Category Archives: EVE Online

“You gotta keep em separated”

Posted on May 1, 2009 by SynCaine

Lum has a post up today breaking down a recent Bartle presentation about game design. F13 community quotes are included in the post, and Lum’s conclusion is that we should be discussing how to merge the gamer-types playing WoW with … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 7 Comments

Why I game.

Posted on April 14, 2009 by SynCaine

This post is going to be a little self-analysis about why I play MMOs, how I play then, and what keeps me going. For readers who have been around for a bit, you can probably guess some of the stuff … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Random, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 22 Comments

DarkFall burnout: The players or the game?

Posted on April 13, 2009 by SynCaine

While I’m still having a blast in DarkFall (our recent ‘pirate’ adventure on four rafts was hilarious), I’ve been reading some forum posts (I know…) about certain players feeling meh about the game now. According to the post, part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design | 28 Comments

Guess what this post is about? (hint: tourists)

Posted on March 27, 2009 by SynCaine

A day after unsuccessfully going with “Without WoW WAR would not have sold 300,000 copies” and claiming that WoW tourists are actually good for the industry, Tobold today decides to go the “WoW is just that much better” route to … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 62 Comments

Solo vs Group MMO design

Posted on March 20, 2009 by SynCaine

If you’ve been keeping up with DarkFall impressions you might have noticed a trend. Solo players hate it; people in active guilds love it. If you are thinking of this breakdown in terms of a MMORPG, it’s not all that … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

Wolves and Sheep

Posted on March 3, 2009 by SynCaine

With the release of Darkfall, the terms ‘wolves’ and ‘sheep’ have been thrown around frequently on forums and blogs. I figured this might be a good time to dig a bit deeper and try to find out just who really … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, DoTA, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

MMO growth after release in the post-WoW market

Posted on February 5, 2009 by SynCaine

Whenever you debate a topic concerning MMOs, it’s a safe bet someone is going to bring up EVE and show you a counter-example to whatever you are trying to say. Impact PvP does not work: EVE. Complex economies are impossible … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, DDO, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 19 Comments

300k, has Mythic pulled a Failcom and Flagshipped WAR?

Posted on February 4, 2009 by SynCaine

Remember back in the summer of 2008 we were all making WAR subscriber predictions, and we figured they would be in the range of 1-100 million, depending on how high your fanboy rating was? Everyone reasoned that if WoW can … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 29 Comments

DarkFall anticipation +1

Posted on January 27, 2009 by SynCaine

I said I would not do it, but yet again I’m in “excited about an upcoming MMO” mode. This time around it’s Darkfall, and my interest has been raised by unexpected sources. As anyone with access to a gaming forum … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

The endless sandbox vs the safe theme park.

Posted on January 14, 2009 by SynCaine

MMOs are designed without a ‘game over’ screen, and one of the major appeals of the genre is that the player, rather than the game, determines when you are done. No matter how much you loved Final Fantasy 7, at … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 31 Comments