One of the largest and most enduring arguments of the MMO genre is the purpose, legality, and profitability of so-called lockboxes in games. We’ve certainly railed against them pretty hard here on the site.
MMO Bro takes an interesting position this week by saying that, yes, lockboxes are annoying, but we need to move on from grousing about them: “If I may play devil’s advocate here for a moment, I think the time may have come for us to take a step back and examine whether all the furor over lockboxes is really productive. It’s clear that lockboxes are here to stay, so perhaps it’s time for us to learn how to live with them.”
Agree? Disagree? That’s why we have the comments section. Now that you’re fully awake, why not check out the rest of our roundup from the MMO blogosphere, including essays on early access stumbles, costumes, multiplayer mounts, and — everyone’s favorite — geography!
Superior Realities: ESO — endgame expectations, costumes, and sandbox gameplay
“My biggest complaint about Elder Scrolls Online continues to be its lack of a wardrobe. To that end, I’ve acquired a number of costumes from the cash shop and in-game sources, but nothing is quite clicking. The problem with costumes is that they’re, well, costumes. They’re very specific outfits, and most of them are pretty clearly non-combat attire. You can try to squint and convince yourself some are decent adventuring clothes, but the fact remains these are basically town clothes. Very nice town clothes, but still.”
“I am starting to realize that more and more, I am my characters in my games; I am not playing one. I like to imagine that I am the Druid, shape shifting and saving the day. It is *me* in the game. This is very different than being able to roleplay any race or combination that may be on your whim.”
The Errant Penman: 10 early thoughts on adventures in FFXIV
“It is staggering how much there is to do in this game. It’s honestly been overwhelming learning all the different types of content available, and as I’ve started working on unlocking everything the vanilla endgame had to offer, just, damn.”
Healing the Masses: Failure to launch — issues with early access
“An early access game that releases but a husk of what it could, and is planned to be. A tide of hopeful supporters that are drawn in by the mere mention of such potential and then of course, the subsequent fall as gameplay flaws, and overwhelming issues poison that original hope. Population dwindles, thoughts of the community turn more negative and the game overwhelmingly begins to flounder – partly due to these failed expectations built on an unfinished project but also because such things were never possible to begin with.”
The Ancient Gaming Noob: Where the hell is that EverQuest successor already?
“There have been calls to return to or recreate that era… probably since that era… to bring back all sorts of things like the harsh death penalty, simple classes, spells every five levels, mandatory grouping, open world dungeons, steep level curves, travel time, contested raiding, mobs that chase you right to the zone line, and probably dozens more that I cannot think of at the moment.”
Occasional Hero: When MMOs need an overhaul
“Sooner or later, the game gets bogged down in so many things–progression systems, extra gear slots, gear augmentation, etc. that, at some point, it really starts to overwhelm new and returning players — sometimes even consistent players who don’t spend a lot of time reading forums and wikis and the like — and it really needs and overhaul.”
GamingSF: Multiplayer mounts in MMOs
“Sadly, we’ve not had much experience of similar mounts in other games. I think it’s a lovely social feature to allow couples or small groups of friends to travel around like this. I’d particularly like one in SWTOR, as I know the leveling zones better than the friends I sometimes play this with, but I couldn’t find any reference to a multiplayer mount in that game.”
Contains Moderate Peril: The geography of LOTRO part 2 — Bree and Bree-land
“Where the game differs is in scale. Bree in LOTRO has been expanded from a simple village to a more substantial centre of commerce. This adaptation allows them to encompass all the crafting and training halls, along with the vendors and sundry NPCs. The only embellishment I personally feel a little excessive, is the town hall itself. It seems a little too ambitious for such a small and insular community.”
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.
