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Daily Column

Loading... putting the 'Mo' in MMOG.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we also show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

World of Warcraft - 200 BPM
Age of Conan - 119 BPM
EverQuest II - 66 BPM
Lord of the Rings Online - 65 BPM
EVE Online - 51 BPM
Guild Wars - 51 BPM
Warhammer Online - 38 BPM
Lineage 2 - 38 BPM
Dungeon Runners - 35 BPM
Vanguard - 31 BPM

Let's start today with an update of the Blizzard versus WoW Bot-Maker case. Greg has posted an excellent piece at Terra Nova delving deeper into the minutiae than I could ever hope to do in this column. One bit that I did find very interesting was this comment by Matt Mihaly, CEO of Sparkplay (formerly Iron Realms).

"Numtini wrote:

As an actual WoW player I couldn't be more pleased. I am not interested in games where people cheat

I understand why you feel that way but clearly you ARE interested in games where people "cheat", else you'd not be playing WoW, which is, as illustrated by this lawsuit, rife with "cheaters."

It kind of makes one question whether the actions that MDY is accused of facilitating are actually negatively impacting players like you, doesn't it? --matt"

I had to read the comment twice, before my feeble mind remembered who "Matt Mihaly, the proponent of selling virtual goods". The thing is, you see Matt's name at nearly every "academic" event. He is usually part of a panel at GDC for instance. Here is how Sparkplay Media describes Matt on their website.

"Matt is a veteran of virtual worlds and MMOs, having gotten started in them in the early 90s. In 1996, he founded Iron Realms Entertainment and pioneered the virtual goods sales model with its first MMO - Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands. As CEO, Matt led Iron Realms to become the most successful company of its kind in the last decade in the niche (MUDs) it is in. Under his leadership, Iron Realms released three more successful MMOs: Aetolia, the Midnight Age. Imperian: The Sundered Heavens. Lusternia, Age of Ascension. Matt is currently serving as lead designer and producer on Earth Eternal, Sparkplay's first MMO. He speaks about virtual world business models and independent game development at industry events like the Game Developer's Conference and DragonCon, and edited Dr. Richard Bartle's canonical book, "Designing Virtual Worlds." Matt earned a Bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University."

He's obviously a smart guy. I've listened to him speak at various events and he is both eloquent and persuasive. That said, he has an agenda as a proponent of real money transactions. That doesn't directly relate to third-party cheats like the bot in the lawsuit mentioned above, but there is a connect. Gold farmers use the bot to farm gold and make a nuisance of themselves without ever needed to be at the computer. Does it impact players like me Matt? Absolutely and without question.

The recent Warhammer Online announcements also impact me. Thankfully, Tony has updated the Warhammer Online FAQ: Capital Cities so I can figure what in blazes is actually going on with cities now. Can I siege them? Do they even exists. It's all so confusing and strangely interesting. Will the order city have a huge statue of 'The Hickman' while the chaos city has a likeness of Paul Barnett? Get reading!

Josh Drescher, the Produce of Warhammer Online is generously writing an E3 blog for us titled 'WAR in the City of Angels'. If you read nothing else in this column, read Josh's bit. Josh takes two elements which I sorely lack and puts them together like chocolate and peanut butter. He is both entertaining AND informative. Here is a tasty sampler of his prose,

"Sure, we don’t have cannons firing small armies of bikini-clad, swag-wielding lasses into a sweaty, frothing mob of fans, but we DO have a pretty darn good video game show. I stand by my previous statements – I miss the fans. But the show is well-run, streamlined and generally great for showing off games like ours.

We were comfortably nestled in E3’s “Special Room of Awesomeness” along with our good friends working on Mercs II, Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge and Spore (beware the excellence of iPhone Spore – you’ve been warned) – among others – and we had what I can only describe as a kick-ass day.

We tore through about six demos per hour, offering anyone who was willing to ignore what we had to say the chance to just hop onto our live beta servers – note: PLURAL – and see for themselves what the game is like. Why listen to what we have to say when you can just play for yourself? I’m no journalist, but it seems like an easy choice.

Note to the Press: We’re here all week. I dare you to come take the Warhammer Online Beta Challenge. Give us 30 minutes (and let’s be honest – you’ve DEFINITELY got the time) and we’ll blow your face off with our game. Ask us about open grouping. I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU."

Somehow, somewhere, some way, a Ten Ton Hammer was made a loot item in Dungeon Runners. Our own Cody "Baby's coming... get the bags" Bye reviews the recent retail version of the game and takes a spin with the Bling Gnome.

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No character pictures of Cody were available, so we put in this picture of him in real life.

"With the $20 retail pack, the NCsoft developers have made it extremely affordable to got a membership package and therefore get every single item available int he game. With a monthly cost of $3.34, almost any gamer should be able to dole out the cash they need to get their online gaming fix. Honestly, that’s less then renting a movie from Blockbuster or buying a gallon of gas. If the price gets any lower, NCsoft will be paying us for their content."

I tried DR way back when it launched and though it was fun, it wasn't enough for me. I guess it's time to plunk down $20 and see if this can appease me until WAR or WotLK arrives. How can I not support a game in which humour is so well delivered?

The sheer number of free-to-play games on the market is staggering at the moment. Some like Dungeon Runners are very entertaining, while others aren't worth the long download. The good folks at NDOORS are giving you a chance to help make their upcoming title, Atlantica a hit. We're giving away hundreds of Atlantica closed beta keys.

"Ten Ton Hammer has just teamed with NDOORS to bring readers Closed Beta Keys for Atlantica Online. A turn-based title, Atlantica encourages players to assess the situation in combat and make strategic moves rather than clicking the mouse or pressing the same keyboard keys repeatedly. Featuring a robust mercenary system that lets a single player control up to nine units, this title is sure to keep players busy!

We're giving away hundreds of Closed Beta keys in 10 days in the Play Atlantica Beta Giveaway. Enter today for your chance to win."

I'm still not convinced that free-to-play titles can draw me away from games like World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online or Lord of the Rings Online. The production values just haven't been there yet, though the entertainment values have certainly leapt up to standards (especially in games like Dungeon Runners) where I can enjoy playing the free-to-play offerings casually.

Do you have a free-to-play favourite? What makes it superior to the pay-to-play games?