Category Archives: Asheron’s Call

The broken promise of the MMO genre

Posted on November 8, 2019 by SynCaine

Could you imagine playing the same videogame for a decade? Ten years, one game? If this question was asked in the 90s, it would seem silly. That would be at least two generations of consoles, and PC hardware was changing … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Clash of Clans, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XIV, iPhone, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

WoW is gankbox, EVE is not

Posted on July 7, 2017 by SynCaine

And the gankbox discussion continues. What I find most interesting about all of this is that it reveals just how little most people understand about MMO design, or even what they themselves want in an MMO. Let’s talk about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 8 Comments

State of the MMO genre, 2015 edition

Posted on February 4, 2015 by SynCaine

First things first, it’s now 2015, and just like in 2014, 2013, and really since the beginning of time, we still haven’t seen an as-successful F2P MMO as we have sub MMOs (WoW/FFXIV/EVE). Until we do, this isn’t a debate. … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Asheron's Call, Camelot Unchained, EQ2, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XIV, Life is Feudal, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Pathfinder Online, Rift, RMT, Star Citizen, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 64 Comments

MMO Future: Understanding old memories

Posted on October 31, 2013 by SynCaine

Almost all of the original MMOs worked. UO, EQ1, AC1, DAoC; all of those games had solid populations and growth in their prime. In contrast, most of the recent MMOs (AoC, WAR, LotR, SW:TOR, Aion, Rift, etc) have not. Either … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 52 Comments

Devilish details

Posted on March 27, 2013 by SynCaine

Yesterday’s post got some interesting replies, not the least of which is this post over at KTR. It got me wondering if I just over-focus on some things, or if other MMO players don’t see them or don’t care about … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design | 38 Comments

Splitting the genre in two

Posted on September 27, 2012 by SynCaine

Let’s move past why GW2 sucks and onto a bigger topic; why so many recent MMOs suck, shall we? Chris thinks all MMOs are good for 3 months or less, and that’s just how things are today. Keen has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, SW:TOR, The Elder Scrolls Online, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 46 Comments

Day-one mastery

Posted on June 29, 2012 by SynCaine

Keen has a nice post about why he is finding current-day MMOs lacking, especially in immersion. I think what Keen writes is something many (most?) MMO players feel, whether they actually know it or not. A major issue with MMOs … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Bucket of rage

Posted on June 20, 2012 by SynCaine

Random ranting incoming: One ‘awesome’ feature does not an MMO make. “TESO is a copy/paste puddle of fail, but feature X looks interesting”. A cute gimmick feature can make an iPhone game worth the buck and download. It won’t get people … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, beta, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Random, Rant, SW:TOR, The Elder Scrolls Online, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

You should return those glasses to their rightful owner

Posted on January 17, 2012 by SynCaine

Syp over at Biobreak has a post talking about the pre-2003 MMO market and todays, and how you can’t pay him enough to go back to that time. First I find this odd, as looking at his About page, I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Atlantica Online, EQ2, Housing, MMO design, Random, Rant, Rift, RMT, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 82 Comments

Getting back to the source

Posted on January 11, 2012 by SynCaine

Jester has a post up about how Sovereignty works in EVE, and how the game might benefit from borrowing some ideas from Perpetuum in that area. A good read as always, and it brings up a larger point: competition amongst … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, beta, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, Rift, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 45 Comments