Category Archives: MMO design

A culture of losing; the WoW effect on PvP.

Posted on March 3, 2008 by SynCaine

Over the weekend I played a good bit of 51-60 Alterac Valley. Over the span of however many games I played, I noticed some interesting trends. The overall trend that I noticed is that PvP skill is highly lacking in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark Age of Camelot, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Stop playing World of Warcraft, go play Starcraft Worlds!

Posted on February 27, 2008 by SynCaine

This might be a stretch and totally off base, but that’s part of the fun in writing a blog. You throw stuff out there, people to tell you that you are an idiot in your comments, and you enjoy the … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, PvP, Random, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 25 Comments

Learn to play in the sandbox correctly noob!

Posted on February 26, 2008 by SynCaine

There are many differences between sandbox and theme park MMOs, but I think one that often gets overlooked, at least by fans, is the one I want to get into today: the ability to play a sandbox MMO ‘wrong’. Wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 11 Comments

Forgotten content in WoW.

Posted on February 25, 2008 by SynCaine

Over the weekend my shaman hit 55 in WoW after finishing up some quests in the Plaguelands, and I noticed just how much of that content is now wasted. Due to the fact that level 58+ greens in Outland are … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Running scared from the WoW monster. We need a hero!

Posted on February 22, 2008 by SynCaine

The first bits of ‘news’ are coming out of GDC, and one very interesting bit I read today comes from a discussion called ‘Future of MMOs’ featuring Cryptic Studios’ Jack Emmert, NCsoft Matt Miller, BioWare’s Ray Muzyka, Nexon’s Min Kim, … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 16 Comments

Understanding the casual player

Posted on February 21, 2008 by SynCaine

One of the longest running debates in the MMO world is the casual vs hardcore debate, and one aspect that has always confused me is the usual ‘solution’ you hear from the casual crowd to even the playing field. The … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, PvP, World of Warcraft | 24 Comments

Will Warhammer be good enough to overcome the inevitable PvP shock?

Posted on February 14, 2008 by SynCaine

The following is based on a few assumptions that are key to understanding my thinking here. Please keep them in mind when reading. Assumption one: Most MMO players have only played WoW. Assumption two: Most MMO players don’t know about … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 21 Comments

Sandbox or Theme Park?

Posted on February 13, 2008 by SynCaine

During the recent posts about stories in MMOs, the topic of sandbox vs theme park MMOs came up, which got me thinking on which style I prefer and why. The first MMO that I played heavily was Ultima Online back … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, PvP, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 14 Comments

Less can be more; how Warhammer Online could benefit from fewer class options.

Posted on February 12, 2008 by SynCaine

News that Warhammer online might not ship with all classes ready to go at release is making the rounds, which got me thinking about the possible impact that might have on the game. As most know the current system is … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, MMO design, PvP, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 1 Comment

Stories in our MMOs.

Posted on February 11, 2008 by SynCaine

Scott over at Pumping Irony (great name btw) has a post about storytelling in MMOs and why they generally fail. He breaks down the current problems, mostly that character development is really just attribute development, which I fully agree with. … Continue reading →

Posted in EVE Online, MMO design, The Witcher, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft | 3 Comments