investing in themselves while having fun in game. Enspira Online is currently in internal alpha testing, and the Kickstarter campaign is to facilitate closed beta. For a look at the game, check out the video after the break.
Tamriel Infinium: Audience expectations, Elder Scrolls Online, and EverQuest Next
Last week was a huge week for MMO fans. We were expecting some cool news from Sony Online Entertainment about EverQuest Next from SOE Live. Despite not being a huge EQ follower, I was enormously interested in what SOE (one of my personal favorite game developers and publishers) planned on doing with its staple franchise. Then Bethesda announced that for the first time ever the ZeniMax team would show in-game footage of the Elder Scrolls Online on Twitch TV. Specifically, players wanted to see the first-person view not seen at previous conventions. ZeniMax delivered, and the crowd went wild. I believe both presentations were wonderful, and I would be lying if I said that both presentations didn't pique my interest. I would also be lying if I said that I had no concerns about how each of the games will be received. I talked about it with my guild, Nefarious Intent. We have some hardcore Elder Scrolls fans and some MMOers who have been playing EQ games since the '90s. During the course of the debate, we came to the conclusion that the audience of each game expects something completely different and that pitting these two titles together is completely unfair. So of course that's why I have to do just that in today's column. Why are there different expectations between ESO and EQN? How is it going to be completely possible for both games to be highly successful?
Ultima Forever arrives on iOS
Avatar! Get out of bed, put on some clean underwear, and leave a note for your mom -- there's adventuring that needs doing! Mythic's Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar is out for the iOS and can be played on the iPad 2, iPod 5, and iPhone 4S or higher. Mythic had recently held Ultima Forever back to fiddle with its economy and fix bugs, but it seems as though everything is solid enough for the studio to finally pull the trigger and launch it worldwide. Ultima Forever is free-to-play with optional in-app purchases. Mythic is working on Android and PC versions as well. It's a whopping 881 MB to install, so make sure you have the room before you check out this latest chapter in the Ultima series!
The Daily Grind: What MMO would be great on tablets?
Ever since receiving it as a gift last Christmas, my iPad mini has been a constant companion of mine at bedtime. It's the perfect way to unwind after a day, although I do wish that more MMOs would be created for it or ported over to it. It's good news that we have Ultima Forever and RuneScape 3 to look forward to, but where's the rest of the flock? I'd love to see some of these older games make the transition to tablets. I think it was genius to bring Puzzle Pirates to tablets a little while back, because you get the benefit of years of development without the worry of being a performance hog. Ultima Online might make a great tablet MMO, as would a pared-down version of World of Warcraft. Let's turn our imaginations loose today. What MMO would be great on tablets? 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 Game Archaeologist: Classic MMOs in July
It's been over a month since our last round-up of news, events, and community features covering the classic MMOs we know and love. You wouldn't think that a lazy summer month would contain a lot of new information regarding these older titles, but these past few weeks have been absolutely hopping. We've had several anniversaries, patches, player celebrations, mobile adaptations, and more. I'm constantly encouraged to see how players keep the memories of deceased games and the spirit of currently running ones alive throughout the blogging community as well, so we'll look into that today too.
Ultima Forever delays release until later this summer
While Canada has been enjoying the fruits of Ultima Forever, the rest of the world's been waiting to get a hold of this mobile online RPG. Unfortunately, it looks as though the wait will be extended a little longer, as Mythic announced that the Ultima Forever's iOS launch has been delayed a few weeks. Mythic called upon players' Sacrifice virtue regarding the delay: "Our world-wide launch has been pushed back a handful of weeks, due to the need to spend a little more time tuning the economy and wrangling performance across all devices." The studio said that it will spend the time fine-tuning the game and incorporating tester feedback.
