The Daily Grind: Apps and MMOs
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Age of Conan, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, The Daily Grind
These days, without descending into total geek fan girl mode, phones are all about apps. Whether you have a Pre, an iPhone, a Google Android handset or one of the new, shiny Nokia phones, apps (short for applications) are usually an important part of how phones work. Even more so now your humble mobile phone is becoming more like a mini computer. But I digress. This week Blizzard released their second app for the iPhone, which allows you to access the World of Warcraft Armory without needing a PC and, it is, quite simply, awesome.
It got me thinking though, if one MMO can make use of apps, why not all of the big boys? EVE, LotRO and Age of Conan have a huge following and surely there’s the potential for some kind of apps, perhaps ones which will let you check in-game mail or sell gear and mats without actually logging into the game. So, readers, I ask you: what kind of apps would you like to see for your favourite MMOs? Do you think there should be apps for different phones, not just the most popular model (which currently seems to be the iPhone)? What kind of apps do you think would be useful and beneficial to your MMO gaming time?
The Daily Grind: Apps and MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: Does playing an MMO pique your interest about its origins?
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, Lore, MMO industry, Star Trek Online, The Daily Grind
MMOs are rarely stand-alone entities; there are exceptions of course but most are created thanks to a fan base from some other medium. Some, like WoW, are based on older games (often completely different types of games like an RTS or RPG) with a rich mythology that lends themselves perfectly to transcend its original form and become an MMO. Others, like Age of Conan and Star Trek, have their origins in novels, film franchises or even a TV series. I know, I know, I’m still waiting and living in hope of that Firefly MMO just like the rest of you.
So my question for you is this: Do you play an MMO because of where it came from? Are you a Trekkie who is dying to captain your own ship? Did you play Warcraft back in the days of The Frozen Throne and gravitate naturally to the MMO? On the flipside, did the lore of LotRO make you want to read Tolkien’s books? For you, what came first, the origins or the game?
The Daily Grind: Does playing an MMO pique your interest about its origins? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: How did you discover MMOs?
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Age of Conan, EverQuest, Lord of the Rings Online, Culture, MMO industry, The Daily Grind
So, constant readers, how did you discover the strange new world of the MMO? Do you just play one or do you now find yourself torn between many different words and cultures. Were you initially sceptical about this MMO lark, or did you embrace online gaming with enthusiasm and have not looked back since?
The Daily Grind: How did you discover MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: Is an MMO’s origin important to you?
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Age of Conan, Aion, EVE Online, Perfect World, Culture, MMO industry, The Daily Grind, Final Fantasy XIV
MMOs fall into two main categories: eastern (titles like Aion and Perfect World International) and western (AoC, WoW and EVE Online). I’ve noticed over the past week’s Daily Grind columns and a piece I did on Perfect World International that a lot of our readers seem naturally wary of any MMOs not made in the west, barring familiar franchises like Final Fantasy.
Now part of this I can understand, eastern MMOs usually have very anime-like visuals and often borrow from unfamiliar Asian mythologies. This can often scare off western players. At the same time, players in Asia seem to lap up western MMOs like WoW. I’m curious, readers, do you judge an MMO the location of the company which made it? Do you prefer western MMOs or are you just as curious to try eastern games which other players just don’t get?
The Daily Grind: Is an MMO’s origin important to you? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: What game mechanic do you dislike?
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Age of Conan, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Free Realms
For some it’s an ability or a particular boss, for others it’s something not in game that probably should be. I want to know what game mechanics — which are in your game of choice — you really don’t like and why. Speak up, readers, and drop your thoughts in the box below.
The Daily Grind: What game mechanic do you dislike? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 May 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: Would you check back in on Age of Conan for free?
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, The Daily Grind
A lot of updates and additional content have been coming down the pipe for Age of Conan in the last several months, and that pace doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. It’s one thing to slap another fifteen bucks on the table in order to give an MMO the second go-round. That’s why we’re wondering how many previously subscribed players would be interested in re-installing and patching (a courageous task indeed) the game to see how things have changed.
