I think that Warhammer Online’s arrival, more so even than Age of Conan’s, is showing who has outgrown the classic fantasy MMORPG and who still enjoys the genre.

(I’ll preface this by saying I’M NOT IN THE BETA YET, so I’m basing my observations off watching the game being played by someone else (*sob*) as well as the posts coming from a variety of bloggers.)

In one corner we have people like Darren and Brent, who see WAR as offering the same old DIKU gameplay, and (they feel) in most ways not as well as WoW. They are both, however, excited about SOE’s next batch of games which they feel are bringing some innovation to the MMOG space: FreeRealms, the Agency, and DC Universe Online (and I’m looking forward to all these games too).

In the other corner we have Keen and others who are happy that WAR seems to be just what they wanted. They cite the almost universally lauded public quests, but for a lot of these people it’s the RvR alone that will hold their interest long term.

Somewhere in the middle we have Tobold and Genda, who are taking a more objective stance on what WAR brings to the table. I particularly enjoyed Tobold’s theory that WAR will do a lot more to foster player community during the leveling process than WoW has by virtue of its social systems.

As I wrote before, it’s okay for some folks to have grown tired of this type of game. There’s no shame in saying so. But those same people need to realize that there’s no shame in enjoying a familiar game style and lauding a few well-thought-out advancements.

Look, WAR is unlikely to win over the average poster at f13, because those folks are more jaded than a Chinese gift shop. But I think Warhamer Online is going to do quite well with fans of the genre, so long as it remains as engaging as it seems to be at the lower levels and it doesn’t feature broken PvP like AoC. I’ll be particularly interested whether it brings some socialization back to MMOGs, which have increasingly become solo experiences.

Sometimes a little is enough (THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID… oops, sorry). MMOGs don’t have to be revolutionary to be successful, and at the end of the day delivering a few new ideas on top of a polished and familiar core experience may be enough to satisfy a sizable fanbase. Time will tell if this is true of WAR, or if the public as a whole is looking for the same revolution that some longtime gamers are advocating.

Personally, I’m hoping for both.

Both Scott “News For Lunch” Jennings and the MMOG news avalanche that is Massively commented on a Shacknews piece in which Mark Jacobs spoke concerning WAR’s credits:

“Over the years, we’ve had hundreds of people work on the game, and we thank everyone who helped us bring our Warhammer passion to life, but only current employees that have continued until the end will be credited in the final game.”

The article includes comments from a former employee that make things sound a bit shady, but I did want to mention one aspect of this issue that I haven’t seen brought up yet.

I think contributors who leave a project before launch should be included in the credits, provided that their work is actually present in the product at launch.

Many MMOGs are in development for years, and people often come and go from a team during that time for a variety of reasons. Someone might do work on the game early on, or shoddy work along the way, that is later replaced with something better. In such cases, I don’t think the studio should be required to include that person’s name in the credits (although nothing will stop such a developer from including the game on his or her resume).

So I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions based solely on the Shacknews article, because we don’t know all the  details on the work done by the anonymous former employee cited as a source. But regardless of the circumstances in this case, I am in favor (as you might imagine) of having standards in place so that those who are due credit properly receive it.

My first post-high school job was in a record store. And I do mean a record store. Every Sunday I took inventory of our vinyl LPs so that Daryl, our manager, could send the weekly restock order in.

Though over my lifetime I have bought more CDs than albums (heresy!), I love records. I spent over a decade working in record stores, and if I ever win the lottery or strike it rich in this silly games business I will open my own record store and live out my days quite happily.

That’s why the story of Paul Mawhinney makes me sick and sad and wishing like hell I had $3 million and a place to store his incredible collection of vinyl. I mean, this is literally a historic treasure we’re talking about here. The thought that he can’t find a buyer for it stuns me beyond belief.

Mawhinney is absolutely right that there is something magical and inspiring about playing a record album. Besides the distinctive sound, it’s the extra care they require. You have to love an LP for it to survive the years. You have to be tender to it. You have to love it, and Paul has done that time and time again with his collection. You can see it in his face and hear it in his voice. Playing an album is a ritual, and we are a culture in desperate need of rituals.

Somebody somewhere has to step up and buy this collection. Give Paul Mawhinney the money he is due so he can live out his days happy and content, knowing that his life’s work will be enjoyed and appreciated for all time.

I’d do it in a heartbeat. Or thirty-three and a third of them.

Apparently a new type of mount is being added to WoW in Wrath of the Lich King: the Hog.

Frankly, this type of thing makes it increasingly less likely that I’ll be interested in playing much WoW after the expansion comes out.

Look, I understand that WoW is full of slapstick gags, puns, and real-world references. It’s part of the game’s style, and it certainly has an appeal to many gamers. As much as I hate knowing she’s in the world, I can ignore Haris Pilton pretty easily. But I won’t be able to ignore gangs of gnomes riding past me on motorcycles.

