Gaming: When Guild Wars 2 disappoints

I've tried to write this post a number of times in order to express my disappointment in and frustration with the new "Feature Pack" that Guild Wars 2 released on April 15, 2014. It's taken me nine days to personally digest the monumental game changes, sort through public opinion of them, and boil it all down into something that makes sense to me.

Then I realized that through out the whole process one important question remained unanswered. "Why?" Why did the development team at ArenaNet feel these changes had to be made? Sure, they gave a myriad of reasons in the teaser articles they shared under the guise of keeping us informed. Those reasons ranged from the typical need to balance the game to untypical need to keep our armor from clipping during combat. In fact, pre-release the game developers seemed very free with information, as if they wanted us to understand what was going to happen to the game. Looking back now, I see that those articles are full of just enough of the right kind of information to head off a pre-release revolt.

I have eight characters. Seven of them are below the maximum level of 80. Thanks to the reengineering of traits, I now have no desire to level them the rest of the way to 80. My sense of progression, my sense of accomplishment, has been completely wiped out. If I wanted to grind levels, I'd go back to Lineage II! The really sad thing is, though, that when I heard about having to hunt grandmaster traits in the open world a la the original Guild Wars, I was very excited. I loved the thrill of finding the boss, killing it, and taking it's elite skill for my own. How much fun would it be to do that in Guild Wars 2? Well, not much, to be honest. Join a zerg (if you're lucky enough to be on at event's scheduled time - because everything's scheduled now), auto-attack, and go get a snack. No thrill. No excitement. Whooo, you got the grandmaster trait. Whoopee. Pretty soon I'll be able to face-roll the keyboard and win the game!

One group this "Feature Pack" has shined a lot of light on are the role players. I'm not a role player myself but I feel for them and the fact that their communities, and role playing in the game in general, have been shredded by the institution of the mega-servers. Not only are they are being trolled (sometimes rather rudely, too), but they've lost the ability to tell the stories they want, how they want, when they want, and with whom they want. They can't meet up with friends or guild mates to role play because the mega-server has spread them across various shards with no way to sync up except to log in and out repeatedly. Even then there is no guarantee they'll all make it to the same shard.

I'm not even going to go into the new wardrobe, dye, transmutation, and town clothes fiasco except to ask, "Why?"

Why, ArenaNet? What was the thinking behind the redesign of these game systems? As professionals, you should know that to take away a player's sense of progression in a game is a huge, HUGE, no-no. You should also know that messing with the cosmetic elements of the game is also a huge no-no. As an aspiring game and narrative designer, I'd love to know what the thought process was behind these changes.

As an avid player that loves Guild Wars 2, I'd love to see these changes rolled back. Please. Give back my reason to pla

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.

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.

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?

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!

Gaming: Stop Lurking!

A fan-site for a game I'm stoked about has advertised for staff. I thought to myself that I would be good at that. I'm very interested in the game and have been following its development for a long time. Then I saw that you had to write about what you've contributed to the community as part of the application process. That killed it for me. There is a community of sorts but it's not very big and I've never contributed to it. I never saw the need because, even though game info started leaking around 2007, it was always the same people discussing it. So, I maintained my wallflower status. Now the game is in super-secret closed beta, the hype is heating up, and this opportunity presented itself. I'm wishing I hadn't lurked on the edges. Moral of the story? Don't lurk. Get involved. Even if all you do is say "Hi" at least you're participating in the community.

Post: New Desktop Incoming & Zombies!

Well, my desktop is past its prime. I'm going to be getting a new, much more powerful, one today or tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous because I've now got to prep everything important for the move from the old to the new. I don't want to lose any of my goodies but at some point you've got to clean stuff out. So,I'm attempting to bundle up everything I can't live without but I know there's going to be something I forget to include.

