War is Upon Us!

Now that the NDA has lifted with the official launch of the game, I can talk about the new MMO on the market, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, or WAR for short.  I was lucky to be included in the beta test for the game and, overall, I have to say this is fun.  While it’s no WoW killer, it’s as about as close as anyone but WoW will ever come.  While it doesn’t bring too many surprise, except for the Public Quests, it does provide a solid entry into the MMO business while maintaining its roots as a war game.

A little back-story on where the roots of this new MMO come from for you.  Warhammer, published as a table top fantasy war game that relies heavily on painted minuatiures in 1983 by Games Workshop, has always operated in a niche market.  It is easily the largest and most popular game of its type, and has offered stock fantasy race armies so you can settle the question who would win in a fight orcs or elves.  It has spawned several spin-offs in the form of board games, a far future versions, and various rpg products.  However, it has always required a serious monetary investment to play the game, so it has never really captured a broad audience.

Until recently, that is.

With the on-line game in development for over three years and a rich catalogue of source material to draw from,  EA games has put
together a solid game.  It presents the core concept of the game, war and the
factions involved. Which, in this case, is the war between the forces of Order
and Chaos. And, from the outside the MMO makes it clear the player is involved in this war either as a defender, the forces of Order, or as an invader, the forces of Chaos. 

Warhamer does offer some standard war game features, such as battles
the players can take place in and even offers direct conflicts in small groups between the
players themselves for control of a map. Which is a really fancy way of saying that there's a lot of PVP available if you want it.  While large scale battles and map control are all features MMO's have seen for some time, what Warhammer does offer that is new is the Public Quest

The Public Quests are a small mini-game within the game that takes place in a small
geographical area and requires a small to large team to complete.  This is new
because the only requirement to take part in these mini-games to find their
location on the map.  Traditionally, these sort of things are handled by a
series of NPC’s within the game or just a simple large wandering monster
that has a huge amount hp. 
And, for those of you
with MMORPG experience under your belt, the Public Quests are raids
introduced at an early level to make it consistent with the end game.

Which I think is important to introduce the concept of raiding at an early level to make it consistant with the goals of the end game so it is no longer a paradigm shift from the previous levels to a continuation of what you have been doing the whole game.  Or, to say that less fancy, make raiding a early part of the game so when you run out of levels you keep playing the way you've always played. 

However, for those of y'all that aren't as into game construction as I am, it's a fine game that offers a lot of content that remains consistant and entertaining throughout.  Additionally, the graphics are very up to date, making other MMO's appear, as my wife put it, so 10 years ago.  So, if you're tired of grinding on your 60th level Hunter, pick the game up and give it a try.  You'll like it.

4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons- a review

There are a lot of things that 4th ED does well- even great- but there are several things I think this edition loses in these improvements. I have taken the time to read through the various books, examine the character classes, and familiarize myself with the mechanics of the game. I have made a string of characters, played them, and ran several games with a group of players. While the new game mechanics make the game combat dynamic, and leaves no player behind, I feel it sacrifices much of the roleplay mechanics so prevalent in previous editions. However, let me talk about what I think this edition does well before I talk about the faults I find with it.

First off, the layout of the books and reference material is well organized and easily accessed. The writing flows well, and is highly accessible to a new generation of player without a decade of game baggage already in tow. A new DM can pick this system up and be running a game in short order. Creating a character is quick and relatively painless now. Some of the more arcane tropes of D&D have been chucked out the door in favor of more standardized methods of determining things like hit points, skills, and other play modifiers.

The streamlined combat makes it fast and furious. The standardization of hp, skills, and saving throws makes calculations easy and intuitive. The ease of scaling monsters and the addition of minions keeps the players on their toes alert for the nasty surprise you’ve tucked away somewhere. That is great. Additionally, the Rituals allow a level of customization not seen before in D&D. With the right collection of feats, any character can perform many of the cleric or wizard only tasks in earlier editions of the game. And that is good. The healing is well handled; no longer do you have to worry about peppering the adventure with healing loot to keep the players on their feet- the surges take care of that for you. Also good.

And, with the edition of Powers they have fixed the forever broken Wizard class. No longer useless until level fifteen, the wizard can throw damage just as hard and as long as the fighter right out of the gate. Which is good. No longer does one player sit there and twiddle their dice after killing one kobold with Magic Missile. Now they get to hand out damage every round of every combat. The new system also benefits the Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues turning them into bigger combat hogs than they already were. However, the role of Clerics has changed dramatically. Once able to step up to the combat plate after the spells ran out, the new clerics are in truth much more like a paladin. Holy warriors that can kind of throw down with some spells. Team support is also taken up by the new core classes of Warlock and Warlord.

But…

But, so much of what is good about this game sacrifices the role play mechanics of the earlier additions. D&D started out as a fantasy wargame, and it traveled along way away from that by the time 3.5 came out, and 4th is working hard to go back to that ideal. So much of the new streamlining for the battlemap jettisons the fuzzy aspects of the mechanics of roleplaying. What if I design an adventure where an evil king can be turned with a sad song? What skill do you use to play the lute again? What if the player wanted to cheat at a card game to win the day? What skill does that use?

And, once you get past the shiny new paint and chrome, and pop the hood to get a close look at the way the game ticks you discover that the highly customizable characters aren’t so different from each other. They are just alike. And this was something that truly bugged me about 1st edition- your rapier wielding fighter was exactly the same as my great sword wielding fighter; we just rolled different dice for damage. And I see this again with 4th ED- your 5th level Eldarin ranger is going to be nearly identical to my 5th level Eldarin ranger; we just roll different dice for damage. In fact, your 5th level dwarf cleric is going to be remarkable similar to my 5th level Eldarin Ranger.
Additionally, the Warlock and Warlord both have the feel of well thought out supplemental character classes rather than a core class. It is worth noting that throughout my play experience the warlord of my group routinely out supported the cleric- whom traditionally occupies the role of front line support. But with the edition of the Warlords and the healing-in-your-pockets Surges the traditional role of the cleric isn’t really necessary anymore.

The spam (at will) and encounter powers are nearly identical across the classes. And, with the standardization of saving throws it gets harder to tell them apart. The largest difference between the classes is how much hp they get at every level. Indeed, the distinctions blur even more with the addition of Rituals. While on one hand this makes many functions of the game accessible to every player they no longer make any class special. And, for me that takes away an element of danger- don’t have a cleric? Well, then you had better be careful about charging through that door, hadn’t you?

And, do not even get me started on the forced migration into Paragon and Elite classes.

I understand why there are so few of the Paragon and Elite classes in the initial release- gotta have stuff for the supplemental material after all and there is only so much room in the book. But do not force me to customize my character if I don’t want to do it- that’s not customization but standardization. Your pitfighter is going to also be nearly identical to my pitfighter. This isn’t Diablo, this is a pen and paper RPG- an industry that thrives on expansion rule books! We can allow for some greater variation in our characters. Now, there is wiggle room with the feats and powers but the limited selection and near identical nature of those feats and powers across the classes make this customization frequently cosmetic in nature.

Ultimately, I am torn about 4th Edition. It does really well, speeding up the combat system and homogenization character classes and abilities, also take away the parts of Dungeons and Dragons that I really liked- the variety and expansion. Also, I find that the promise of customization is just woefully absent in this edition (for my money, the greatest customization offered by D&D was the Skills and Powers books from 2nd ED). What I considered to be the greatest sins of 1st ED was its inability to handle non-combat related events and ideas within the context of its rules structure, and the carbon copy nature of the different classes is all too prevalent in 4th ED.

Many other reviewers have remarked on the similarity between the new edition of D&D and the MMO model of gaming. While many have speculated that this is because D&D is trying to lure WoW players to the table top by mimicking the combat structure I disagree with this theory. I suggest that when they designed this game they created a system that could be used on the table top or on a pc and deliver the same experience.

Meaning, that the wizard I play with my cousin Bob on Saturdays will be identical to the wizard I play nightly on the brand new D&D online game. And this is important- so many of us veteran players like to remake older characters on similar systems but have often been stymied in this goal due to gross incompatibility. But with the new system it will flow easily from table to pc back to table. The Reaping Strike my Cousin Bob’s 5th level fighter does in game will look and function EXACTLY like the Reaping Strike his 5th level fighter does online.

I think that speaks to how well this game was designed in terms of usability.

