In my last post I wondered aloud (or in text really) what an MMO blogger can do when he’s not playing an MMO actively and the genre itself seems to be in somewhat of a lull. Some supported the idea of writing about what I’m currently heavily playing, League of Legends, and I do intend to write at least a few posts on that game, and I’m sure I’ll have more than one post up about Civilization V when that game is released. Others asked why it seems that an MMO blog ‘works’, while it’s harder to write a more general gaming blog, and that’s the topic I want to go into today.
For starters, most of us play a given MMO far longer (in both RL days and actual in-game time) than we do a single player title. Not only are MMOs designed to keep you around (paying) longer, but the social aspect that can develop also keeps us interested and involved beyond the actual ‘content’ provided. This means that if you find a blog about whatever MMO you are playing, it’s likely you will continue reading it for months at a time. A blog about, say, Dragon Age, might have great content that you enjoy while playing the game, but with just 40-50 hours of gameplay and no strong social element, you are very likely to move on from the title, and most likely any blogs you follow about the game as well.
Then there is the issue of content. MMOs tend to be rather complex games, so posts about strategy, how-to’s, or user guides are not only common, but far more in-demand than they might be for a single player title. Usually for those a single comprehensive walkthrough is available on a site like GameFAQs, and that will likely answer 90% of your questions. The fact that an MMO is constantly changing is one of the key factors in keeping an MMO blog going as well, as every patch or proposed change is a potential source of one or multiple posts, and those also tend to be post that generate the most reader interest and feedback. That reader feedback in turn leads to new posts, and voila, you have a week+ of blogging content.
Finally the MMO genre itself has no shortage of ‘hot button’ topics that have been analyzed since the dawn of the internet, and every new title has the potential to re-ignite a debate or two. New MMO with a different take on PvP? Blogging content for weeks. New MMO that takes a strong stance on the use of instances? Blogging content for weeks. A new pricing model, a different approach to leveling, solo vs group, hardcore vs casual, etc etc; even if the new MMO only brushes one or more of these topics, it could spark some lively blog content that might spiral far beyond the original source material. Plus in the pre-release hype phase of an MMO, the discussion is often more opinion than fact-based, so it’s not hard to see why a blog post can be very, very entertaining.
Add to all of this the fact that many blog writers/readers have an extensive history with MMOs, strong love/hate feelings towards many of them, and a never-ending pursuit of that ‘perfect’ title, and yea, an MMO-focused blog works in ways a blog about single player games has no ground to stand on. Which is not to say those blogs are not possible, but they are a very different animal with a very different style.
The challenge now is how to keep this blog still an MMO-focused one while trying to integrate, at least short term, some none-MMO writing that regular readers will find entertaining. I have some ideas already, but more opinions never hurt.
Chuck-o-the-day: Chuck Norris hates ballerinas because they twirl around all day and not a single person gets roundhouse-kicked in the face.
Hardcore Casual 
I think what you seem to be struggling with is inspiration. Or put another way, if you aren’t playing an MMO, what inspires you to write about MMOs?
Ultimately, that’s a very personal thing. Bloggers who write a lot about a specific game clearly draw a lot of that inspiration from the game they are playing.
Other MMO bloggers draw inspiration from current events like MMO news and/or reactions to other bloggers.
And yet other MMO bloggers (and I would have put you in this category pre-Darkfall) are MMO theorists who like to write about the best MMO design.
Not playing an MMO only excludes you from the first type of inspiration. The other two types are outside of a specific game and can come from other means.
I think for me most of what I write about MMO-wise stems from one game or news source (be it DF, WAR before that, or speculation about Aion/WoW/etc), and then I use that basis to write about a more specific or general topic. That way, even if the final take is similar to some other post made months/years ago, its at least slightly different because its basis comes from a different source. Otherwise, the post comes off as yet another post about generic PvP in MMOs (for example).
