Top Ten Free MMOs

How LEGO Universe Can Match the Success of Free Realms - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:06:10 -0400

SOE's Casual MMO Has a Head Start on LEGO Universe

With Free Realms taking over his household, Danny "Ralsu" Gourley had almost forgotten that NetDevil is hard at work on a LEGO MMO titled LEGO Universe. The building block dynamic has mass market appeal, but SOE's game has a lengthy head start. Ralsu examines some ways NetDevil can succeed by employing the same strategies used by SOE:

Just as Free Realms characters change appearance depending on the job being performed, LEGO Universe characters will need to exhibit the same flair when moving between tasks. While I have run races in LEGO Star Wars, the MMO will need to let me don a special racing outfit to match the feeling of pride I get with Free Realms.

Free Realms to Become Everybody's Second Subscription? - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:50:36 -0400

Free Realms Could Clean up as a "Backup" Game

When Danny "Ralsu" Gourley got an urge to compete against another player in a hand of the Free Realms Trading Card Game, he realized that every minigame in Sony Online Entertainment's recently-released title promotes rivalry and competition. As he pondered that design element and the episodic play of the game, he latched onto the idea that SOE may achieved something no one has even tried to do before:

Realizing that every minigame in Free Realms is about winning or losing also forced me to recognize that it is an intentional design element. The concept of “e-sport” and reading In the Trenches came to mind. Clearly, competitive or scoreboard games are very popular on the web. Why wouldn’t someone look to combine the furor over MMOs with the thrill of a good showdown?

Free Realms Preview: Your Next Guilty Pleasure? - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:39:24 -0400

Thousands of Adults Secretly Will Enjoy Free Realms

Fresh doughnuts. Homemade fudge. An extra beer. Yet another “figurine” for the collection. We all have our guilty pleasures, but MMO gamers are about to acquire a new addiction when Sony...

Pioneer Spirit - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:22:59 -0400

Mabinogi’s Expansion Offers Adventure and Exploration

A magazine advertisement for Pioneers of Iria, the expansion to Nexon’s Mabinogi, might focus on the addition of the new races, Elves and Giants. A banner ad on a website might boast that...

What is a Free MMOG? - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:11:16 -0400

Does Free Apply to Any Game?

Last week, I promised to examine the trend of hybrid revenue models in MMOGs and what it means for this column. The bottom line up front (BLUF we called it in emails when I worked for the US...

The Launch That Faced Thousands of Ships - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:03:07 -0400

Story of Runes of Magic Launch the Stuff of Classic Literature in Gaming

As a member of the media, it's very rewarding when my ideas see the light of day, and it's doubly rewarding when they see success. Of course, Fogster Interactive didn't release retail boxes of...

All Hell Breaks Loose in Heaven – Ether Saga Online Preview - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:46:19 -0400

Perfect World Entertainment Sends Ether Saga Online to Open Beta

I joined the Ether Saga Online (ESO) closed beta in mid-February and was very impressed with my early experiences with Perfect World Entertainment’s newest MMOG. In fact, I told readers I...

Building on Success: The Growth of Atlantica Online - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:43:41 -0400

If Atlantica Can Do It for Free, P2P Games Have No Excuses

I made brief mention of the February update to Atlantica Online in my discussion of how wimpy F2P launches hurt games last week. This time, I’ve chosen to focus on the particulars of the...

Flaccid Launches Hurt F2P Performance - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:23:07 -0400

F2P Games Could Benefit from Launch Enhancement

Last week, Ten Ton Hammer’s Eric “Dalmarus” Campbell suggested that free expansions for P2P games might actually reduce overhead expenses for publishers and headaches for developers. I...

Setting a New Bar for F2P? - The Impact of Atlus Online - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:12:04 -0500

Ralsu to Atlus: "No Pressure or Anything."

Bob Salvatore doesn’t normally write for MMOGs, but gamers everywhere took notice when he got involved with 38 Studios and Copernicus because the man is a damned good writer. If the notion...

Is Bigger Really Better in MMOGs? - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:44:03 -0500

Ghost Towns, Variety, and Size All Matter

The slumping economy here in the northwestern US has driven down the price of real estate. The market favors buyers right now with more property going for less money. The flailing financial...

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Battle for the Children (page 2 of 2) - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:09:35 -0500

Many thanks this week to megaflux for always dropping into my inbox and challenging me in response to last week’s Top Ten to be ready for real action-based games in the future. I...

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Battle for the Children - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:06:38 -0500

Future MMOG Players Need to Start Somewhere

Marketing analysts know that a product must appeal to parents before they can sell it to kids. Check out these slogans that are copyrighted by their respective holders. "Choosy moms choose

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Click for Kicks (page 2 of 2) - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:07:13 -0500

I continue to play Nostale, but I recently got my wife to play some Atlantica with me. NDOORS never ceases to impress me; their latest round of patches has made the game perform smoother...

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Click for Kicks - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:59:24 -0500

Is Twitchy Combat the Future of F2P?

For nearly a year, I wrote content for Ten Ton Hammer’s Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) hub. I was drawn by the chance to rekindle my relationship with D&D and the promise of a game that...

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Car Shopping (page 2 of 2) - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:44:43 -0500

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Car Shopping - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:42:18 -0500

Don't Be Put off by the Cute Factor in F2P Games

If a MMOG were a car, her engine would be the gameplay features, story, and combat system. The graphics for that MMOG would represent her body and paint job. In the case of F2P MMOGs,

Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - The Time is Now - Ten Ton Hammer

Ralsu — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:54:57 -0500

Opportunity is Knocking for F2P Games