Welcome
to the 1,268th
edition
of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily
MMOG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Most of us remember that special game we couldn't wait to play
whenever we had a free moment. For many of us, it's been a while since
a MMOG possessed that sort of addictive quality that compels us to log
in, not out of boredom or obligation, but because we're truly eager to
play. Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg discovered some factors while playing
the online console game, Tekken 6, that could help MMOGs keep players
hooked, and she shares them in today's Loading... Simply Irresistible.
The Pulse
You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).
Here
are today's top 5 Pulse results:
- World
of Warcraft - EVE
Online -
EverQuest
II
-
Lord
of the Rings Online (UP 2) href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">
-
Dungeons
and
Dragons Online (down 1)
Biggest
movers today:
- 12/1
- LotRO:
Siege of Mirkwood (expansion) - 12/1
- EVE
Online: Dominion (expansion) - 12/15
- EverQuest:
Underfoot (expansion) - 1/26
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2389">Mass
Effect 2
(release date) - 2/1
- Global
Agenda (release date) -
style="font-weight: bold;">2/1
- Mortal
Online (release date) -
2/2
size="-1">
- Star
Trek Online (release date)
Releases
- 2/10
- Stargate
Resistance
(expansion) - 2/16
- href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion) - March 2010
- APB -
style="font-weight: bold;">Spring 2010
- Mytheon - TBA 2010
- Final
Fantasy XIV
-
style="font-weight: bold;">Spring 2011
- Star Wars:
The Old
Republic
Loading... Daily
It's time for a little ass kicking, Tekken 6 style.
I clutch the PS3 controller in my hands--the red one, my lucky
controller. The waiting/syncing/searching for opponent music plays its
manic, vaguely techno tune. I take a moment while I'm waiting to
massage my left thumb; I have a bit of a callous forming there. And
then, finally, a loud sound, almost like a gust of wind, announces that
another online player has stepped forth to challenge me. I wait for the
fight to load so I can see who my opponent will be.
I face King, chanting, "Heeeere, kitty kitty!" (After all, King wears a
jaguar mask.) This cat, if played well, can pose a tough fight for my
favorite character, Christie Montiero, the Capoeira fighter (known to
opponents who hate her as "that freakin' [or insert more colorful word
here] breakdancer." But this time I best him in three rounds straight.
Grinning, I proceed to the next match.
Now, it needs to be said that I can play Tekken 6 for hours on end. And
not only that, but I'm always eager to return to it when life throws me
an hour or two to spare. Is the family done watching Heroes or American
Idol or NCIS? Tekken time! Is my work finished, and are my kids
upstairs doing their homework or listening to their MP3 players? Tekken
time! I can't seem to resist its siren call.
Last night, as I was laying the smackdown on my opponents (and a few
were smacking me), I got to wondering about what keeps me coming back
to Tekken. It is, after all, a very simple game--you press the
appropriate buttons and your character throws punches, kicks, and
executes special moves. Everything happens at a lightning-fast pace, so
much so that there's very little time for strategizing and the best
players make things happen more by instinct and a sort of symbiotic
bonding with their character than actual forethought. But if you're
good, and if you work to make yourself better, you can increase your
rank and your win ratio.
Tekken is nothing like an MMOG, and it probably wouldn't translate to
that platform very well, either. (See today's epic thread for a list of
single-player RPGs that would.) But it has one thing many of
the MMOGs I've played over the past year or so have lacked--an
addictive quality. My last several MMOGs, after the initial buzz
relevant to the game's novelty factor wore off, somehow didn't have
what it took to pull me in consistently. I would find myself playing
only because I was bored with nothing better to do, or because my
subscription made me feel obligated to log in. With Tekken, I feel no
such obligation--I want to play that game every
chance I get because I know I'll have fun.
Three factors seem to affect my enjoyment of Tekken 6, and I believe
these same factors could contribute to the addictive qualities of the
next great MMOG:
-
Attachment to a character. I feel bonded
with my Tekken character of choice, Christie. I invested a lot of time
into not only learning her story, but learning to play her well. I
focused long and hard on figuring out the best strategies to use
against various opponents. She may not look like me (I only wish I had
her physique!), but she's become an extension of me in-game. -
Features that promote competition.Any
game that makes me feel like I have to compete (whether against the
environment, NPCs, myself or others in PvP) will keep me coming back to
improve myself and my performance. I like to win. In MMOGs, sometimes a
win comes in the form of defeating a difficult boss encounter, or
surviving a PvP match, but no matter how it's presented, if I'm feeling
competitive, I'm feeling compelled. -
Scoreboarding. In Tekken, increasing my
win percentage is important to me. I will likely never be one of the
grand master types with 70% win percentages (after all, I do have a
job, a family, and a life), but nudging my win percentage from 25% to
33% is still very gratifying for me. MMOGs with means to visually track
my progress and successes, and where I can see how well I'm doing
against the average player, keep me coming back. I don't view
scoreboards as publicity for the uber leet; they help me compete
against myself, as well.
