editorial
Stick and Rudder: Launch impressions of Elite Dangerous Odyssey
On June 3rd, 2020, Frontier Developments made an announcement that had fans of the Elite franchise excited for new possibilities. After decades of being...
The Soapbox: MMO monetization that complements poor game design makes us all losers
I have a problem: As much as I enjoy games, I can see that many online and multiplayer games are becoming designed more poorly...
Vague Patch Notes: The specter of MMO burnout and what it means
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about burnout. This is due in no small part to the fact that I am majorly burnt out...
Palia is a new ‘community simulation MMO’ from former Blizzard and Riot devs
A few weeks ago, I attended a press event for a new game assuming I would not be impressed by the offerings. Instead, I...
Stick and Rudder: Elite Dangerous Odyssey is not bad, but it is broken
All right. I get it. I understand. The Elite: Dangerous community is pretty rancorous right now, and I can't say that I blame them....
The Soapbox: Reconsidering social media as an MMORPG
At GDC 2011, Raph Koster gave a talk in which he said, "Games are fundamentally social media and always have been." You can watch...
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s June events bring slowpoke days and poison pvp buffs
Ah yes, summer. Relaxing on beaches, letting shellfish pokemon bite your tail or head to cause evolution, maybe move to an England-inspired territory and...
Niantic has revealed Pokemon Go Fest 2021 details – and they look quite promising
New details on Pokemon Go's next Go Fest have been released, and there is cause for excitement. While we're already seeing that, once again, players who...
Four Winds: Exploring Swords of Legends Online’s mindblowing world
Have you ever played a game knowing exactly what you're going to get, only for it to impress you because it did exactly that...
Vague Patch Notes: Money makes the MMO world go round
I had some thoughts after the most recent bit of news we got from Star Trek Online about how, you know... the game costs...
Working As Intended: Touring my new SWG Legends houses (and looking at Bespin deco!)
If you're a fan of MMORPG housing, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies specifically, or just chatter about MMOs, then this very self-indulgent Working As...
Vague Patch Notes: The self-made shadowboxing of MMO feuds
There's no actual feud between the development teams behind World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. The two teams have congratulated one another on successful expansion...
So Mythic Quest is a TV show about a fictional MMO studio – how well does it represent actual MMO issues?
As an avid MMO gamer and big fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I was extremely excited to watch Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet...
First impressions: Bless Unleashed’s PC beta is just enough of an improvement over the original Bless
I'm not going to say I've had a great deal of time with the recent PC beta test of Bless Unleashed -- that's why...
Massively on the Go: Why Pokemon Go’s COVID changes should stay, not roll back
Pokemon Go’s already tried rolling back some of its COVID features, and between the original announcement of its June disappearance and the announcement of...
Four Winds: Final thoughts on Elyon’s first closed beta test
Elyon's closed beta test came and went, and boy am I happy with what I played. It was unfortunate that the test fell on...
Hands-on with Amazon’s New World first expedition, Amrine Excavation
The funny thing about our ongoing pandemic is that it didn't really change the way video game previews are done. It turns out that...
Stick and Rudder: Phase 4 impressions and overall thoughts on Elite Dangerous’ Odyssey expansion
Well, the alpha testing has concluded. Frontier Developments have presumably collected all the metrics and opinions they could want, and Elite Dangerous is heading...
The Soapbox: If you want innovation in MMOs, stop worshiping polish
Gamers often lament that the world of MMORPGs lacks innovation. It's a frustration I share; this a genre that could be much more than...
First impressions of Elyon’s western closed beta: Day one and a dungeon run
I can't believe I'm actually playing Elyon on local servers. People have been excited for this game since it was called Ascent: Infinite Realm, and just...