Build It and They Will Come
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 …
Did Blizzard Borrow “Cataclysm” Concept from Conan Author?
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 …
Confessions of a PVP Draft Dodger
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 …
Blizzard and SOE Agree: Improving the Newbie Experience Equals Success and Growth
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 …
WoW’s Growing Immersion Deficit
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, …
Blizzard’s Scrooge: Tom Chilton Dismisses Player Housing for WoW
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 …
Wikipedia in Trouble as Volunteers Leave
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 …
Blizzard’s Addiction to Previewing the Future
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 …
How Virtual Worlds Mimic the Politics of the Real World
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 …
MMO Design Blog of the Month: That’s a Terrible Idea
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. …
Windows 7 Fix For Losing Connection to the Internet
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 …
Why Aren’t There More Blizzards in the Video Game Industry?
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 …
Why Scaling Challenge Should Be the Future of MMO Content
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 …
Waiting for the Next MMO Revolution
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 …
MMO Design Blog of the Month: MMO Tidbits
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 …
The Rehabilitation of Blizzard’s Alex “Furor” Afrasiabi
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 …
How Lord of the Rings Should Have Ended
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 …
Impressions of PAX 2009
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a few hours at the Penny Arcade Expo otherwise known as PAX at the Seattle Convention Center. This …
Blizzard Reboots WoW with the Cataclysm Expansion
Nothing puts a damper on the player’s suspension of disbelief faster than when they finally realize there are no more horizons left to explore and conquer. That said, nothing excites …
EverQuest2 Revisited Part 2: Travels in Faydwer
This week I'm continuing with my journey back into the new Norrath of EverQuest 2. I've switched gears from my travels and experiences with the legacy content of Qeynos and …
Dubious Practices in MMO Marketing: How Numbers Can Be Misleading
For the past few years, I've been suspicious of Blizzard's grandiose claims of millions of subscribers for their World of Warcraft MMO. Those numbers have never struck me as being …
Who Killed Role-Playing in MMOs?
Recently there have been some good questions being raised and insightful explorations on the subject of role-playing in MMOs. These discussions have prompted me to put down in words what …
EverQuest2: Stranger in a Strange Land
A few days ago I wrote an article describing what a new player might find in their first 15 minutes in EverQuest2. As far as EQ2, I have no axe …