history
The Game Archaeologist: When EverQuest players killed the unkillable Sleeper
In many CRPGs and MMORPGs, there are bosses designed to be so crazy tough that, for most people, these enemies are straight-out unkillable. Developers...
Final Fantasy XI looks back at developing the story for its three nation-states at launch
It might be easy to forget with another Square-Enix MMORPG being everyone's focus in the storytelling department, but Final Fantasy XI has been doing the...
The Game Archaeologist: The history of Hi-Rez’s Global Agenda
This past week, former Global Agenda players woke up to a surprising reality: Their game, which went offline in 2018, suddenly was back. Hi-Rez...
The Game Archaeologist: The Blizzard Real ID fiasco of 2010
As we come off a year when Blizzard Entertainment's seedy underbelly of scandals and coverups was exposed, I thought it might be worth risking...
Vitae Aeternum: Analyzing New World’s storytelling
I've been wanting to write this column for a while, but it's been a struggle to find the words. I'm never sure of how...
World of Warcraft prepares to kick off its anniversary celebrations on November 15
It's almost time to celebrate 17 years since World of Warcraft initially launched, so hopefully you're feeling in a celebratory mood at the moment. Or...
RuneScape’s new illustrated book recounting its 20 year history is released
If you're a fan of RuneScape who likes coffee table books filled with concept artwork and tales of the game's 20 years of development,...
The Daily Grind: Are you good about remembering old MMO account details?
Theoretically, you should have all of your account credentials for various MMOs set up so that if you decide to go back after a...
Not So Massively: Age of Empires IV is a thoughtful love letter to the past
Folks who grew up gamers probably all have a few games or franchises that just defined our childhoods. For me, one of those franchises...
Final Fantasy XI launches a new website for its upcoming 20-year anniversary
It's not long now before Final Fantasy XI manages to hit its 20th anniversary. Sure, it's going to be a little while longer, but...
Blizzard teams up with Z-Man Games for a Pandemic-style World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King game
We all know that if there's one thing people still love about World of Warcraft, it's Wrath of the Lich King. It makes a...
Age of Empires II Definitive Edition begins testing co-op campaigns
E3 saw the reveal of an October release date for Age of Empires IV, but its much beloved predecessor is not being left behind....
World of Warships spearheads 17-hour international virtual museum hop next week
If the suggestive World of Warships transmedia synergy we joked about earlier this week didn't grab you, maybe this much more serious and wholesome...
Desert Oasis: A brief history of Kakao Games, Black Desert’s former PC publisher
It's been a busy couple of months for Pearl Abyss and Kakao games. While Black Desert players knew about Pearl Abyss taking up self publishing...
The Daily Grind: Which doomed MMO would you love to play again from launch?
Good news! Your friend, Professor Hypothetical-Question, has developed a time machine! Unfortunately, it's pretty limited. It will allow you to do one thing and...
The Daily Grind: How solid do you think your memory of your favorite MMO’s history is?
Ages ago, I wrote a column in which I jokingly pointed out that in order to really get the WoW Classic experience, you should need...
A new interview reveals how Naoki Yoshida leveraged charisma and spreadsheets to make Final Fantasy XIV happen
We all know that Final Fantasy XIV is a big success story. So what's the secret behind Naoki Yoshida taking the game from zero...
David Brevik discusses how Diablo 2’s development was marked with a year of crunch
It's easy to think of "crunch" in game development being something of a more recent phenomenon as we've heard more about it. It's also...
World of Warcraft has been post-Pandaria longer than it has been pre-Pandaria (in the EU)
When dealing with a long-running MMO, it's easy to sort its history into eras based on expansions. But it's also good to remember that...
The Game Archaeologist: The virtual worlds of the 1990s
With the increased speeds of modems and the move into 3-D space in the 1990s, some game designers thought it was a logical conclusion...
