Category Archives: MMO design

Impact PvP: Are you part of the niche?

Posted on September 21, 2009 by SynCaine

Due to the length of both Tobold’s post about impact PvP and my reply, I’ll just quote him below and write my response here. Doesn’t “meaningful PvP” automatically mean a form of PvP where you really hurt other players’ progress … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 55 Comments

Warhammer Online: The more Mythic talks, the less hope I have.

Posted on September 18, 2009 by SynCaine

Too much stuff going on today that I want to talk about, and on a Friday no less. Jeff Hickman from Mythic talked at GDC about Warhammer Online and what he believes are some of the mistakes made with the … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, RvR, Warhammer Online | 22 Comments

The carebears of DarkFall.

Posted on September 18, 2009 by SynCaine

At times (or maybe just on blogs/forums) we get too focused on the type of player we expect to play a certain MMO. WoW is for carebears, LotRO is for role players, DarkFall is for hardcore PvPers, Aion is for … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Combat Systems, crafting, Darkfall Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Aion end-game, way ahead of WoW and WAR.

Posted on September 17, 2009 by SynCaine

Found this interview about Aion Abyss PvP after following a few links. After reading it, the WoW PvP grind pre honor revamp sounds tame and fun compared to high-ranked Abyss ‘PvP’, and WAR’s keep swapping has NOTHING on Aion’s PvQ … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, beta, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online | 41 Comments

The WoW hate: Why 2009 is not 2005.

Posted on September 15, 2009 by SynCaine

Taken from a comment on TAGN, #16: @Syn: So was WoW the debbil when you were spending all waking hours of your life raiding MC (ca. 2005-06) or are these merely the rantings of the repentant sinner who has since … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, DDO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 51 Comments

Level one, and god-mode already?

Posted on September 11, 2009 by SynCaine

Why do we assume the first mob we fight in an MMO should be an easy kill? I’m serious, how many MMOs can you name where the first mob you face has a legitimate chance to kill you? I mentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EQ2, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 35 Comments

The other side of open-world accessibility.

Posted on September 10, 2009 by SynCaine

I wrote yesterday of the benefits of DarkFall’s smaller power curve and how it allows a new player to jump right into playing with his friends/guild, and today I want to talk about the other side of that equation, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP | 11 Comments

Day one accessibility from an unlikely source.

Posted on September 9, 2009 by SynCaine

It’s something that has been said before, but it bears repeating: an MMO without levels is just infinitely more accessible than one with, yet the majority of the AAA MMOs out today feature level-gating, and rather than deal with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 31 Comments

Your family vacation, McDonalds, and the MMO genre

Posted on September 4, 2009 by SynCaine

Keen has a well written post about his return to WoW and what the game is all about now. Read it made me realize the difference between some people in the real world, one that also seems to apply to … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Random, Rant, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

The fear of impact in the MMO genre.

Posted on September 4, 2009 by SynCaine

The MMO genre is a funny place. On the one hand, it promises to let you play with thousands of other players and share adventures together, while on the other it sets you up to be a hero doing some … Continue reading →

Posted in Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Rant, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 26 Comments