All things considered, we’ll probably see a “come back for free” deal out of Funcom sometime this year. And it’s possible that new and intriguing content updates will have manifested on the live servers by that time. Our curiosity will of course mean a revisit to Hyperborea for us, but what about for you, our dear readers?
The Daily Grind: Would you check back in on Age of Conan for free? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: What do you want for Age of Conan in ‘09?
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, PvP, Endgame, The Daily Grind
We were tooling around the official Age of Conan forums when we came upon a great thread asking after player interests in 2009. The author of that thread, COTSFM, was curious about what fellow players would want to see coming to their favorite Hyborean experience in the coming year. It was really interesting to see what priorities people had, with some asking for more endgame dungeons and others placing precedence on the game’s siege gameplay.
We’re curious, though, what you want to see. What do you thinks the Funcom developers should add into Age of Conan in 2009? More armor sets, more content for that central questline? What would you like to see in Conan’s world this year that would make you a happy barbarian? Let us know in the comments below!
The Daily Grind: What do you want for Age of Conan in ‘09? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: What will the server merge mean for Age of Conan?
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Opinion, The Daily Grind
You may have heard that some Age of Conan servers will soon be merged in both the North American and European regions. New game director Craig Morrison made the announcement in a letter to the community just over a week ago. That revelation was a tacit admission that the game is not performing as expected, but Morrison has made it clear that he wants Funcom to brush the dirt off its shoulders and move on.
Will the mergers encourage you to jump ship, or do you take them as a sign that Funcom is aware of the situation and ready to take decisive action to improve the game? Morrison claimed that the decision was made in response to player demand; were you demanding it? And regardless of whether you plan to stick with AoC (or return, if you’ve already left), do you believe the game has recovery and a positive future ahead of it?
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Having fun in Conan’s homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age! |
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The Daily Grind: Are consoles the future?
Filed under: Age of Conan, MMO industry, The Agency, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Consoles, Free Realms, DC Universe Online
The MMO genre was born and raised in the PC culture. The reasons are obvious, of course — personal computers have been connected to networks for a long time, the keyboard was more effective for communication before the advent of Voice-over-IP. That said, a lot has been done to make platforms like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 more attractive for MMO developers and players.
Funcom plans to release Age of Conan for the 360. DC Universe Online, The Agency, and Free Realms will all be available on the PS3. In fact, noted MMO developer SOE was not long ago moved into what is basically Sony’s PlayStation division with the explicit intent to focus on console MMOs. Blizzard has hired workers with console experience to work on its unannounced “Next-Gen MMO.” Clearly, this generation is going to greatly expand on the pioneering efforts of past console MMOs like Final Fantasy XI. Surely if the genre doesn’t explode on today’s consoles it will in the next batch, right?
Are you looking forward to leaving behind the mouse and keyboard so you can lounge on the sofa with a wireless controller, or are you concerned that too much will be lost in translation? Maybe you think that attempts like The Agency will fail, and the bubble will burst before anyone even really notices it. There are a lot of problems, such as the expense and hassle of the process of authenticating patches in a tightly-controlled service like Xbox Live. Are problems like that deal breakers?
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The Daily Grind: How important is goal-oriented PvP?
Filed under: Age of Conan, City of Heroes, City of Villains, EVE Online, PvP, The Daily Grind
At its most basic, PvP in an MMO is just the ability - under set conditions - to punch your fellow players in the face. In a game world where open competition is the rule, PvP doesn’t necessarily have to go beyond that. Give players the option to fight one another, and they will make their own story and set their own goals, or so the theory runs. Case in point: Eve Online, the sandbox in space.
But history has shown that goalless PvP can often fall flat on its face. When City of Heroes first introduced its Arenas, they didn’t bring in the expected levels of player interest, mainly because there was no point to the fights. Without flags to capture, banks to rob or any other sort of goal to reach, the combat seemed aimless. Age of Conan has suffered from similar problems, though the PvP there is much more open. One way in which both these MMOs have tackled the aimlessness of PvP is to add ‘minigames’, in the context of which fighting has a point.
Should developers try to ensure that PvP has goals? Do minigames help, or do they just abstract the action away from the rest of the game world? Should players on PvP servers simply be given open PvP, and left to set their own goals?