So, even though I am torn about this edition I feel I must endorse it. The combat system and subsequent skill handling (such as it is) is well designed and intuitive in its use. And, while much of this edition goes back to the things about the 1st edition I did not like it does handle them well. All in all, it’s a good game that is fun and easy for everyone to play.

MMO's printing money

Exactly why are mmo's making more money than the rest of the video game industry?


Well, the monthly fee has a lot to do with that, but I meant why are people sticking around in those game for longer than a month or two?


Now, some of you are going to reach for the grind or content argument and in some ways that's a good one, however I think that is only part of the answer. The largest part, or rather parts, fo the success of MMO's are the persistence and community.


As we get older and we take on more responsibilities we have less and less time for our hobbies and entertainment. I'll give you an example- my brother in law and I have been friends for longer than we've known our wives (our wives are sisters). When we were young we would play pnp RPG's for hours and days on end. Our weekends would be full of dungeon crawls and extensive battlemaps filled with warmachines and troop movements. We would stay up until dawn, only to wake up a few hours later to continue the war against whatever we felt like.


Now?


Now we have to get the lawn mowed, and my wife really wants to build bookshelves into the walls in our two other bedrooms, and, yeah there's that project I wanted to get a head start on for work, and...the list never ends. We have no time to do the things we enjoyed most as kids- play games. As a result, we meet up online every Sunday night to play Lord of the Rings Online for 4 hours before we have to go to bed to get up for work. Of course we both have side characters that we play when the other is not in the game. Ones that we play a little bit here and a little bit there. The characters we play with other people who also only have a little bit of time before they have to run off to whatever day job.


And, it's that persistence, the game is always there day or night ready to go when you are, and that community, it is filled with other solo gamers that have a limited amount of time to play like I do.


Like for example, I get home on Wednesday's pretty early and it's my wifes late night, so,I hop on the game for a few hours. It's always there, and it's always filled with people who want to play too. I never have to worry about finding someone to team with, or even if I can't I can certainly solo through vast portions of the game as well. The persistence of the MMO along with the constantly rotating player base ensure that there is always something to do with someone when you've got the time available.

MMO Coming to a Theater Near You?

If you’ve been awake for the last 50 years of the movie industry, you are intimately familiar with movie tie-in merchandise It goes from action figures all the way to food items. It’s a time honored tradition that has produced some of the most notorious games in the short history of video gaming.

Like, ET, for example.

Actually, ET has been voted as the worst game ever several times over. The game is so notorious that there is even a urban near-legend that it drove Atari into bankruptcy as they dumped entire truck loads of the unsold game out in the desert. My dad bought this when I was a wee lad, and I still remember how frustrating the game-play was for this game. It was as bad as they say it is.

So, to get back to my point, there’s been a long tradition of generating more money for a movie using different media streams such as the game platforms.

But what about a movie that’s really a tie-in to an existing game? We’ve seen movies that were made from existing games, such as the Mortal Kombat franchise and the Streetfighter series, but what about a persistent game world such as an MMO?

Recently, Funcom, the publisher of Age of Conan, announced it will be creating in-game events that directly lead up to and correspond with an upcoming unannounced Conan movie. Which is fancy speak for, 'if anyone ever makes a Conan movie, we'll make it a part of our game.' And, given that Age of Conan has 400,000+ subscribers, that isn't small screen release.

But let's take this up a notch- imagine a movie based on an MMO but not as a marketing ploy for the movie but to drive up more business for the game. Imagine the ad campaign for a World of Warcraft movie- liked the movie? Do you want to live the adventure again and again? Why, for a mere $15 a month you too can be a Night Elf Shaman or Blood Elf Paladin.

Don't think it will happen? Consider these three things- first, movies are about shared experiences. Until recently, those shared experiences have been novels and short stories. We gather to watch our favorite novels turned into film with others whom love the story like we do. Now, more and more movies are made based off of video games. Instead of Gone with the Wind, we are Alone in the Dark.

Second, World of Warcraft has 10 million subscriber's. That's right 10,000,000 accounts. All of them paying $15 a month. Every month. You do the math. Blizzard can write its own check to make its own movie.

And, lastly this sort of thing happened once before- remember the good old days of cartoon's in the 80's? GI Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony? When everything seemed to have its own toy line? Well, it was actually the other way around. They developed the cartoons to sell the toys.

We are coming close to the day when a video game won't be a tie-in to a movie, but the movie will be used to generate buzz for a new video game.

And, bonus Cool Points if you know the first video game based on a movie.

Star Trek Back Online?

For several years now there has been a website for a Star Trek MMO that
said nothing more than “coming soon”. And, that was it. Oh, the
forums on the site had a development
blog and made lots of promises. Like, everyone would be a Captain of a
ship. That the big vehicles would have to be run by groups of
players. And lots of other things.



Oh, and oodles of concept art. Lots of that stuff.



But, that was it. For four years.



Until recently.



A classic in-joke among the sci/fi crowd is that in any show to win any conflict someone merely needs to reverse the polarity of something and the fight is over.



And that has been done with Star Trek Online.



After languishing in development at Perpetual Entertainment, the Trek
world has had its polarity reversed and has been picked up by hot new
developer Cryptic Studios.
You may remember these guys from the big hit of 2006, City of Heroes
and City of Villains. They sold their interest in those games to
Korean Publisher NCSoft for what is known in the industry as a suitcase
full of cash.



It's a technical term. And they used that cash to buy two things. The
first was probably a lot of beer. The second was Star Trek Online.



According to the company's creative leader, Jack Emmert, they have not
used much of the pre-developed material that came with the package they
bought from Perpetual. They have, in their own words, re-built it from
the ground up.



The game does promise to be interesting. Cryptic has decided to not
work within the era of existing material, choosing instead to set the
game some time after the chronological end of the series of shows.
Which I think is a good idea. This allows their writing staff the
ability to come up with original story lines that don't interfere or directly contradict the cannon material from the shows.



You know what a picky bunch us sci/fi nerds can be.



And, like Perpetual, Cryptic has put out oodles of concept art. Some
of it recycled from Perpetual. However, what they have done besides
that is put together some game play footage, and provide a lot of
screen shots. Cryptic too is proposing that the player will be the
commander of the ship, with a skill sets that come from the different
areas of the show such as medical, security, engineering, and non-ship
related such as archeology.



You non-sci/fi nerd types probably don't know that Picard was a trained
archaeologist before he was the captain of the mighty Enterprise.



Which I think is important. While I think it will be fun to engage in
ship to ship combat, the show was about more than that. The character
backgrounds gave hint of more complex life and society than a one hour
space opera normally should. And that needs to be reflected in the
game. And, it also does need to be taken in that this is going to be
an MMO. So, players are going to have to deal with each other as they
deal with the conflicts of the game. Meaning, they'll have to
negotiate and trade between themselves and the game to get the things
they want. Properly done, this game will be a licenses for Cryptic to
print money.



And, I think it can be properly done. There is already a successful space game out there, EVE Online.
And, Eve does a lot of things right. It gets the look of space right.
Which is not that they faithfully copy what the void really looks like
but that they get it right because they faithfully show it the way it
is in our heads- beautiful. And the combat is good too- lots of
orbiting and planning your moves.



Which is how space combat should be. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Star Wars Kid that loves some X-Wings but that's not how it would be.



However, one of the great staples of a MMO game is the crafting
system. And, I don't know how this could be handled. Everything in
Star Trek came from the replicators. Things were not truly built, so
much as designed in brought into existence fully formed. So, in a
world that is pre-built how will the players make things?



I know they could design it and then produce it, but that's not what
I'm talking about. While Trek does have a culture of inventiveness-
remember the reversing polarity joke at the beginning? It does not
have a culture of invention. By which I mean there are not a lot of
shows that brought out new ideas created by the characters. Yes, the
guest scientist of the week would bring on a dangerous machine that
would later get its polarity reversed but it wasn't a centerpiece of
the show. So, it will be interesting to see how Cryptic- a company
that produce a game that had no crafting system for some time- will
produce another game with a complex crafting system.



However, Cryptic has some time on its hands. They've already announced
it's going to be a few years before this game is ready to be launched.
And, since the Trek crowd has already waited a few years, what's a few
more? Personally, I would have Cryptic follow the Blizzard style of
development. Which is, wait until it's right before you release it
rather than have them push it out the door to make a quick buck.
Seriously, do you remember how long we had to wait for the first
Starcraft? I do.



