Monday, December 31, 2012
Gaming: Hello Kitty Online Review at MMORPG.com
Most people disparage Hello Kitty Online as a child's game while others feel it's not a true MMORPG like World of Warcraft, Rift, or Guild Wars. This animosity piqued my curiosity. Is Hello Kitty Online as bad as many say it is? Should those who are less skilled at gameplay than the typical MMO gamer be taunted with admonitions to "go play Hello Kitty Online"? I took the plunge and found out. Read about my experience here: Hello Kitty Online: Very Much a Niche MMO.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
FSU: Art and Ideals in the 21st Century
I was tasked by my Art History professor with finding pieces of art that either detailed what is important to the 21st century person or best describes the ideals of the 21st century. To do this I browsed the extensive collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I believe the three pieces I have chosen show both. Join me behind the cut to see my choices...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Gaming: Myst Online: URU Live Review at MMORPG.com
Thinking about giving Myst Online: URU Live a try? I did. Read about my experience here: Myst Online: URU Live Review.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Gaming: Another Pet Peeve
Let me get this straight, Clipwire...
You put a new building in the game and associate it with a quest. That's cool. New things are always fun and shiny. What's not fun and shiny is the fact that you require the players to "hire" friends to work in the new building. Why is that not fun and shiny? Because of how the requirement works. If I have 20 friends and they're already working in another one of my many buildings then they cannot accept a job in the NEW building. The game doesn't allow it. So, that means to complete the building I have to persuade enough friends to start playing the game that I will be able to complete the hiring portion of the building quest and be able to complete the building.
How utterly ridiculous. Your game isn't that popular. I'm lucky to have 20 friends that have accepted my invitation to play. Out of those 20 perhaps 5 play daily. Maybe. And I can't hire them to work in my new building because they've already accepted a job request from me for a different building.
Change the requirement, Clipwire. It's great that you're adding new content. It's great that you're trying to get new players engaged in your game but this isn't the way to do it. Hidden, forced recruiting is a huge turn-off. If I want to invite a friend, I will (and have). It's a fun game and has a lot to offer. Emphasize those areas instead of trying to trick your players into recruiting. You'll find your daily and monthly active user numbers soar.
You put a new building in the game and associate it with a quest. That's cool. New things are always fun and shiny. What's not fun and shiny is the fact that you require the players to "hire" friends to work in the new building. Why is that not fun and shiny? Because of how the requirement works. If I have 20 friends and they're already working in another one of my many buildings then they cannot accept a job in the NEW building. The game doesn't allow it. So, that means to complete the building I have to persuade enough friends to start playing the game that I will be able to complete the hiring portion of the building quest and be able to complete the building.
How utterly ridiculous. Your game isn't that popular. I'm lucky to have 20 friends that have accepted my invitation to play. Out of those 20 perhaps 5 play daily. Maybe. And I can't hire them to work in my new building because they've already accepted a job request from me for a different building.
Change the requirement, Clipwire. It's great that you're adding new content. It's great that you're trying to get new players engaged in your game but this isn't the way to do it. Hidden, forced recruiting is a huge turn-off. If I want to invite a friend, I will (and have). It's a fun game and has a lot to offer. Emphasize those areas instead of trying to trick your players into recruiting. You'll find your daily and monthly active user numbers soar.
Gaming: Asheron's Call Review at MMORPG.com
Asheron's Call is an old school MMO that helped establish MMORPGs in the world of gaming. As an MMO newbie, I decided to give it a try. Read about my experiences here: Asheron's Call: Can it Deliver Today?
Monday, April 30, 2012
Gaming: Interview with Angel Leigh McCoy of ArenaNet
Recently, I had the fantastic opportunity to interview Angel Leigh McCoy, a narrative designer at ArenaNet, who is currently working on Guild Wars 2. She has written about the Asurans and helped develop the new Sylvari race. Outside of ArenaNet and Guild Wars 2 she is the head editor of WilyWriters.com and a published author with a penchant for horror and dark fantasy.
Follow me behind the cut for the interview and a look into how art influences games and game writing!
Follow me behind the cut for the interview and a look into how art influences games and game writing!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Gaming: A Pet Peeve
Don't make your player buy a duplicate of an item if they already own it. If the player owns an object and it is in storage allow the player to pull it out and place it in the game to fulfill all relevant portions of a quest, not just one portion. Once the item is placed in the game update the quest so that the requirement to buy one from the shop is fulfilled. If it's not the player has no choice but to waste gold buying a duplicate to fulfill it. If the intent of requiring the player to buy a duplicate of an object is as a money sink then mark the original object as broken. It will introduce a new object state in the game but this could be used to an advantage to soak up all the extra gold floating around.
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