The-Daily-Grind posts

The Daily Grind: What MMO would you like to see be brought back to life?

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 9th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Business models, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Today is a day where we should honor our fallen. Motor City Online. Tabula Rasa. Auto Assault. Asheron's Call 2. Earth and Beyond. Underlight. Shadowbane. Castle Infinity. The Matrix Online. The Sims Online. Seed. All of these games, and more, are MMOs that have launched, played, and then died.

Each of these games has a reason for why it was cancelled, but the outcome remains the same -- they aren't online today and their clients are nothing more than wasted code sitting on a disk. Some of these games were our introduction to the genre. Others were our favorite games -- the ones that could trump even the largest names in the MMO business.

So Massively readers, which dead MMO would you like to see be resurrected? Tell us some stories as to why you pick your game of choice, and drop them all in the comment box below. Mourn with others, we encourage it!

Tags: asherons-call-2, auto-assault, cancelled-mmos, castle-infinity, dead-mmos, earth-and-beyond, motor-city-online, opinion, seed, shadowbane, tabula-rasa, the-daily-grind, the-matrix-online, the-sims-online, underlight

The Daily Grind: How much do you care about subscription numbers as a consumer?

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 8th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

We've all heard that infamous World of Warcraft line -- "12 million people can't be wrong." People say it whenever a person doubts that World of Warcraft is the "omgbestestgameevar!11" but how much weight does that line actually hold?

Specifically, what we want to know here at Massively is how much do you pay attention to a game's perceived subscription numbers? Do you avoid games that don't seem to be doing so well? Or are you the type of person who just pulls the game off of the shelf due to content and content alone? Does a game have to have some huge number of subscribers to be successful in your eyes?

You know the drill. Words go in the comment box below. Typing is super effective!

Tags: crowd, opinion, subscription-numbers, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: Do you believe MMOs have one month to make a positive impression?

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 7th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

This seems to be a divisive issue for many people... which makes it the perfect cannon fodder to use in a morning Daily Grind question! Readers of Massively, do you think that MMOs have a single month to make a gloriously positive impression on our player base?

Is the first month really the sink or swim times that internet buzz makes it out to be? Or do you believe an MMO is something that grows and refines itself over time like a fine wine, or cheese? A product that gets distilled by its developers and eventually turned into something brilliant?

Crash and burn or slow evolution, we want to hear your opinions loud and clear! Throw them into the white comment box below, and watch as our magical opinionating-opinionators whirr to life and print your wordymajigs on the Interwebz!

Tags: comments, culture, first-month, opinion, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: Are you still playing a September MMO?

by Brooke Pilley Nov 6th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Aion, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Fallen Earth, New titles, The Daily Grind, Champions Online

September 2009 saw the release of Champions Online, Dungeons & Dragons: Eberron Unlimited (an older MMO going F2P), Fallen Earth, and Aion. This was easily the busiest month for MMOs in recent memory and we're sure many of you at least picked up one of them to try out. We're curious to know if you're still playing a September MMO just over a month later. If so or if not, why?

No MMO in the history of MMOs has experienced a perfectly smooth launch and these September titles were no exception. Did the action-packed combat of CO pull you in or did the lack of content push you away? Were you awed by DDO-EU's polished suite of tools or annoyed by the limitations put on free accounts? Was Fallen Earth's post-apocalyptic setting a breath of fresh air or did you choke on a mouthful of radioactive bugs? Did the beauty and smoothness of Aion make your heart beat faster or did its grind and bot infestation crush your soul? Just how impressed were you with September's crop of new MMOs?

Tags: aion, champions-online, cryptic, ddo, ddo-ebberon-unlimited, fallen-earth, icarus-studios, ncsoft, new-titles, the-daily-grind, turbine

The Daily Grind: Your thoughts on Blizzard's new pets

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 5th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Business models, Opinion, The Daily Grind

In a move some expected and others didn't, Blizzard decided to remove that last layer insulating its game from the practice of RMT: real money transactions. Previously, players had to purchase the trading card game to get the special extra pets for the game, and that was rather a dicey proposition. You could just pay a high price and get the card directly, or you could take your chances with your money, much like Charlie in his pursuit of a golden ticket. Now, you can just go to the Blizzard store and purchase a Pandaren or a Lil' KT pet for $10USD.

Considering how several people were unhappy with the Champions Online microtransaction store, we can't imagine this is going over too well with everyone. Some feel that these are just pets and -- while pricey -- aren't anything to make a fuss over. Others feel that this is the top of the slippery slope that will eventually see some form of in-game benefits gained through store purchases, much like many item mall games. This morning we thought we'd ask you. Do you think this is a wonderful idea, and you're glad to see Blizzard exploring the territory? Do you think it's a good idea but the price is way too high -- a macrotransaction rather than a microtransaction. Are you leery but trusting for now? Or is this all a load of crap, and subscription games should make everything available if you're willing to grind it?

Tags: blizzard, opinion, tdg, the-daily-grind, world-of-warcraft, wow

The Daily Grind: What's the threshold for an MMO?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 4th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Academic

This question is an old one, but it's always one that brings out some interesting opinions. As technology becomes more and more connected, people continue to move their games into connectivity further and further, we have to ask -- what's an MMO, precisely? The recent release of Borderlands has brought the question into the forefront for many people, as it features a rather steady and all but required online mode... but it's not absolutely required, and there's no world persistence. Does that qualify, or is it just an offline game with some MMO elements?

You can certainly argue that they're only distantly related, or you can argue that they're both part of the same genre. By the same token, you can make the case for or against the now-ubiquitous Facebook games -- which are persistent and spread across several players, after all. Today, we ask our readers where they draw the line between MMO and a game that just happens to have an online component. Where do you draw the line, and if you're so inclined, what's your reasoning? Persistence of world? Depth of play? Or is it a knee-jerk reaction where you might not be able to define an MMO, but you know it when you see it?

Tags: academic, borderlands, culture, facebook, game-mechanics, offline-play, opinion, persistence, tdg, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: What news makes you excited and happy about a game?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 3rd 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, News items, Opinion, The Daily Grind

We'll freely admit that yesterday's Daily Grind was a bit... how should we say it... pessimistic. Certainly MMOs and their associated industry aren't always sunshine and light, and we'd never pretend that they are, but that doesn't mean we can't occasionally perk things up a little bit. So today, we're shifting to the other side of the coin.

Because let's be honest. We don't stay in this hobby to complain -- that's just a fringe benefit. There are bits and pieces here and there that fill us with joy and a sense that all is right with the world around us. Sometimes it's something as little as finding out that long-awaited features are going to be added to a game, sometimes it's the promise of a much-wished sequel to a well-loved game, and sometimes the mere presence of an expansion makes us get all dizzy with glee.

Today, readers, we ask you: what sort of news makes you happy? What stories do you have about bits of information that made you instantly exclaim how cool something was going to be? Little moments like that are what keep us interested, so let's celebrate them a little bit. What news do you think of as great news?

Tags: culture, expansions, happy, news-items, opinion, patches, sequels, tdg, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: What kills your confidence in a game before you play it?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Bugs, Business models, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

There are elements of games that are turn-offs for all of us. Some of us love PvP, for example, and a world with virtually none of it isn't very appealing. But sometimes we don't event start playing the game before our feelings about it go straight into the dumpster. It's hard to argue that Tabula Rasa's frequent shifts during development inspired players to expect any longevity out of it, and whether or not it's the case Warhammer Online's frequent server merges and population shuffling have given the impression of a game that's struggling a bit.

Sometimes you hear of a developer or project head assigned that makes you cringe, sometimes it's a choice of IP or business models, or sometimes it's just the number of issues you have patching the game to try out the free client. We ask you, readers, what makes you start losing faith before you've even loaded up a game for the first time? It might not be a dealbreaker, and you might even look back at it and laugh, but there are certain things that make you more nervous about committing to a game. What does it for you?

Tags: bugs, business-models, flagshipped, opinion, patches, pvp, tabula-rasa, tdg, the-daily-grind, tr, war, warhammer-online

The Daily Grind: What's your favorite non-MMO genre?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 1st 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Long before we had the soaring crafts and grand interstellar vistas of EVE Online, most games that involved spaceships were of a very set type. They usually involved one small ship, a horde of other ships, bullets flying everywhere, and a number of lives that were expressly designed to eat up as many quarters as possible. The gaming field has changed quite a bit since then, but scrolling shooters in the vein of Darius or R-Type can still eat up hours on end... much like most MMOs, although without as much emphasis on virtual worlds. And there's little denying that for fans of the genre, they're as effective at reducing stress.

Today, we ask our readers: what's your favorite game type that doesn't fall under our header? Do you prefer traditional console RPGs? Do you veer more toward fighting games, or strategy titles, or is it a mishmash of different things that appeal to you? You could argue the elements of Team Fortress 2 or Borderlands, but they generally fall under a different aegis than Champions Online or EverQuest II for most players... so what about you? What do you like to kick back with when you aren't on your MMO of choice?

Tags: borderlands, champions-online, co, culture, darius, eq2, eqii, eve, eve-online, everquest-2, everquest-ii, opinion, other-games, r-type, tdg, team-fortress-2, tf2, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: Happy Halloween!

by Krystalle Voecks Oct 31st 2009 at 8:10AM

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

While not everyone in the world celebrates it, today is Halloween for many of us! Time for tricks and treats, spooks and silliness. It's also a fantastic time to catch up on the holiday events in our favorite games. From going after the Sinister Squashling in World of Warcraft (again) to smacking down hordes of the Infected in Fallen Earth, there's tons and tons of content to be had for the holiday.

This morning, we thought we'd ask you what Halloween event you liked the most - and which have you come to hate? Personally, I loved Trick-or-Treating in City of Heroes, racing up and down the street triggering doors, pounding bad guys with friends, and trying to land all the temporary costumes. The one that drove me nuts was trying to get the aforementioned Squashling in World of Warcraft, as the drop never seemed to happen when I was around. (I did dig the broom mount, though.) Let's hear from you on which you thought were best and worst! Drop your tricks and treats in MMO merriment into our commenty space below!

