game design

Massively on the Go: Why Pokemon Go elite raids fail while Scarlet/Violet tera raids fly

2
As we recently noted while updating our March Pokemon Go event round-up, Niantic has somehow made the already hated Elite Raids even worse. The...
I find the way.

Interview: The Wayfinder team on group size, customization, monetization, and more

29
Perhaps you're interested in Wayfinder because you like the idea of a small-group dungeon-running game published by Digital Extremes. (The studio made another game...

Torchlight Infinite addresses DPS nerfing, difficulty, and balance

0
Torchlight Infinite is continuing the comms following its earlier admittance that Season 2 didn't hit the mark, this time with a bundle of answers...

World of Warcraft’s Chris Metzen: ‘I don’t think I’d ever make video games anywhere else than Blizzard’

8
Just before Christmas, Chris Metzen - who'd retired as Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development for Blizzard back in 2016 - rejoined...

Massively Overthinking: What MMORPG content requires the most skill – and why?

36
Back in January, there was an inflammatory thread on the MMORPG subreddit that argued that anyone using rotation mods in endgame MMO content was...

GDC’s State of the Games Industry survey once again demonstrates dev skepticism for metaverse and blockchain hokum

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This year's State of the Game Industry from GDC - its 11th since beginning the project - delivers a range of insights from the...

Interview: Annex is a ‘romantic gold-rush’ MMO set in a post-post-apocalyptic world

5
Last November, we reported on a new Icelandic game studio and the hints of its upcoming MMORPG project by ex-CCP developers. Arctic Theory, as...
Time to learn.

Vague Patch Notes: MMO design is not value-neutral

12
It's rare for me to find myself actively yelling at my computer screen while watching something, but it does happen every so often. The...
Are you for real, guy.

First impressions of World of Warcraft Dragonflight, part three: Combat, content, concerns

44
Eventually, you are going to have to fight something in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. Of course, by "eventually" I actually mean "more or less...

Perfect Ten: 10 things we’re thankful for in MMO gaming

10
In my experience, people who invest heavily into being grateful and thankful for blessings don't have a lot of excess room for negativity and...
Well, that happened.

Reboot of 2005 MMO Rose Online plans early access for December 13

3
All right, folks, time to get ready for a blast from the past: Rose Online is going to enter early access on December 13th,...

Embers Adrift promises changes to its questing and challenge level in reaction to player feedback

3
With the launch month of October in the rearview mirror of Embers Adrift, the devs are now taking stock of the month that was...
This is shameful even by your standards.

Vague Patch Notes: The art of picking winners and losers in MMO design

18
There's a meme that's gone around the Final Fantasy XIV community sphere for a while, and I'm going to try my best to explain...

Legends of Aria’s blockchain mess gets a new name – BRITARIA – as its token sinks

13
The crypto shenanigans around Legends of Aria just keep getting weirder. Readers will recall that Legends of Aria, Kickstarted by MMO players as Shards Online,...

Riot Games sponsors design challenge centered on making online spaces safer

8
Riot Games is not a gaming company most folks in our industry would consider a paragon of community in or off the court. The...
Gusts 'n' stuff

Vague Patch Notes: Mandatory content and game design in MMOs

24
Let me tell you about my second roommate in college. He was named Kyle, and he was benefiting from the fact that I had...
Rewind!

WoW Factor: When your MMO design is hooked on a feeling

14
To start this off, I want you to summon up a feeling. I want you think back to the first time you can remember...

Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go Fest’s Finale was a blend of comfort content and bad bugs

4
Pokemon Go's yearly Go Fest was fairly rocky this year - so rocky that some of us old trainers had to remind people that we've...

Massively Overthinking: The real-world value of MMOs

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A while back on the MMORPG subreddit, there was a wildly contentious - one might even say transparently provocative - thread declaring that "f...

Last Oasis vows to improve the current ‘chore’ of traveling, readies Sleeping Giants map

0
When a game's entire design forces you to always be on the move, you might rightly assume that getting traveling right would be of...

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