Something has changed about the MMO experience in the past six years. Chances are you probably haven't even noticed it but you can probably feel it just the same. MMO …
Twelve starving men sat down at a table. Before them was placed a sumptuous banquet. Then one of the men protested: "I don't like salt...". So in order not to …
I used to be a big fan of Steve Jobs and Apple. But lately he's been acting like a bully and a tyrant. Apple's unashamed embrace of greed and …
Admittedly, I've fallen out of love with MMOs. After 11 years of being passionately involved in this pursuit and having the patience of a saint, the same old predictable …
Once upon a time as a teenager, I recall being exposed to a book called Future Shock by futurist Alvin Toffler. Along with many wild and outlandish predictions about the …
It goes without saying that Peter Jackson's Academy Award winning Lord of the Rings movies were a boon to the fantasy genre of fiction and film. Not only did …
Last week Raph Koster posted a controversial article entitled Are Virtual Worlds Over? It was a reply to a more readable article by Cnet's Dan Terdiman. In order to even …
This weekend I finally decided to start reading Robert E. Howard's sword & sorcery classic Conan the Barbarian. At one point the author felt the need to write a history …
Dear King Varian of Stormwind, please explain to me why I should leave the comfort of my beloved farmstead here in the rustic pastures of Elwynn Forest to fight in …
Last year I penned a few in-depth and apparently controversial articles that evaluated some of the EverQuest 2 starting areas from the perspective of a newbie. It has long been …
The success of a virtual world is dependent on the ability of the developers to convincingly immerse the player in their world. Without a daily emphasis and reverence for mechanics, …
Lately my faith in the MMO media and sadly the media in general has been waning due to the problem of advocacy journalism. Otherwise known in gamerspeak as fanboyism.Very rarely …
There's an interesting piece about Wikipedia from the Wall Street Journal Online. It seems that Wikipedia volunteers are leaving faster then new volunteers are joining. It seems that this unaccountable …
What if J.R.R. Tolkien had named his classic fantasy trilogy How Frodo Destroyed the One Ring at Mount Doom? Thankfully he had the good sense and propriety not to do …
Virtual worlds are ultimately about creating and administering a system of governance. Every day millions of players enter virtual worlds and are subject to rules and policies laid down by …
In an age when just about everyone has a blog, it's rare to find a well-written new MMO design blog that causes you to pause, think, discover and learn. …
Like many PC users, last week I purchased and installed Windows 7. This operating system from Microsoft was supposed to have fixed many of the stability problems encountered with Vista.
Within …
I used to work for a big video game studio that specialized in making licensed hand-held games which were primarily directed towards kids and teens. We'd have regular company meetings …
Last week in the wee hours of a starlit Azeroth morning the Dark Iron Dwarves attacked the Brewfest celebrations outside of Ironforge. Since there were only a few half-awake adventurers …
Back in the 1980's I was a big fan of the music group The Police. As a big fan of the band I devoured everything I could get my hands …
Every once in a while you find a diamond in the rough in the world of MMO design blogs. There are many great sites out there and I try to …
It's been an interesting journey for WoW's Lead World Designer Alex Afrasiabi. Almost 10 years ago he started out as the infamous guild leader of the Fires of Heaven an …
A few years ago I found this video gem on YouTube entitled How Lord of the Rings Should Have Ended. I realize this is old news but perhaps there are …
