Category Archives: MMO design

I find it really sad how the dominance of World of Warcraft has led so many people to believe that the way WoW does it is the only possible way to make a MMORPG.

Posted on January 4, 2012 by SynCaine

I still don’t have an answer for how SWTOR will do. But increasingly I think the playerbase for MMOs won’t ever let another game do a WoW, they just have lost the patience we used to have for long term … Continue reading →

Posted in DoTA, EVE Online, League of Legends, Mass Media, MMO design, Random, Rant, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 48 Comments

EVE: Orca purchase, region chat

Posted on December 22, 2011 by SynCaine

While one of my pilots trains to fly an Orca, I’ve been checking contract listing for the ship daily in the hopes of catching a deal. Such a deal came yesterday, as someone had listed a rigged Orca for 300m … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Inquisition Clan, MMO design | 4 Comments

SW:TOR – How is the end-game?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by SynCaine

Random thought: What if the end-game in SW:TOR is awesome? Most people right now are talking about the leveling experience in SW. The pace, the voice, the story, the mechanics, etc. And rightfully so in many ways. Pre-release, almost all … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Rant, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

Life after the AAA MMO

Posted on December 19, 2011 by SynCaine

Last week I wrote about SW:TOR being a bad business deal (something I also stated more than a year go). Today I want to continue that line of thought, focusing on why I want current-day AAA MMOs to go the … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, Random, Rant, Rift, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 22 Comments

Why SW:TOR is a big bad deal

Posted on December 16, 2011 by SynCaine

Note: If you read blogs in absolutes, this post is not going to work for you. The discussion around SW costing 300m or not, whether selling 4m box copies puts it in the black, or why anyone should care, is … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rant, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 32 Comments

That whole “EVE shutting down” thing is looking pretty solid

Posted on December 15, 2011 by SynCaine

Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday, I got distracted by this old-school indy title called SW:TOR. Have you heard of it? It’s kinda cute. Very linear, short, and looks pretty dated, but not the worse way to burn … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, Patch Notes, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 14 Comments

EVE: Behind every great deal is a knife to the back

Posted on December 13, 2011 by SynCaine

Yesterday I talked a little about my recent marketing ventures, but I left out one aspect of doing business in EVE: the ever-present possibility and haunting feeling of walking into a trap. Unlike most (all?) MMOs, the economy in EVE … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design | 7 Comments

Silly WoWbies make up your minds already

Posted on December 7, 2011 by SynCaine

Wasn’t someone always arguing with me that 2004 WoW difficulty was not better than WotLK+ for leveling/instances, yet now claims SW:TOR is ‘just right’ because it feels like 2004 WoW difficulty? Where are all those ‘rose tinted glasses’ comments now? … Continue reading →

Posted in League of Legends, MMO design, PvP, Rant, Rift, RMT, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 33 Comments

EVE: My enemies are my friends

Posted on December 6, 2011 by SynCaine

DiS’s second war is coming to an end today. To call it a war is somewhat misleading, because in reality it was a week of DiS ships going boom. Early in the week we gave it our all, and had … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP | 25 Comments

The greatest voice acting ever

Posted on December 5, 2011 by SynCaine

Warning: Super-minor Skyrim spoiler included. It’s one isolated event unrelated to anything else in the game, and will spoil only this one location/encounter for you, but it’s still technically a spoiler. I was on a quest for the mages guild, … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments