Looks like Lum has set off the fire of the blogosphere once again with his recent post regarding EA and their implementation of RMT, selling what essentially amounts to “cheat codes” for extra profit.. off of games you’ve already purchased!

Now, I have a few comments on some of these individual blogs, listed below that you may feel free to read, but just to summarize my overall feeling on this issue. I’ll state the following..
(more…)

I recently had the discussion with a friend of mine about this issue, which I’ve decided to blog here.. It all started with this statement: “Role-playing is viewed as undesirable by the vast majority in current-gen MMORPG games.” You might ask me why do I suppose that is? Well of course, I’ll tell you …while there’s no simply one-off answer, part of it is due to drastic changes in the social-environment as far as what is “expected” and what is “accepted” behavior in the game.

For example:

• Out-of-Character chat has completely replaced in-character conversation in all chat channels, with few exceptions.
• There seems to be a misconception that the fun in MMORPG games is at the “end-game” (another misconception altogether since there is never truly an “end” to an MMORPG) and as a result, these players burn through a content like a California wildfire, giving no mind to what they’re missing in the rush.. and instead, believing what they’re doing to be “progression”.

Also at fault is a real lack of immersion at the heart of current-gen MMORPGs, which is somewhat ironic considering we’ve seen developers discussing this for some time now. This is something that I expect to touch upon quite often, as it’s one of those things that really seem to be “easier said than done”, but I have more than a few ideas of how to pull more players “into the world”.. so let’s start right off into one of them, shall we?

Players can change the world..

I recognize that there is a balance between a world simulation and a game, but what if two were really intertwined and dependent upon each other? (more…)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…
All work and no play make… aww screw it!

In response to: Psychochild’s recent post about playing games as a designer.

You’ve got work to be able to play, and if you work or want to work in game design, you HAVE to play or at least keep a working knowledge of various game play elements to be able to keep your own ideas fresh. That said, it’s a definite balance, but an important one to maintain. I kind of like Moorgard’s idea of convincing somebody else you trust to play through games FOR you that you don’t have time to play then report back.

I know that I myself struggle with the lack of time-per-day constantly, for both work AND play! I love EverQuest II, but can’t play very often, or for very long when I get to play.. thus, my handy portable Nintendo DS Lite (or PSP if that’s your thing) has become my best friend due to the fact that I can play it for the 15-20 minutes or so that I have on the train every day and still feel some satisfaction out of it. That’s a big reason why the market for reduced play-time / fast pay-off games has taken off and continues to grow. Cell phone games are a good example of this as well, for killing time.

This is an endless struggle that isn’t going away for sure.

I just heard the news that Green Monster Games (GMG) in Boston, Mass has picked up some serious talent for their new game (currently in pre-production). A few folks from Sony Online Entertainment have recently joined the fold, including Ryan Shwayder (former SOE Community Manager for EverQuest II and keeper of the NerfBat, Steve Danuser (a.k.a. Moorgard, former SOE Community Manager, and most recently, Designer on EverQuest II), and Erik Theisz (Former SOE Design Supervisor and Associate Producer of the original EverQuest II and all expansion including “Echoes of Faydwer”, which released today). Normally, I don’t plan on reporting on who’s where, but I personally feel so excited for these guys that I couldn’t help but post about it. That and the fact that I lived in New England my whole life up until June of this year, so I’m happy to see the gaming industry taking off more and more on the east coast! Anyways, I just want to extend a heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to those picked to be a part of this exciting project! Great job guys!

Check out the Press Release

Wait.. I’m about to comment on a two year old article? YES, because the link was passed back to me by a trusted friend and after reading it and recalling my initial thoughts back from the first time doing so, I’ve come to realize that the points listed in the article are still quite relevant today.

So, for starters… here’s the link for your review…
“Why Virtual Worlds are Designed By Newbies - No, Really!”, by Richard Bartle

(more…)

On this post about “Trophy Equipment” over at Raph Koster’s blog, Raph was suggesting that badges (ala SWG) be a viable alternative to using wearable inventory items as “trophies” in MMORPG games, though an implementation of the idea that’s actually cool has yet to be found. Folks seem to be leaning both ways on the topic, but here’s My Two Copper (which I posted as a comment on the site):
(more…)

One of the things that bothers me about the current MMORPG climate is the lack of tools that allow for players to design content for either their friends or for random passers by. With perhaps the exception of Ryzom, which was widely heralded for their recently released toolset enabling the creation and publishing of player-designed zone instances, most current MMORPGs don’t seem to be putting in the time and effort or are perhaps simply not seeing the value in allowing the creative members of the player populace to design socially-driven events and games-within-the-game.

It would be fair to say that a creative player will find innovative ways to have fun within the confines of what is granted to them by the rules of the game, which is true, but I’m of the mindset that believes the rules are a bit too locked down in existing worlds. Of course, completely freedom and flexibility for the user has it’s place in MMOG worlds such as Second Life, which are PRIMARILY driven by community-generated content, and would not really apply well at all to worlds such as EverQuest II or World of Warcraft. With that said, there is plenty of room for additional player flexibility in a CONTROLLED manner within these types of MMORPGs.

(more…)

The folks over at PlayOn have posted another interesting new article appropriately titled “The social utility of jerks” that I think provides a unique perspective on the positive effects of certain negative in-game social activity. Of course, it makes no false claims that jerks are FUN, but as it turns out they do unwittingly provide a service to their community by creating a “cause” for which groups of people can band against and relate to each other via. For the full details, check out this post over @ PlayOn.