Tags: events, halloween, halloween-2009, holiday, opinion, tdg, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: Do you use PlayStation Home?

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 30th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Consoles, Virtual worlds, Home

Now here's an odd question that could only be thought up at 8 in the morning. If you own a PS3, are you an avid user of PlayStation Home, or do you avoid the console's virtual world like the plague?

We ask because the world seems to present two very different versions of itself. On one hand, some of the mini-games are kinda interesting, the virtual environment does take full advantage of the PS3's graphical capabilities, and the virtual spaces for the different PS3 games are kinda cool.

However, on the flip side, you get to deal with the worst of the PlayStation Network community while you can't completely remove them from your screen. If you make a female avatar, get ready to get swamped by every guy in a 30 virtual mile radius no matter how you're dressed.

So tell us why or why not you use Home, and don't be afraid to give us all of the gritty details. Go readers, go!

Tags: game-discussion, gamer-discussion, home, opinion, playstation-home, playstation-network, playstation3, ps3, psn, sony, the-daily-grind, virtual-world

The Daily Grind: Where else do your MMO skills come in handy?

by Eliot Lefebvre Oct 29th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Education

Those of us that have been playing MMOs for quite some time have probably developed more than a few skills in the process. It's pretty much inevitable, after all -- while you might not be able to learn to dance from a boss fight, you can at least get a good sense of how to move and work as a group, just by way of example. And we all know that learning to play the holy trinity of MMO roles (tank, healer, and DPS) can be ported over to a variety of other games, since odds are high there will be an equivalent.

Today's question, however, is asking about when you've reached beyond other games and have been able to apply your game skills to a real-world problem. Do you have an easier time handling budgets from all the time spent stat crunching? Are you able to be more diplomatic from dealing with random party members over and over? Maybe you just have an easier time reacting in stressful situations, or a better system for remembering obscure details. Whatever the skill, let us know about how it's boosted you in real life. (Of course, the ability to actually shoot fireballs or fly would be pretty useful in real life -- and if you've figured out how to bring over some of those skills, please share.)

Tags: culture, education, inspiration, learning, opinion, skills, tabula-rasa, tdg, the-daily-grind

The Daily Grind: What game do you watch the most, but don't currently play?

by Kyle Horner Oct 28th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

Sometimes we all take a break from an MMO, even if we're still enjoying parts of it. Other times, we're deciding on a purchase or wondering whether or not to come back, and it requires a lot of observation and research. It can be hard to know if it's time to come back to an old game or give a new one a chance, and often we've all got that upcoming title to obsess over. The biggest chore can be time management, where that wonderful thing known as life makes you choose just one game from a couple potentials.

So what game are you watching patiently while hoping for a patch or expansion to fix issues preventing you from being able to subscribe to it? Or for that matter, what upcoming game can't you stop reading up on and obsessing over because it looks like the very thing you've been wanting from your MMOs.

Tags: hype, opinion, taking-a-break, tdg, the-daily-grind, upcoming

The Daily Grind: Getting Torchlight?

by Kyle Horner Oct 27th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Today is the launch of Runic Games' Torchlight, although you probably know them best as the guys who worked on Mythos. The MMO version of Torchlight isn't out for another 18 months or so, but you can get a taste of it as of today, which is of course the game's release date -- imagine that!

Not only is the game developed by the former Mythos team, it's also headed by Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, co-designers of Diablo and Diablo II. Speaking of those games, we hope you liked their music, because the same man who wrote it worked on Torchlight as well. The pedigree is definitely high, and from our hands-on experience it shines through exceedingly well.

So will you be getting Torchlight? At the low price of $20, it's not a hard sell considering the quality of the game. Plus, with full mod tools being included in that price, free fan-made content should be falling down from the heavens in no time flat.

Tags: diablo, diablo-2, diablo-ii, perfect-world, runic, runic-games, steam, tdg, the-daily-grind, torchlight, torchlight-mmo

The Daily Grind: The epic confrontation between that guy and what's-his-name

by Eliot Lefebvre Oct 26th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Lore, Quests, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor

We all go into autopilot sometimes. So, you know, we're on a marathon session to level up, and we're mostly just sort of clicking by instinct. You belatedly realize, however, that you were in the middle of a quest chain. The reason you realize this, sadly, is because you're at the penultimate stage of said quest chain, and the questgiver is making references to all the work that you've been doing to reach this point... when you don't really remember most of what you've been doing up until now. There might have been something with fish men? Or the other fish men. It's all kind of a blur, really.

Lore is important, and few people would argue that, but when have you managed to completely miss every bit of what's supposed to be going on? Did you not read up the backstory in the manual and therefore not know that the person you're fighting unleashed horrors on his own people? Did you forget about an NPC that is actually kind of important in retrospect? Or did you just steamroll through things and only find out later that there was an overarching reason for all of this?

Tags: champions-online, co, humor, lore, opinion, quests, tdg, the-daily-grind