evergreen
Perfect Ten: Conversations with anthropomorphic concepts of MMO studios
Every so often, a man needs to have a conversation with some anthropomorphized concepts. I do that every few years. In the past, I've...
Perfect Ten: More terminology the MMORPG genre needs
Many moons ago (so, a few months), I wrote a column about terminology that we need for the MMO genre. This made our Editor-in-Chief...
The Survivalist: Massively OP’s guide to multiplayer survival sandboxes
Welcome to The Survivalist! Ya'll might have noticed that I have gravitated a bit from my happy home of deep, immersive virtual worlds (possible...
Massively Overthinking: When social play in MMOs is predatory by design
Blogger Tobold recently wrote a provocative piece on social play in MMOs, as pointed out to us by our dear tipster Sally. In a...
LOTRO Legendarium: A guide to starting fresh in Lord of the Rings Online
This past week, I received this letter from reader Thurro: "Your recent LOTRO resurgence has my interest, and from the sounds of you on...
Perfect Ten: Every MMORPG bestiary ever
I have played a lot of MMOs. It's inevitable, given enough years in this job and hobby. And the sad thing is that I...
Perfect Ten: MMORPGs that help you get your spaceship on
Sometimes even the most die-hard MMORPG player finds him or herself a little tired of constantly looking at the back of a head and...
Massively Overthinking: Are MMOs designed for ‘low-skill gamers’?
Ages ago on the MMORPG subreddit, a player made a bold statement: MMORPGs are designed for low-skill gamers.
"I remember being dazzled by EverQuest and...
Perfect Ten: Terminology the MMORPG genre needs
MMOs, like any other hobby, have their own terminology. We have the term "newb" for new players, "noob" for players who aren't actually new...
Perfect Ten: Ranking MMORPG combat pets, from best to worst
It's an objectively known fact that Warhammer Online's squigs were the peak of MMORPG pet design and functionality. Giant balls of attitude and appetite...
Working As Intended: Two decades of Elder Scrolls housing
Massively OP explores Elder Scrolls housing through the ages -- starting with Daggerfall, running through Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, and ending with Elder Scrolls Online's Homestead patch, live today.
Massively Overthinking: Death and dying in MMORPGs
In March of last year, MOP's Justin wrote a detailed guide to the most common death penalties in MMORPGs. Last September, Gamasutra pulled seven...
Perfect Ten: MMORPGs that walk on the weird side
In third grade, my teacher sent home a report card with the note that "Justin is wonderfully strange."Â Ever since then, I never found the...
Massively Overthinking: The best MMORPG developer quotes of 2016
One of the fun things we implemented on the site this year is a database of quotes from developers (among other entries) that are...
Jukebox Heroes: Massively OP’s guide to grabbing 120+ MMO soundtracks
One of the most common questions that I'm asked from my adoring throngs on the street is, "Justin, where oh where can I get...
Massively Overthinking: The many ‘NGE’ moments across MMORPG history
Eleven years ago this week, the New Game Enhancements patch descended on Star Wars Galaxies, forever changing the trajectory of the game, SOE, and...
Perfect Ten: Messed-up aspects of MMORPGs we mindlessly accept
When we engage in the collective fantasy of playing MMORPGs, we accept certain structures and tropes that have been in place since the early...
Working As Intended: Westworld is a sandbox MMORPG on your TV
Westworld has emerged this fall as the geek obsession TV show, a gunslinger's LOST about which people can't stop talking and theorizing and debating....
Massively OP’s guide to upcoming MMORPG expansions
If there is one consistent inconsistency among MMORPG studios, it is that teams keep swinging back and forth on pursuing the expansion model. How...
Perfect Ten: Ten ways to bond with your kids over MMOs
Back in 2009 I made the transition into parenthood, an advanced class that I still don't think I'm quite qualified for. Since then I've...
