Random Battle has an interesting idea about how to re-balance rewards for raiders and folks in small groups. Check it out.
: Zubon
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Промоакции для игроков не только в шутерах — воспользуйся промокодом Vavada от наших партнеров и получи бонусы, которые подарят азарт и атмосферу, сравнимую с игровыми победами.
.Double-XP Weekend
[City of Heroes] It’s awesome. I have really been enjoying City of Heroes lately (almost entirely Heroes, with very little Villains play). I have been leveling characters, playing with friends, and generally having a hoot. This weekend I get twice as much xp/influence/infamy/prestige for doing so. Woot! And my wife thought I had been binging lately. I am only pausing to post while waiting for a team member to arrive.
: Zubon
Sympathy for the Dragon
Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth of taste
Actually, that’s a lie on both counts. Good start there, Dragon, way to go! Let’s try again.
It’s not going to surprise anyone when I say that I play video games nor is it going to be a revelation of biblical proportions to learn that I love playing MMOs. What will make a few of you raise an eyebrow is wondering why Ethic (very kindly) asked such a blatant amateur to join this motley band of adventurers on their rat-hunting exploits. Personally I think he was probably drunk.
Katie Hannon: Done Quickly but Often
[City of Heroes] I have mentioned my love of the Striga content in City of Heroes, but I had never done much with its big brother Croatoa. I was not in the right level range (or actively playing) when Issue 5 went live, and I am only now getting back to it. Croatoa isa self-contained zone with a story entirely separate from the rest of Paragon City, with its own factions that only leave the zone for holiday events.
Croatoa’s content culminates with Katie Hannon’s Task Force, which has become the most popular thing in Issue 9. How did year-old content become the best thing ever? Its unusual structure makes it the best source of rare invention recipes. Large groups of heroes are bothering Katie all night long.
The Thrill of the Kill
It’s late. My eyes blur with the monitors haze, and the repetitious attempts have long since morphed me into an automaton. At my side, my wife Abryn is slumped in her desk chair, posture sagging even as her eyes remain fixed on the life bars of our companions.
Months of attunement, back-flagging, farming, and hour after hour of failure at the same critical juncture in the encounter.   It seems so simple, yet so impossibly complex at the same time, and frustrations abound, as we continue to throw ourselves against the same brick wall.
Contest Winner
Julian from The Better Game is the winner of a signed copy of MMO Evolution. The book was donated by the author, our own Nicodemus aka Robert Rice. The book is on it’s way Julian. For everyone else, we have one more signed copy to give away, the method of which will be announced soon.
Following the jump is Julian’s story.
MMO = The Future of Gaming (Sort Of)
Just as it seems almost every game has some kind of RPG element included, I envision a future where every game is played out in a virtual world. Before we can get there, however, we have to find the core elements of what makes an MMO and, more importantly, what makes it fun. There are games that have already experimented with this idea. A prime example is Test Drive: Unlimited. From MMO’s, they took the ideas of exploration and community and blended that into a classic racing formula with excellent results. How long will it be before we see Microsoft Flight Simulator allowing you to see other virtual pilots flying about on a real-world map? How long before Command & Conquer is taking place on a truly global scale with never-ending battles?
These kinds of questions are what you can expect from me. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with the community and hearing what you think about the future of MMOGs.
Dave
Confession
I kind of like faction grinds. My little digital person makes friends! Look, every time I do something nice, people like me more, and they even quantify exactly how much!
: Zubon
Grinding Made (Slightly) Fun
I’ve been out of it for a bit, recovering from some surgery, which gave me an unrivaled chance for me to be a complete sponge and play a lot. Which I did, after watching a few seasons of Scrubs on DVD whilst the fogginess faded. My wife enjoyed pointing out the irony of that hourly. I’m playing CoV once in a while, trying to get my Mastermind up to 30 to see about the former No Man’s Land that used to be there, but more often I’ve been playing around with the new Daily Quests in WoW. And despite the fact I find grinding to be almost as much fun as lighting myself on fire, I’ve actually enjoyed them. Short enough, profitable enough, and easy enough. That’s the Cliff’s Notes version.
Introduction
Hi, I’m Joe, and I’ll be writing way too much about game mechanics, design, and world building.
I first stumbled across KTR about 6 or 8 months ago and have been following it closely and commenting regularly ever since. I’ve been playing MMOs since LegendMUD, Raph Koster’s old DikuMUD. From there, I went into the UO beta, then over to Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, and on and on and on, never getting a character past the teens or so. City of Heroes is the first and only game where I’ve ever gotten to the level cap, and only once there, despite having clocked about 35 months subscribed time. I’ve been a supergroup co-leader and the moderator for the city_of_heroes livejournal community. I’ve also played WoW, and, while I liked the first 50 levels or so, once again, I doubt I’ll ever hit the cap in it.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing posts about the pros and cons of combat mechanics in several current games, programatically generating compelling content, my “ideal” MMO, and similar topics. I look forward to discussing these things with you all.