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Posted August 10th, 2005 by Ralphedelominius

Opinions are like [insert rude body part here], we've all got them! But in our case, we get to share them with you, gentle reader! Errr, that's the opinion, not the body part. Really.

Here's what we've got for you to check out:

Give Us Payment Options! - August 9, 2007 - Gamers love options, yet so many MMOG companies persist on sticking with one type of business model to earn money from their players. Cody "Micajah" Bye looks at a new variant on the "standard" business models and how the Fury developers may have found a gold mine in making that decision.

Making Character Creation Fun - August 9, 2007 - Character creation has always been an element of MMORPGs that people either love or hate. Too many or too few options in your character generator, and players will throw their hands up in the air and begin berating your game without even jumping into the game world. Carl Cascone takes a look at the character creation in City of Heroes and tries to nail down exactly what makes this game's character generator so special.

The Cutting Edge #1: Tabula Rasa's Logos - August 9, 2007 - Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa may break barriers. While you may be thinking of barriers and standards in standard MMOGs - gameplay, combat functionality, and economy - Garrett Fuller believes Tabula Rasa will break the language barrier, and in doing so may open up a new sort of gameplay that has never been experienced previously. As the first of Garrett's weekly "The Cutting Edge" articles, our industry relations specialist has picked Tabula Rasa's Logos as his first topic in this new column series.

Raising the Dead - June 11, 2007 - While newer MMORPGs seem to die off with increasing rapidity, several of the category's tried and true names are headed for graphical rebirth. Is a facelift all that's needed? What can be done for some of the industry's other hangers-on. Read what Cody "Micajah" Bye addresses these questions and more in his latest editorial.

Looking Past the "M" - July 8, 2007 - Cody "Micajah" Bye steps back from the glittery gore surrounding recent previews of Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures, and instead offers traditional MMORPG gamers a few new reasons to like Funcom's upcoming MMORPG based on the popular fiction of Robert E. Howard.

Can You Only Love an MMOG Once? - June 21, 2007 - Once you leave an MMOG, it's nearly impossible to go back. People, places, and gameplay changes, and if you do return, you'll find things are much different than when you first encountered them. In their editorial, "Can You Only Love an MMOG Once?", Cody "Micajah" Bye and Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle explore how it's so hard to return to a game that you left, and how gamers should prepare themselves before they do re-enter a world they left behind.

Clone or Stepping Stone? - June 19, 2007 - In a recently published article on a prominent MMOG site, being a "clone" of World of Warcraft was equated to the reason why the game failed. Cody "Micajah" Bye takes a stand against this myopic view of the MMOG marketplace and gives his reasons why certain MMOG standards are needed within current massively multiplayer games.

A Look at Jedi in Star Wars Galaxies - June 14, 2007 - Since the release of the New Game Enhancements, Star Wars Galaxies has allowed players to create Jedi from the very beginning of the game and are one of the most popular professions available to players. However, the SWG timeline takes place when the Jedi are being hunted down by the Empire and - at least in the movies - are all but extinct. In SWG, Jedi are free to run to and fro, and never attract attention from the Empire or other NPCs. Chris "Spare" Higgins takes a look at the current version of the Jedi profession and tries to come up with an answer to the question of whether Jedi should be so prominent in the gameplay of SWG.

A Guide to Building A Guild - June 8, 2007 - Ever wondered what it took to create a truly successful guild? Too frightened of guild politics to try and make a guild of your own? Look no further than Ten Ton Hammer's Guide to Build a Guild, created by the man-in-the-game, Chris "Spare" Higgins. With several successful guilds under his belt, Chris attempts to explain how to successfully structure a guild and what kind of leader it takes to push a guild to popularity.

Change a Little, Change the World - June 6, 2007 - Our current MMO market consists of games that are "stuck in a rut" and leave players to the same monotonous tasks that they experienced in other titles. However, a simple, small change is often the only action necessary to make a world fresh and new to MMO players. Cody "Micajah" Bye explores this phenomenon and titles that have employed this tactic in his editorial "Change a Little, Change a World".

Fantasy's Last Stand? - June 6, 2007 - Is this last round of "high-powered" fantasy MMOGs the final throes of a super-saturated fantasy marketplace? This is the question Garrett Fuller asks in his editorial, "Fantasy's Last Stand", and he attempts to answer this question by looking analyzing the upcoming generation of MMOGs and determining if there is any room out there for another fantasy based MMO.

