vague patch notes

Vague Patch Notes is a meta design column by Eliot Lefebvre. [Follow this column’s RSS feed]

Sky sky sky

Vague Patch Notes: No Man’s Sky is the real reboot success story

21
Whenever an MMO of any type has a launch that resembles the Nedelin catastrophe, people start talking about what the studio should do to...
It tracks.

Vague Patch Notes: New World delays to add the game into the game

19
All right. Someone has to ask it, and it doesn't need to be me but it's still going to be me because I feel...
KITTY! AGAIN!

Vague Patch Notes: Don’t alter MMO systems for people who never liked them to begin with

28
Here's a concept that just would not leave my mind thanks to World of Warcraft, but it's not a bad thing. But in order...
I half-see.

Vague Patch Notes: Trying to salvage MMOs from bad launches

10
So I'm glad that Crucible got a "pull back to beta" instead of a complete shutdown. I'm surprised but still happy because that's more...
Make them fight.

Vague Patch Notes: MOBAs, battle royales, and shallow genre pools in the online gaming space

12
This past week, Nintendo announced Pokemon Unite, and then I had to go to see a doctor because I rolled my eyes so far...
Similar, but not the same.

Vague Patch Notes: Have we ever really had an MMO sequel?

11
In the wake of Justin's recent column on whether or not MMO sequels are a good idea, MOP reader Bobfish had an interesting question...
Lol

Vague Patch Notes: BlizzCon’s cancellation might just be for the best

28
After a lot of time spent expecting this particular announcement, yesterday it was finally confirmed that there will be no BlizzCon 2020. This is...
Maybe, maybe not.

Vague Patch Notes: The endless allure of the games we never got

16
It's kind of weird for me to see the intensely positive reaction people have had to the concept art for the original version of Diablo...
It's a tiny little sprout thing. It might kill you.

Vague Patch Notes: Player vs. class in Final Fantasy XI

5
I had finally hit level 41 on Red Mage in Final Fantasy XI. That was when the world changed, and if you played the game,...
Bye.

Vague Patch Notes: What causes the preponderance of disconnected MMO endgames?

16
Yesterday, I wrote a whole column about how WildStar had some really great stuff in it. I did not mention its endgame at all....
Damn you!

Vague Patch Notes: The ESRB is not your friend, gamers

7
So, hey, the ESRB is taking action about lockboxes! Well, sort of. It's adding a notification about lockboxes that doesn't expressly mention or clarify...
Trouble double.

Vague Patch Notes: Maintaining MMO anonymity in the age of parasocial bonding

16
In an author's note at the end of the novel The Dark Tower, Stephen King writes frankly that some people will not like how...
This mailbox is mine.

Vague Patch Notes: Chronicles of Elyria’s road to nowhere

22
I honestly cannot stop thinking about Chronicles of Elyria. Not in the sense of surprise, mind you; this was pretty much one of the...
That was a real laugh!

Vague Patch Notes: Ambition is not delivery in MMOs

33
So Chronicles of Elyria is dead in the water. Or... wait, that's not actually accurate; let me start again. Chronicles of Elyria has admitted...
There are about nine million more pressing questions about why you're this way, of course.

Vague Patch Notes: Complaining about MMOs you don’t play

33
All right, folks, it's time to talk. And we're going to start by talking about Guild Wars 2, a game I used to play regularly...
Fair fights.

Vague Patch Notes: Why PvP is a cheap way to fill out a game’s content compared to PvE

46
It feels like about four years ago when I laid down the first in a semi-regular series of columns I see as "useful notes"...
Bork.

Vague Patch Notes: Contemplating MMORPG exit barriers

15
In episode 13 of season 9 of The Simpsons, after having spent far more time than she wants in the Movementarian cult, Marge angrily...
Phun phor the phamily.

Vague Patch Notes: Phantasy Star Online 2 might be in a better place than you think

21
A couple years back (this being the definition where "a couple" means "I can't remember precisely how many"), I was talking with a friend...
Sort of draconic.

Vague Patch Notes: How to read games industry investor reports as a player

8
The old adage goes that diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock. By extension, marketing is the...
Things you don't want.

Vague Patch Notes: If people aren’t raiding in an MMO, it’s not because it’s too hard

106
The start of the year, at least from my perspective, was dominated by Blizzard doing lots of dumb things. So it's kind of nice,...

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