Category Archives: MMO design

EVE: Day one lessons not learned for 11 years

Posted on May 9, 2014 by SynCaine

There are easily dozens of “How to make an MMO” design lessons in this combat report from TAGN, but clearly the biggest one is that in EVE, a new player is able to not only see advanced content, but meaningfully … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design | 22 Comments

DF:UW – Fear and fun in Agon

Posted on April 30, 2014 by SynCaine

Following the development of Darkfall is far more stressful than actually playing it for me. I have issues, most likely stemming from having more than one MMO I enjoyed crapped on by the developers. Whether it was Tammel in UO, … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 9 Comments

AcheAge: Getting through the themepark to get to the sandbox

Posted on April 28, 2014 by SynCaine

Keen’s ArcheAge post today reiterates one of the ‘core values’ I think any virtual world must have; at no point should I be ‘done’ with an area. I think the whole concept of moving through zones is distinctively ‘not virtual … Continue reading →

Posted in ArcheAge, MMO design | 30 Comments

EVE: Space Famous

Posted on April 21, 2014 by SynCaine

The latest EVE Blog Banter topic is about “space famous” individuals and everyone’s thoughts about them. Jester has his entry here. The topic reminded me that I had previously talked about the importance of such players, here in more general … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, Site update, The Elder Scrolls Online | 4 Comments

DF:UW – Levy

Posted on April 14, 2014 by SynCaine

Just as ESO went live, AV released a major update to Darkfall: Unholy Wars that included a new Area of Influence (AoI) system and a levy system. I’ve talked about the current flaws in the AoI system, but even flawed … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, MMO design | 7 Comments

ESO: Genre meld

Posted on April 8, 2014 by SynCaine

In the post below this one, one line of questions revolved around what percentage of ESO’s content is ‘themepark’, and at what percentage does an MMO go from having themepark elements to just being a themepark. This post won’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, The Elder Scrolls Online | 39 Comments

DF:UW – Ushering in the play to crush era

Posted on April 3, 2014 by SynCaine

“Play to Crush” was the marketing pitch for Shadowbane (SB), a somewhat short-lived MMO that was based around PvP conquest. The core reason SB died? The players crushed it. Server by server, one alliance would rise to dominance, and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, Random | 7 Comments

DF:UW – This is how you should play in the sandbox

Posted on March 27, 2014 by SynCaine

The shitstorm that is the Bonus Room controversy continues to rage, and as of now CCP hasn’t made a move. How all of that plays out will be very interesting to watch, but I want to put that aside for … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design | 17 Comments

ESO, DF:UW – Sometimes we go looking for something we already have

Posted on March 17, 2014 by SynCaine

This past weekend ESO had another beta weekend, but I wasn’t able to play much as I had issues with the account my highest-level character is on. I did create an Imperial on my purchased account, but beyond that and … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, The Elder Scrolls Online | 8 Comments

GW2: Spinning in place

Posted on March 14, 2014 by SynCaine

Zubon’s description of GW2 updates since release are nightmare fuel for me in terms of an MMO. It’s basically all of the bad aspects of launch (bugs, everyone in one spot) without the good (playing a foundation towards something more). … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design | 9 Comments