Not. I’m really getting a kick out of reading all the reviews for Warhammer Online. People hate it, people love it. It’s funny. There has not been any real significant change in the MMO industry since Day 1 and yet still people expect each game to be the one to change it all. These are … Continue reading Warhammer Online: Biggest Failure Ever
Alternate title: “Boobs and shotguns for everyone!” In a reversal from recent moves that were since walked back, Steam has announced that they plan to let just about anything sell on Steam. Valve long since gave up on curating, instead welcoming increasing masses of shovelware. This seems like the next logical step: no curation at … Continue reading “A good library has something to offend everyone.â€
[Update: Steam said, “nevermind.”] There are numerous reports of Steam contacting publishers of games with sexual content about de-listing their games. Folks in my social media feeds are describing it as “the war on anime tiddies,” which seems fair, given that most of the targets seem to be visual novels and other, apparently mild hentai … Continue reading Online Censorship
This seems well-targeted for our readership: the new Humble Bundle is online games and add-ons, including packs for WildStar ($1 level), Smite ($5 level), and Path of Exile ($12 level). I don’t see anything there that I need, but you might. ETA: and on Steam the Make War Not Love 3 Prize Bundle 1 is … Continue reading Humble Gamepedia Online Multiplayer Bundle
I’m trying Magic Duels, and the story mode is mostly bad. You do not get to pick your cards, and they change after every win, so you do not even know what they are in advance. In theory, this means the difficulty of your deck and your opponent’s can be finely tuned to face each … Continue reading Low Hanging Design Fruit in Online Card Games
In one of my favorite analogue RPG’s, Nobilis, there is a heaven and hell. Heaven is a place of stark, clean beauty. Rarely are souls allowed in heaven because most are not banally pure. Hell is a place of dirt and passion. Everybody is allowed! It’s the Jackson Pollock blender of creation. Of course, the … Continue reading Bad, Exciting Changes: Weekend Events
Asynchronous PvP creates the unusual possibility of having something called “PvP” that never brings you into direct conflict with another player, where everyone playing wins, and the computer takes the losses on behalf of the players. Reward-seeking players will often create nigh-asynchronous PvP situations. Given the chance to pick the fight, most people pick fights … Continue reading Everyone Wins?
Felix Salmon blogging at Reuters has some things to say about monetizing online magazines that has applications to gaming: Which brings up a fundamental rule of online subscriptions: there is zero correlation between value and price. There are lots of incredibly expensive stock-tipping newsletters which have a negative value… And of course there’s an almost … Continue reading Revenue Models
Quests and Events: The Return Coming back to a quest-based MMO, in this case Lord of the Rings Online (“LOTROâ€), after spending so much time in Guild Wars 2 was eye opening. I never once believed that the renown/event system of Guild Wars 2 (“the Guild Wars 2 systemâ€) would kill quest-based design in any … Continue reading Quests and Events: The Return
The residents of the C3 were beset upon all sides by the invasion forces of Cockroach Industries.  The large Amarr Tower had been brought online while they slept, and before they could stage a resistance, the found themselves out-manned, outgunned and under siege in their own home.  With nowhere to run, and the last shreds of hope fading, they reached … Continue reading [Eve] The J221447 Contract