It's going to be interesting to see what the talent that Cryptic has
assembled put together for us. I mean, for the Trek fans. And, since
this is a game being re-built from the ground up it's going to be
another couple years wait before Trek Fans too can say, “These are the
voyages of the Starship...”

Blood Diamond in the Rough?

In 1999 the demand for colubite-tantalite, also known as coltan, went from $49 to a staggering $275 a pound. Coltan is used in the manufacture of electronics. Specifically, it is a heat-resistant metal used in the manufacture of capacitors used in electronics such as cell phones, computers, and game consoles. This same year, Sony expanded production to meet the demand of its explosive hit console the Play Station 2.

Also in 1999, Rwanda invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and took control of the coltan producing regions of the DRC. It is estimated that while Rwanda was in control of that region it made more than 250 million dollars by selling coltan to western companies. A former member of British Parliament, Oona King claims, “Kids in the Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in the West could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms”

Only some of the crimes against humanity that occurred during the conflicts in Africa at the turn of the century have been documented.

However, to its credit Sony claims that it has taken steps to ensure they are not using illegally obtained coltan in its electronics. Additionally, the majority of the worlds supply of coltan comes from Australia, with contributing mines from around the world. And, according to a 2006 United States Geological Survey report, the DRC region produces less than 1% of the world’s coltan.

But, the sudden spike in price of coltan and the demand for the Play
Station are not a coincidence. While it may not be solely responsible, it was definitely a contributing factor. And, while Sony does claim that they did not deal in illegally obtained coltan, raw materials change hands frequently enough that it becomes impossible to be sure of these things. But it is statistically likely that some of this illegally obtained coltan was used in the manufacture of some Play Stations.

And, that brings up an interesting question. How responsible for these things are we as consumers? Without the demand generated by our desire to buy the Play Station 2, would the price of coltan have gone up significantly that it resulted in profits for an invading nation?

While we can’t claim that Rwanda invaded as a result of the rise in demand for a specific resource, they did profit from it. And in that part of the world, 250 million dollars goes a long way.

So, how responsible are we?

As consumers what culpability do we have in resource war? This wasn't a war over sustenance or survival. This was a war to take control of resources from another group of people.

Yes, we can say, "I didn't invade that country. I didn't shoot anyone." this is true. But would these things have happened if we hadn't demanded products made from those resources? Would Rwanda have invaded the Congo if there wasn't money to be made?

Well, we can't have a simple answer to that complex question but a likely answer is no. Without a significant gain, there would be no reason for a country as poor as Rwanda to invade another poor nation such as the DRC.

In a complex global economy, our seemingly inconsequential decisions and actions have impact in the furthest reaches of the world. And, by our actions are we responsible for the actions of others? Is cause responsible for effect?

And, I should add that I am not advocating that we stop buying all electronics. In this day and age, that is impractical. If we all stopped buying electronic equipment tomorrow, what would that do to our economy and to the economy of Australia- the largest producer of coltan? Even my cat box has a computer chip in it. What I am advocating is that as consumers we be more aware.

We, as people, have an effect on the world around us, even if it is so small a thing as buying a game machine for our children.

A Fat Princess or Can of Worms?

During E3 publisher Sony Computer
Entertainment of America, or SCEA, quietly announced a new Capture
the Flag mmo game.

In case you’re not
aware, Capture the Flag is
a time honored game in the first person shooter genre that first
appeared in 1994, and more recently mmorpg games. To sum up, there
are two teams that both have a base with a flag in the middle.
Your job is to take the other teams flag and return it to your base.
This used to be played outdoors with people and teams, but who
does that anymore? It’s all online now.

And, with Sony’s new
game the flag is still the objective and the goal of protecting your
flag while stealing the opposing team’s flag remains the same.
However, they have added a new dimension to the strategy of the
game. You can change the weight of the flag, making it harder
to steal.

However, in this game
the flag is a Princess, and you make her heavier by feeding her junk
food. And, thus the name of the game; Fat Princess.

There is a phrase
bandied about in the scriptwriting community- high concept. And
I have never had a convincing explanation of the phrase other than
it’s like art- you know it when you see it. A frequent
example of a high concept movie is Liar Liar. Or Jaws.

And I think Fat Princess
is high concept. It does a lot of things- it puts a new face on
a classic on-line game. It repackages itself with the theme of
stealing or guarding a princess. And it adds a new level of
strategy with the weight of the flag. It even sums the game up
in the title. And it generates a lot of free press.
Because the concept and name have not gone over well with some
people.

To quote Melissa McEwan
of Shakesville, "positively thrilled to see such
unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating,
heteronormative ---holes." And, to quote my wife, herself a
life long video gamer, “Looks kinda lame.”

I would not be blogging
about a new game that had players fill an empty box with rocks called
Box of Rocks; which is the same concept as Fat Princess- a McGuffin that can be made heavier. But this is a game about making
a young woman fat so the other team can’t steal her.

And that brings up a lot
of hot button issues; the objectification of women, feminine body
image, and perceived roles for women in games.

I mean, the princess
only has value as an object to be guarded, and is made unattractive
by making her fat. That’s woman as object, woman is desirable thin
and undesirable fat. Woman is defenseless and must rely on men. The
only way this game could be more controversial is if it had something
to do with the Middle Eastern boys and Catholic Priests.

And, how many princesses
can you name from video games? Right off the top of my head I can name
five. And those are just from Nintendo games. Now, excluding Laura
Croft, how
many video game heroines can you name? That second one is a
shorter list, isn’t it?

And, there is one more
thing to add- this game was designed by a woman.

Does that make it better
or worse? Is it okay for a woman to make a game about making
women objects and fat?

Does the game designer
bear any responsibility in the self image of its players? Do
video games have such an impact on our society that we must tailor
every aspect of them to send nothing but the most positive and
uplifting of messages?

Does saying “It’s
just a game, get over it.” trivialize women who are upset about a
game that objectifies women?

Personally, I think Fat
Princess is a great idea for a game. It’s a fun twist on an
existing idea, instead of a flag it’s a princess. The rescue
the princess cliché it gives you instant thematic
possibilities and a setting that doesn't require a great deal of
definition. Yes, it does turn a woman into an object; she is
not capable of leaving the enemy base on her own. But, I think
the game would be just as fun if it were Fat Prince. And it does send
a message, intentional or not, that eating too much cake will make
you fat. I can’t discuss actual game play because I don’t own the
game or the platform it’s intended for, and it hasn’t been
released yet. But, it does sound like fun.

Cross Pollination

A few months ago I blogged about what I thought the future of gaming would be, specifically how it would expand away from just one platform to include console, PC, and even mobile phones in one mass audience.


And it's started already.


In the recent weeks, Cryptic Studios announced that their new MMO, Champions Online, will be for a simultaneous release on the PC and Xbox 360. Additionally,other companies are jumping into the mix platform wave with Sony announcing its new PC/PS3 MMO titles The Agency and DC Online. And with the announcement of EA Games new MMO Knights of the Old Republic, a retread of a great game put out by Bioware, there's even more on the way.


What makes this both a challenge and an interest is the User Interface that has to be built. Until now, a game was released for one platform, then after sales has dropped it was re-tooled for another platform to generate more income. A classic example of this is a recent Bioware release, Mass Effect. The critically acclaimed game was first released for the Xbox 360, and after some time its user interface was rebuilt for the demands of the PC. But there was time between releases, and the games never crossed over. So, from a design standpoint, you never had to worry how game play was affected by the use of a gamepad controller or a keyboard.


But, with simultaneous release for an online game, that is a consideration. How complex with the controls be? At what point is the players experienced diminished by having to manage the buttons on the controller? At what point do the controls become too simple for a keyboard and mouse interface that immersion no longer occurs? At first this doesn't seem like a large issue, but the more a player has to pay attention to what their hands are doing the less they are focused on the game.


And less focus means less immersion and less immersion means less fun.


It will be interesting to see how the design challenges, the obvious ones of raw code and the less obvious game design factors, are discovered and overcome. We are leaving a golden age of games and entering into a new era where it is less important what type of gaming system you own but if it can get on line and what titles you buy.

Conventions of the MMO

There are a few conventions of the MMO genre. Things like a quest system, combat, and a chat interaction between players.

