My 2 Copper's Worth

Well we're on a website dedicated to MMO's so I'll give you one guess as to what I'll write about. And no it's not mustard.

Author: ivan50265

   Recently a couple of things happened in my life that I personally never thought I would see happen. 

#1 

#2 I gave away a beta invite to an MMO I have been eagerly anticipating.  I am still questioning my decision on the matter but what's done is done and we can't take back the past.  So I thought I'd take a look at why I decided to decline my beta invite and look into my own possible beta burnout.  Enjoy.

So I thought the easiest way to look at this would be to break down the symptoms of beta burnout, and explain how they may have contrinuted to my beta burnout. 

Bugs Bug Me

Now I know bugs are ever present in our beloved mmo's.  I alos understand that betas have become glorified PR stunts by developers to help generate the desired hype around their game.  Yet there are still those annoying broken quest lines and system crashes that are part of the beta experience not to mention any other host of problems that could stil ne plauging the game.  There have been good mmo's that I have helpeed test that I did not buy simply because whenever I saw the game the first thing that would enter my mind would be "I wonder if they ever fixed that one bug?" which would quickly lead me to another game I was less familiar with. 

Limited play windows

Another important paert of my possible burnout centers around limited playtime during betas.  Nothing frustrates me more when I'm in a beta for a game and I am at work looking forward to getting home and playing only to find out I missd the window, or that an unexpected xrash had shut down the server for the night.  I of course understand that this is just part of the process and that it is a beta test, but I tend to fall into the trap of I see desktop icon it is a game I can play anytime feeling. No one's fault but my own . 

Launch Day Hangover

This is the straw that boke this camel's back.  Whenever I would beta a game and then buy it I would always find myself on launch weekend finding the experience to be oddly anti-climactic.  By the time I had seen the launch I had played the game to death and rather than enjoying the launch day experience I would find myself on auto pilot grinding through the early levelsof the game in an attemot to either gain back what was wiped from the beta server, or to get to the point intthe game where I left off.  Let alone I would find myself oddly jealous of those who were enjoying the game for the first time at launch as  opposed to spednig the prior 3 months to a year in the beta test. 

  I guess I've got the old beta burnout. My desire to want to experience a launch day again is just bigger than my desire for a sneak peek at a new game now.  It isn;t such a bad thing after all.  I look forward to new MMO's and I am excited about a few new titles on the horizon, but for now at least excited is all I will be.  The idea of walking into a buggy sneak peek to a new mmo just doesn;t have the appeal it used to.  So I'll see you all in game I'll be the newb having fun on launch day. 

Until Next Time

Ivan

   I've been spending some time catching up on some reaing on the site lately and it seems to me that we as a community take ourselves, our genre, and our selected games quite seriously.  Recently I took a little hiatus from this site and writing in general to work on a project that I have been quite passionate about for some time.  In that time I ran across some fun stuff on the internet that I almost forgot about that being comics and videos that do a really good job of poking fun at mmo's and the people who play them, and I have to admit it was fun to sit back and laugh at how we as players, our genre, and our culture can be ever so slightly twisted into true comedy.  So sit back eith me for a minute or two and let's take a look at those who make fun of the genre and take a minute to laugh at ourselves.

  The Guild

   www.youtube.com/watchtheguild

   If you have never seen an episode of The Guild stop reading this now and follow the link above. You back? Ok let's continue. As you by now know the show is a comedy that follows the in-game and real life exploits of a local guild of a yet unknown MMO.  Just about every type of person that plays an mmo today is represented save 'role players' :(.  This show has two seasons archived and no episode exceeds 15 minutes in length so it will not take you long to get caught up on  the goings on.  I found myself oddly relating to a few of the characters while laughing at the fact tht I may have met the inspirations for the other few.  All in all a great watch. 

Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth

pc.gamespy.com/articles/578/578734p1.html

pc.gamespy.com/flintlocke-vs-the-horde/

    Truly one of the funniest web comics I have ever read Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth is a very funny look at a particular drawf in WoW and his band of merry friends.  What started off as a parody guide to the game qucikly turned into a regular webcomic about the group, and their misadventures. What the comic does well is make fun of the game itself and if you hav ever played WoW the humor will not escape you.  Althougth the series is over if you're hungry for more you may want to check out the other series Flitlocke vs. The Horde.  You can get to it by following the second link.

Zero punctuation!

www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/9-Tabula-Rasa

www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/138-Age-of-Conan

www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/208-Eve-Online

   Zero Punctuation is the brain child of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw a Vritish fellow who lives in Austrailia.  His show centers around reviewing mainly console gamesn and concoles, but sometimes he reivews MMO's as well.  Yahtzee has a way of saying things that can make almost any game look absolutely ridiculous and at the same time laugh your ass off.  His takes on the MMO genre are well thought and absolutely hilarous.  I reccomend watching the videos in order for maximum effect.  I only wish he'd review more MMO's.  Oh well.