I think my other issue right now is I’m not finding much of interest on other blogs, at least enough to write about. I need a new Ixobele to compare something to the Holocaust or a new Keen to hype/quit/rage over an MMO.
Didn’t you write like 5 million blood bowl posts? You could torture us again! har har
Mix it up with a random imo! Some crappy MMO with a free trial and then just bash the crap out of it real funny like.
Or you could go to all the blogs on KTR’s list and find a post that you can write a response to.
I don’t even put this much thought into my blog. I’ll be sending you a bill for about tree fiddy.
I really think I’ve gone soft with the bashing posts, which is both scary and sad. Stuff just does not raise the anger level like it use to…
And don’t hate on Blood Bowl, that game was great until it NEVER got a matchmaking system for the online part (seriously, who does multiplayer without matchmaking?)
Multiplayer without matchmaking? Hmm let me see, any half-life or half-life 2 mod, most PC fpses, Diablo 2, hmmm. To think of it I can’t think of any games I’ve played besides Halo on Xbox and WC3 that had matchmaking systems.
What are your thoughts on SWTOR? A lot of people seem to think Bioware is going to make an awesome game because that is all they do, especially because the NPCs will be voiced!!111 I think it is gonna be very disappointing, probably because I loved SWG and remember how awesome that game could feel at times. The majority of the classes are Jedi type people (bet someone wants to correct me but sith = jedi = force sensitive fgts etc) but hey, its okay because the timeline is when there are a lot of jedi, so, no worries!
FPS are a bit different though, because usually the server is running and you join in/out at will. A match-play game is different. One of the most frustrating things about DoTA for instance was getting a good game going, and League of Legends does a great job in part thanks to its advanced matchmaking system.
I don’t care much for SW the IP, and I think SW:TOR looks like a giant pile of polished meh.
Well, I’m out of things to talk about lol, so, good luck! :D
The only thing about TOR that sounded remotely interesting to me was the idea of them putting space combat as I was a huge fan of X-Wing Vs. Tie fighter. Now that it’s been announced that the space combat is on rails like Starfox (and probably the rest of the game) I see no reason to really give it any more thought unless there is some sort of major revelation.
You should try the space game in SWG, I don’t believe it is on rails. You can actually walk around your ship (depending on size), bring on friends, have your friends man your turrets, etc.
Just thought I’d say that I read your blog because I like the way you write. Crisp prose style, effective use of irony, intelligent analysis. Generally to the point.
I’d probably keep reading if you hardly wrote about MMOs at all. I think you probably better stick to writing about stuff you’re interested in, though, rather than scratching about for things your readers might like.
It’s not that I’m looking for things that will draw a lot of people (that would be easy, I would just bash WoW 24/7 and have thousands of daily views), but rather things that I will enjoy writing about that still ‘fit’ the blog, as maintaining a certain type of blog is also part of my enjoyment.
Thanks for the compliment btw, appreciated.
I have been MMOless for a while now (years), but keep an eye on the industry every day via sites like yours and a few other MMO news sites. I could easily write a blog just based on following the industry and the upcoming news that comes out every day. That might work for you.
MMORPG blogs come in two sizes:
Stories and Articles about the Game
Tutorials and Helpful Information for Players
Yours is obviously the first, mine is obviously the second (JMTC), however, both of our blogs succeed at attracting an audience and maintaining their attention so that they become a steady readership.
The reason the first group is successful is because players get bored while not playing the game and google in search of people writing about the mmorpg they love. Interacting with other people who love the same game gives them a feeling similar to what they get when they are actually playing.
The reason the second group of blogs succeeds is because players search for answers and help for playing the game at all times.
If you are struggling to maintain a blog about the first group, perhaps you should consider blogging as someone who provides the occasional tutorial post.
Just a suggestion while you soul search for your blog’s next post.
informative post. I searched for a while for blogs about Everquest 2 and DDO, the two mmorpgs I was playing regularly, but there aren’t that many good ones, (especially ddo) so i have started my own