Category Archives: MMO design

Mobile games and ‘real’ games

Posted on August 1, 2017 by SynCaine

Az over on his blog contemplates his time spend playing Clash Royale vs his time spend playing FFXIV. My gaming time split is somewhat similar overall I think, were I’d say 50% of it is mobile games now (Clash of … Continue reading →

Posted in Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, iPhone, MMO design | 4 Comments

Poor, dumb, and maybe corrupt

Posted on July 25, 2017 by SynCaine

Some high quality posting from Gevlon going on right now related to his favorite tinfoil hat: everything is corrupt! It starting with his theory that the only reason anyone works in the gaming industry is because they are corrupt and … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Goons, League of Legends, MMO design, Random, Rant, RMT, World of Warcraft | 13 Comments

LotRO: Still a dumpster

Posted on July 21, 2017 by SynCaine

On a whim I fired up LotRO, which was a mistake. I’m not sure the last time I played LotRO, but it’s been a while, perhaps as far back as the F2P change. My history with LotRO is that initially … Continue reading →

Posted in Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant | 6 Comments

In case you needed a reminder why devs and the sane laugh at Gevlon

Posted on July 19, 2017 by SynCaine

This is overall a pretty funny post, and gets better in the comments section. Dear devs, how many players do you think you would have in your MMO if you follow this logic: I farmed 8 hours yesterday evening in … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, Rant | 10 Comments

Short burst gaming

Posted on July 18, 2017 by SynCaine

I got 61 hours out of Dying Light, and at a cost of about $25, that was a good purchase in terms of gaming value. I got 9 hours out of Convoy, and at a cost of $3.50, that was … Continue reading →

Posted in Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, EVE Online, MMO design, Random, Rant, Steam Stuff | 3 Comments

WoW is gankbox, EVE is not

Posted on July 7, 2017 by SynCaine

And the gankbox discussion continues. What I find most interesting about all of this is that it reveals just how little most people understand about MMO design, or even what they themselves want in an MMO. Let’s talk about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 8 Comments

Trashfire, elves, builders, and blindness

Posted on June 6, 2017 by SynCaine

Collection of thoughts blog: The cover of PCGamer has a line about Destiny 2 coming to the PC, and how it will be the savior of the MMO genre. What’s sadder: that Destiny 2, a game that isn’t really an … Continue reading →

Posted in Clash of Clans, MMO design, Random | 5 Comments

The problem with eternal Early Access

Posted on May 2, 2017 by SynCaine

PC Gamer recently had a good article about Survival games (ARK, Rust, etc) almost never making it out of Steam’s Early Access, whether or not that was the correct use of the system, and if overall that’s a problem. The … Continue reading →

Posted in ARK, MMO design, Rant, Steam Stuff | 11 Comments

EVE: CCP Falcon is running a thousand ratting bots himself, proof inside!

Posted on April 27, 2017 by SynCaine

Look, more alternative facts that Goons are dead. So dead we are the most economically active alliance in the game. The RMT Empire is alive and well, everyone to the party yacht while our hordes of bots get us unassailably … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, Goons, MMO design, Rant | 3 Comments

EVE: The one world where wealth means something, big and small

Posted on April 25, 2017 by SynCaine

I’ve been focused on income sources of late in EVE, and part of the motivation behind that is the knowledge that, when I choose, I can use that ISK in a lot of different ways to entertain myself. That aspect, … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design | 4 Comments