    There are many other excellent examples of parody and humor in our genre, but this is where I will end for now.  I would like to know if you have seen a video or read a comic that makes fun of this genre that you enjoyed as well.  Feel free to comment below and I'll be sure to check it out.  In the end it is good to take a look at ourselves sometimes and laugh it keeps us honest and reminds me at least that we are a fun community who also happens to be passionate about our games. 

Until Next Time,

Ivan

   Hello all sorry I hae been a little less than on schedule so far this summer, but life is life and the real world ever requires more of me.  As things are strating to settle down I thought I'd find a little time to write a piece for you all I hope you enjoy it.

   So I coudn't help but notice that DDO and Chronicles of Spellborn are moving into the Free 2 Play market.  While I have no qulams with the F2P market really I find it interesting how it is taking shape here in the west.  We see the standard F2P game models showing up like Atlantica Online that were desinged for a F2P market, but we are also seeing the F2P market as becoming a last stand of sorts for western subscription games that are either losing their playerbase, or never really found it to begin with.   DDO and CoS are not the first and I doubt will be the last P2P to move into the F2P market, but as I see this trend continue I find myself asking the age old question: Why? Is it that we in the west are finally embracing the F2P model and these games are ahead of the curve? Is it that the subscription model is outdated? Are we as a community sick of buying retail boxes for our games? Maybe, but I tend to think there are other factors to consider two to be more presice that of quality and quantitiy.  So let's take a look at the two aforementioned games and see how these two factors may have come into play. 

   First let's take a look how quantity may have come into play here.  One game comes from an established IP the other an independently developed IP.  What do they both have in comon?  They are both set in a fantasy setting.  Some of you may have read an earlier post of mine comparing developing a fanstasy mmo to the flogging a dead horse as a way to illustrate how I feel the mmo market is over saturated with fanstasy mmo's.  Let's look at how this may have played into the equation.  

   You need look no further than the game list on this site to see just how many fantasy mmo's there are in the market already.  With an independently developed world we as the consumer have nothing familiar to entice us to their world like DDO, LOTRO, abd WoW have in their established IP's.  On top of that fantasy has been so over done in ths market you need to have something really special to set yourself apart.  CoS may have had this with their affecting the timeline and all, but that itself is high end content.  You have to grab your players early like within the first hour of play or you have a good chnace of suffereing the fate of geting lost in the shuffle.  DDO on the other hand had the IP tha we were familiar with, but how many of us had heard of Ebberon before DDO?  The issue here in my opinion is not as much with the fantasy end of things, but in the familiarity of the setting.  Would DDO be in this discussion if they had chosen The Forgotten Realms as their setting? Maybe, maybe not.  

    Then again maybe I'm completely off base here.  Maybe we all have some weird adiction to elves and woodland creatures written in our DNA.  Maybe it's a quality issue.  Perhaps these games lacked something in the quality and polish of their game that led players not to want to invest in the monthly script for the game.  So let's take a look how quality may have come into play with these games that led them to rethink how to gain and maintain a player base.  

  I've said it before and I'll say it again if you are going to try and develop a fantasy mmo in this market and you want people to pay for it you need to make something special and show us how special it is from the get go. On top of that we have entered into an era were the market in much more competative and mmo's today are tryin to lauch their title with something for every play style.  Where these games may have fallen short is in this area.  Let's look at where DDO may have fallen short.  Although there are more good things I can say about this game than bad there are a few areas where players may have gotten turned off by the game.  Being a PvE centered game would keep a PvP player from playing the game even though they had implemented an arena system most PvP players sek soemthing more than that.  I also think there was an issue with setting the gaem in a single city.  There just wasn;t alot of space to explore in DDO and again although they had added some open world spaces it still had an enclosed felling to it.  When it come to CoS I think there are two issues.  First CoS allwoed you to create the look of yuor charatcer and you can keep that look for the whole game.  The problem was that there wasn't a whole lot of choice and the fact that we take new equipment out of the equation and put in items to enhance the existing equipment players in a way cannot see the advancement of their character.  Secondly although CoS offered us a new idea that of affecting the timeline of the game itself I never really got a chance to see this game mechanic in the first 20 levels.  Though CoS and DDO both look good and have good mechanics I feel it is in the quality of content that keeps the games from keeping thier players invested.  

   In the end I think developers need to understand that there is alot of competition out there.  With that competition come the pressure to give we the players a game that really shines through with its features and gameplay.  I believe we are starting to see a split in the genre now where only the AAA of the AAA titles will be able to charge a monthly subscription for their games in the Western market and that other games that may have been good enough in the past to charge a script will have to look at other business models like F2P as a more viable option.  On a lighter side I like that develpers are not giving up on thier games and that they are looking at a F2P model to keep their games viable in the merketplace and allow them to se thier vision come to life.  

