Category Archives: SW:TOR

MMO: It’s not a game

Posted on May 27, 2010 by SynCaine

First, it must be really fun to be this good at DarkFall. Quality stuff as always Umberto. Oh and don’t mind the creepy girl right at the beginning, this is an actual DF PvP vid of high quality. Personal jealousy … Continue reading →

Posted in Combat Systems, Darkfall Online, Mass Media, MMO design, PvP, Rant, RMT, SW:TOR, Uncategorized | 25 Comments

Character progression: Why SW:TOR is DOA

Posted on May 25, 2010 by SynCaine

The style and impact of character progression is an issue that every MMO must consider, and it’s an issue that far too often is misunderstood by many players (and devs for that matter). The concept of ‘the grind’ is heavily … Continue reading →

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

The future: Farmville or bust?

Posted on March 18, 2010 by SynCaine

Scott Jennings (Lum) has another entry up on his MMORPG.com blog, this time talking a bit about Farmville and Co and what it might mean for MMO gaming. Lots of quality quotes from around the industry, and some good insight … Continue reading →

Posted in Console Gaming, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, Fallen Earth, Mass Media, MMO design, Patch Notes, Random, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 14 Comments

2010: Year of the Tourist?

Posted on January 10, 2010 by SynCaine

Tobold is asking who plans to be a tourist in 2010 (continuing his new adult entertainment blog theme in the process), which got me thinking whether 2010 itself might not just be the ‘Year of the Tourist’, and furthermore whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Mass Media, MMO design, Random, SW:TOR, World of Warcraft | 21 Comments

Reasons to skip SW:TOR, +1.

Posted on December 4, 2009 by SynCaine

While I’ll very likely be skipping SW:TOR for a few reasons (It’s SW, it’s ‘casual’, it’s a mega-themepark), the news about henchmen being added to allow you to solo everything makes that choice even easier. Hopefully the idea of designing … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rant, SW:TOR, Ultima Online | 50 Comments

Niche and Mass Market: One big happy MMO genre

Posted on October 6, 2009 by SynCaine

We are at an interesting point in history with MMOs, highlighted beautifully with the recent re-release of the Asian answer to WoW in Aion and the uber-niche Fallen Earth. One is benefiting from a year of full release under its … Continue reading →

Posted in Aion, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Rant, SW:TOR, Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 10 Comments

Your MMO won’t have a million subs, sorry Blizzard.

Posted on September 30, 2009 by SynCaine

Tobold and I have a friendly little challenge going (around comment 45 on that post), one that sadly won’t have a result for a few years. The challenge is simple: The next Blizzard MMO won’t reach the popularity of WoW. … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, Aion, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ2, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO design, Site update, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 57 Comments

Launch Day: How to deal with day one in the post-WoW MMO space

Posted on September 22, 2009 by SynCaine

From an outsider’s perspective looking in, Aion’s launch seems to be having the same issue Warhammer Online had a year ago; dealing with the huge initial rush of players and tourists flooding the servers on day one. In the post-WoW … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Conan, beta, Darkfall Online, EVE Online, MMO design, SW:TOR, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft | 6 Comments

Bounty Hunter: The perfect class for solo players?

Posted on April 9, 2009 by SynCaine

The concept of a mercenary guild or individual bounty hunter has always interested MMO fans. The idea of taking contracts from the highest bidder, hunting down a target, and returning to collect your reward is something many fans dream about … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, PvP, SW:TOR | 18 Comments

SW:TOR and RMT, awesome!

Posted on December 10, 2008 by SynCaine

Well we can officially move on from this potential MMO baby jesus, looks like SW:TOR is going to have RMT. Sweet, I can’t wait to afk grind sci-fi foozles while chugging $5 xp potions  wearing my $10 hot pink R2D2 … Continue reading →

Posted in MMO design, Rant, RMT, SW:TOR | 10 Comments