BelomarFleetfoot

Niklas examines a lesser-broached subject in multiplayer games: the curse of skill.

Drawing on the design of AD&D, MMOs have seemingly taken up the Holy Trinity of Tank, Damage and Healing throughout its history. Niklas takes a look at an older MMO, Dark Age of Camelot, and how this Trinity can teach us more about character roles.

If you've ever spent time poring over the animated timeline in Civilization 3 or watched your mission track in a flight simulator such as DCS or Microsoft Flight Simulator, you know precisely the appeal of this premise. Understanding data in games is known as game analytics: leveraging data to improve the design and development (or playing!) of video games. Given their massive scope, longevity, and competitive nature, game analytics is particularly useful for MMOs. Let's look at why MMOs are goo

It's the fall of 2001. Mythic Entertainment launches their first MMORPG with no prior experience - Dark Age of Camelot. Twenty years later it's still a popular MMO among players yearning for those older MMOs. Niklas takes us through why people are still playing this fan-favorite MMO.

The world has changed. You can feel it in the water. You can feel it in the earth. You can smell it in the air. The old school of MMOs are making way for a new breed, and much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. Well, not really, but for some of us MMO old timers, this new generation of MMOs is just... well, different than what we're used to.

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, the long-running and highly popular Dark Age of Camelot freeshard Phoenix was announced to be closing by the end of August. In a Phoenix forum post titled "The Sky Is Really Falling This Time", gruenesschaf, one of the creators behind the freeshard, explained the reasoning behind the decision and the remaining timeline for the server. Eventually, gruenesschaf explained in a rather fatalistic fashion, every online game--freeshard or not--reaches a point after the hype

What do MMO companies owe their subscribers? Niklas explores developer and player relationships, especially in the context of Dark Age of Camelot's developer Broadsword and its subscribers.

Niklas dives into the idea of grouping and how integral it is to online world design in MMOs, looking back on the genre's history, as well as some of the games that are defining its future.

Niklas breaks down MMO game design, specifically why the asymmetry of how some MMOs are built can be, in the end, a very beautiful thing.

Niklas is back with another Dark Age of Camelot column, this time focusing on the realm versus realm combat in the MMORPG.

Niklas takes a look at PvP in Dark Age of Camelot, specifically the player-run scene in the community and how its 8v8 event took the aging MMO by storm earlier this year.

Freeshards have long drawn the population away from the Dark Age of Camelot live servers. Now the venerable MMO is striking back by borrowing from the freeshard's most popular PvP leveling event.