Well that's all I've got.  As always feedback is welcome below. 

Until Next Time,

Ivan  

   Hey all sorry I have been absent work has been a little nutty.  In my time absent I have still been keeping up with my MMO news.  So I thought today we'd do a little comparison shopping. 

  With two new super hero mmo's in the works one can;t help but compare the two as eventually they will be competing against one another for market share.  So I thought I'd fidn out just what makes these two games different.   Im my research I found alot fo differences and similaritites, but in the end I focused in on three diffeesnces that I think really seperate the two games from one another.  So why don;t we take a look at those. 

Powers: Total Customization vs Versatility

  One of the biggest differrences with the two games is how they handle their powers.  Champions Online has chosen to give the player the ability to completely customize powers deciding on what kind of damage or status effects you wish to tack on to them.  DCU has gone with a more versatile route choosing instead of customizing your powers they give you the ability to chnage the nasture of your powers from damage to defense to healing in an effort I think to alleviate role rigidity and make it easier to find groups. Either choice I think is a good one I love the idea of min/maxing and tweaking the heck out of my toon's powers, but I also really like the idea of being to change roles on the fly for party flexability.

Villains: The Nemesis System vs Player Bad Guys

   Another area of divergence were the choices made in how the bad guys will be represented.  Champions Online is offering us the Nemesis System which allows players to create their own personalized NPC villain to plague your PC hero on their journey through the game.  The DCU team has decided to allow players to play as either heroes or villains.  I have to admit I am very interested in trying out the Nemesis system to see just how tought my Nemesis cane get, but alos a part of me would love to give Superman some chaep shots.

PvP: Battlegrounds vs Open World PvP

   Finally we get to Player vs Player.  Champions has chosen PvP battlegrounds where as the DCU is using a mixture of battlegrounds and open world PvP.  I understand Cryptics call on the battlegrounds as there are no player villians and battlegrounds just make sense for the more PvE centered game.  I am excited about the open world PvP idea that DCU is working on.  In DCU as a villian you can choose to take on an open world mission and help some crooks rob a bank for a cut of the take, and as a hero you can try and foil the crime.  This actuall sounds like a fun way to introduce PvP to the game.  Although I don't put it past Cryptic to do some fun stuff with their battlegrounds as well. 

  Other areas that I saw divergent paths included graphics and  variety of locations, but those semed rather obvious to me.  I like the choices that both games are making and both appeal to me in different ways.  It is obvious to me that these games will be offering different experiences I wonder if they will be diferent enough to get us to play both at the same time.  Needless to say I am lloking forward to playing these games as well as reading feedback from their respective communities. 

   What are your thoughts on these two games.  Feedback is always appreciated below.

Until Next Time

Ivan

   Hello again all.  I hope everybody isa havig a fun weekend leveling toons and what not.  I myself have been finishing inFamous on the PS3 which I have to say I really like it.  I also had the chance to catch The Dark Knight on cable and have to admit I forgto just hw damn goo that movie is.  But I digress.  Enough about me.  I have been perusing the forums of some titles currently in developement and have seen the idea of consensual PvP bandied about.  So today I thought I'd dig into it a little bit.  So as always enjoy.

   As a player of MMO's I like to play in both the PvE and PvP worlds.  I enjoy tackling the challenges the designers of the game comes up with as well as taking on other players in some good old fashioned PvP.  As a player who like to play in both PvP and PvE I also understand that there are player who enjoy one better than the other, and even some who refuse to participate in one or the other as well.  I understand that this is a matter of preference much like the preference of solo or group play.   Now I'm guessing that developers want to maximize their existing gamespace allowing for PvE and PvP to coexist and not upset either population.  So the innovation of consensual PvP shps up to save the day and allow all players to live happily everafter and conflict only emerge when players were in the mood for it.  All in all on paper sounds good, right? Well sometimes.  Let's break down the good and the bad of consensual PvP.

   So let's start off by taking a look at the good, or more importantly where consensual PvP works.  The first place you can see consensual PvP at work in a good way would be in MMO's where there is no underlying conflict between factions of players.  Some good examples of this would be LOTRO, DDO, or CoH before CoV was added.  These examples show us a world where the players tend to be fighting on the same sides towards the same goal.  Consensual PvP in these MMO's tend to be in the way of dueling or in arenas, or in the case of LOTRO in the way of monster play.   All of these are excellent examples of what consensual PvP has to offer friendly competition among players no pride, equipment, or territory lost, and most importantly no hurt feelings of the players which makes developers happy.  Consensual PvP works very well in games without a factional conflict, and is a safe way to make PvP a less competative option, but still an enjoyable option for those who wish to participate in it. 