The Endless Forest has none of that. There is no quest system, in fact there are no goals in the game at all. Which is not to say there are things to do in the game, there are, but that there are no requirements. You are free to move about the entire game world to do as you would like. There is no fighting at all. The game is completely non-violent, you can't even hurt yourself in the world. And there is no chat interaction whatsoever. Not even names. The only language in the game is the body language of the deer avatars.

Oh, yeah, I forgot. Everyone is a stag-like deer creature. No, I am not kidding, you're a stag-like deer creature with a human face.

The way anyone can communicate in the game is through a complex series of body language and gestures. The name you choose for your Deer is rendered as a pictogram that floats between your antlers.

And while there is "magic" within the game it cannot be used for personal gain. You can only effect others. So, if you want something you have to find another deer that can do it, and communicate your desire to the other deer through body language alone.

That's either the most revolutionary or stupidest idea in MMO history. And I kinda think it's revolutionary.

Here is a game that rejects the premises of its genre- structured environment, combat, and written communication. There are things to do, but you are forced to do none. There are other players but there is no competition only cooperation. And there is only the language of the body. In fact the only thing that this game shares with its genre is the persistant world and mulitple players. A total rejection of the conventions of the MMO. And being successful at it without charging anyone a dime. That's right, it's free to play.

The Endless Forest began life as a screen-saver for your PC. When your screen shut down, instead of a mindless graphic, the deer appeared in the forest. It quickly grew beyond that. Now it is a MMO in its own right with several zones and areas of interaction. The developers of the game, Tale of Tales, frequently appear in game to interact with the other players as the Dieties of the realm or put on a show. The great focus of the game design has been artistic. A great deal of attention has been paid to building the Endless Forest so that every view is a scenic view.

If you want to play a game where there is no linear game play, no structure, or even combat this game is for you. And, if that isn't your kind of thing I suggest downloading and playing anyway. Just to see what the future might hold.

Back in the Day

When you think of the start of MMO gaming, what do you think of?

Big titles like Everquest? Maybe Ultima Online? Well, as big as both those games were they weren't the first. The first game was Meridan 59 way back in 1996. It predates Ultima by one year, and established many of the genre's standard features. Such as monthly subscription fee's, a magic system, the User Interface and other such things.

To put this into perspective the game ran on a Doom engine- that's right, Doom- and characters couldn't jump. Which doesn't sound like a profound issue, but being able to jump in video games was a major revolution. Before the space key you had to run off a higher object or ledge and fall to a lower area to simulate a jump.

Stop laughing, that's how you had to jump back in the day. You had to fall.

But what we take as the standards of game play in the MMO field were pioneered, including the name MMORPG, by Meridian 59. The game had roughly fifty different monsters for players to battle, and featured very little sound that quickly became repetitive. It offered an incentive for exploration and team work, it improved some of your stat, and gave reasons for players to work together.

Of course there were some downsides such as exploits, bugs, and cheaters but every game has their share of these issues.

And the game is still being played today, twelve years later.

Of course the graphics have been updated, a little, and the jump has been added, but their have been some significant changes in the game. Such as the greater focus on pvp in the game, and the ability to play for free or have an upgraded account that requires a monthly fee.

But, it is something that speaks to the staying power of a well designed game, it's still being played over a decade later despite other games that deliver newer and flashier game play. The game still has the power to draw in players by offering them a bit of diversion from their daily lives. It gives them a type of satisfaction that they cannot find anywhere else. And that speaks to the power of games themselves.

So, if you're curious how it all started and how it is still going swing on by http://meridian59.neardeathstudios.com/ and take a look.

Addiction and Gaming

How do you define addiction?

Traditionally, it has been defined as a state in which the body relies on a substance for normal functioning. When this substance is removed, it can cause withdrawal. Like, for example my wife's addiction to hot chocolate in the morning. She's not approachable until she's had a cup of hot cocoa in her hands for a bit.

However, in a more modern sense addiction is defined as recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individual's health, mental state or social life. The term is often reserved for drug addictions. More and more frequently this term is being applied to areas of our lives such as shopping, gambling and even eating.

Can video games be addictive?

What happens when we apply the modern concept of addiction to video games? The activity has to be harmful to ones individual health. Does staying up night after night subsisting on no to a few hours sleep just to play a game count as harmful to ones health? Over a long and short time spans, yes. Lack of sleep is very detrimental to a persons health. There are reams and reams of documented medical information about the detrimental physical effects the lack of sleep has on a person. How sharp are you after just a night or two without sleep? Now imagine that on the scale of weeks?

What about mental state? Certainly lack of sleep here too has an impact, along with the added stress of mental exhaustion from keeping ones focus on the game for hours at a time.

And, what of social life? Isn't it a cliché that a video gamer is a social misfit, preferring to remain separate from his or her peers to engage in game play?

You better believe it.

Additionally, game play requires an ever escalating investment in hardware and software. A serious gamer must replace their entire machine every few years- regardless if this is a console or pc environment. Ever expanding requirements for graphics and hard drive space force gamers to invest in building and rebuilding their equipment, or purchasing and repurchasing branded platforms such as the Sony Playstation or Microsoft's XboX. This has a serious economic impact on the lives of gamers. Now they have less to spend on what others might consider basic necessities such as food or clothing. Or, you know, girls.

So, upon a cursory examination, video games seem to fit the description of an addiction: detrimental physical, social and economic effects.

Then why do we actively encourage it in our children? Playing video games is a common element in from the late 20th century and 21st childhood. If a child does not own a game system of some sort, it is a sure bet that a close friend or older family member does own one.

They are introduced early to video games, and they are withheld as a punishment for wrong behavior, thus reinforcing the perceived notion that video games are desirable.

And if this addiction is the case, is it ethical to be involved in the production of video games? Is this within the realm of alcohol production? And, by that I mean, it's not the producers fault if the end user has no ability to moderate their consumption? Or is this within the realm of illegal substance production? Is it the fault of the producer and the consumer?

So, I ask you directly; are video games addictive, and if they are is it morally correct to introduce our children to them at impressionable ages by holding them as a reward for proper behavior?

Marketing and the MMO

When you think of video games what do
picture as their demographic? Fifteen to college age players that
have poor social skills and hygiene? Aging wanna-be drop-outs that
spend more time in front of a computer screen than in the sun light?
Junior high age boys clustered around the latest fight game?

Were you thinking about 12 year old
girls and their parents?

Kingsisle entertainment is.

Kingsisle is a video game developer in
Austin and Dallas, Texas. Founded in 2005 they have identified a
niche market they think will pay off – 12 year olds and their
parents. With the median age of video gamers going up every year it
makes sense these players either already have kids or will have them
in the very near future. And, well the kids got to play too so why
not make it a family affair?

To that end Kingsisle has just revealed
their latest project, Wizards 101.

The game is built around the idea the
character is a pre-adolescent enrolling in a school of magic. Not
unlike Harry Potter. However, the art for the game is far more
surreal than HP, with anthropomorphic teachers and npc residents.
There is a strong Yu-Gi-Oh/Magic the Gathering influence as the
player must collect spells printed on cards.

Yes, I can see the real world tie in
too.

Of course there are levels, and quests,
and xp. The standards of the MMO.

Kingsisle has done everything it can to
make the game as safe and secure for the kiddies as it can. Chatting
is done through pre-selected text bubbles that will cover most
situations. Combat is handled through duels with no death involved.
The game itself is bright and crisp with easy graphics load and not a
lot of clutter on the screen.

While they have said they've spent a
great deal of time making sure the content is there for adults and
kids alike, I have to wonder about it. While I'm sure they've made
an effort, I still have to wonder how much they've put in for the
parents. The game is clearly built for children. It features large
graphics that are easy in interact with. A pov that is decidedly
shorter than the adults within the game. Controls that don't require
knee-jerk speeds, and a point-click combat system leave me wondering
how much can there really be for an adult?

And as a 30-something white male with
no children I am clearly not their target demographic.

This game is not a WoW killer. But, I
don't think it was meant to be. The World of Warcraft has broad game
appeal for many reasons. And the folks of Kingsisle have taken a
page from Nintendo and Madison Avenue, and are using an asymmetrical
approach by targeting key segments of our population that may not
have a lot of gaming outlets- girls and their parents.

