mmo design
Vague Patch Notes: Going solo isn’t a problem in MMORPGs
So I'm wrapping up a month of talking about how MMORPGs are by necessity social games. These are games in which you need other...
Vague Patch Notes: Living like a rock in MMORPGs
So if you are anything close to my age, you probably do not think of Simon & Garfunkel's music as being anything remotely "raw."...
Design Mockument: Exploring alternatives to the typical MMO trinity
Here's a fun thing for you: I swear that way, way back before the game launched, there were documents from the Guild Wars 2...
Vague Patch Notes: Solipsism and what it means for playing MMORPGs
We've been talking for the past couple of Vague Patch Notes columns about the fact that MMOs are, as a genre, defined by having...
Vague Patch Notes: The MMO world you don’t control
Last week in Vague Patch Notes, I attempted to lay out my thesis for what it means when we say MMOs require other people....
Vague Patch Notes: MMOs rely on other people – but what does that really mean?
Now that we're done with Leveling Month in Vague Patch Notes, is there another topic I can turn into a month-and-change of column topics?...
Vague Patch Notes: What is good meaningful leveling in MMORPGs?
All right. So we are here at long last, at the end of Leveling Month, although it's actually more like Month And A Bit....
Vague Patch Notes: The dark side of meaningful MMO leveling
We've been in Leveling Month over here in Vague Patch Notes, and I had intended for this particular column to close off that discussion...
Vague Patch Notes: When leveling too quickly becomes a problem in MMORPGs
Last week, I talked about how slow leveling design could become a problem. In that piece (and the one before it - it's become...
Vague Patch Notes: When slow leveling is a problem in MMORPGs
Last week in Vague Patch Notes, I talked about leveling. At the very end of the column, I mentioned that slow leveling or fast...
Vague Patch Notes: Leveling in MMORPGs is cool because it’s finite
No matter what you do, leveling in an MMORPG is going to be too fast. It's also going to be slow. It is the...
Vague Patch Notes: When did Blue Protocol really die?
It was the middle of the night, for us, when we heard the news: Blue Protocol is dead. It will never be receiving a...
Vague Patch Notes: The great content consumption problem in MMORPGs
A friend and I were talking about an MMORPG's content recently (it doesn't matter which one) and I was pointing out how that particular...
Vague Patch Notes: Is it time for MMORPGs to start embracing romance?
The other day, I was writing about Baldur's Gate 3 celebrating its anniversary with statistics about all the companions that people have smooched over...
Vague Patch Notes: The player-provided guidance problem in MMORPGs
Final Fantasy XIV has a player-based mentor program and an automatic guidance network for new players. The idea is that certain players can volunteer...
Vague Patch Notes: Everything in an MMORPG is time-limited
Today, I want to talk to you about an event that you can no longer participate in within Final Fantasy XIV. It's an event...
Vague Patch Notes: How widespread free-to-play impacted MMORPGs
In 2009, Dungeons & Dragons Online went free-to-play, which was a pretty big deal at the time. It was especially important to me, since...
Vague Patch Notes: Yes, tutorials are a good thing in MMORPGs
For those of you who haven't been reading the site for a while or just don't keep this in your head, I'm going to...
Vague Patch Notes: The stuff that has me excited about Stars Reach
Raph Koster is a smart guy. Not just an experienced one (he's that, too), but a smart one. The man knows his stuff front...
Vague Patch Notes: Many kinds of challenge and many kinds of fun in MMOs
Earlier this week, MOP's Bree and I were discussing my plans in Final Fantasy XIV as part of the Dawntrail early access launch. Now,...