The helicopter flying mount made by engineers was pushing it for me. Once Azeroth has the motocycle, what’s next? When will I be able to get a Hummer to drive around in, or a Maserati? (Come on, just imagine the cross marketing potential!)

Am I the only person in the world who wants to play the game so mesmerizingly portrayed in Blizzard’s intro cinematics? Frankly, I much prefer that dramatic and awe-inspiring style over the game that actually gets installed on my hard drive. And it gets increasingly harder to pretend I’m playing that idealized Azeroth when I see stuff like this becoming more prevalent in the game.

For some reason they keep letting us make these silly podcasts. Fittingly enough, our theme this time is the Olympics, which we weave into a discussion of some people’s favorite MMO sport: PvP.

Click on this handy doodad to have a listen.

Or, you can do one or more of the following:

• Download it here.
• Subscribe to the podcast feed.
• If you like it and want to give us money, find out how.

Remember, this is only ten minutes of your life you’re wasting, which leaves plenty of time for you to screw up your day in even worse ways.

It’s not like I was looking forward to the Olympics. As a kid who never had much interest in televised sports, the Olympics made me a little bitter because they meant that my usual TV shows weren’t on. While I don’t bear that grudge anymore, I have never really developed a fondness for the games.

But I’ll be damned if the Olympics aren’t impossible to turn off. Part of it must be the drama, part the incredible record-shattering physical feats. Whatever it is, you gotta give NBC credit for some really well-paced coverage.

People blame MMOs for causing addiction, but what about the Olympics? I’m not getting anything done because I’m too busy wondering if Phelps is going to sweep. There ought to be laws regulating this stuff!

For most of the time since I accepted the EQ2 community manager position at SOE, my old Mobhunter site has been in the capable hands of Mike Shea, a.k.a. Loral Ciriclight. Mike did a fantastic job keeping the spirit of the site alive, and over the years helped inspire many positive changes to good old EverQuest.

Recent changes to his life and gaming habits have caused Mr. Shea to decide that it’s time for him to step down as the writer for Mobhunter. Mike will continue to write for his own site, so his fans should be sure to bookmark the address noted above. I’d like to personally thank Mike for his dedication and great work over the years. It always filled me with pride that the Mobhunter tradition continued on long after I was gone. (You can fumble through both my and Loral’s articles on the new Mobhunter Archives page).

Rather than turn the old site over to another writer or let the domain drift away into the nether, I’ve decided to take up the Mobhunter mantle for this blog. Moorgard.com is being re-branded as Mobhunter, which will become the primary domain in about a week. I have to admit, even though it’s just a cosmetic change, I’m very excited about writing under the Mobhunter banner once again! Continue Reading »

It’s not clear whether Microsoft or Sony is the one sending attack dogs to molest Nintendo players, but I guess the message is that from here on in you play your Wii at your own risk.

This seriously just about made me fall out of my chair laughing. I love how the camera person doesn’t even try to help the kid!

(Link stolen from Shwayder, who must have stolen it from somewhere.)

When I was a wee one, I enjoyed watching Casey & Roundhouse and Sesame Street. They were great shows with silly humor that also taught kids a lot of important lessons.

But great as they were, at some point I stopped watching. I didn’t need to hear songs about the alphabet or counting to ten anymore; I had already learned that stuff. So I moved on to different types of programs.

I have a question, though. Why didn’t those shows change their format to grow with me? The characters from Sesame Street could all be in their 30s like I am, cracking racy jokes and teaching me about 401k plans and enlarging prostates. I mean, the show has changed a lot, introducing many new characters over the years, but it hasn’t changed to suit me. What gives?

This is essentially the same question a number of veteran MMO players ask, especially after spending years in a particular game. They say things like “Blizzard better wake up and change WoW, because giving us more of the same old thing won’t keep me logging in.” But these folks have forgotten why Sesame Street has remained vital for so long. Continue Reading »

Massively has posted their interview with 38 Studios, featuring Mary Kirchoff (VP of Marketing) and Thom Ang (Art Director).

This article is largely focused on marketing and big-picture plans for the studio. I thought Mary had a couple really good quotes, such as this response to why we’re doing a fantasy game:

“Our other perspective on fantasy is that it’s the most globally accepted medium for conveying epic stories. It’s accepted over the broadest number of categories in book publishing, which is one of the categories we’re going to develop our intellectual property inside. We want consumers to enjoy that experience of being in the world 24/7 in different contexts. Fantasy delivers to a global, broad market – just like 38 Studios.”

As for when the game name and more detail on the IP will be forthcoming, Mary talked about that:

“Our current plan is to announce the name of the game and launch the IP website (as opposed to the corporate website) about this time next year.”

Note the phrase “our current plan.” A lot can change in a year, so don’t get too worked up if those plans change.