Category Archives: MMO design

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before

Posted on October 22, 2012 by SynCaine

A year and a half ago SOE scrapped EQNext and totally revamped the game to be the “largest sandbox style MMO ever designed”, yo. John Smedley promises, and puts the fine and well-respected SOE name behind that promise! Of course, … Continue reading →

Posted in EQ2, Mass Media, MMO design, Rant | 4 Comments

Rift: Storm Legion – Who put this sand in here?

Posted on October 22, 2012 by SynCaine

James, a community manager from Trion recently reached out to me and asked if I’d be interesting in taking Rift’s upcoming expansion Storm Legion for a guided tour. While I’m not currently playing Rift, and my reasons why are well … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, crafting, Housing, Mass Media, MMO design, Rift | 13 Comments

The good times will return

Posted on October 18, 2012 by SynCaine

As we draw closer to the release of DF:UW (which, considering AV just made DF1 free, indicates it might actually happen on Nov 20th?), the launch brings up an interesting question that has often been alluded to on blogs and … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Guild Wars, Inquisition Clan, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Ultima Online dynamic content in alpha

Posted on October 12, 2012 by SynCaine

Another fun read about the early days of UO. I could read one of these every day forever. Funny that UO in alpha had more dynamic content than the, um, ‘mass market’ MMOs of today. Strange lack of dynamic centaurs … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Ultima Online | 2 Comments

Your role in the sandbox done right

Posted on October 8, 2012 by SynCaine

Recently I finished my first playthrough of Fallout: New Vegas (yes, 2010 does say hello, thanks), and in addition to being an amazing game, it shows how to do a player-story in a sandbox amazingly well. Possibly better than any … Continue reading →

Posted in Fallout 3, MMO design | 12 Comments

China is a scary place for MMO gaming

Posted on October 4, 2012 by SynCaine

The China MMO market sounds terrifying. The whole video is almost an hour, but all of it just sounds awful. And not just because of the money issue, but because none of these games are actually designed to be fun … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, RMT | 20 Comments

Pick a group, design for it, don’t get greedy

Posted on September 28, 2012 by SynCaine

When I see people write that no MMO can hope to retain people beyond 3 months now, like they did back in the big 3 days, I can only shake my head, laugh, and think about my recent two years … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Darkfall Online, EQ2, EVE Online, Guild Wars, MMO design, Rift, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 21 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

GW2: Pre-80 vs post-80

Posted on September 26, 2012 by SynCaine

How can you spot if someone has reached the level cap in GW2? Ask if they still like the game. While for some time now themeparks have been two different games, the leveling aspect and the ‘end-game’, the change in … Continue reading →

Posted in Guild Wars, MMO design, Rant | 51 Comments

EVE: Learning curve

Posted on September 25, 2012 by SynCaine

The above is a little old (PotBS…) but is still often used. EVE, compared to most MMOs, is indeed a tough game to get into and stick with. However in terms of tutorials and explaining the basics of a very … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design | 23 Comments