Zombies. I love them. I finally saw Resident Evil: Afterlife this weekend and it was rather enjoyable. There were parts where the grab from other IPs was blatantly obvious but it made up for that with the awesome action scenes. Three instances where the movie obviously grabbed from other IPs:

• Axeman was a grab from Silent Hill and Pyramid Head.
• The emergency broadcast was a grab from I Am Legend.
• The idea to soup up an abandoned Military Armoured Vehicle (specifically an Omni International V-150-S) to drive through the zombie horde is a grab from Dawn of the Dead.

My favorite scene in the movie was when Bennett stole Alice's airplane and flew it off the building. He was able to pull up just inches before he slammed into the ground. This caused the airplane to barrel through a throng of zombies leaving a red smear behind it. That was awesome! It was almost as good as the scene in 28 Weeks Later where a low-flying helicopter's blades decapitate a horde of zombies. Ahhh... Zombies... One reason I can't wait for The Secret World MMO from Funcom!

Gaming: Hellgate - Global Closed Beta

I enjoyed my time in Hellgate: Global this weekend. I created a Marksman, and she kicked ass. I was able to get her to level 11 before the beta ended. It wasn't without its problems, though.

The biggest problem was the fact that they handed out closed beta keys like candy so they could stress test the server. Well, it was stressed all right. The server crashed, which led to a long downtime while the devs attempted to solve the issue. The quick fix didn't completely solve the problem, either, as there were still random disconnects and lagging. Then again, there are random disconnects and lagging in fully released MMOs so perhaps it is fixed!

A very noticeable problem is the game art. The textures for the world objects are blurry and badly rendered. On the other hand, the textures for my character were crisp and nicely rendered. I could understand this if the model detail and texture settings differed, but they didn't. Everything was set as high as it could possibly go, and I restarted the game to make sure all the settings were applied. I hope they redo the textures as the blurriness really detracts from the game's immersiveness.

Another issue I noticed is that for an MMO the game is very solo friendly. I soloed the whole time from level 1 to 11 and that included all the bosses. This was good for me (I didn't have to share any of the filthy lucre) but bodes ill for the game. Too much filthy lucre from players running solo and getting huge boss drops intended for groups will saturate the market and devalue the currency and items. It'll be just as easy to get a Unique item as it'll be one that's simply Enhanced. I hope they adjust the ramping and loot drop rates. Otherwise, there will be no challenge and without a challenge there won't be much reason to play.

The last issue I noticed was the mangled dialogue. It needs a lot of work even though it was originally written in English. That makes me wonder what in the world happened there. It's obvious they translated the game from English to an Asian dialect (the game's been available in Asia since 2008) and then back to English for this relaunch. What happened to the original English dialogue? Why didn't they use it as a guide when they translated the game back to English? It would have made more sense to do that than to hand the dialogue over to a non-native speaker (as they obviously did) for translation.

I look forward to revisiting Hellgate: Global in the future whether that is in another closed beta, an open beta, or at official relaunch. Nothing provides the level of stress relief and fun as kicking zombie ass post-apocalypse does.

(Note: The links in this post are broken as of January,2023.) 

FSU: Grades, Usability, & Zombies!

This blog was started as part of my Analysis Project for my Game Design And Development Analysis class at Full Sail University. I'm very proud to say that I got a 100% on it. It was a lot of work and took a fair bit of time over the last month, but the grade made it all worth while.

Usability is turning into a very interesting class. I don't think I'll ever look at everyday items the same way again. A lot of their functionality is missed because we're so used to the items and think we intuitively know how to use them. What we're missing are the almost invisible clues the designers leave behind to nudge us in the correct direction. For example: a door handle that's placed ever-so-slightly towards the side of the door that opens. We don't immediately perceive the placement, but it silently directs us to the proper side, so we're not stuck pushing on the wrong side thinking the door doesn't work.

