One trend that we have noticed over the past decade or so is the blurring of lines between “regular” video games and MMORPGs. It seems as though many MMO-like traits and design features are bleeding into the rest of the industry, which opens the door to argue that certain games are, in fact, MMOs.
So what about the new Animal Crossings: New Horizons? Everwake says that, yup, it’s an MMO: “There are real economic benefits to keeping a huge friend’s list. Selling each island’s unique fruit is a huge boon for cash. Furniture and clothing is randomized each day for each player. Additionally, I’m already seeing communities pop up again to take advantage of the game’s clothing and furniture editors. The decorating community in Animal Crossing is every bit as real as the one in EverQuest II.”
Read on for more MMO blog essays, including a call for a new Star Wars MMO, a celebration of EverQuest’s 21st birthday, and the desired return for WildStar.
Occasional Hero: I want WildStar back too. How could it happen?
“It’s clear that a lot of people loved this game and really miss it. They saw in it great potential, but felt it was wasted by the team that developed it. Is there any chance we could ever walk the surface of Nexus again? Maybe. All of the options are a long shot, but here are a few ways it could potentially happen.”
The Ancient Gaming Noob: EverQuest at 21
“What does it even mean when your game has retro-nostalgia servers that are over nine years old? At least I will be able to write that promised final post about the server. Congrats to the EverQuest team for making it into another decade!”
MMO Fallout: The Division Warlords of New York is stupid garbage
“I think the thing that pisses me off most in The Division 2 is the laziness of the enemy design. Here’s how it works: Take a character and load them up with impenetrable armor, the kind you need hundreds upon hundreds of bullets in order to break. Give that enemy a flamethrower that can hit you from ridiculously long distances, one that breaks your character, causes damage over time, stops them from moving, and can virtually knock you out in mere seconds, and give that character AI that just lumbers around following you blindly. Throw it into an arena where there are constantly refreshing groups of foes coming to shoot at you from all sides and voila: You’ve got The Division 2.”
Sam’s Planet: Is it time for a new Star Wars MMO?
“Star Wars’ current MMO The Old Republic is not fulfilling all fans expectations. Player numbers are at an all time low and the experience of the game equates more to a single player story game with some multiplayer elements. Basically it doesn’t feel like you are a unique part of the world, it feels like you are at the centre of a preset adventure.”
Carl Tashian (via Minimalistway): How multi-user dungeons taught me to code
“It wasn’t until later, at 14, that I really got excited about programming. I became addicted to an online adventure game — a free Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) called HexOnyx. Hex was a popular virtual world with at least a hundred people playing at any given time. Though today’s MMPORGs host millions at a time, back then a few hundred people in one virtual space seemed like a lot. I made great friends there, and each night we’d battle vicious snarling wargs and Demons of Decay together in the dungeons and dark woods. The game was entirely text-based, so imagination was mandatory. Nearly 20 years later, I still have pictures in my head of some of the old stomping grounds in the game.”
Mailvatar: Designing good MMO PvP is hard but not impossible
“In my opinion, there are some MMORPGs out there that manage to not only provide open PvP for those who like it, but also give incentives for and meaning to said PvP without actually forcing anyone to participate in it. Are any of those games perfect? No, because nothing ever is, but they prove that designing good and meaningful PvP can be done without the game in question automatically becoming a ‘gankbox.'”
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.