   For the record I would just like to say consensual PvP does not work in MMO's where there is factional conflict in its stroyline. Now I know that seems a little harsh, but stay with me on this one.  Let's take a look at one o the most talked about MMO's of all time Star Wars Galaxies.  Now when the game first launched there were always talks about the big galactic civil war.  Their attemot to iterate this in the game space were broken battlegrounds and consesual PvP everywhere else where you had to choose to flag yourself for PvP in order to participate.  What this led to was a galctic skirmish between the two factions at best.  Occasionally you'd see a fight break out, but the feeling of a civil war was really never accomplished.  Now can we blame it on all the idea of consent before fight not really. We could also look at WoW.  PvP largely there is considered a joke because it follows the rules of consesual PvP no gains to be had or losses to be endured.  WAR attempted to put loss and gian into their PvP with rewards for taking keeps but forgot to add the reward for successfully defending it.  One other idea they had that actually made sense was in the end game where the more ground you took the more areas of the city that would be unlocked with dungeons and the such in them.  Where I'm getting at is if you are going to have a game with conflict in its background a risk/reward PvP is needed for anyone to want to participate. 

   The inspiration for this blog came from the forums for Star Trek Online.  There is some disappointment surrounding an anouncement that PvP in the neutral zone ill be consensual PvP as opposed to open PvP.  Now this wouldn't be so disappointing but since the back drop of the game has the Federation at war with the Klingons.  Now someone with even the most basic Star Trek knowledge would guess that if there was going to be a war between the two the neutral zone would be the most logical place for the conflict to happen. With that conflict now being consensual in the one zone where you think the war would be the most intense and moved to the outer reaches of the play space the whole war seems to lose a little credibility in my opinion.  To me it seems devlopers of high profile titles at present are afraid of alientating any players from any aspect o their game so much that they are willing to defy simple logic in order to try and keep every potential player happy. 

   I'm not trying to say the mechaninc of consensual PvP is bad in every instance, but I will say that it is over used by devlopers and investors who have embarked on the futile quest to capture the same mega success as WoW.  As stated earlier consensual PvP works in envrionments that do not center around a factional system, but if you want to center a game on a conflict give the players a conflict they can see and be a part of with tangible rewards like territory gained and content unlocked rather than the same old play war get equipment we've seen for so long.  Give us the contested game space and let us fight for it with real gains that can be felt not only by the PvPers fighting for it but by the PvE palyers as well.

Well that's al for me for this week. I would love to hear what your thoughts are on conesensual PvP are feel free to leave a comment below. 

Until Next Time

Ivan

   Well thanks for stayin with us and welcome to the finale of the Smiley Awards for E3.  If you missed all the action in pasrt one I would reccomend reading that first and then jumoing back in here for the finale.  Ok now that's out of the way back to the awards. 

   Now we all know that the PC gets all og the MMO love every year, but it is a reality that the next gen consoles want in on the fun too.  This award goes to the gamin platform otehr than the PC who showed the most dedication to bringing MMO's to their platform.  And the Smiley goes to:

Sony: Playstation 3

   As it stands right now the PS3 showed a true dedication to bringing MMO's to their platform.  They plan on having Free Realms, The Agency, DC Universe Online, FF XIV, and APB on their platform with more MMO's in the works. Well done Sony.  Our next catagory please.

   We hear it in the MMO community all the time the screams for innovation in the MMO genre.  Some of us may even be an active voice in that couse.  This award recognizes the developer who is attempting to answer the call for innovation whic many of our comunity members feel so pasionate about.  And the Smiley goes to:

Real Time Worlds: APB

www.gametrailers.com/player/50050.html

   APB's ops and robbers sandbox mmo is about he furthest departure we saw from the traditional fantasy mmo at E3 this year.  This game offers a fresh new look at what can be done with the MMO space and I for one am looking forward to seeing more progress in the future.  Our next award please.

   One of the best perks of E3 is the gameplay footage we get to see of upcoming MMO's.  This Smiley is awarded to the MMO who showed us the most complete representation of gameplay in their MMOfor better or worse.  And the Smiley goes to:

SOE: The Agency

www.gametrailers.com/player/50720.html

www.gametrailers.com/player/50716.html

www.gametrailers.com/player/50714.html

    The devs at the agency were very forthcoming this year with the gamplay footage.  They gave us a good look at many different aspects of their gameplay and though it still seems like there is some work to be done there they did offer the most complete gameplay footage of E3 for an MMO.  Our next catagory please.