Hellgate London is being rebooted by Hanbitsoft (Aika)as simply "Hellgate" later this evening. It's supposed to be a closed beta but they're handing out keys like they're candy. I think it's more of a marketing preview than an actual beta. The game's been live in Asia under a free-to-play model since 2008 so I doubt there are that many bugs or glitches to warrant an actual closed beta. Still, I may pop in to see how the game is since I didn't get a chance to while Namcao Bandai and Flagship were in charge. It definitely holds some interest considering the setting is right up my alley. I love a good apocolypse!

(Note: Some of the links in this post are broken as of January, 2023.)

FSU: Reaction to Industry News - China used prisoners in lucrative Online Game Gold Farming

As incredible as it sounds, a Chinese ex-prisoner claims that the prison guards where he was incarcerated forced him to play online games, such as World of Warcraft, to farm them for in-game gold and items. The guards then sold the in-game gold and items to other players making a small fortune in the process. The ex-prisoner then went on to state that if he didn’t meet a certain quota of gold and items per day he was punished with beatings and worse. He claims that it was a thriving business in the prison system raking in quite a bit of money.

FSU: Reaction to Industry News - Age of Conan Has Gone Free-To-Play

Earlier today Age of Conan announced that it is adopting a Free-to-Play subscription model this summer. As an existing, and past, subscriber I immediately wondered what this would mean for me. Considering the announcement was a whole 15 minutes old when I read it, I knew I’d have to wait a bit for real, concrete answers. I’m pretty sure that companies release news like this in advance to gauge the community’s reaction and adjust the upcoming changes accordingly.

FSU: Reaction to Industry News - LEGO Universe Developer, "I Will Never Make an MMO Again."

The first thing that popped into my head when I read this was, "How in the world did this guy get as far as he did in the gaming industry?" The second thing was to wish him luck in his latest endeavor because he’ll probably never get a job with an IP as big or as popular as Lego again thanks to what he stated in this article. It’s one thing to be dissatisfied and disgruntled but it’s quite another to splash it all over a gaming industry news site.

FSU: Analysis of Lego Kidsfest

The Lego Kidsfest traveling tour made a stop in our town this past weekend. Considering two-thirds of my family are “Brickheads,” not attending wasn’t an option. Tickets were easy to get and affordable. Getting to the convention center was another matter. Google Maps was confused and told us to turn onto a street that didn’t exist where it said it did.

An Analysis of Game Balance/Ramping in a Video Game: Skill Balance in Guild Wars (MMORPG for the PC)

Positives:
+ Prevents a set of skills (a build) for any one class from becoming overpowered and over used.
+ Promotes diversity in skill builds as players create custom builds that fit their play style instead of relying on a premade build that most others are using.
+ Balanced skills allow the players to surprise their opponents by using less popular skills successfully.
+ Balanced skills remove the ability to abuse a specific skill build to farm NPCs that drop certain items. This stops the game’s economy from being flooded with the items and helps keep inflation in check.

Negatives:
- If one class’s skills are overpowered then there will be an overabundance of that class in the game. The game offers no challenge to the class’s abilities.
- Balancing skills can break good builds that aren’t overpowered or abused requiring the player to redesign their skill bar and, sometimes, even replace weapons, insignias and runes. This can be quite expensive.
- Balancing some skills can break or decrease the usefulness of others. On the contrary, sometimes balancing those skills cause others to become overpowered.
- Relearning how to effectively use a newly balanced skill or creating a good build with newly balanced skills can be time consuming and have a bit of a learning curve depending on the changes made.

