Garrett Fuller

As we have all grown up with MMOs on this site, there is a rich history of character customization that we took for granted. However, over the past several years it seems like more games have gone the route of skins and character lists instead of giving players the chance to build their own look on screen. Until recently, now it seems like customization is coming back.

Everyone is talking about the end of Game of Thrones today. Many websites, especially game websites are covering it as their top story, if not top five stories. This marks a shift in journalism which has been going on in a while. When pop culture news shifts away from games to entertainment, things can get different for hardcore audiences. Are we in a short phase of entertainment out performing games on the pop culture stage?

What is coming up this year for games? We take a look at some of the titles which could close out the decade as well as ideas in gaming that will launch us into the 2020s.

Last week at Star Wars Celebration we got glimpses of how Galaxy’s Edge will quickly become the queue hell that it was meant to be for fans. People will line up for miles to have the Star Wars experience they had always dreamed or…Disney tells you to dream. What we are going to discuss today is just how close to a live MMO this park will be. First, bring your phone, that is your log in, second, well, let’s go through some of the features.

decade ago. The console cycle is nearing its end. AAA publishers are struggling with their stock drops and bad press. You have few large games coming to market this time of year. The indie game scene is thriving and continuing to grow. The question is, where to host your game?

Bioware teased their game Anthem a while back to a knowing and jaded game industry. At E3 2017 the game was shown off as part of EA’s new line up. People were excited but calls of Destiny suddenly were heard and here we are in early 2019 as the title is already starting to feel the pinch.

In video games the idea of creating a sequel means you pretty much kill off the original, right? That is unless you use some methodology which works to bring the characters, design, and world up to speed in a new version of the game which adds in a much-needed boost. Lately, games have relied on DLCs to make these updates, and they tend to do well. Recently, we saw a sequel announcement from the team at Red Hook for Darkest Dungeon 2. Here is why it went well.

No matter what you think about current MMOs there are still games out there that do extremely well in today’s market. There are two that I can think which provide updates and content for their user bases as well as fast leveling practices and multi-tiered cash shop options. Neverwinter and Elder Scrolls Online remain strong money makers for their respective markets and also keep the classic fantasy feel we all grew up with.

This was a tough week for anyone who works for Blizzard Entertainment or anyone who is a fan of the games. The Blizzard community has grown and fostered over many years now. Always heightened at BlizzCon the company was preaching unity, equality, and passion for their games worldwide. This message rung true to millions and it showed. However, all that began to take a turn for the worse these past few months.

This past weekend Fortnite hosted a concert. It was not the boring snooze fest of the Super Bowl, or even the Half-Time show. No, this weekend Marshmello played a live concert in Fortnite, if you were there then you saw something spectacular which had been attempted many times before and failed. This time, the ideas were right, the impact was strong, and everyone loved it. Now, let’s go back a few years to see where these ideas began. The death of Lord British is the best place to start.

Are we starting to see a trend in the end of big publishers? Yesterday’s split between Bungie and Activision serves as a major move within the games industry. I was writing a column on the power of the EPIC Store and then well, this happened. Are the two related? Maybe, but more on that later. For now, let’s explore the split between Bungie, Destiny, and Activision. What does it mean and who benefits?

Game concepts and metas change all the time. As MMO players we have lived through years of change, some of which is in games which are coming up on 20 year anniversaries. Each year we explore the game design concepts that have taken over and shaped what is fun about the worlds we play in. Just because you love a genre, or an IP, does not mean that the games will be fun and keep you playing for years on end. So in 2019, let’s look at some of the ideas I’d like to see come back into MMOs.

If you were to tell me this summer that Fallout 76, Diablo, and Steam’s Artifact announcements would go over like a lead balloon I would tell you that you are crazy. However, that is the reality in games this holiday season. Three of the biggest game companies with fans that far exceed the word devoted are now facing a harsh reality, they finally pissed off their fans. For this first article we will focus on Blizzard and how they might recover from the first ever disastrous BlizzCon on record.

Here at MMORPG we are lucky to have been working in games since 2002. The Game Awards represents a fantastic achievement for fans and the industry itself to bring people together who love playing games. In their fifth year, Geoff Keighly has managed to put together a great following and some even better exclusive announcements built around the show. To kick the night off, representatives from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all took the stage together, that achievement alone, was a miracle.

We got the chance to talk to Ashley Eckstein (Her Universe) and Matt Beecher (Head of Licensing at Blizzard). The brand launched as a way for women to show their fandom with clothing and designs different from the black fan t-shirts we all wear. However, Ashley did not stop there, just like the determined Ahsoka Tano herself, she has expanded the line to include tons of popular brands and opened up the line to men as well.