TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Questions by Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor

Answers by Musse Dolk, Author of The MMORPG Gamers Handbook

MMORPG virgins are fairly uncommon in this day and age. With millions of people playing World of Warcraft alone, a vast percentage of the population has or continues to play MMOGs of some sort. However, new MMORPG players still exist and are often ridiculed by those elder statesmen of the MMOG industry. After seeing this dilemma occur for years, one particular gamer has gone out of his way to help out players that haven’t logged days into their favorite games. Musse Dolk, a Swedish student of game design, has put together The MMORPG Gamers Handbook which actively tries to alleviate some of the growing pains many new players experience. You can download the book from Ten Ton Hammer by clicking here.

However, to learn the background behind this book, Ten Ton Hammer sat Musse down for a series of questions concerning his background with MMORPGs and exactly how he came to the decision to create this piece of work. This exclusive interview sheds some light on Musse’s past and exactly how Musse hopes this guide helps new gamers. Enjoy!

---

Ten Ton Hammer: Why did you decide to make a handbook for MMORPGs? Did you have any bad experiences as a new player? Why should new players download this guide?

According to Musse, new players should download this guide to get a head start on their MMOG education.

Musse Dolk: A few years ago I started to take notice of a gap in experience between players that played through the first generation MMORPG’s and the ones that didn’t. A lot of elder players got annoyed with newer ones; in their eyes they did not cover basic knowledge of cooperative game play. I started analyzing possible reasons for this, and came to the conclusion that today MMORPG’s is a lot more solo-able than they used to be. In most games you can easily go on your own all the way up to the highest levels. Thus the experience among many players is very limited when it comes to cooperative game play.

I think everyone has had bad experiences as new players, but I also think the reasons for them are a lot different today than they used to be. It’s also important to remember that you learn from bad experiences, so there is a positive side to it.

However this guide should give new players a head start and let people work together a bit more effectively. Even if you are an experienced player, this guide can still help you to get some insight in roles other than your own, which in turn helps more than many think when playing together.

Worth taking a notice of is that many players’ are so used of playing without guidelines, that having some forced to them will make them feel insecure. Changing your ways from “something you always done” is never easy. Some people will even take offense if you try to tell them what to do. Especially if they think you’re out to prove them wrong. Communication is the key here.

Even with all the guides and spoilers, new players still felt lost in their MMOGs.

Ten Ton Hammer: What sorts of subjects are covered within the handbook? Since every MMOG is different, what did you discover was the basic categories that are in every MMOG?

Musse: What I discovered was that even with all the guides and spoilers that are focused on one specific game, many players had a lot of the same kind of problems. Many totally new players feel lost, not knowing what’s “expected” from them. This guide should give them some guidelines to follow and at the same time teach them the basics of teamwork.

When it comes to combat, there are some basics facts that always will be there to create a challenge. AI in these games works in similar ways and there are many basic strategies that you can use. Communication is also something that’s really important no matter which game you play. By getting to know your team and yourself by heart, you can adapt and focus better for the really hard, unexpected and unique situations that may occur.

Covering the basic categories and building stones for that a MMOG may have is a huge project. Maybe something to take on in my 3rd year here at Gotland’s university if there is time.

Ten Ton Hammer: How long have you been playing MMORPGs? What's your favorite game? What game do you think serves as a good starting point for new players in the genre?

Musse: I started out with Everquest in December -99, and played text based MUD’s (multi user dungeons) before that. So I guess that’s almost 9 years, and I have a bit more than 11000 hours of playtime over that period of time.

My favorite game through all times will always be Everquest, like it was in the good old days, but that’s probably a biased choice, since you cannot really experience that special “first time” again.

It’s also not really relevant what I think, when it comes to someone else. When I recommend new players to games, I really try to find out their own play style. There won’t be a game that suits everyone, but I’m pretty sure there is at least one game for everyone. You just need to find one just right for your own needs.

Vanguard is a recommended game from Musse who enjoys the social aspects of the title.

Now, I haven’t played every game out there, really wish I had time to do that. But I can make a few recommendations based on what I’ve played and studied. I do find good and bad sides in every game and they all have potentials in different ways for different people. So please take these with a grain of salt, it’s really best if you try them out and make your own decisions.

With that being said, these are the top three that gets most of my recommendations at the moment:

Everquest 2 – for everyone out there who want more than combat in their game. The vast amount of varieties on housing, clothing, trade skills, quests, mounts and such is simply amazing. The combat system here is also one of the more interesting I’ve tried. It has special combination attacks between players that’s really neat.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes – for social and patient gamers. This game has had my interest a lot lately. It’s very challenging in many ways and its crafting system is really advanced and feels even better than the one in Everquest 2. But it’s also a bit trickier to learn. The market system here is also really interesting, because you can actually live on being only a crafter. It’s the first economy that I’ve seen holding up very well after more than a year of playtime. Special with this game is also that it has no instancing whatsoever. Physical houses and boats is a neat feature and you can actually meet other groups hunting in dungeons. For me as a social gamer, this is a big plus.

World of Warcraft – for people who want fast action. It’s easy to level up and getting in to. There is also a lot of different ways to get some fast PVP (player versus player) action and compete with others. From what I’ve noticed many that likes this game comes from a competitive action background like first person shooter or real time strategy games.