While the game is meant for all ages,
it is clearly aimed at the kids.

If you have kids, like to play games
yourself, I recommend swinging by their website. Check out the
screen shots, but more importantly sign up for the free beta so you
can see the game for yourself.

Maturity in the MMO

In the brief history of the MMO there has been a strong effort to keep the content at a child safe level. Which, by itself is neither good nor bad. Children should be able to play online games, and their parents should- with a little investigation on their part- be reasonably confident their offspring are not being exposed to inappropriate material.

However, I should add you have not been cussed at until you've been chewed out online by a twelve year old who thinks you poached the rare spawn they'd been camping for all day. Maybe childsafe should mean we're safe from them?

Anyway, this has been the long standing case- MMO' are family friendly.

However, that is changing. With the median age of the game player going up every year, there is more and more of a demand for mainstream games to address adult content. Adult content that does not necessarily mean graphic depictions of sex- although some mainstream games approach this as with EA Games big hit Mass Effect- or something so simple as nudity- although this is also available in more and more mainstream work.

In Mass Effect it is possible for the PC and an alien NPC to have a physical relationship. Not hinted at, not suggested, but openly discussed and brought up by the NPC. While, the actual “sex” scene was highly over rated on FOX news and is never actually depicted anymore than what you see in a PG movie it is there.

But these, like the GTA series have been stand alone games played in the solitude of the home. However, now that is changing. With Gravity Games new release, Requiem: Bloodymare adult content is part of a massive multiplayer game. While there have been no reports of sex scenes, there is more mature content in the form of combat.

As players fight and are wounded, their avatar's reflect this as well as the npcs. And, from personal experience, one of the character classes can decapitate an enemy combatant.

And let me tell you, that is a whole heck of a lot of fun.

Combat of course has always been a vital part of video gaming, but to my knowledge this is the first time a MMO has graphically depicted combat and blood as a direct result of player interaction.

And Requiem is not alone. Another MMO about to be releases is Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures. This MMO is being developed by Funcom in Oslo, and has promised to be faithful to the source matieral- the Conan novels and movies.

Which, if you recall, are not exactly shy about nudity, sex, violence, and gore.

And I can't bring myself to say it's a bad thing. When handled properly- and I mean good storytelling- adult content is the most satisfying. It offers a fully span of the human experience. We confirm within ourselves what it is we have experienced.

And while we have not all experienced decapitations, violence, or even sex it is appropriate to talk about them, to use them to tell our stories.

The Morality of Games

I was listening in on a conversation at work yesterday, and a co-worker of mine was complaining about her son playing video games all day. Seems every since his birthday he'd been playing a game on his xbox 360 near constantly.

Her son, as it turns out is a sophomore in high school.

And the game she bought him was Grand Theft Auto 4. Which I'm sure you're not surprised by at all.

However, she was complaining about the game- not from having watched him play or played herself- but from what she had heard about the game on tv. She said that she'd heard the game was about crime and murder and prostitutes.

And, if she'd known that before she bought the game she never would have gotten it. And, how, back when she was a kid there wasn't this kind of thing and no one would have done it if there was. Well, at least not decent people anyway.

Let's conveniently drop the concept

that at one point she actually had to buy the game and most likely
did it at a store so had the chance to read the back cover. And that
the game is for mature audience's only and not meant for minor's.
Let's ignore that part.

And think about the other thing she brought up- this wouldn't have happened when I was a kid.

That's what she really meant. The concept of a game based on crime would never have been sold or even made. And if by some freakish chance it had been no one would have played it.

And, quite frankly I find this to be an asinine statement. I mean, let's assume that when she was a child there wasn't even an Atari or the Pong game. Let's assume that. And while we're at it, let's just remove any other sort of gaming entertainment such as boardgames, card games, or dice games.

Because those all require competition and to actively work against the other players. You know, screwing over your friends and family for temporary gain.

So, for entertainment purposes that leaves television, movies, and books. And I have to wonder, has she seen any of this material? I mean, going back to the Greeks it's filled with violence, murder, theft, sex, brutality, lies, cheating, and all the same things that GTA3 has plenty of. Along with a morality.

The same morality in those other stories.

Because GTA4 is a story you get to help tell- that's all it really is. A story you tell.

It's the same as the stories we've been telling each other for centuries. It's a way of reminding ourselves how to live with each other. How not to act so we can make it through one more day with each other.

Because let's face it, there are a few people we'd all like to pistol whip a few times. But, by living vicariously through these stories we come to know more about who we are and more
importantly what we aren't. We know from our reaction to the brutality, to murder, and to all the other unseemly things in our world that we aren't those sort of people. Because the people who do those sort of things would do them with or without the game being in existence.

The New Game

So, you've heard the news- there's a new game in town. And it's one I've been waiting for almost over a year now.

No, it's not GTA VI, it's Mario Kart for the Wii. I pre-ordered the game months ago, even ordered an extra wiiheel so my wife could play too. What? She likes the game too.

So, that's what I've been doing- playing Mario Kart. My hands are starting to cramp from being held in one position for hours at a time. It's a lot of fun, and battlemode on-line is everything you wanted from battlemode in Mario Kart.

But before this turns into a gush fest- let me talk about the bad. From the get go- the wiiheel sucks. As a design it's fine, really. It does a great job of simulating a steering wheel for a driving game. The B button on the back side is a little spongie but if you're not a ubar-gamer it's not important. The size is a little on the small side, but that's to be expected

Not everyone has got huge meat-hooks for hands.

But the real problem is the button layout and- most importantly- how drifting works. Like in various games, the buttons do different things- except in this game where he B button does EVERYTHING. It breaks, it turns, it drops items, it starts reverse. It's a real pain in the butt, is what it is.

And, drifting. For those of you who aren't big Kart fans- I can't imagine why- but there's a tactic in real racing called drifting. There was even a Fast in the Furious suckquel about it- Tokyo Drift. It's where you induce over steer (the back end of the car starts to slide around on you) but you keep a forward momentum by accelerating and turning into the curve. This is used to preserve a high inertia so top speed can be maintained as you go around the corner and exit the turn.

It's very exiting to watch.

so, anyway, drifting has always been a part of the kart series. A good racer never has to slow down through the turns, just drift through them and come out going faster than when you went in. (the game gives you a boost when you do it right.) And with the Wiiheel, it's near impossible.

I don't mean that in I know how to do it one way and refuse to adapt to a new way- i mean it's just near impossible to do. The reason- with the wiiheel, you have to enter the turn at just the right angle, and hold the wiiheel at just the right angle while accelerating and breaking at the same time. And, most of the corners in Mario Kart aren't set up for that angle.

Which is a lot like real racing, I imaging. However, i don't play a racing game where an Italian plumber and his brother race against Donkey Kong, a giant turtle, several monkey's and such whilst throwing banana peels for realism.

And, I might add- the computer can do it. Which means I should be able to do it.

However, if you ditch the wiiheel and add the nun chuck drifting is as easy as it ever was. But it kind of takes the novelty out of it, you know? But that's the worst part of the game, really.

As for features- this version doesn't really do too much new. It removes special items based off of your character, and gives everyone an equal chance to draw special items.

The graphics are nice- nothing extraordinary. The new features- the stunts are cool, but there's only about 4 different moves. The racing, once you put down the wiiheel, is good. The new stages are tough, and visually interesting. Some of the secret paths are a bit difficult to get through- but hey, if it was easy it wouldn't be the much fun, would it? The retro stages are fun to race through again, although this time there are slightly different physics than the original boards. But that's part of the fun, learning to drive a whole new way on an old course. However, on line is where this game is at it's best.

On previous versions of this game you were limited to 2 or 4 players with increasing diminished screen area for each player. But now, in the age of wifi, Nintendo has spawned it's own network for the Wii's to connect through their internal wifi cards. Now, you can sit and race against your friends or anyone else in the US or around the world.

Which is the real innovation for the Kart franchise. I can play against my college buddies that live in San Francisco, New York, and Juno. Which I've been doing.

And while there's no story to motivate the game or the player (I know that's a real departure for me) it is a race game. the game itself is the motivation to play.

All in all, it's another step up for the Kart franchise.

The Fantasy MMO genre

Personally, I think it's played out.
When it comes to the mmo industry what has come out that's new?
Little to none since the advent of Everquest. Everything that has
come out for MMO's has just been a clone of that first landmark game.
Sure, there are some differences between them such as a magic system
or a combat system or how xp is awarded.

