“It is now clear that The Secret World’s days are numbered,” Tyler of Superior Realities writes. “I have decided to say goodbye to the game while I still can, conducting a final tour of some of my favourite parts of the game and finding thematically appropriate ways to retire my many characters. And taking an unhealthy number of screenshots.”
I’ve seen others do this sort of thing, especially when an MMO ends, and it almost never fails to be touching and profound. These games meant something to us, and when we say farewell, it can be an emotion-laden funeral for time well spent.
Join us today as we tour around other essays from the MMO blogosphere, including an examination of class customization, musings on SWTOR’s road map, and a balloon ride in World of Warcraft.
Taugrim: Is class customization going the way of the dinosaur?
“I believe that striving for 100% balance is a theoretical goal and not a practical one. In reality, if the 10% overpowered specs/classes and 10% underpowered specs/classes at any point in time are gradually tuned, a game can have reasonable class balance. In many cases it’s fairly obvious to highly-rated players which trees and abilities are problematic from a balance standpoint.”
“Sidequests are an interesting game design mechanic. Pretty much every RPG has them, and they are almost entirely used as pacing. Filler, in other words. Of course, if you actually find the combat/exploration/etc in the RPG engaging, then sidequests are actual, legit content. Plus, if the designers go the extra mile, sidequests might become more interesting than the actual storyline. A good example of that would be the Mass Effect or Witcher series, wherein the supporting characters and their interaction with the main character is most of the appeal.”
The Daily Frostwolf: Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon
“The Spring Balloon Festival was from May 10-13 and it bugs me when I am reading the forums and people are complaining about these little events being a ‘waste of time.’ Well, DON’T DO THEM, nobody forced you to! There aren’t even any achievements associated with them so you just do them for the fun cutesy factor, geez!”
Xam Xam Says: Content that won’t be in SWTOR’s upcoming road map
“This is something I’d personally love to see, particularly upgraded graphics of our characters along with a plethora of new customisation options such as more long hairstyles, more blonder hair colours, more eye colours, body tattoos etc. I’d also like to see improvements to the outfit designer mainly in relation to colour dyes. I’d love to see them add a colour dye system like Wildstar’s or even Elder Scrolls Online.”
Ravven: Getting started in FFXIV
“Final Fantasy XIV can be confusing when you first start (or if you’re coming back to it after a long break). There are a ton of things to do and try, and a multitude of things which can make your life easier which aren’t always fully explained. There are a lot of great guides out there but I thought I’d have a go at my own compilation of things to do, along with links to more in-depth guides by better people.”
Tales of the Aggronaut: Level-scaling tech
“The only problem there is that when the world is constantly the same level as you, it robs you of one of the quintessential MMO experiences of leveling up and becoming more powerful. The world always feels the same to you, because you are functionally always the same relative ability levels to it as you level. In situations like that the levels themselves feel like a completely extraneous concept.”
Every day there are tons of terrific, insightful, and unusual articles posted across the MMO gaming blogosphere — and every day, Justin reads as many as he can. Global Chat is a sampling of noteworthy essays, rants, and guides from the past few weeks of MMO discourse.