The Perfect Ten: MMO commercials that take us back
I don't see a lot of commercials these days. I like to imagine that I'm a one-man force out to frustrate advertisers, ducking and weaving whenever they try to wing a 30-second spot at me. A lot gets through, but I've long since canceled cable, and the only traditional commercials I sit through are the ones for the occasional YouTube video. But there's something about a good commercial that can take us back on a wave of "remember whens?" and community bonding. I hear more discussions about creative ad spots the day after the Superbowl than the game itself. Commercials can even be a time capsule that unlocks memories for us of favorite movies, toys, and experiences. But what about MMOs? Well, they have commercials too, although not as many have made it to the standard airwaves. They're out there, though. Lurking. Emitting nostalgia rays from the past. And I've been hunting them down, looking for commercials that take us back to a simpler, goofier time. A few thousand dead brain cells later, I've got 10 of the margh make it sop pleaze pleaaa... Enjoy.
Shroud of the Avatar team adds Starr Long to the mix
Fans of the Ultima series should be happy to hear that Shroud of the Avatar has added Starr Long to its roster as executive producer. Don't recognize the name? You should; according to Richard Garriott, Starr Long is the reason that Ultima Online existed in the first place. As Garriott puts it, while there had been discussions about doing an online installment of the series, Long was the one who was insistent that Ultima Online needed to happen. He was so much the driving force behind it that Garriott points to him as the push that kept him working on the game. A formal announcement will be made on Saturday at RTX 2013 alongside a special demonstration of Shroud of the Avatar, which will be available via livestream. If you've been hoping to see some of the key players behind UO back together, it looks as if you're in luck. [Source: Portalarium press release]
Jukebox Heroes: Ultima Online's soundtrack
Ultima Online and EverQuest were bound in blood by their early place in MMO history, but both titles were also two of the very few MMOs that released with a MIDI soundtrack. I've talked about the charms of MIDI before, although I think that a good chunk of the modern playerbase has no idea how games used to sound. In short, UO's original score used to be 100% computer produced, but eventually the MIDI format was replaced by much better-sounding versions in MP3 files around 2002. The core game's music was done by a pair of composers, Kirk Winterrowd and Joe Basquez, both of whom worked on previous Ultima titles. There's not a lot out there about the duo's experience creating the soundtrack nor whom the game studio tapped for music duties after Origin Systems went away. What I find interesting about this score is that not only is it beloved by players who have fond memories for Ultima Online but it is part of the larger Ultima framework, harkening back to The Olden Days of gaming. Seeing as how I was never into any of the Ultima titles (for shame, I know), I'm going to have to fall back on a simple gut-check: Which of this music is appealing simply for its own sake?
Second Wind: Ultima Online
When I (legally) sold my Ultima Online accounts in 2000 for the hefty sum of $1800, the game was already three years old and being challenged by the likes of EverQuest and Asheron's Call. I thought I was done forever. My guild was eyeing Dark Age of Camelot, and I wanted to cash out and rid myself of the chore of maintaining a dozen grandfathered houses on the dying half of a shard struggling to find its footing in a post-open-PvP ruleset. I was wrong. A year later I was back in UO with a new account, prowling around Britannia. And the year after that. And every year since, only I never again made the mistake of selling my accounts even when I took extended breaks. It has a special magic that only a handful of MMOs have captured (let alone topped) since, and what it lacks in modern conveniences it often makes up for in unique features. The granddaddy of MMORPGs and one of the only true sandboxes still standing turns 16 this autumn, having survived EverQuest, World of Warcraft, the internet bubble, EA's blundering, Mythic's takeover, layoffs, price hikes, a recession, and disastrous design shifts. But is it still worth playing?
The Game Archaeologist: Checking in with classic MMOs
What's this, you say as you rub your eyes in disbelief. Is it... The Game Archaeologist, long since thought lost in his expedition to Atlantis (and the trials therein)? It is indeed, my friends. TGA has been a long-running passion of mine on Massively, but I needed a break for a while to recouperate and refocus. However, as of late I've felt the call of neglected classic MMOs and wanted to make sure that they were getting some column love here on the site. So going forward, expect to see The Game Archaeologist pop out of his hidey hole once or twice a month to talk about our old favorites and perhaps pontificate more on the history of MMO development. Sound good? Did you miss me at all? You totally didn't, did you. If you've been out of touch with classic MMOs, I've done the legwork this week to provide you with the 10 important and relevant news items that are sweeping through this aging yet still vibrant community. Read on, McDuff!