The Surge of Free-To-Play Games - May 30, 2007 - Recently, there's been a tremendous surge in the number of free-to-play games that are being released and the number of users actually playing those games. Cody "Micajah" Bye takes a look at the reasoning behind the surge in the popularity of free-to-play games and how they are taking advantage of a primed marketplace.

A D&D-Based Bioware MMO? - May 30, 2007 - While rumors have certainly be swirling around the Internet about the upcoming Bioware being based on the Knights of the Old Republic, Carl Cascone addresses the idea that Bioware has just as much background in the D&D campaign setting, The Forgotten Realms. In his editorial, Carl gives some compelling reasons for a possible Forgotten Realms MMO rather than a Star Wars based Bioware title.

MMOs vs. Online Card Games - May 23, 2007 - In this editorial, Micajah explores the rise in popularity of trading card games and whether they will impact the next generation of AAA MMO titles.

An Epic Fight in the Making: Star Wars Galaxies vs. a Knights of the Old Republic MMO - May 23, 2007 - People have been spreading the rumor of a Knights of the Old Republic MMO like wildfire. The Star Wars franchise is incredibly popular, but how will the existing Star Wars MMO, Star Wars Galaxies, fare against a newcomer? Chris "Spare" Higgins tries to answer than question in this TTH editorial!

Rise of the Super Team: An Editorial Addressing the Use of Star Power to Market a Studio - May 22, 2007 - More and more often, fledgling studios are turning to the past experiences of their members to market their unrevealed games. Companies like Colony Studios, Red 5 Studios, and 38 Studios have all benefited from this sort of campaigning in one way or another. Micajah analyzes this practice and determines the benefits and pitfalls of this public relations scheme.

Whispers on the Wind: An Editorial on Recent MMO Rumors - May 8, 2007 - Recent MMO rumors have stirred up the industry and suggested that developers are looking away from fantasy to focus more on the sci-fi genre. Industry Relations Expert, Garrett Fuller analyzes why the rumors all have science fiction in common and how those games could affect the entire MMO industry.

An Eye for an Eye: An Editorial on the Emergence of Adult-Oriented MMORPGs - May 3, 2007 - Video games are the current scapegoat of our society, with violent and adult titles generating the most negative exposure. How will the emergence of adult-oriented MMOGs change the way the public views our genre? Micajah dissects this issue and more in this Ten Ton Hammer editorial.

An Ever-Changing Landscape: An Analysis of the Q4 2007 MMO Market - May 1, 2007 - In this editorial, Micajah tries to explore what the repercussions will be from the two major announcements that have been posted in the last seven days. By looking at the current list of games expected to release in the fall of 2007, Micajah does his best to draw out some theories on the future of the two titles in question and try to predict the general outcome of the 2007 MMO market.

Gaming on a Budget - Free-to-Play Games - April 30, 2007 - The second article in the "Gaming on a Budget" series, Micajah explores free-to-play games, explains the differences in each business model, and tries to point gamers in the right direction. In each of the sections, Micajah also directs gamers to example games in each free-to-play business model.

Are Blizzard's Bans Hitting the Wrong Customers? - April 22, 2007 - Fighting real money trading and micro-transactions in an MMO is difficult, but especially so for a company with a immensely popular product. Blizzard has been experiencing many issues with banning customers inadvertently in the last few months, and Ten Ton Hammer sits down with one particular individual who was hit with a ban when he had done nothing wrong. Read more to find out what his reaction was and how this problem could affect the entire MMO market!

A Journalist's Opinion of the LotRO Founders Program - April 9, 2007 - As the time for preordering draws to an end, Cody "Micajah" Bye takes a look at LotRO's Founders Program and the influence it will have on the games to come. He explores how getting a "head start" in character leveling could affect the beta tests of future titles and how the marketing campaign has turned MMO marketing on its head.

Gaming on a Budget: Is Upgrading Possible - April 4, 2007 - The first in a series of articles focused on gamers with a tight pocket book, Micajah focuses on how a gamer can (or can't) upgrade his computer on limited funds. In the article he explores where the money should go and how you should approach upgrading with only a few bucks to spare.

Playing God - March 23, 2007 - The act of creation and destruction is often something that gives a player the greatest sense of achievement. However, most MMOs on the market today seem to be lacking in both of these departments, with players unable to do much more than quest and kill respawning mobs. But what does the future crop of MMOs look like? Find the answer in this editorial!

