rant
The Soapbox: There is no MMO that can fix a broken MMO community
We've heard again and again how the recently launched World of Warcraft: Classic was going to "fix" the MMO community by stripping away modern...
The Soapbox: No, the MMO genre is not dead – but it could use a little positivity
One of my favorite idioms is "dead as a doornail." It always reminds me of the time I got sent out of my 10th...
The Survivalist Soapbox: Astroneer’s moon landing update is a time-limited online event done right
I could definitely write a Why I Play on Astroneer (and maybe I still will!) because there are so many reasons this game just...
The Soapbox: The counterproductiveness of limited-time content in online games
While thoroughly enjoying playing Astroneer's special event in honor of Apollo 11's moon landing 50th anniversary that's happening now through August 31st, I was...
The Soapbox: Hoping for Amazon to succeed where Lord of the Rings Online failed
It's not often I really get excited about an upcoming MMORPG. Partly this is because of the industry slowing down, and partly this is...
The Soapbox: A pre-mortem for Star Wars The Old Republic, a game that never knew what it had
Would you believe that Star Wars: The Old Republic is shutting down? I'm going to bet that you could believe it, and I'm even going to bet...
Wings Over Atreia: Aion’s abolished trading, and other foolish moves
So I really did not want to write a rant for Christmas week. No, I wanted -- nay, I planned -- a joyous column...
The Soapbox: I have a bad feeling about Anthem
As I watched Nick Tarabay stand on stage hype up the audience in the Main Theater for PAX West 2018, I thought it was...
Vague Patch Notes: On balance and differentiation in MMOs
Do you like fighting games? I don't. Let's talk about fighting games. But bear with me because you'll get where this is going.
While I...
The Soapbox: The western port of Bless Online feels like a curse
To say that the development of Neowiz’s high-fantasy MMO Bless has been somewhat beleaguered would be an understatement. Since the Korean import’s Western release...
The Soapbox: Do MMOs still fall victim to the copycat curse?
When Radical Heights launched, I was inspired to put together a whole Perfect Ten about why trend-chasing doesn't work for online games. Obviously, my...
The Soapbox: Three augmented reality game problems (most) MMOs don’t have – and one thing they do so much better
I'd like to think that I'm kind of a healthy gamer. While MMOs take a lot of time, the nice thing is that their...
The Soapbox: Six responses to the ‘gaming is wrong/evil/an addiction’ argument
I recently went on a rant about gaming, but it wasn't directed at gaming. It was in defense of gaming. I am so weary...
The Soapbox: Confessions of a serial hoarder (in MMORPGs)
How much is too much?
To some, that might seem like a reasonable question. But I knew. I knew. There is no such thing as...
The Soapbox: Evaluating gaming monetization through the lens of Nintendo’s mobile history
Bloggers and journalists throughout the online gaming industry have been talking about monetization a lot lately. It's not just lockbox/gachapon scandals, or their relationship...
The Soapbox: Inconvenience is not immersion in MMOs or anywhere else
Inconvenience is not immersion.
This strikes me as something rather ridiculous to type; to mildly paraphrase Dan Harmon, it seems like should be one of...
The Soapbox: The long tail of game development isn’t an excuse for gouging
Don't be too mad at Star Wars: Battlefront II. It's a symptom of a problem, not the cause. I mean, be mad at people...
The Soapbox: NCsoft’s bizarre silence on Aion’s server merges says everything you need to know
NCsoft done messed up. Again. Yes, I know the studio has already had a few black eyes for other things throughout the years, but...
But seriously, lockboxes suck, even if the ESRB doesn’t think they’re gambling. Stop buying lockboxes.
So, MMO players. Are you tired of hearing about lockboxes and gambleboxes? It feels like we've been complaining about them for like six or...
The Soapbox: Getting to the heart of toxicity in MMOs
So we've gotten another post from a developer saying that they're going to really 100% be better about rooting out toxic players from their...
