design
The Daily Grind: What cosmetic changes would you like for your MMO character abilities?
We live in an era when most designers have noticed that we like to control what our characters look like as well as how...
WoW Factor: The state of WoW’s dungeons and how we got here
I've still been having a blast in Legion over the past few weeks. Nithogg might have been unkind to me by offering me no...
DC Universe Online is overhauling its stats completely
Stats are a big deal in MMOs. Those little numbers that we try to make go higher are a big part of what makes...
Take a look at Crowfall’s male Ranger and female Champion
Each of Crowfall's archetypes tends to be associated with a specific gender because the game's archetypes are a bit more comprehensive than simply classes....
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Legion, part two
When last we left off, the world was screwed. World of Warcraft: Legion doesn't tell you that you're facing a huge threat, it just...
Tencent reveals Transformers Online, a team-based Chinese shooter
Do you lie awake at night and think that what would really compete with Overwatch is a team-based shooter based on Transformers? Apparently, the...
Camelot Unchained shows off weapon concepts and the growing world
One of the big elements of Camelot Unchained's design philosophy is the difference between its three factions. It wouldn't make a lot of sense...
Scotty joins Star Trek Online’s Agents of Yesterday expansion
Montgomery Scott casts a long shadow over pop culture in general; if you've ever played a game in which the engineer spoke with a...
Heroes of the Storm previews its upcoming Chromie, Medivh, and hero skins
If you feel like Heroes of the Storm is lacking in powerful spellcasters, your reasoning isn't particularly solid, but you can take heart in...
PAX East 2016: Hands-on with NCsoft’s Master x Master
Master x Master might very well be the MOBA that I learn to love in spite of any and all preconceptions.
I am not, categorically,...
PAX East 2016: Richard Garriott discusses Shroud of the Avatar’s ‘launch’ and future
It might seem as if Shroud of the Avatar has been in early access for a very long time, probably because it has. Technically, it's...
PAX East 2016: Brad McQuaid on Pantheon’s startup, development focus, and old-school nature
The development history of Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen could be generously described as "checkered." The title went through several forms of failed crowdfunding...
The Daily Grind: What MMO has the most user-unfriendly interface?
Here's the stunning secret about Final Fantasy XI's interface: It gets passed off as being horrible because it was designed for a console, but...
WoW Factor: The problem with Garrisons isn’t Garrisons
When World of Warcraft rolls away from the inexplicable inclusion of alternate Draenor for good, it will also mean bidding farewell to the elements...
Final Fantasy XIV posts its third video diary on visual design
Final Fantasy XIV is a very pretty game. Even if you don't play it, you can see that a lot of care has been...
Take a first look at the art and animations of Crowfall’s Ranger
It's no secret that you want your characters to look good. Everyone does; that's why very few games consider it an acceptable compromise to...
Here’s how castles are built in Crowfall
According to the old adage, a man's home is his castle. But you know what's really a castle? An actual castle. And you can...
MMORPG science in 2015
Better not scoff at academic research: From Superdata to in-house economists, from feminist theory to Bartle, and from education applications to NASA mapping, science is...
World of Warcraft outlines the Death Knight changes coming in Legion
The next World of Warcraft expansion is adding the game's second hero class to the lineup, but that doesn't mean the first one has...
Worlds Adrift previews its creature-based ecology
The developers of Worlds Adrift currently have three types of creature in the game. Yes, just three. If that sounds like a rather small...