Thoughts:
~ A lot of time players complain because a certain skill or skill set seems overpowered to them. It’s actually not overpowered. More than likely it is that they either lack the skill to play or came up against a player who is more skillful.
~ Some skills are identical to each other. The duplicate skills came with one of the additional campaigns to provide those missing one or more of the campaigns with the basic skills all classes had. So, if a player has all three campaigns then they will have duplicated skills. This can effect skill balance in gameplay because one player may only have one campaign and therefore no duplicate skills while an opposing player may have two campaigns and so two duplicate skills. This gives the player with duplicate skills two opportunities to use the skill where the previous player has only one opportunity.
~ PvP and PvE are so different that many skills need to be split into a PvP and PvE version to address the different situations. I find it interesting that a skill that is balanced perfectly for PvE may be considered over or under powered for PvP. This is a fine example of AI versus player skill when it comes to gameplay.
~ Some classes are the main focus of skill balances, like the Dervish, because of their prominence in PvP. ArenaNet tries to keep the PvP playing field as level as possible. Unfortunately this means that classes that are not prominent in PvP, such as the Monk, do not get much attention.

Would Like:
* Skill descriptions can be a bit unclear at times and rebalancing doesn’t help. Often I’ll be looking at a skill wondering what had changed. I know that the developers post blogs addressing the changes but this does nothing for me in game. So, I’d like for rebalanced skills to have a more clear description of what they now do. I’d also like a way to compare pre-balance skill to the post-balance skill to judge the changes and decide if the skill is still worthy of my use.
* I’d like classes that aren’t as prominent in PvP, such as the Monk, to receive some skill balance attention. They really need it as their healing and protection prayers are in a major need of a tweak.

Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2007-2011). Guild wars official wiki. Retrieved from http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page

Various. (2003-2011). Guild Wars. Retrieved from http://www.guildwars.com/

An Analysis of a Video Game’s Tutorial: Age of Conan (MMORPG)

Positives:
+ The tutorial is a separate area in the game, an island called Tortage and it is extremely immersive. You are plunged directly into the storyline and don’t surface until you leave the island for your homeland upon reaching level 20. This separation from the rest of the game gives a new player time to acclimate to the game.
+ The tutorial starts out placing you alone in an instanced area. This gives you the opportunity to learn the ropes without competing against other players for resources or mobs. You also learn how to equip armor and weapons, wield your weapon, and use potions and food in this instanced area.
+ Quests are logically laid out and lead seamlessly from one to the next. The Destiny Quests are the main quests of the tutorial area. They are solo quests and occur only at night. These quests teach you class related skills and provide class specific armor and weapons. There are many other side quests to keep a character occupied for days. These quests take place during the day and provide small perks like potions or food as rewards.
+ You don’t accrue death penalties until level 10. This is a plus as you’re still learning the ropes of the game and may die simply because you didn’t know how to equip a weapon or use an attack yet.
+ The story that unfolds and tasks assigned to your character during the Destiny Quest depends on which archetype you’ve chosen to play. This means that, while the story is essentially the same for each character, a healer archetype will not experience the same Destiny Quest as a warrior archetype.

Negatives:
- If you happened to select a PvP server then you’re going to be ganked every time you go to the Underhalls or White Sand Beach to complete quests. Unfortunately this is because it is an easy way to rack up PvP points early in the game.
- Once you leave the beach solo instance you cannot go back. The gate out is one-way. So, if you meant to go back and check something out you’re out of luck.
- There is a lot of running back and forth from Point A to Point B. This wouldn’t be a huge problem if the distances weren’t so great and there is no quick travel option.
- Bag space is very limited. So is storage at the Trader. It is possible to buy more bag space but it is expensive, especially in the tutorial area.
- There is a Field Manual along the left side of the user interface. When you encounter something for the first time it pops out a little tab to show it has information on the subject. This usually occurs at the least opportune time for the player to check out the new information, like in the middle of a fight. The tabs tend to accrue because of this timing issue and end up blocking the left side of the screen from view. This can cause a problem when you’re facing multiple enemies because you’ve now got a blind spot.
- While there are a lot of quests it sometimes feels as if you’re doing generic fetch errands or kill “x” number of mob tasks. At times there are no quests available and the player must grind out the necessary experience to level up. Grind of any kind is tedious and makes players feel like they’d rather be elsewhere.