Analyzing the Western MMO Market - March 21, 2007 - A recent MMO market report raised some interesting questions regarding the current state of gaming affairs in North America and Europe. Cody "Micajah" Bye takes a moment to analyze these facts, disagree with some of the reports predictions, and alleviate fears the report may engender.

Will Windows Live Change Online Gaming Forever? - March 15, 2007 - Microsoft has introduced a new online gaming service dubbed Windows Live. The service allows PC users to go online and compete against owners of the Xbox 360 and subscribers to Xbox Live. With 6 million users currently subscribed to the Xbox Live service, PC gamers now have a whole new host of people to play with and against. Will this change online gaming, as we know it, forever? Read ahead, and find out what Cody "Micajah" Bye believes may happen to online gaming...

The WoW Effect - November 19, 2006 - WoW is the undisputed king of MMOGs, this we know. But what, apart from the subscriber numbers, will last? How will WoW make its mark upon the genre long after the very last player logs off? And the converse: what's going on in other MMOGs that players aren't seeing because they're playing WoW? These topics and more are the subects of this week's Op/Ed.

Backing Into the Future: Handling Updates and Expansions - November 13, 2006 - How an MMOG handles content updates and retail expansions can make or break the game in the community's eyes. Ethec examines the traditional timetables and methods for extending MMOGs after release, offering a little insight into what works and what doesn't.

Settling the Score - November 6, 2006 - Should MMOGs offer detailed scoreboarding for apples-to-apples stat comparisons between players? That's the editorial question facing the Ten Ton Hammer writers this week, and war correspondent Ethec goes behind enemy lines to find his answer in the recently released EA / Dice online shooter Battlefield 2142. This badly garbled transmission (oh, wait, that's his writing style!) and linked article are the last we've heard from him, but that's what happens when an MMOG player gets drafted to play a shooter.

Halcyon, And On, And On - October 16, 2006 - The repeatable instanced endgame, simultaneously loved and hated by nearly everyone that makes that precipitous climb to level cap. Our topic this week: is there a better way to handle endgame content? Since most of Ethec's characters are the in-game equivalent of kindergarten dropouts, he first discusses the need for a level cap before wending his way to the topic at hand.

Exploring a New World - October 9, 2006 - On Columbus Day, Ethec looks at whether or not MMORPGs offer enough for the explorers in the player community, and if expansions that simply add content for high level players are enough to keep things fresh and interesting.

Planting a Seed? - October 2, 2006 - Seed, a dev-described "non-combat, roleplay centric MMORPG" announced its imminent closure at the end of September. More than just a lamentable end to Danish developer Runestone's dream, the event has sparked questions about the viability of an MMOG apart from the WoW model, and specificly whether or not a non-combat "cooporative puzzle" style MMOG is viable. Ethec attempts to answer that question in this week's editorial.

Class Proliferation - September 18, 2006 - The topic this week is classes - how many is too many? In fantasy MMOs, there's really only three roles: take damage, deal damage, or heal damage. However, players like to be more unique than those 3 roles perhaps allow, so how can developers fulfill their expectations without watering down distinctions between the classes?

Fan Events Done Right - September 11, 2006 - In this editorial / how-to article, we'll look at what fan events do for MMORPGs, what individual developers tend to offer in the way of events, and (for the affiliate site leads out there) a rudimentary look at how to plan your very own fan event.

MMO Burnout! Causes and Cures - September 4, 2006 - Too much of a good thing? It's possible! And the best time to try out some not-so-MMO gaming is during September and October, when developers start bringing out their latest efforts in time for the Christmas season. Ethec offers his most anticipated mainstream games to help you keep up your gaming mojo when your favorite MMORPG leaves you temporarily toasted.

Learning to Learn - August 21, 2006 - This week's editorial theme is "back to school." No need to buy a Trapper Keeper or some tasty No. 2 pencils; Ten Ton Hammer is discussing tutorial improvements - what developers can do to improve the teaching side of the game. Ethec leads off with his views - namely that newbies aren't the only ones that need some low level educatin'!