   With every E3 comes the rumor mill of game announcemnets and speculation.  Yet there is always one big announcment that flies under the radar just long enough to pop up and shock the hell out of us.  This award honors the buggest suprise MMO announcemnt of E3.  And the Smiley goes to:

Squar Enix: Final Fantasy XIV Online

www.gametrailers.com/player/50331.html

    Like anyone saw this one coming, and it fropped like a bombshell.  Who knew that FFXIV would be an MMO.  Oh and that it is scheduled for a 2010 release means they've had this ubder the wraps for awhile now. Good one.  And now for the Grand Smiley. 

  So here we are at the end.  E3 saw a number of MMO's attempting to get us excited about thier game this year.  The Grand Smiley is rewarded to the MMO whose announcement or footage creeated the most buzz throughout the community and the press alike.  And the Grand Smiley for Best Showing of E3 2009 goes to :

Bioware/Lucasarts: Star Wars: The Old Republic Online.

www.gametrailers.com/player/49937.html

   With a brilliant cinematic trailer that puts shame to Episodes I-III as well as the announcement that all NPC's will be voice acted it was easy to forgive the teams oozing of geek on the stage.  This trailer went viral within hours after it was shown and created even more buzz for a game that semed to be overflowing with it anyway.  For this SWTOR is awarded the Grand Smiley for E3 2009.

Well that's it for the first ever Smileys.  I have to admit this was a blast to do and is something I will defintely do again.  We here at My 2 Copper's Worth stand by our awards and have emailed each developer a congratulations for their individual achievments.  As always feedback is more than welcome below.

Until Next Time.

Ivan

My 2 Copper's Worth proudly presents:

   Hello and welcom to The Smiley Awards for E3 2009.  This years E3 was a huge success and with so many new announcments and updates within the MMO world we here at My 2 Copper's Worth thought it would be nice to honor the event with an awards ceremony dedicated to the best and the worst of E3 as it pertains to MMO's.  So get comfy, grab some popcorn, and enjoy. Our first award is coming right up.

   We all know developers are a lot like us.  Big nerds who love all things sci-fi, fantasy, and gaming related.  We also know that developers can get their geek on with the best of them, or even better since they have things like expense accounts for this stuff.  This award honors that devloper who oozed their nerd all over E3.  And the Smiley Goes to:

Bioware/Lucasarts: Star Wars: The Old Republic Online

www.gametrailers.com/player/50075.html

   In case you missed it Bioware and Lucasarts brought on about 20 or so jedi and sith to hang out on the stage for thier press conference announcements for SWTOR.  And just when you think their geek couldn't go any further both company big whigs came walking down the aisle dressed as jedis themselves.  Hats off to you guys your geek knows no bounds.   On to our next catagory.

   Technical achievment awards always sem to get the short end of the stick in awards ceremonies by being grouped with the "uncool" awards, and we here at The Smileys are no different.  The hardware techs are the unsung heroes of the MMO world making sure that all the working parts of the machine are running smmothly.  This award honors these selfless folk for their technical achievments. An the Smiley goes to:

SOE: DC Universe Online

www.gametrailers.com/player/50952.html

   What you may ask did this game do to get this reward?  Well the DCU had a playabl demo of their game playable on both the PC and PS3 with both systems sharing the same server effectively creating the first merger of two consoles for a next gen MMO.  Good job. What do we have up next?

   E3 and the developers who participate in ti visually assault us with gameplay footage and trailers all week in hopes of peaking interest in their games.  Most of these promos are well put together and leave us wanting more.....then there are the one's that leave us thinkng WTF?  This award honors the developer who left us confused and maybe a little disturbed by their efforts. And the Smiley goes to:

gPotato: Dragonica

www.gametrailers.com/player/50599.html

   For E3 the folks over at Dragonica offered up two promo cinematcis.  Was it gameplay? No. Was it a kick ass CGI? No. Instaed what we got was some bizzarre intro to three character classes that plays out like a messed up 80's kids cartoon short.  I'm only happy I quit doing drugs years ago as this visual may have caused some emotional scarring.  Hmm...Ok I'm better now on with the show.

   Every year at E3 may developers show up to give us a litle more taste of their wares and excite us about them, and every year there's a devloper who's working on something we really want to know about and they don' show up leaving us feeling abandoned and unloved.  This award honors the MMO developer that we feel should have been at E3 and wasn't.  And the Smiley goes to:

Cryptic Studios

   With two high profile MMO's in the works and one launching soon you would have thought we would have seen Cryptic making some noise at E3 with some gameplay footage or a trailer for one of thier upcoming titles, but no they didn't show.  Come on guys give us some love especially with Star Trek Online.  It's not like you guys couldn't use a break for some schmoozing, some alcohol, and booth babes.  They brought back the booth babes, and you missed it. Ok I'm good.  Next catagory please.