Thoughts:
~ The solo Beach instance that every player starts the game in is underused. It is a well designed area with a lot to offer but once a character leaves they can never go back. This seems a bit silly since a character can return to every other area in the tutorial no matter what their level. Why is this one area off-limits once they’ve passed the gate?
~ Tortage sets the standard for the game. It is the first thing a new player experiences. The fact that it is so wonderfully done is actually a bad thing in this case because the rest of the game pales in comparison. Where Tortage has depth, engagement, and immersion the rest of the game doesn’t. The stark contrast between the tutorial area and the main game area is very noticeable. This contrast has led to many players leaving the game in disappointment or deleting and rerolling characters who live in Tortage forever.
~ As well done as Tortage and the tutorial are, after running a few alternate characters through, even it becomes repetitive. Players start looking for the quickest way through or wish to skip it all together. This wouldn’t be a huge deal except that skipping the tutorial means that you’ve put a halt on the Destiny Quest. This closes certain avenues quest-wise until you to go back to Tortage to complete the quests.
~ In some tutorial areas (Aion, Guild Wars) there are practice dummies that will allow you to try out a new skill to see its effect and range. There are none in Tortage. If you want to gauge effect and range then you need to practice on a mob. This makes gathering accurate information on effect and range tricky because you have to defend yourself after the initial attack.

Would Like:
* The solo Beach instance opened up. Add some quests that send the player back to the area to explore. There is a lot there that most miss as they run through it.
* I’d love if the main gameplay areas were redesigned so they could live up to the standard set by Tortage. I know this is a long shot. The game has been out for a while and already has an expansion. This doesn’t mean that the main areas can’t be revisited and tweaked. One thing that could be done that would add depth is to add some spoken dialogue to the main game area’s NPCs.
* There is a door at the bottom of the Archeronian Ruins. It goes nowhere. This would be a perfect place to add a dungeon.
* A way to skip Tortage when a player already has a couple of high level characters. Provide the player a quest that allows them to satisfy the Destiny Quest and move on to their homeland without having to level through the whole tutorial area.
* A clear explanation of what the various stats on armor and weapons do. I know that if you mouse over the stat on your character page it will give a very basic description but not a lot of new players know to do this. A pop-up explaining various stats the first time a player encounters an item with one would be much more helpful.

Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2008-2011). Age of conan official forum. Retrieved from http://forums.ageofconan.com/index.php

An Analysis of a Feedback System/Loop in a Video Game: Crafting Talismans in Warhammer Online

Positives:
+ Some talisman ingredients can be purchased from a merchant or Hedge Wizard. This means they are always available.
+ Creating the talisman is easy. Once you have the necessary ingredients you put them in the correct slots in the Talisman window and click “Fuse”.
+ If the talisman created is a critical success then you are told “You made something better!” and the power of the talisman is increased by 6. If you achieved a super-critical success then you are told “You made something awesome!” and the talisman’s rarity goes up one level.
+ If you achieve a super-critical success using ingredients that are of the highest rarity then the fragment used will not be consumed and you can use it again.
+ Easy to level up Talisman making skill. Each successfully created Talisman contributes

Negatives:
- No recipes in game. It is easy to use up your resources by experimenting with ingredients to find the recipe for a basic talisman.
- Once a recipe is discovered there is no place in game to record it. You either record it yourself out of the game or try to remember it.
- Failure destroys the container and ingredients so they cannot be used again.
- Essences can only be obtained through the auction house or by the magical salvaging skill.

Thoughts:
~ The crafting process can be done anywhere as long as the player has the necessary items. This frees the player to quest or RvR while making Talismans.
~ Warhammer attempted to make the crafting process more fun and contain less grind. Sadly, this didn’t happen because all crafting components aren’t readily available. If a player needs a rare component they will have to grind out the gold to buy it in the auction house or grind out kills to gather it themselves.
~ Failure is expensive. Failure also introduces grind into the crafting system because you’ve got to get the gold to buy ingredients somehow.
~ Apparently Talismans only last for a certain amount of time. I’ve never seen any proof of this in game but if this is true then this makes the guesswork in creating them all the more stressful.