The Anti-MMO - August 14, 2006 - At Ten Ton Hammer, we often talk about the improvements we'd like to see in a specific MMORPG or in the genre as a whole. This latest set of network-wide editorials takes a different tack: we're designing the anti-MMO, a massively multiplayer game so chock full of wrongheaded notions on MMO design, you couldn't log out and unsubscribe fast enough. Is it the worst MMO never to be made, or will you find a little of the anti-MMO in your favorite massively multiplayer game?

Patching It Up - August 7, 2006 - All games have growing pains. Some even start out in need of repair. Lady Sirse takes a look at Dungeons and Dragons Online to see what changes have come and gone in the game and if they have helped or not!

Double Your Pleasure? Double Your Fun? - July 17, 2006 - With the birth of the casual, "dual-boxing" simply isn't the dirty word it used to be. It's all about taking level-grinding achievement to the 2nd magnitude, but does dual boxing double the fun or the not-so-fun aspects of MMO gameplay? Ethec logs in, then logs in again to offer his thoughts.

Beyond Drudgery - July 10, 2006 -Are all MMO gamers sentenced to a mundane experience of simply grinding for levels and equipment? Ethec shares his thoughts on what could make playing MMOs a stirring experience again.

Independence Day Dreaming - July 3, 2006 - Ten Ton Hammer does some dreaming this Independence Day holiday. Lady Sirse dreams of a MMO that goes beyond just a game environment. Do you share her dream?

Zoned For Development: Building on what we know about good content design - June 12, 2005 - Ethec examines the highs and lows of content design as he zeroes in on what, besides basic functionality, makes good content good and bad content terrible.

Paying for Friends: A Candid Look at MMO Business Models - June 5, 2005 - Ten Ton Hammer bears down on the business of MMOs. Does Guild Wars hearken the end of the pay-to-play days, or are we stuck paying month-to-month? How does the payment scheme affect a gamer's will to play?

Three Mavericks of MMO Design - May 1, 2005 - Though their current work has taken them off the beaten path, we salute three innovators who have made a definitive mark on the MMORPG genre.

Massively Single Player? - April 17th, 2006 - Players, players everywhere, and not much reason to group. "Casual" was a stride forward for the genre, but does casual necessarily exclude much the old school fun we used to have with guilds, groups, raids... the game's player community? Ethec has some ideas on how to put the "MM" back in MMORPG!

Outpacing the Fun - April 10th, 2006 - Everyone loves to do more in less time. The pace of life is steadily increasing, and the evolution of MMOs shows a transition by degrees from the halcyon pen-and-paper days to today's drive-thru MMO. Can the old-school social gamer thrive in today's "casual" games. And as we rush through the levels, are there more tacit tradeoffs looming just over the horizon?

What's My MMO Motivation? - April 3rd, 2006 - As we trade in console games hand over fist and single-player PC games just gather dust, what keeps us loyally (or hopefully) playing MMORPGs year after year? Ethec examines some of the core motivations behind MMO gaming.

Dying to Learn - March 20th, 2006 - Ethec examines the usefulness of death in today's MMORPGs, looking especially at the social impact of various ways of handling your character's untimely end, as well as a possible way to make death more convincing without lessening the challenge or ruining the fun.

An Intro to Virtual Economics - March 13th, 2006 - The player market has long been considered an MMORPG staple. But recent MMOs like Guild Wars and Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach have marginalized the MMO market. Ethec takes a glimpse at what makes a virtual economy tick, why inflation is a bad thing (despite what some devs think), and why an economy is important to a virtual community.

Vernal Virtues for MMORPGs - March 6th, 2006 - As yet another MMORPG rolls onto the scene, is it time for some spring cleaning? Ethec takes a look at how developers can improve their game by tossing out some old misconceptions.

MMORPG by Appointment Only - March 2nd, 2006 - DDO and Fight Night: Round 3 were both launched during the last few days. Area retailers stocked 5-20 unreserved copies of FNR3; of DDO, zero copies. Ethec addresses the pre-order scheme used by brick-and-mortar retailers and game developers for MMORPGs. It's DDO by appointment only, and Ethec's thoughts on why PC games are losing the retail war to the console.

The Blizzard Dine & Dash? - February 27th, 2006 - Pay for the box, subscribe to the game… but unless hardcore PvP is your style, no North American servers for new players? It's a problem affecting as many as 15,000 new players since the new server lockdown late last week. Will Blizzard make timely improvements as locked servers continue to burst under the strain of concurrency, or simply continue its tradition of lip service and creating new realms to fix old problems?