But those are all just tweaks.

Ah, you say, but what about World of
Warcraft? It's got 10 million subscribers, clearly they must be
doing something different.

Well, they are but what they're doing
different isn't all that different. The graphics have rejected a
realism approach and embraced a “surreal” approach. Making
everything bright and cartoonish, it is fun to look at and the bright
primary based color scheme make it easy to look at.

All the other games are going for as
real as they can get.

The quest system is the same as
Everquest. Find your first contact, and go hunt rats. Except in WoW
it's not rats it's some magical beast about the size of a rat. But
rinse, lather, repeat, get xp.

All just tweaks to an existing format.

If a publisher wants to make a WoW
killer, or just make the next WoW they're going to have to do
something different. Something so innovative that it's not just a
tweak of the Everquest format.

And what is that? Honestly, I have no
idea. I get why the Everquest format works. First it teaches you
the game, and how it all works. Thus the hunting of rats. Then it
time sinks you.

The western concept of the MMO is all
built around keeping you on line for as long as they can. That's why
the crafting systems are so long. To get to be able to build good
equipment, you have to spend 100's of hours at the system grinding
away at all the intermediate steps. It's why the “good” missions
take large teams to complete. They know you're going to spend hours
in the game organizing a team to go through that mission or you'll
wait until you are so high level you can blow through the mission by
yourself.

Either way you're there for hours and
days at a time.

Maybe the next great MMO will have to
completely reject the Everquest format of keeping you on line for as
long as they possibly can. Maybe the key to greatness and fast
riches is to approach it from the weekend gamer angle. The game
should be designed to play in a few hour increments rather than days.

Rather than spending hours seated at
your pc desk grinding away at whatever craft or quest system, the
game should be easy to pick up and put down. I shouldn't have to
worry about falling behind my friends who have more time to spend on
the game than I do.

And I'm not talking about the xp bonus
both WoW and LOTRO currently have.

What I'm talking about is a level-less
system. A game where you don't have to worry about your xph
(experience per hour). I'm talking about a game that is a joy to
play and not a burden on your life. A game that should live up to
that name- game. Something so fun you want to share it with your
friends on a Thursday night.

That's what it will take down the biggest MMO in history, or at least to be the next biggest MMO in history.

The Silent Layer

In a recent interview with PC Zone Magazine, Laidlaw (lead writer for Bioware's Jade Empire), said that games have just gotten to the point where movies were when they went from silent to sound.

Which I don't think he quite literally- pc games have had sound for some time now- but more in the sense that story, like sound for movies, is the last layer to be added. And, like sound, it is the most powerful yet unappreciated layer.

I'll use Gears of War as an example. Fantastic look. Every stage was a beauty of design and code. The game had good ai, and the rendering was very smooth through out.

But the story kinda blew.

Not that it was poorly written, it was just really, really, really short. I and two other friends beat that game in one weekend. I know it was really designed to be a halo killer, but I think there should be more story here. I should care about the characters, where they are going, and what their goals are.

I should want to get to the end of stage, even if it is 3 am and I have to get up for work in three hours. Not be able to hand it off to my buddy at midnight so he can clear the level. I liked Gears, but I didn't love it. It was a good game, but no where near great.

And a story can make a game great. We've gotten to the point were beautiful graphics with smooth game play is almost the norm. But what isn't the norm is the story that keeps you riveted to the screen.

Think about your favorite game. Go on, I'll wait.

Got it firmly in mind? Now, what's your favorite part? Was it when you cleared level 52? Was it when you got the green card to open the blue door? Was it when you defeated three of that new type of enemy?

No, it's not. It probably is an epic battle that was hard fought. But why do you remember it? Because it was important.

It's those moments when the story has you in its grips. When you discover, as you have suspected, that you were really the Evil Lord with amnesia. When you finally cornered the guy who blew up your family. Stole your dog. Shot your buddies. When your girlfriend turned evil and tried to destroy the world.

And why is that your favorite part? Because the story lead you there. Because the emotional tension was built, part by the game but mostly by you, so that way you really wanted to take down the boss. You really wanted to defeat them in their lair.

It's why Lunar: Silver Star Story has been ported across so many different game platforms. And it's why they don't make games like Paper Boy anymore.

And that's what Laidlaw meant about silent film and sound. Movies really took off in their power to move people emotionally when they added sound. Finally they could have the music swell at just the right moment. The actors could deliver stirring speeches instead of mouthing words at the camera and waiting for the card to pop up.

And that's where games are now. The last layer, the sound layer is being mastered. We will have stories that take advantage of the medium in which they are being told to deliver powerful sagas passionate epics that are not just narrated to us but told by us as we interact with them.

Now when we whip out the BFG, it will mean something real to us. It will be because we want to put the world right. To save the princess. To stop the destruction of all that we have come to hold dear.

It will be that way because we are emotionally invested in the story. Because we need to pull it out to win, and not because the explosion will be pretty.

The Future of Gaming

I was sitting at work last week talking to a work friend of mine. You know Work Friend, it's someone you like well enough at work but you wouldn't hang out with otherwise. We were talking about console versus pc games. During the conversation I had an epiphany about the future of gaming.

He's not a fan of pc games. He's likes his games on a specialized machine that plugs into his television that requires you manipulate a series of buttons instead of playing his games on a specialized machine that plugs into a smaller tv that requires you to manipulate a series of buttons.

No, seriously, this guy insists that console gaming is superior to PC games because of the dedicated platform. While I agree that this is marginally true- games are more stable in an environment such as a console can offer over the ever changing registry of Windows. Games within the last five or so years have been remarkably stable on even the most temperamental of machines.

I went on to talk about how pc gaming gives your a lot more variety, flight sims, rpg's, and not to mention mmo, and on line play. And until recently the online play has been the sole playground of the pc. But now the PS, Xbox, and the Wii are all online capable with a healthy array of various games from flight sims, race games, and even the mmorpg.

As he pointed out to me- the console has now become the equal to the pc in online gaming. He said, "In fact, I don't think there's even a need to own a pc anymore. All the best games are on the consoles."

And that's when it hit me. The future of online game play is on your cell phone. More and more phones are capable of high speed Internet browsing. More and more phones are capable of running complex java and php scripts.

Within the next 3 years you are gong to see an online game for a mobile phone that allows them to compete against a browser game for a pc or even a browser like game for a console. with a few years after that, you will see a rpg game for the phone that can interact with pc's, mac's, and consoles. And within 5 years I think we will see action games that are already appearing on the Nintendo DS platforms that are wifi capable.

The future is on your cell phone, and you'll have to pause from launching your fleet to take this call.

Travian

Ever wish you could install a game on your pc at work without being caught? Did you want that game to be a Strat?

Well, say hello to your new addiction: Travian!

This game is run entirely out of a web browser, so unless you have a hyper aggressive IT police -and you probably don't since the IT guys are already playing this- you can start conquering the mythical world on Monday. And in case you're wondering, this game is the successor to Tribal Wars.

It's a free to play, but they recently have added a gold for real cash feature so you can buy your way up to a super competitive status quickly. But more on this later.

The game world is made up of three races of humans, the Romans, the Gauls, and the Teutons. Each has its own specialty ranging from balanced beginner play in the Romans, intermediate defensive play with the Gauls, and advanced aggressive play with the Teutons.

It's on one hand it's real time, it's also turn based. It's real time in that what happens is on a clock, and it's turn based because your troops can only do so much at a time.

Just like real life!

Game play is on one hand very simple, you start with one village that has minimal to no resources developed. It is up to you to grow those resources, create an army, and expand your population to new towns.

Sounds pretty simple, right?

Of course that's where it gets complicated. You have to organize and supervise your citizens. They're capable of building things in X amount of time, and of course the more you build the more experienced they get and the faster they can build. I know what you're thinking now- but I bet the buildings and crops get more complex to produce. And you're right. And, you know, there's the other players.

There's no computer to play against, so it's all PVP. Which is not entirely true, but I'll get to that later.

The game does have an objective, conquer the world. And it has a time limit- 300 days. When the cycle ends, the computer controlled race comes into play and begins its attack waves. That's the only pve part. So, you've got to hustle.

