Category Archives: Guild Wars

The difference between good and great games

Posted on June 17, 2013 by SynCaine

If there is one thing real MMO fans struggle with it’s the acceptance of ‘grind’ to justify progression or rewards. This is often expressed as “remove all the crap and just let us do the fun stuff”, and in that … Continue reading →

Posted in Eador, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design | 10 Comments

Themepark goes F2P, take infinity

Posted on May 15, 2013 by SynCaine

Some quick thoughts on the Rift F2P thing, since a few people have asked. First, it’s not surprising. Scott Hartsman leaving Trion was basically the “Rift is going F2P” announcement. Second, not surprising given what Rift is. It’s an above-average … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rift, RMT, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

The good stuffs in the middle

Posted on February 27, 2013 by SynCaine

Let’s talk a little about the history of the mid-game in the MMO genre. IMO the mid-game is the time after you have learned the basics of the game (tutorial or beginning phase), and before you stop progressing or have … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 12 Comments

Sky-clone please

Posted on February 14, 2013 by SynCaine

I’ve been playing a good bit of Skyrim: Dawnguard of late. Quality DLC to a game I’m fairly sure I’ll never see all of, even without the recently released DLC Dragonborn. Skyrim will be on my PC for a while, … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Random, SW:TOR, The Elder Scrolls Online | 14 Comments

7 minutes in heaven, a month of hell

Posted on January 16, 2013 by SynCaine

One point that I don’t think I made clear enough in my post about UO’s combat was that the slower pace and simplicity leads to longer retention, and so today I want to expand on that a bit (in horribly … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, Rift, Ultima Online | 30 Comments

Lessons from the past: MMO combat

Posted on January 14, 2013 by SynCaine

Keen alerted me to a private version/server of Ultima Online, and due to extreme boredom I grabbed the client and messed around a bit. I have no intention of fully returning to UO, because to really get to the good … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Ultima Online | 11 Comments

Boxed in

Posted on January 10, 2013 by SynCaine

I bet you are wondering why I’m blogging less huh? Yea, I figured you were. Darkfall NDA is mostly to blame. MMO genre being a pile of crap is another factor. I mean, not only is there not a title … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Civilization Series, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant, SW:TOR, The Witcher | 19 Comments

The Niche is Real

Posted on January 4, 2013 by SynCaine

Massively has linked to a video about 38 Studios. It’s worth watching. In the comments section, there is a link to an article about the entire thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve read it before, and perhaps even linked it here, … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Random, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments

What 2012 was, and what 2013 will be

Posted on December 26, 2012 by SynCaine

The good for me in 2012 was more of the same (EVE, LoL), while the bad was highlighted by disappointment (GW2) and delay (DF:UW). The MMO genre as a whole continued to struggle with its identity, from massive failures like … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, League of Legends, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 18 Comments

Darkfall: Unholy Wars – Voicing the Manifested Vision in White Shades

Posted on December 20, 2012 by SynCaine

Darkfall is under NDA right now, so while I’m writing about it, I can’t post details until the NDA is down. Whenever that happens (current date I have is Dec 27th) expect either a long post, or a bunch all in … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online, Guild Wars, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, PvP, SW:TOR, Vanguard, Warhammer Online | 5 Comments