   Every year we get new MMO announcemtns at E3.  Some are eyebrow raising and exciting while others are the same old sh*t.  This award honors the developer whose thinking remians safely secure inside of the box.  Living happy in the land of repetition and unorginality.  And the Smiley goes to:

Trion World Network: The Heroes of Telara

www.gametrailers.com/player/49819.html

   Yes Trion takes the Smiley with their world exclusive unveiling of The Heroes of Telara another high fantasy MMO.  And of course this high fantasy MMO will be different from every other because of....blah,blah, blah we've heard it all before.  You guys would have had me perked up if it was a Weird West MMO, but instead you get a Meh.

And that's it for the first part of The Smiley Awards for E3 2009.  Be sure to stay tuned for part two later this evening where we'll be revealing awards for Best of Show, Best gamplay footage, and much more.

Until then. Thanks for reading.

Ivan

   We see it in developer's job listings and hear in their intentions that MMO's will be coming to the next generation of consoles.  Whether we like the idea of hate it we seem to be in the verge of inevitibility.  So with E3 already rolling I thought I'd take a look at the idea of the console MMO.  I will not presume to bore you with console MMO history, or with which system would best handle an MMO.  Instead let's take a look at the pros and cons of the multi-platform MMO the general obstacles that are in its way as well as the benefits for the genre as a whole. 

The Good

   There are obvious benefits for developers to take an MMO in to the console market.  The most obvious would be the number of new comsumers that would be exposed to MMO's some for the first time.  Just in the United States alone there are over 25 million PS3/Xbox 360 owners.  Throw in the Wii and you double the number to over 50 million.  As a developer hoping to make money you just can't ignore those numbers.   If a developer ever hopes to achieve Blizzard like numbers they  will most likely  have to make a multi-platform MMO.   Directly correlated with this is the benefit of expanded audience would probably come more games to the genre which is never a bad thing. 

    Another obvious benefit that comes jumping right out at you is that of innovation.  How many times do we hear the screams of we need more innovation in the MMO genre.  Including consoles as part of the MMO community would allow designers to rethink just how an MMO would be played.  We have already seen proof of this with Champions Online's more action oriented gameplay as opposed to the usual point and click UI.  It is of course no suprise that Champions Online also intends to launch on consoles as well.  The Agency also proves this point by choosing a more FPS style MMO in which they are developing for the PS3 and PC.  With consoles added to the mix we could see even more innovation in the areas of gameplay and genre choice with MMO's. 

   The last benefit that comes to mind rather quickly is that the consoles have pretty much caught up on the graphics end of things.  I'm not trying to say they are equal to or better than a high end PC I'm just saying the differences at present really aren't really as apparent as they used to be at least when it comes to the 360 and the PS3.  Both could run a modern day MMO on them maybe not up to max graphics standard, but at least in the medium graphics range. 

   Now with that in mind maybe you're asking why haven't we seen a next gen MMO launch on a next gen console? Good question.  Age of Conan at one time planned a release on the Xbox 360, as well Marvel Universe Online never saw the light of day which was to launch on the same system. Also let's not forget that NC Soft signed with Sony to launch exclusive titles on the PS3.   We hear all the time developers intending to launch on one console or another, yet none have surfaced as of yet.  The obvious question is why? Which brings us to the challenges that developers face when making a multi-platform MMO. 

The Bad

  I think the first big hurdle a developer comes up against when making a multi-platform game are the technical issues which are bound to follow.  I'm not talking about the big issues either those everyone are thinking about.  I'm talking about the nit picky issues like balancing control schemes between a 12 button controller and a keyboard and mouse so as to alleviate one system complaining another system has an advantage over the other in PvP or what have you.  Or we could look at hardware issues and the fact that you'll be programing for at least two different systems with their own little quirks and then get them to play nice with each other on a server if you want them on the same server that is.  I could go on, but I think you get the jist. 

    The next big hurdle is the console war itself in my opinion.  If the console war has taught us anything it is that the console companies love their exclusives.  So of course I am sure that the respective consoles would want exclusive rights to certain MMO's.  This of course would be couter productive to the ab0ve mentioned numbers in the good category.  So the delimma is if a third party can make a multi-platform MMO where all parties invloved could agree to coexist on the same server.  I know FF XI was able to pull this off, but with the console war so heated would the companies allow it now? 

   Then maybe we could look at the various business models of the consoles.  As they all have their own stores and thier own models of transaction.  Would we see  the typical westerns business model or perhaps would console mmo's usher in the RMT or F2P model into the west as the predominant model.  Either will have a publisher having to navigate getting revenue from a third party or trying to find a way to circumvent it.   

  In the end we know they are coming.  With the increasing popularity of multiplayer components in console games seems to point that the customer base could embrace the mmo genre.  But who knows I suppose we'll all find out soon enough.  I stayed pretty broad on this topic as I would love to hear what you all think about console mmo's and what pro's and con's you see with them.  Feel free to share your thougts below. 

