socialization
Massively on the Go: Maybe it’s time Pokemon GO buddies get the Pikachu treatment
As we've been discussing over the last few weeks, Niantic's pursuit of forcing Pokemon Go players out into the world to generate salable data...
This is why ‘playing alone together’ still makes you feel connected. But is it helping?
Whenever the topic of playing solo in MMORPGs comes up, invariably the expression "playing alone together" is worked into the conversation. This is the...
Exploring real-life PUGs, the Plus, and the antisocial nature of Pokemon Go
Although Pokemon Go isn't advertised as an MMO, both experts and players have noted it does present some interesting similarities: Both have tons of players on servers...
A deep-dive into MMORPG housing: RIFT vs. WildStar
If you took a casual poll of the MMO community and asked which game's player housing system was the best and most robust, chances...
Comparing American and Japanese Pokemon Go culture
My previous article on the culture of Japan's Pokemon Go scene was written before I'd experienced much of the American one to keep my explanations...
Exploring Japan’s Pokemon Go culture
As some readers may know, I've spent the last few years in Japan trying to tackle the local gaming scene, online and off. While...
World of Warcraft weathers roleplay and silencing controversies
All is not well following World of Warcraft's recent pre-expansion patch earlier this week. Two controversies are rocking the game resulting from the update...
PAX East 2016: Brad McQuaid on Pantheon’s startup, development focus, and old-school nature
The development history of Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen could be generously described as "checkered." The title went through several forms of failed crowdfunding...
Massively Overthinking: Grouping, kill-stealing, and open PvP in MMORPGs
This week's Massively Overthinking topic arrived in our inboxes from longtime reader Leiloni. It's a timely one all about newly launched Tree of Savior -- and...
Exploring ‘The Video Game Debate’: Are MMO communities real or fake?
We've come a long way in our discussion of Rachel Kowert and Thorsten Quandt's book The Video Game Debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological...
Exploring ‘The Video Game Debate’: Social outcomes and online gamers
Of all the chapters in Rachel Kowert and Thorsten Quandt's book The Video Game Debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects of Video...
H1Z1 warns players of full server wipe happening tomorrow
Can an apocalypse happen after the apocalypse? That's the ironic state of affairs for H1Z1, which will be experiencing a full server wipe tomorrow...
Massively Overthinking: Making MMOs more social from the inside out
This week's Massively Overthinking topic from an anonymous Kickstarter donor asks us to set aside our criticisms of the social environment of MMOs and...
Massively Overthinking: On the doom of server-wide MMO communities
This week's Massively Overthinking question comes from KS donor Morreion, who asks,
Do you think that MMO server-wide communities will ever make a comeback?
I suppose...
Ask Mo: Why MMORPGs still need traditional chat
I dug this intriguing question out of our brimming-over letters-to-the-editor bin, and it's particularly timely given the recent launch of Wander, notable for its curious glyph-based...
