Category Archives: MMO design

Why usually ‘kill ten rats’ sucks, and how AO nails it.

Posted on February 2, 2009 by SynCaine

Lots of people hate kill ten rats. No I don’t mean the blog (it rocks), but that style of quest in an MMO, where some NPC with some minor issue sends you out to kill some number of enemies, only … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, Combat Systems, MMO design, Warhammer Online | 5 Comments

Town control in Atlantica Online, another winning system.

Posted on January 30, 2009 by SynCaine

My guild in Atlantica Online (Hunters on Argos, if you play, recruitment is open) recently won the bid for a town, which has opened up some interesting game systems I’d like to talk about. As with my previous AO posts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, MMO design | 31 Comments

DarkFall anticipation +1

Posted on January 27, 2009 by SynCaine

I said I would not do it, but yet again I’m in “excited about an upcoming MMO” mode. This time around it’s Darkfall, and my interest has been raised by unexpected sources. As anyone with access to a gaming forum … Continue reading →

Posted in beta, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

Slayers, Darkness Falls, and other ‘big news’ for Warhammer Online.

Posted on January 20, 2009 by SynCaine

There is a lot of news and information concerning Warhammer Online right now, and I’m not quite sure what to comment on. Now that the ‘new game’ shine has worn off, I can’t help but think what WAR will be … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, RvR, Warhammer Online | 7 Comments

The endless sandbox vs the safe theme park.

Posted on January 14, 2009 by SynCaine

MMOs are designed without a ‘game over’ screen, and one of the major appeals of the genre is that the player, rather than the game, determines when you are done. No matter how much you loved Final Fantasy 7, at … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 31 Comments

DIKU defined, the old formula for an MMO.

Posted on January 12, 2009 by SynCaine

Raph Koster has an amazing write-up of what defines a DIKU mud, and how some of the bigger MMOs (EQ, WoW) are direct descendents. My first limited experience with an MMO was Neverwinter Nights on AOL, and my first true … Continue reading →

Posted in Asheron's Call, Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 3 Comments

A few more Atlantica Online design discussion points.

Posted on January 12, 2009 by SynCaine

I want to follow up on my previous post about Atlantica Online and some of the good things it does, as there are indeed a few more systems I think are worth pointing out. I’m currently level 52 in AO, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 18 Comments

The details make the game, why Atlantica Online keeps the grind interesting.

Posted on January 9, 2009 by SynCaine

One of the main reasons I keep playing Atlantica Online is that the game is constantly surprising me. I really was not expecting much from AO when I downloaded it, and I think those low expectations have actually allowed me … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantica Online, MMO design | 20 Comments

WotLK to level 100?

Posted on January 8, 2009 by SynCaine

I might be way off base here (not the first time), but am I the only one who thinks Blizzard would be better off focusing on a leveling game rather than an end-game with WoW? Reading forums and blogs, I … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 19 Comments

Bashing some 40s: the role of scenarios in WAR.

Posted on January 6, 2009 by SynCaine

With the holiday season over, things are getting back to normal with WAR, specifically meaning more CoW members are back online. While overall WAR is a great MMO, it’s very average when played solo for extended periods of time, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, MMO design, PvP, RvR, Warhammer Online | 9 Comments