Until Next Time,

Ivan.

   Hello again all.  I hope all of you are having a great Memorial Day weekend.  Memorial Day is a day of rememberance of people in our past and honoring their memory.  I thought for my weekly post this week I would keep with the tradition of Memorial Day and remember players of mmo's who have through their actions in-game have achieved a place in mmo history whether it be famous or infamous.   One thing these players have in common is that they used no exploits or cheats to make a name for themselves, but instead merely played the game within the given peramters in essence they out played the game itself, or the players within it.  So with out any further babble let's take a trip down memory lane shall we.

   Fansy the Famous Bard- Everquest

   Back in its peak EQ did a little experiment by creating a no rules PvP server names Sullon Zek.  This server was createed for the hardest of the hardcore PvPers siding good against evil alignments and was soon known as EQ's "penal colony".  The only rule on the server was written in the code making charcters level 5 and below invulnrable to PvP to give new players a chnace to get a hang of the game before getting destroyed by other players.  As I said before the server was set up good alignments vs evil alignments and it soon becam apparent that the good guys were outnumbered.  Some estimates had the server around 90 perent evil and the good guys soon found themselves backed into a corner. 

   And along came Pansy.  Pansy understood the aforementioned level 5 rule and also understood that Bard's were the best class for kiting and training large mobs of monsters at other players as well as the good guys were seriously outnumbered.  So began Fansy's reign of terror on the citizens of Freeport.  Fansy could be seen srpinting through mid to high level zones with a mob of ususally sand giants (high level creatures)  in his wake and no player could do anything about it.  Soon the persecutors became the victims and began petitioning the GM's about Fansy.  The only problem was Fansy was not breaking any rules since it was a no rule server.  After a period of time the GM's actually instituted a rule which ended Fansy's reign of terror, but his memory remians as one of EQ's most memorable players and MMO's first terrorist.

   Ahseron's Call:Shard of the Herald- Shard Vigil

    During Asheron's Call's height of glory there was an event known as the "Shard of the Herald" this was he culmination of a series of events where 6 shards were destroyed by players which brought new and more powerful items into the game world.  The Shard if the Herald was the last of these shards.  Turbine decided to spice thinsg up a bit by making players swear allegence to the demon Bael'Zharon (whic is the demon that would be released once the shard was destroyed) thus making players flagged for PvP.  The payers then could wither go and destroy the shard or try to defend it.  Most of the shards on other servers quickly fell except for one, and that one was on the Thisltedown server.  Players on this server organized what is known as 'The Shard Vigil" and defedned the shard from would be attackers 24 hours a day.  These player's defense of the shard was so stalwart that the developers had to include lore which allowed them to create NPC's which they controlled to help players break their lines and shatter the shard.  Impressed by this the developers rewarded the player's with a statue comemerating their efforts.  My hats off to the players who stood thier ground and made the devs have to cheat in their own game in order to win.

The Guiding Hand Social Club- EvE Online

   The Guiding Hand Social Club is a group of mercenaries in the world of EvE online who specialize as contract killers of characters in the game.  At one time the GHSC took a contract for the asassination of the leader of Ubiqua Seraph known as Mirial.  After 12 months of planning and agents of the GHSC infiltrating Ubiqua Seraph into high ranking positions within the Corporation all was set into motion.  One of the GHSC double agents led Mirial into an ambush and at the same time other agents were given the call sign 'Nicole" and stole creits and ships out of the Corporations safe holdings which they had gained access to.  The best part is that everything they did was completely legal in the game world.  I honor these members not for what they did, but for the 12 months of dedication to a plan that they saw to the end, and for out playing the players.  Who does stuff like that. I was going to only name two of the key players, but in my opinion the entire group deserves a kudos for the long standing coordianted effort which garnered the game and themselves a ton of publicity as well as their entry into MMO history.

Rainz- Ultima Online

   UO was the first love for many on this site.  Back int he day during a stress test in the late stages of Beta Lord British was making appearences in the game and giving speeches. In case you didn't know Lord British was the in game toon of UO's creator Richard Garriot, and the monarch of the world of UO.  Now most of you know that Devs in game characters are invulnrable to any damage so it is a fruitless gesture to attck them and so the devs thought until they arived at the town of Minoc.  At some point during Lord British's visit in MInoc some mayhem started in the crowd which led to a quick server crash.  When they came back up Lord British was not flagged as invulnrable by accident and a player known as Rainz launched a wall of fire at Lord British which actually killed him.  The result was hysterical laughter being typed across the town.  My hat's off to Rainz you killed the unkillable I guess that means you beat the game.  On a side note Rainz was subsequently banned for abusing exploits  in the game outside of this incident.

