As you’re reading this, it’s Thanksgiving night, and the end-of-the-year insanity is about to begin. You’re going to be treated to a whole ton of awards and fauxwards about the big MMO news that happened throughout the year. But buried in the mix are thousands of other articles that didn’t quite break through, even though they are no less worthy. So join us tonight in a Massively Overthinking that has become one of our traditions: our discussion on the MOP articles we actually liked and appreciated ourselves this year. Consider it some gratitude for the fact that we get to do this – and for our fellow writers too!
I’m asking asked our staffers and readers to call out their favorite pieces on MOP of the year; readers can pick as they please, but writers have to pick one they wrote and one somebody else penned, and then tell us why it was meaningful, amusing, or both. Tell us: What was the best work we did on MOP in 2024?
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna.bsky.social, blog): I was obsessed with City of Heroes at the top of 2024 and put a ton of work into trying to showcase how amazing the base building system is in that game, as well as trying to make some of the more esoteric things in the MMO, like modding and popmenus and making money, more palatable for the influx of newbies we had. Maybe it isn’t just one piece, but taken together as a collection, they’re work nobody else was doing for a game that deserves it so much. I’m proud of it!
I also want to highlight Eliot’s World of Warcraft piece calling out Blizzard’s “mystery line.” It was genuinely baffling to me how many people, absolutely clueless about math, blundered right on ahead and swallowed whole the nonsense chart that Blizzard fed to GDC. People are still quoting from that “chart” to this day (I saw someone do it two weeks ago, even)! Eliot ripped it to shreds, brutally and deservedly. Nice try, though, Blizzard. I’m proud of his work on this. Being able and willing to call out bullshit like this from MMO studios is literally what separates journalism from fansites. We owe it to our readers.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes.bsky.social, blog):Â I kind of need to give myself a pat on the back for my Well Fed piece about creating the Wild Double Sloppy Sloppy sandwich. Not just because it’s so completely out of left field for me, but also because I had a blast putting the whole thing together (the article and the sandwich), and I just liked the rush of inspiration that pushed everything forward. Those flashes are one of the best feelings in writing.
As for another’s writing, I’m going to nod to one of Eliot’s excellent pieces about MMO design, specifically the one about alternatives to the MMO trinity. I particularly like the Duelist/Sweeper/Support idea specifically because it just sounds mad freakin’ fun. All three of those roles. Gimme it.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog):Â Tyler’s New World column is always fair and balanced in its look at this game, which is why I could trust his take on the messy Aeternum rollout. The frustration over a good game and a long-suffering community treated poorly was palpable in his excellent piece.
I don’t do a lot of rants these days (maybe I’m mellowing out a bit?) but I had a few hard words to say for Blizzard and the MMO industry at large with a Soapbox on paid MMO hdeadstarts and why they hurt the game. I may have been feeling rankled at being left out of a certain headstart…
MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie, blog): While I am not going to say I have any favorites, the article by Eliot about MMOs just being games you rent really impacted me. In fact, I really appreciate his ending, “And at least to me, that’s part of how I deal with loving games that I know are only rented for a time. The emotional impact – the part that sticks with me – is going to make more difference than whether or not I own a moment in time.” As someone who has been deeply invested in a virtual world for an inordinate amount of time (and was in fact a lifeline to the outside when I was seriously ill), I know losing that world was quite a blow. And while you know that online games aren’t forever, just the idea that you “purchased” them gives a feeling of permanent ownership even if only subconsciously. By reframing it as renting, it is so much easier then to keep its lack of permanence in mind, also helping to lessen the impact when the rental is over.
It’s not an article, but perhaps my favorite thing I did this year was the Heidel Ball gallery! If I had to choose a logner written piece, I’d be stuck between my Heidel Ball and my TennoCon reporting, because both of them had just the perfect subheadings to fit the flavor of the pieces. And because both of those cons were a blast. (So there might be come bias at work there.)
Sam Kash (@samkash@mastodon.social): First, I really enjoyed Tyler’s piece about how important it is to include challenging content for casual and solo players. Tyler always has great insight, and his writing is just incredible. I live how he begins by somewhat challenging the term “casual” itself and acknowledging that it doesn’t really conform to a strict definition. Then he discusses it by bringing in all different games. I really agree with just about everything. Developers could learn a thing or two by starting here.
I also want to point to Andy’s Second Wind on V Rising. Mostly because he’s used fangtastic with a straight face and actually got me interested in the game.
For one of my pieces, it’s a bit trickier. I don’t really have much on the way of depth or insight so I’ll go wild with my article on Wildcard Football – a game that had no business being any good but was anyway.
Tyler Edwards (blog):Â I appreciated Justin’s editorial on not “fixing” classes that aren’t broken. It’s a nuanced issue because sometimes revamps or modernization are genuinely needed, but I’m sure we all have stories of a time where our favourite class got transformed into something unrecognizable for no good reason.
I was proud of my two-part series on repairing New World’s endgame following the mistakes made with the Aeternum update. With one notable exception, I tried to keep my suggestions to things that could be implemented quickly without expending too much development resources, and I hope it’s feedback that the developers take to heart.
Every week, join the Massively OP staff for Massively Overthinking column, a multi-writer roundtable in which we discuss the MMO industry topics du jour – and then invite you to join the fray in the comments. Overthinking it is literally the whole point. Your turn!