Fluff Content: Where Game and World Meet - February 20th, 2006 - Player housing, holiday events, and just-for-show clothing...all MMORPGs have non-adventuring content, or "fluff." Besides its perpetual, real-time nature, fluff is the one feature that makes these games bonafide, interactive worlds. But are the core gameplay virtues increasingly lost in a sea of kitsch content?

It's Valentine's Day, So Where's the Love? - February 13th, 2006 - Looking for love in your favorite MMOG? No, I'm not talking about Valentine's Day-themed quests or creepy cyber encounters. I mean the cutesy-wootsy, "long walks along the pixellated beach" relationship kind of love. Ethec has a few words of advice for those lonely hearts aching for that special someone with just the right... faction alignments.

Solo Content: A Disease, or the Cure? - February 6th, 2006 - Ethec examines the design and community issues behind the failure of group experiences in many MMOs, and even goes as far to suggest that abundant solo content leads to better "off the cuff" group experiences. The nerve!

MMORPG Design: Art or Science? - January 28th, 2006 - Ever since Konami videogame designer Hideo Kojima's comment that "a videogame is not art", a debate has quietly roiled among developers and thinking gamers in forum boards across the internet. Most recently Raph Koster, SOE game designer, took Kojima's comment to task in a superb article that (somehow) wove itself into a critique of game reviewers like us! Nonetheless, Ethec has never been one to miss a party, so check out his industry outsider perspective as to whether MMORPG game design is an art or a science.

Keeping It Light - January 16th, 2006 - There's a thin line between too difficult and too easy called "fun," but many gamers have a tendancy to play the martyr when things aren't going their way. Here's a few tips to help you take your heart off your sleeve and put it into the MMO experience!

As If You Didn't Have Enough Resolutions: One Resolution Every MMO Gamer Should Aspire To - January 4th, 2006 - Ethec takes a shot at the perennial outcropping of forlorn hopes and wishes known as "making New Year's Resolutions" from a gamer's point-of-view, pointing out one healthy aspiration for any fan of the MMO gaming genre.

A Dog Eat Dog (Perpetual) World - December31st, 2005 - A tongue-in-cheek look at the concept of player versus player combat, as told by one of its newest converts.

'Tis the Season - December 22nd, 2005 - A little holiday kitsch has been a staple of MMO gaming since EQLive's golden days. Ethec takes a look at how devs are decking the halls during the 2005 holiday season.

Towards More Exciting Raid Content - December 5th, 2005 - What makes a raid worthwhile? Is it the loot, the experience, or both? Ethec weighs in on what makes for a quality raid experience.

"Player-Crafted Humor" - November 14th, 2005 - Like the role frogs fulfill for a wilderness habitat, humor is a kind of environmental indicator describing the social "health" of a given MMOG. Where does this humor come from, and what can developers do to encourage those perfect moments of uproarious interaction between players?

"Experience May Change During Onine Play" - October 31st, 2005 - How do ESRB ratings and gratuitous content impact the player communities of today's MMOGs?

"Are you there God? It's me, Mr. Legolaaas." - October 17th, 2005 - Do today's MMOs do a good job pointing new players in the right direction?

"Stuck in the MUD" - October 10th, 2005 - How far has today's graphical splendor taken us from the good old days of pen and paper gaming.

"Your Shopping Cart: Pixel or Plastic?" - October 3rd, 2005 - Ethec weighs in on the deep impact of the on-demand downloading of purchased games on today's MMOs. The effect, it turns out, goes a lot further than whether or not you got your pre-order plush monkey!

"Who Let the Dogs Out?" or, What Would You Change in MMOs? - September 19th, 2005 - Ralphedelominius opines on what he'd like to see different in MMOs these days, from grinding to griefing to idiot avoidance...

"Dev Griefing" in the MMO Genre - September 12, 2005 - Ethec takes a stab at the industry mindset that makes MMORPGs the most frustrating- if also the most rewarding- games you'll ever play!

The Tao of "/Loc" - August 26, 2005 - Thoughts on how to determine your place in a virtual world!

Shroud of Anonymity - August 10, 2005 - How the MMOG phenomenon makes us all anonymous!

Blogs

Want even more opinions? Check out John "Boomjack" Hoskin's blog, Loading..., on the latest MMOG news and TenTonHammer features. Coyote's got a blog, Not funny...ever, that's about... well, we're not quite sure what it's about.