Dentara Rast a.k.a Cally- EvE Online

   Dentara Rast a.k.a. Cally in game was the creator of the Eve Interstellar Bank.  This bank allowed players to invest money and offered interest in return for thoer investments.  Falming wars raged on in the EvE forums with player claiming it as a fraud and other claiming ti as legit.  In the end the nay sayers were proven correct when Cally took off with an estimated 700 billion worth of in game currency.  It is considered to date the largest pyramid/ponzi scheme in the history of MMO's.  In the end the developers conceded that he did not violate the EULA and his actions were legal by all game standards.  His actions garnered the game and himself alot of press, and by my standards the title of the most infamous charcter in MMO history.

  Well that's all I've got.  With so many MMOs and so many servers I am sure we will see more great players emerge just as I am sure that I mised a few in my list.  Feel free to mention any player or groups of player who did famous or infamous deeds in the comments down below I'd love to hear what you think as always.  Thnks for reading.

Until Next Time,

Ivan

   Well here we are friends at the end of a long journey together.  For those of you who have made it through all three parts of this series I salute you.  If I could give you some token of appreciation I would, but unfortunately a virtual pat on the back will have to do.  In the last part of the series I want to focus on some classic IP's that have yet to be honored with an MMO that they can call their own. 

 IP's That Would Make Great MMO's: Pt.3 Classic IP's That Aren't MMO's but Should Be.   

   We have seen with the success of Lord of the Rings Online and World of Warcraft and the development of a new Star Wars and Star Trek MMO that the classic IP's still have some marketability in today's MMO landscape.  Classic IP's come with built in audiences excited about the idea of being able to adventure in a living iteration of one of thier favorite IP's in a way that only a MMO may deliver.  Most importantly though the classic IP's achieve what few other MMO ideas can achieve and that is the ability to attract new audiences to the MMO genre who may have never found thier way to it any other way.  Below is a list of classic IP's that have yet to be given a shot as an MMO, but should be. Enjoy.

   So maybe your thinking that the last thing the MMO genre needs in another fantasy title.  Or maybe your thinking that D&D already has a MMO and doesn't need another.  On both counts I disagree.  Whether you were introduced to The Forgotten Realms through the old pen and paper game or through its many successful and award winning video game titles one cannot deny the allure of thie IP.  Sure there's DDO, but its set in a city not in an open ladnscape in which you could set a Forgotten Realms MMO.  Heck you could even use one of the popular franchises like Never Winter NIghts, or Baulder's Gate to add even more of an existing fanbase.  With its many different landscapes and well developed lore it is just criminal The Wizards of the Coast have not tried to find a studio to put this MMO together.

   What once started as a pen and paper role playing game 20 years ago has since evolved into one of the better thought out and realized science fiction IP's. Through its well written books and successful video games Battletech offers a flavor to the MMO genre that few other IP's can.  That is little humans piloting big battle mechs and trying to blow each other up all set in a back drop of warring clans and political intrigue.  Its been awhile since we have seen an enrty in the video game market from Battletch's Mechwarrior series, yet I still see grumblings on forums from time to time about how this IP would be a great MMO, and if you ever had to chance to play any of those game you would agree too. 

   Now we all know that Blizzard is developing a new MMO, but we all also don't have the faintest idea of what it is.  So with that in mind Starcraft makes my list.  This IP sits fondly in my mind as I am sure it does with many of you as well.  This IP has it all.  3 factions vying for control over limitless space.  Well developed races with their own heirarchies as well as a wide variety of potential character classes.  The amount of people still playing Starcraft to this day should be enough to convince any business that this would be well recieved, but if that's not enough to convince you wait till you see the first month sales of Starcradt 2.

Continuing our conversation from above we still don't know what mmo Blizzard is developing. I waited five minutes for an announcment, but it didn't arrive.  Although this IP lacks any good faction material it makes up for it with a great mix of fantasy and horror.  The IP already has a great mix of original character classes wuth even more new ones on the way in Diablo 3.  As well there is a great story line and well developed land to explore.  Again if you aren't convinced by how many people still play the series wait till you see the first month sales of Diablo 3.  God I sound like a borken record. 

The Terminator

  With sci-fi being all of the craze right now there's got to be enough room for this classic IP.  With a TV show and yet another movie coming out there must be a consumer interest iin this frnachise still.  The war vs the machines would be an excellent backdrop for this mmo with player playing either man or machine.  And what fun would it be to have a feature of the game being going back in time to affect events inthe game world at the expense of your character.  Juat a thought.  This frnchise has not really been represented well in the game market and perhaps a MMO of this IP would change that. 

   And that's it for my series on IP's and mmo's.  I thank you all for your reading time.  I am sure I missed some great classic IP's,a nd would love to read any that you feel would be desrving of the MMO treatment as well and why. 

Until Next Time, 

Ivan