Daybreak’s announcement earlier this month that it will be splitting H1Z1 into two games triggered a flood of responses from the MMO blogging community, some pronouncing doom while others offering insight into what might be going on behind closed doors.
Healing the Masses considers the move part of an ongoing scam with the game and “abnormally idiotic.” The Ancient Gaming Noob predicts that Daybreak will further change at least one of these games’ names to avoid confusion. Inventory Full notes that splitting MMOs up into two or more games or parts is hardly new. Tyrannodorkus said that the different game modes probably warrant separate development but selling them as two titles is a “scummy move.” And Me vs. Myself and I finds himself confused, bewildered, and losing faith in Daybreak.
We’ve got more captivating discussion from the MMO blogosphere after the break, including a look at World of Warcraft’s impermanence, an exploration of Otherland, arguments over the holy trinity, and more!
Superior Realities: WoW — On change and impermanence
Change is a natural part of MMORPGs, but where’s the line between change that produces excitement and new challenge and change that creates an unstable environment for players? Tyler thinks that World of Warcraft has long since crossed over into the second category, and he’s got a rant brewing about it.
“Here’s what it boils down to: I can live with the current changes, even if I dislike some of them, but I have so little faith left in the game’s stability going forward that it’s hard to become invested in anything where WoW is concerned. It’s not the current round of overhauls that bothers me so much is it is the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that.”
Murf Versus: Your holy trinity is a crock
Murf throws down the gauntlet with this post, saying that the current state of the holy trinity is a corrupted perversion of the group balance that MMOs used to display.
“In a perfect world, I would love to have my Bards and Enchanters back, along with any MMORPG that wants a holy trinity that isn’t limited to just three roles. What that game would look like or when it will come into being, I do not know. I just know that the holy trinity we have today is a crock and I wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting it to be replaced altogether, even if I also think that person is completely wrong.”
Why I Game: Why are we even arguing about the holy trinity?
As a response to Murf’s post, Jeromai argues that the holy trinity doesn’t even really exist any more but that there are several more roles than just three that are being filled in modern MMOs.
“Bottom line, it goes back to ‘I don’t like or want to learn or play any other roles or combinations thereof. I just like this one and am not flexible or adaptable.’ So let’s just say it how it is. Holy trinity defenders are sticks-in-the-mud that want to feel special and want to force other people to roll around in the mud with them.”
Inventory Full: The hard road to Lambda Mall
Bhagpuss might be one of the very few gamers that you’ll encounter who is playing Otherland. What does he think of it so far? He’s not quite sure so far, as he’s trying to suss out the game’s virtues while struggling with its early access bugfest.
“Otherland has…something,” he writes. “Not the vast, sprawling, overwhelming something-everything of Tad Williams’ monstrously huge trilogy on which it’s based, but at least a clear and present ambiance that reflects some of the strangeness of that setting.”
Through Wolfy’s Eyes: Multiple MMOing is OK
How many MMOs do you play in any given week? If it’s more than one or two, you might feel a little weird about it, as if you’re too flighty or indecisive. Buck up, then, as you have Wolfy as an ally. He penned a post in which he defends playing several online games at a time.
“This sounds like a lot of things on the surface — a person who just bunny-hops games, a person with more time on their hands than sense, a person who has the attention span of a mosquito. I get that, really. Honestly, though, I play these games errantly because I enjoy the option to be within any given universe at any given time.”
The Errant Penman: Understanding Revival
I’ve had a long-standing mental block with trying to wrap my head around what Revival is, other than a disassociated list of features. Reading this post by Isarii made me feel a little better about my confusion, because he also mentions difficulty trying to get a “firm grasp” on this upcoming sandbox.
“I suspect the culprit is that a lot of the information surrounding Revival is still fairly vague, allowing all of us plenty of freedom to make comparisons to other games that may prove wildly inaccurate once these systems are actually in place — a mistake that’s all too common among gamers in the pre-launch phase. So while my top-level overview may sound promising, don’t get too excited about it.”
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.