Now, as to graphic. Honestly, they're prehistoric. No real animations, no battle graphics, nothing. It's all flash-looking images. So, don't expect much there. The real attraction to this game is the play. Since there's no graphics load, it's all the more space for game time! Woohoo!

The key to this game is forging your alliances with the other players. No one can do it on their own. Factions can get so large that they have been known to go to war with each other rather than their sworn enemies. Also, there's the coordination to consider. All game time is based on your local clock. So, your bestest game pal says, "Let's meet up at 7pm, and our troops will totally raze our mortal enemy!" Is that 7 his time, or 7 your time? Better get that sorted out, because the game isn't going to do that for you.

Just like real life!

But there are a few downsides to the game, aside from the lack of graphics. There are several farming exploits that are easy to achieve in the game that can exponentially increase your resources. The Travian staff have been slow to address these issues or in some cases have not addressed them at all.

But the folks that do those sort of exploits aren't the kind a real player would be up against. The Ubar game bois tend to farm for fast gold, and burn out just as fast.

All and all it's a great addiction, I mean game. It's easy to get into, and it's easy to stay. Over all I'd give it 4 out of 5 Game stars, I had to cut two because of the lack of graphics but added one back because of the complex level of play, and a Thumbs Up for playability.

Pox Nora

Pox Nora, have you heard of it? I just ran across this one the other day, and I've been checking it out. Now, to get you up to speed on it, Pox Nora is a strategy game that is strictly on-line, meaning all your opponents are people.

Which is where the fun starts, if you ask me.

And, did I mention it's free to start playing? Yes, it is. Honestly, if pvp is the heart of your game then free to join is the way to go. Of course, like Exteel they have pay to play upgrades but you can start and play the game for free. You don't 'have' to upgrade your stuff.

But you know teh Ubar boi's are doing just that by stealing their mom's credit card and spending their McDonald's paychecks to build bigger and badder armies. And, it's a bit too much like Magic: The Gathering to me. Sure, they call them Runes but I know what they are- cards. And I've been Magic free for almost 10 years now without one relapse, and I'm going to stay that way thank you very much.

Now, on to what I don't like about it. It's turn based. Yeah, that's right, it's turn based. The last turn based strat game I played was Civilization III. And, while that was a giantly kick-ass game, it's kinda old skool.

Maybe I'm spoiled by the constant demand and flow of the RTS, but a turn based game seems kinda, well, easy. I'm sure there's a time limit, I mean you are playing against another person. But, turn based? So, for me, that was strike two.

Then I took a look at the screen shots. All I could think was, "wow, kinda reminds me of Final Fantasy Tactics." And that was how many years ago? So, that put the third nail in the coffin for me.

You know, i get that they have to accommodate slow connection speeds, older pc's, and other factors but I need something more. I need a faster pace that the RTS's can give and I need updated looking graphics. Exteel, a giant robot pvp game, does all of this.

But, i don't want to make this a poo on pox blog- there are some good things about it. It's highly competitive, they offer a ranking system, and have put a lot of thought into the world it's set in. They pay homage to their roots, and take that to the next level by making it on-line.

Pox has a lot to offer- human competition, easy entrance, low cost game play, and for those who miss Magic and FF Tatcis (which was a cool game), a real nostalgic feel to it. So, if you miss the Strat games, don't like RTS's, and want cheap game play; Pox Nora is for you.

So, I give it 2 out of 5 Game stars, and a Thumbs Down for playability.

Fantasy all played out?

Is the fantasy genre all played out? I mean, you cruise through any compilation of MMO's, and almost all the RPG's are fantasy based. The big monster in the corner is WoW, and it's closest competitor? LOTRO, another fantasy based MMORPG!

But why has that been? Honestly, it's more financially reliable to produce something with a known fan base- World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons they all have existing fans that have been waiting decades to play in a virtual world.

However, sci/fi? Sure there's a lot of available material out there, but is it going to bring as big of a return as fantasy? There's going to be some source material out there- Asminov, Heinlein . and the other grand masters of the space lanes. But so little of their material is game worthy, in all honesty. What other draws are there? Well, there's two you could name right off and we all know how Star Wars ended up. And how long has "coming soon" been at StarTrekonline.com?

A while.

I think that unlike fantasy, the sci/fi genre cannot look to the past for material. I believe that it will take ground breaking new material to spawn a long lasting, deeply developed mmo world. Maybe a game like Mass Driver or Starcraft could spawn a new one. Well, not Starcraft as Blizzard said no way back in 07. But some game that creates a broad appeal that can allow for deep development.

Maybe our salvation lies in miniature game world. Sure, Games Workshop is putting out a fantasy based MMORPG built around their miniature game system, but they have announced a Warhammer 40k game. Now, that I'd play. The original Space Marines- Space Wolves!!- would be a lot of fun. I could hose a pack of Tyranid players down with a heavy bolter, no problems!

However, I think that the future of the MMORPG world lies in space, not in the fey haunted woods of the past. The industry needs to produce original material rather than depend on existing fan base to keep their games afloat. IF you build a solid game that encourages deep story telling with dynamic content the players will come. and they wills stay.

Exteel- back from the past

Have you played this little bit of pvp fluff? If you haven't, you should swing by the ncsoft website and download the free client to play the almost free game.

I say almost free, because there's no fee to download, there's no fee to play, but you have to drop real cash for upgrades. Oh, sure, you can "win" these upgraded through game play but let's be honest, the pwnzer's are going to buy their way to the top. Which means they'll be gone after getting their asshat handed to them on a routine bases by some real players, but it'll mean some annoying times for the rest of us.

But back to the game; it's anime themed with giant robots. You can't beat giant robots with guns and swords. You can't.

So, to review it's free to play, free to download, and it's got anime style giant robots. What's not to love? No, really.

Now, on to game play. It's got a nice tutorial that runs you through the controls and some of the beginner finer points of the game. Nice smooth graphics that don't demand too much from your rig. The mechanics of the world are good, along with the physics of the game engine. There's always an exploit, but Exteel has done a good job of minimizing this with various in-game logistics. Exteel also does a good job of balancing knee-jerk point and shoot with keyboarding skill.

All in all, if you love pvp, giant anime robots, and affordable game play; Exteel is the game for you and me.

RIP: Gygax

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/report-gary-gyg.html

Gary Gygax, the godfather of Gaming, died today.

Honestly, what's there to say beside he was the progenitor of an entire industry? If it wasn't for him, and guys like Steve Jackson, we wouldn't have the MMO's as they are today. Those guys grew up cutting their teeth on Queen of the Demonweb, Castle of Amberville, Unearthed Arcana, d20's, HP, and AC's.

Even this blog owes it's title to him and his ideas.

My teenaged angsty heart just rolled a 1.

Take a moment and give honor to the man who made expanding your imagination his life's work.

Requim

They finally go to Beta on Requim, and even make some public slots available via email.

AND I MISSED IT!!!

They send out the email, I check a few hours later, and all the keys are gone. Dang it, i was looking forward to being in on the closed beta for that one. Ah well, just have to wait for the open beta just before release.


Still, that sucks.

Anarchy Online

So, as a part of my drive to play even more MMO's I downloaded Anarchy Online.

My initial impression as I made a character? eh.

As you know by now, I'm a fashion dork on these games. I just want my character to look different than any other character. I know, it's crazy but there it is.

So, I'm not impressed by the character generation. The races are human variants- within the context of teh story there are only humans. They have been gentically modified to be very different than baseline Earthy Humans. They are the middle weight human looking ones, the fast combat glass cannon humans, the mage/psionic humans, and the tank infantry humans. some uninspired race names, but you can't bat 1000%.

Skin choosing? even less inspired. thin, medium, or large build. no height adjustment. And presorted face hair combo. That's it.

Strike one. But, hey, it could be like EVE and have some really deep content with a kick ass crafting system (not that I'll ever find that out, I hate crafting)

I load into the tutorial. With my high accuracy glass cannon shooter, figuring range is a good thing in a Sci/Fi game of lasers and mind bullets.

So, I get into the tutorial and the first thing I notice? Everquest era graphics. And, I'm like, wtf? I go back to windows and pull up the pdf manual to check the specs. I exceed the recommended...maybe it's my settings?

I get back into the game to check my settings and bump it up if I have too. I can't find the menu to do that. Or to invert the mouse controls. WTF??

Strike Two.

