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[GW2] Edge of the Mists Impressions

It’s been an interesting few days playing Edge of the Mists, the new overflow World vs. World (“WvW”) map in Guild Wars 2. My concentrated opinion is that WvW just became a lot more fun, but I have a lot to nitpick and discuss too.

The Map’s Mechanics

The most important thing to note about Edge of the Mists (“EotM”) is that it is the rebellious younger sibling to the core of WvW. The designers have made things a little less balanced, but a lot more interesting.

The map plays like Eternal Battlegrounds in the sense that the map is triangular-shaped with each side theoretically having an even chance of defending their objectives and attacking the enemies points. However, each corner of the triangle has heavy environmental and mechanical change. One area is filled with overgrown ruins, while another seems like deserted charr areas. Finally the kodan area is the third environment. Each environment also gives its defenders a buff based on how many objectives they control in their zone. Continue reading [GW2] Edge of the Mists Impressions

[GW2] Stories in the Mists

Hitherby some spoilers

The Edge of the Mist is quite possibly the most beautiful map in Guild Wars 2. The only negative I have is I’m a bit unsure of all the clouds getting in my way. Otherwise I am just in awe. The land is so rich. I stop and stare at some statues with tattered flags, and get run over by a zerg. The landscapes in Guild Wars 2 continue to get better and better.

Edge of the Mists, the new World vs. World (“WvW”) map is also rich in secondary mechanics. For instance, one can turn into an invincible ball of light for a few minutes to scout. Or, sick of your professions lack of awesome? Turn into a Kodan with all new skills that make the current kings of Guild War(riors) 2 jealous. There are bridges to destroy, pre-built cannons to fire, and it feels much more like a huge sandbox instead of the comparatively sterile environment of WvW proper. I like it a lot better, but I am going to have to spend significant time to understand it all. Initial reports say it is amazing for small scale PvP, and bring your stability and knockbacks because falling deaths are what’s on tap. Continue reading [GW2] Stories in the Mists

[TT] Introduction to Deck-Building Games

Welcome to Tabletop Tuesday, something new I’m trying here at Kill Ten Rats. For most of this year, I will be gradually discussing the game Dominion, which is the trope maker for deck-building games. This is rich territory for discussion, with quite a few mechanics and expansions, and you know I can spend a whole post talking about one card.

In case you have never played one, deck-building games are second cousins to collectible card games like Magic the Gathering or Pokémon. The big difference is that you buy your cards within the game, not between games. There is a fixed pool of cards in front of you, and you start with a small pool of resources. You use those resources to buy cards, which get shuffled into your deck. You now have more resources and abilities for the next time you go through your deck. Repeat unto victory.

The ideal of a deck-building game is to capture everything good about collectible card games without the soul- and wallet-crushing pay-to-win business model. You still get to customize your deck and strategy, but everyone has equal access to all the cards. Deck-building is an excellent model of controlled randomization: you do not know exactly what you are getting, but the degree of variation is mathematically knowable and limited by the size of the deck. Controlling and manipulating probability is a key skill in effective play. Deck-building games can mix strategy, tactics, and execution as well as the best real time strategy games, minus the need for good reaction times.

Next week, we will talk about the rules of Dominion and the base game as it was launched.

: Zubon

Buying Back Trust

Tesh comments that Marvel Puzzle Quest is getting worse in its P2W, winner take all reward structure. That’s fair. They angered many players with their last patch but did provide an answer to my running question of how you regain trust with paying customers after encouraging them to buy something and then nerfing it. They provided a partial refund, letting you cash in the nerfed characters at a boosted rate. Getting back half your “investment” is not bad when you got to have overpowered characters for a long while.

: Zubon

While we’re mentioning Tesh, check out his latest Kickstarter.

Complexity

Please, ponder with me the borders of hidden and emergent complexity.

By “emergent,” I mean “arising from interaction.” You can create incredibly complex designs with Legos, but the Legos themselves are simple. The complexity arises from the many ways you can arrange the simple pieces. There are, however, Legos that are cut into specific shapes for particular uses or that integrate unusual components like motors. Those have some inherent complexity.

In gaming, emergent complexity is generally a good thing. It is the source of the meta-game, and it is often what we mean by “easy to learn, hard to master.” The parts are simple, the whole is complex.

By “hidden,” I mean that the parts look simple but are themselves complex units. Continue reading Complexity

Network Effects on the Downward Spiral

This seems to be a popular time for noting network effects and the death of social networks. Two graduate students got remarkable coverage of applying epidemiological models to MySpace and Facebook, finding that Facebook’s pattern in Google searches is right about where MySpace’s was as it entered its decline. For our in-game social networks, Tobold is predicting the death of MMOs as a genre. (By the time this post goes live, there may be a post from SynCaine explaining that EVE is doing it right and will still have a growing playerbase even after we have our own spaceships.)

Just as economists predicted nine out of the last five recessions, the impending demises of Facebook and World of Warcraft have been predicted every three to six months since the 1980s (I may be exaggerating). Whoever happens to have predicted those most recently when they happen will claim credit as a great prognosticator, and whoever has ever predicted them can claim to be right in principle, just off on the timing.

Given precedent, when one of these systems collapses, “collapse” is usually a better term than “decline.” The same social effects that drive adoption drive abandonment. Again, timing that collapse is really hard even if it is obviously impending; “the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent),” and just because you recognize a bubble does not make it pop.

: Zubon