Vague Patch Notes is a meta design column by Eliot Lefebvre. [Follow this column’s RSS feed]
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Vague Patch Notes: Why do so many MMOs fail?
We talk a lot about MMOs that fail here on Massively Overpowered. I wrote a whole column about how our standards of success are...
Vague Patch Notes: Why I am no longer anticipating Blue Protocol
Last year, I was pretty jazzed about Blue Protocol. I've actually been pretty jazzed about it for a while, but last year it looked...
Vague Patch Notes: There is no one-and-done with MMOs
Last week's Vague Patch Notes column focused on the struggle of adding new things to MMORPGs forever and ever. I think it was a...
Vague Patch Notes: The problem with forever adding classes to MMOs
The second expansion for Final Fantasy XI, Chains of Promathia, launched to extremely mixed reception, and there was one overwhelming reason for that lack of...
Into the Super-verse: Why the resurrection of 20-year-old City of Heroes is worth celebrating, even if you don’t play
There's a certain poetry to the fact that this year, on the 20th anniversary of City of Heroes, we can all play the game...
Vague Patch Notes: When MMO designers build traps for players
So last week, I spent a whole lot of words talking about what "the meta" actually means when it comes to MMOs. Put very...
Vague Patch Notes: Getting meta in MMORPGs
This week, MOP's Chris ran afoul of the MMO meta when he was going through New World. Only he... didn't, not really. He ran...
Vague Patch Notes: Game preservation is way more complicated than it seems
Before I say anything with this week's article, I want to make something very, very clear right from the premise: As you have probably...
Vague Patch Notes: The limits of data in MMORPGs
Yesterday, I went on a rant about data. As you probably guessed from the various columns wherein I attempt to use data to analyze...
Vague Patch Notes: Why in the world do you want the Riot MMO to be a thing?
Let's make something clear right up front: If you came into this column eager to head for the comments section to say, "Well, I...
Vague Patch Notes: You might be the reason you no longer love this MMO
Despite its ubiquity in sitcoms throughout the '90s, I have never had a single relationship end with the other person saying, "It's not you,...
Vague Patch Notes: Sort your own MMO community, guy
One of the things I note is that every so often - not all the time, but every so often - something will just...
Vague Patch Notes: The day I deleted a character in anger in Final Fantasy XI
Today, I'd like to tell you about how your characters in MMOs aren't real, and you know that, but I want you to think...
Vague Patch Notes: What does the future of MMORPGs look like?
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece about the history of MMORPGs as a market and PC gaming in general, suggesting at...
Vague Patch Notes: MMORPGs and the PC gaming market
I find myself thinking a lot about the MMORPG industry lately and the ways in which the gaming industry as a whole has changed...
Vague Patch Notes: Why we drift away from MMORPGs we still love
Why did I stop playing Star Trek Online? Was it because there was some change made to the game that made it no longer...
Vague Patch Notes: Early access is just game development as performance art
I was reminded recently about Valheim. I do not own the game and thus have not played it; I cannot tell you if it...
Vague Patch Notes: What City of Heroes Homecoming means for the wider MMORPG industry
As you have probably noticed from the fact that I have been writing about City of Heroes nonstop since the Homecoming server got its...
Vague Patch Notes: The real question every MMO has to answer
Why am I here?
A lot of times I will slow-roll my column and lead to something unexpected, something that I am sure you are...
Vague Patch Notes: MMOs are still just games you rent
When I was a teenager, I accidentally stole a few games from a video rental place. You might wonder how you accidentally steal something,...