I move on. Time to learn the controls (standard stuff really). Pick up a newbie mission. It's a rat hunter mish. Kill three creatures and report back.

Not a problem, I figure. I equip my long range rifle. Make sure I maxed out my accuracy for my glass cannon.

And proceed to miss every target that runs up and rips me a new one. It took me 8 tries to kill one "rat" from range! WTF???

No n00b mission should be this hard. And then I think, "maybe it's me. Maybe I suck." So I hang back and watch the other rookies. They're dieing just as fast as I was. It's raining n00b blood out here. That's not good!

I know they were noobs because other starting players were bypassing that area and headed toward the city like they knew where they were going. So, anyone wasting time in a tutorial zone has got to be a n00b.

so, yeah, n00bs are dying left and right. I'm on a rubberband to the respawn point, and I"m not happy.

Strike Three.

I hit the large button marked exit, and left the game.

All in all, it gets 1 star for trying and a thumbs down for playability.

Eve Online

Have you run across this one yet? Talk about crazy. It took me most of a Saturday to get through the tutorial! It even suggests that you go through it a few times to make sure you understand the crafting and skill systems.

That's nuts.

I mean, I get the time sink desirability of games, and the need for depth. I've been calling for greater story depth myself, but this seems a bit excessive. Any game that says, "look you're gonna want to do this a few times just to make sure you GET THE BASICS," might want to reconsider what is going on.

Now, before you think this is a poo-poo train for Eve let me talk about the good. It's real time. Meaning, if you elect to train up a skill it will take you X amount of time to do it. And they're not joking, if X is 5 hours then in 5 hours you'll get an increase in that skill. It's not level dependent. You get as much out of the game as you put into it. There's no buying your way to the top.

Which is nice. This way your buddy who still lives with his parents can't drop half his pay check with the Chinese Farmers to buy all the good stuff at the auction hall.

There's only one server/world. No need to co-ordinate with your buddies about what server to play on. Nice.

And the crafting system is deep. You farm the raw materials, put them into usable forms. Then you can sell them, or use them yourself. But that's just the surface. And, honestly, that's as far as I can get with it. Mostly because crafting annoys the bejeezus outta me.

If you're like me and not a crafter, then it's mission running for you. Here there's no real tweak or difference. You get a mission from a contact, go to the site, kill everyone, and get what you came for. That's all story driven stuff, which is good, but it's more of the same ol' same ol.

What is a big difference is teh complete lack of fashion in the game. Your character is really a ship. Now, you do get to design a head shot of your pilot, but that's it. Your view of you is your ship. And what ship you have is based on your skill sets and cash. Of course you can have multiple ships on hand to change out for different mission style.

The physics of the game is nice. There's no quick turning in the game, as your ship has to fly around in space. Now, there are a few tricks you can pick up for dog-fighting space, but I'm gonna leave those for you to discover on your own.

The upgraded graphics package is good. It offers apparent visual depth with good lighting from nearby stars.

But as an offering in the Sci/Fi world it kinda leaves me lacking. I guess it's the lack of fashion for characters, male or female. The ships are nice, but I want more than that from a game. I need a character to run around with. Star Wars had it right, but we all know what happened there.

All in all, Eve is worth the 14 day free trial to check out. If you dig it, pick the game up.

Luring them back from the MMO's

Lost players from your old skool paper and pencil game to the addictive world of the mmo? Want them back? Sure you do. Here's how. Customizable content.

As great as the MMO's are, they can't offer specific content built around the personalities of the character and preferences of the Player. If there is any dialog to be had, it's either a cut scene where you just get to passively watch or it's one or two lines of generic responses.

If you want your players back, you have to give them a reason to come back. Give them high adventure built around their character- not anyone's character. Give them vicious enemies, dastardly nemesi, and loyal vassals. Give them the sweep of John Carpenter of Mars, the depth of Tolkien, or the pulp of Doc Savage!

And, frankly, that's going to require a lot of planning. But you can do it. No one knows how to make your players squirm better than you do.

In Touch with your Femine side.

My brother-in-law asked me the other day when we were teamed in LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online) why most of my characters were female. I gave him my patented witty response #321, "If I'm going to be staring at a digital butt for hours at a time, it's not going to be male." However, I get this question from time to time and there's a couple of reasons for it. The first is you get more free stuff if your avatar is female. Most gamers are guys, and they want to make sure any real chicks stick around so they're nice to anything that may be a woman on the other end of the keyboard. I guess it's a quantity over quality concept; they're nice to every apparent female on the off change it is a real female. Back in the day that wasn't very likely, but more and more women are joining the ranks of online gaming so the pack is widening, so to speak. The second reason I usually pick a female is a larger variety of character options for your avatar.

I'm not talking about different classes, I'm talking about the look. For some reason the programmers spend more time creating looks and appearance items for female characters than they do for the guys. Don't believe me? Check out City of Heroes/Villains some time, it's almost 2 to 1 in favor of the women there. And, hey, I can't help it I like a good looking character. You've seen one beefy sword weilder, you've seen them all. Maybe that makes me a bit of a clothes horse, but I don't care. I like a good looking character.

And, honestly, I have always been intrigued by the heroine. Guys have had a strangle hold on heroic fiction since it's invention. Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy, gave at best supporting roles to women in the battlefield. Although I do commend him the pivotal roles he did give them, but they were not a part of the main cast. However, until recently there hasn't been a strong female hero in fantasy. More often than not, the strong female character was the villain of the piece there only to act as temptress to the noble musclebound hero. With the rise of women in fantasy, such as Paksinarrion for the Oath of Gold series, Hermine in the Harry Potter series, and many others we see a larger breadth of female heroics.

And in the world of MMORPG's we see this change as well, the women hold their own. The female characters are able to stand toe-to-toe with the boys on the front lines, they're able to hurl balls of fire with the bearded mages in the back, and they are able to sneak past to steal the goods with the little weasels. It's nice to see a woman save the day.

So, the next time you're making your next character on your favorite server, consider the deadlier of the species- woman. And if anyone gives you any flak about it, I give you permission to use response #321.

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Putting the RPG back into the MMO

MMO's are a lot of fun. You get to run
around in the world, play the game, fight the monsters, and all sorts
of things you've only been able to dream about in the past. Except
after a while it kinda gets boring. You find the quest spot, you
fight the monsters with the same button series, find the object and
get out. Turn it in. Get Xp. And do it all over again. And
after, say, 6 months this gets kind of old. But, you say, there are
teams. You can join teams of other players. Teams of players that
do exactly the same thing. Maybe chat about a particular spawn, or a
character type. Maybe. And that will see you through another 3 or
so months. So, how can you keep that first rush going? How to keep
the spark alive past a few months?

Roleplaying.

I don't mean picking a female character
and making her hot. I mean creating a character, designing the
image, and staying in character. At first this may seem a bit silly,
but it opens up a whole new way to experience the game. The first
step is to spend time creating the personality of your character.
Are they sly? Will they only engage enemies of equal or great level?
Will they use dirty tricks and cheats? These personality decision
will determine how you plot out your powers/abilities/skills for the
class you choose. Will a Paladin with a win at all costs attitude in
WoW take the Blessing that gives a bonus to the party, or one that
does damage to his foes? Would a Tanker concerned with fair play go
Dumpster Diving in City of Heroes? Of course not. Some characters
will take advantage of exploits, while others won't. And this is how
determine the personality of your character before you begin play can
change how you play the game.

Of course, just which way you play the
game is just the first contribution, the next is talking in
character. This doesn't necessarily mean speaking out loud. This
isn't going to practical for everyone for various reasons, you don't
have a mic, you are the wrong gender, or you just don't speak that
language. But that's okay, use the keyboard. Sure, it's a little
old fashion but it has the advantage of being in game, in the right
tone, and the right timbre. You won't have to worry about squeaking
out a high falsetto if your a guy and your character is a woman.

The last, and I think the most
important; play with a group. I cannot stress this enough.
Interacting with other players while in character adds input to the
game. I don't mean connecting with a string of pick up teams. I
mean organize a time to be in game with people you know who also want
to be role play in your chosen world. Many games even dedicate whole
servers to this idea; people being in character the whole time.
Then its not you sitting alone in a dark room, its you with friends.
It's not just you reacting to external stimuli- it's you and your
friends engaging in an activity together. Which is the real strength
of the MMO.

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