design
Vague Patch Notes: What we mean when we talk about MMO success – and failure
Yesterday, aside from love being such an easy game to play, MOP's Justin graced us with a Daily Grind asking about why it was RIFT...
Vague Patch Notes: Why stan an MMO with nothing to show for itself?
We need to talk about Star Citizen, folks. But maybe not in the way you might be thinking. Not about the game's development, which is...
Vague Patch Notes: Apple vs. Epic is not good vs. evil
So Epic has really gone all-in on fighting against Apple here, huh? The company is using Fortnite as a wedge in hopes of bringing down...
Vague Patch Notes: How platform considerations impact MMOs
It wasn't until I had been working in this field for a while - and as a result playing a lot of different MMOs...
Vague Patch Notes: Balance in MMOs is overrated
Earlier this week, we did a post all about balance in Crucible. It was a detailed post explaining all of the ways that the...
Vague Patch Notes: No Man’s Sky is the real reboot success story
Whenever an MMO of any type has a launch that resembles the Nedelin catastrophe, people start talking about what the studio should do to...
Vague Patch Notes: New World delays to add the game into the game
All right. Someone has to ask it, and it doesn't need to be me but it's still going to be me because I feel...
Vague Patch Notes: Don’t alter MMO systems for people who never liked them to begin with
Here's a concept that just would not leave my mind thanks to World of Warcraft, but it's not a bad thing. But in order...
Vague Patch Notes: Trying to salvage MMOs from bad launches
So I'm glad that Crucible got a "pull back to beta" instead of a complete shutdown. I'm surprised but still happy because that's more...
Crucible plans voice chat soon along with adjustments to its Heart of the Hive
The post-release deployment for Crucible has been a bit shaky, something that the team acknowledges in its latest preview for players; no one has...
Seed shows off the concept art work for the game’s Kernel
Sitting at the heart of your colony in Seed is the Kernel, the little structure that kicks off the founding of your settlement. And...
Vague Patch Notes: MOBAs, battle royales, and shallow genre pools in the online gaming space
This past week, Nintendo announced Pokemon Unite, and then I had to go to see a doctor because I rolled my eyes so far...
Vague Patch Notes: Have we ever really had an MMO sequel?
In the wake of Justin's recent column on whether or not MMO sequels are a good idea, MOP reader Bobfish had an interesting question...
Vague Patch Notes: BlizzCon’s cancellation might just be for the best
After a lot of time spent expecting this particular announcement, yesterday it was finally confirmed that there will be no BlizzCon 2020. This is...
Vague Patch Notes: The endless allure of the games we never got
It's kind of weird for me to see the intensely positive reaction people have had to the concept art for the original version of Diablo...
Vague Patch Notes: Player vs. class in Final Fantasy XI
I had finally hit level 41 on Red Mage in Final Fantasy XI. That was when the world changed, and if you played the game,...
Vague Patch Notes: What causes the preponderance of disconnected MMO endgames?
Yesterday, I wrote a whole column about how WildStar had some really great stuff in it. I did not mention its endgame at all....
Vague Patch Notes: The ESRB is not your friend, gamers
So, hey, the ESRB is taking action about lockboxes! Well, sort of. It's adding a notification about lockboxes that doesn't expressly mention or clarify...
Vague Patch Notes: Maintaining MMO anonymity in the age of parasocial bonding
In an author's note at the end of the novel The Dark Tower, Stephen King writes frankly that some people will not like how...
Vague Patch Notes: Chronicles of Elyria’s road to nowhere
I honestly cannot stop thinking about Chronicles of Elyria. Not in the sense of surprise, mind you; this was pretty much one of the...