Would Like:
* A recipe book. In whatever form it takes it would be lovely to have a place where discovered recipes are gathered for future use.
* A notepad or similar function so that the player can note down where certain hard-to-find ingredients can be found.
* Failure to not be so expensive. Instead of all the ingredients being destroyed upon a failure, it would be nice if one (randomly chosen) was spared. So, even though you fail there is a chance that your container, fragment, or other ingredient remains unharmed and can be used again.
* Talisman effects to last indefinitely. This removes the need to constantly experiment with ingredients in an attempt to recreate the Talisman in order to replace the spent one.

Credit where credit is due:
Serapis. (2011, January 30). Warhammer online talisman making guide. Retrieved from http://home.comcast.net/~serapisphoenix/warhammer/talisman.html

Various. (2008-2011). Talisman making. Retrieved from http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Talisman_Making

An Analysis of HUD Use in a Video Game: Warhammer Online (MMORPG)

Anyone who's played Warhammer Online knows how incredibly flexible their heads-up display is. Just about everything can be moved, adjusted, or tweaked. Plus, if Warhammer hasn't provided the exact display module you want there's a very good chance that someone else has and you simply need to download and install it. Let's analyze why Warhammer's HUD is one of the best...

A Response to a Bug Found in a Game or Bug Report: Fallen Earth, an MMORPG

I joined the Fallen Earth closed beta soon after it began. The game lured me in with its post-apocalyptic theme and I was ready to break it to make it better. It quickly gave me the opportunity to squash not just one bug but several.

The first bug I encountered was a crash to desktop. I had moved my character into an empty building and clicked the “Menu” button in the options bar. When the main menu opened I clicked “Exit”. The game immediately crashed to desktop. I cleared my computer’s cache and dumped the memory. Then I went back into the game. My character reappeared right where I had left her so I took a screenshot of her location and then repeated the above steps. The game crashed to desktop once again. I then filed a bug report with the developers.

Fallen Earth made it quite easy for their Beta Testers to file bug reports. There was a link placed prominently in the closed beta section of the forum. One click and a detailed bug report form would load. We were expected to enter our character’s name, the exact location in the game world we were when the bug occurred, the type of bug that occurred, how frequently we experienced the bug, which version of the game we were testing, and a summary of what we had experienced. They also asked us to attach screenshots of the bug and any other files produced by the bug such as .dmp files created by crashes.

While the developers were new to creating MMORPG games they handled the closed beta like veterans. Every bug report that was filed received a response. Sometimes the response was to gather more information or ask you to recreate the bug. Other times the response was simply to thank you for filing the report and to let you know that they’re working on fixing the issue. It was a very positive experience for me.

Credit where credit is due:
Fallen Earth Forums. (2007, January). Various Online Forum Comments. Retrieved from http://forums.fallenearth.com/fallenearth/index.php

A Poorly Rated Video Game - DC Universe Online (MMORPG for the PC & PS3)

Again, I used Gamespot's Top Rated PC Games List to choose a game for my analysis of a poorly rated video game. The lowest rating on the list was a 7.0 and, although I'm sure I've played games rated lower than this, I was unable to get the list to show anything rated lower. Searching through the games rated 7.0 I found that the lowest one on the list I've played is DC Universe Online, an MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment. Let the analysis begin...

A Highly Rated Video Game - Guild Wars (MMORPG for the PC)

I used Gamespot's Top Rated PC Games List to choose a game for my analysis of a highly rated video game. Guild Wars was rated a 9.2 and, while it's not the highest rated game I've played, it is my favorite. The fact that I'm a huge fan of Guild Wars made its choice for this analysis that much easier. I tried to be objective in my analysis but it was difficult considering how much I like the game.