There are certainly many other qualities MMOGs need to help them stop
being a last resort for the bored and to bring them up to the level of
must-play. What was the last MMOG you couldn't wait to get your hands
on; the one you'd run to in every spare moment? What made it
so compelling? Talk about it in our
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49527">Loading...
forum.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6">Articles,
News & Events Discussion
Top
5 Single-Player Games That Need To Be MMOGs
Mattlow's
article listing his top 5 picks for single-player RPGs that should be
made into MMOGs has our community talking. You can check out his picks href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80771">here,
then agree, disagree, or href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49516">add
your own to the mix.
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"I definitely agree with you regarding a Mechwarrior-type MMO
-
why this has not been done no one can say but from a PvP perspective it
would definitely have a lot of potential."
- Miralyn
==============================
Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!
New and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer
8 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 52 in February! 167
in 2010!
GIVEAWAYS
Battle of the Immortals Beta Key Giveaway
http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/boi_cbt
Battle
of the Immortals is a 2.5D multiplayer game that incorporates eastern
and western cultures ranging from Norse Mythology to the Qin Dynasty.
Closed beta for Battle of the Immortals has started today, Wednesday,
February 10, and you can test out the game with a key from Ten Ton
Hammer!
EDITORIALS
Top 5 Single-Player Games That Need To Be MMOGs
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80771
MMOGs
have been in a rut for the last few years. We desperately need new
blood to fuel our online addiction. The answer to our problem is
already in front of us--single player games that weve all played and
loved! Here are my top five picks for single player games that would
make great MMOGs.
FEATURES & GUIDES
Microcosms #4: Health Nuts - An Allods Online Healer Archetype
Preview
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80718
Continuing
our series of Allods Online archetype previews, this weeks Microcosms
takes a look at the Healer archetype. Learn the races, classes and lore
behind the games only dedicated healers as well as the other hallmarks
of this weekly feature dedicated to all things free-to-play and
microtransaction-based. Leave those monthly subscriptions behind and
join Medawky with Microcosms Issue #4 - An Allods Online Healer
Archetype Preview.
Champions Online: Defeating Your Nemesis Rewards and Whats
Next?
http://www.tentonhammer.com/co/guides/nemesisaftermath
The
nemesis system is what separates Champions Online from other superhero
MMOGs. Defeating your first nemesis is a triumphant chapter in your
heros career. What rewards can you expect at this time and whats next
for your hero on the villain front?
EQ2 Fighter Combat Art Lists
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54741
Bruiser: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54762
Monk:
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54744
Paladin: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54747
Shadowknight: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54763
Berserker: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54758
Guardian: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54757
EverQuest
II has gone through a lot of changes recently, one being the complete
revamp of spells and the combat art system. To reflect these changes
and to give fans a sneak peek into the newest levels coming in with
Sentinel's Fate, we have updated our fighters Combat Art and Spell
lists. Find out what the latest expansion has in store for your
favorite fighter class and keep an eye out at Ten Ton Hammer for the
other EQ2 archetype updates.
Global Agenda Class Overview - The Recon
http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/guides/reconintro
As
a Recon in Global Agenda, you have the ability to fight when you want
to fight. You can initiate bloody melees. You can initiate
long-distance sniper warfare. You can cause attackers or defenders to
get off capture points with your satchel charges. No one will know you
are coming, and if you do it right, no one will know you are leaving
either. For the Recon class, the best weapon is the fear a good one
puts in the enemy.
Star Trek Online Advanced Combat Tactics
http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/advanced_combat_tactics
Star
Trek Online provides plenty of margins for those players who are used
to routine and safe combat scenarios. For those who want to really pump
up the volume though, there are many ways to add spice (and extra
damage) to the combat combos. Today we look at some options for adding
more punch to your party both on the ground and up in space.
WoW Loremaster's Corner #2: Arthas's Effect on Cataclysm
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/lore/fallofthelichking
World
of Warcraft's Patch 3.3 brought about a lot of new lore with it,
especially concerning the series main villain since Warcraft III. In
our latest Loremaster's Corner we take a look at the latest revolutions
from patch 3.3 along with how many of the races will fair in Cataclysm.
We also ponder the question: what would happen if Arthas won?
Today's
Hottest Articles and Guides
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80680">EVE
Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80680">
Sins of a Solar Spymaster #38: Self-Immolation for Fun and Profit -
Top
5 Single-Player Games That Need To Be MMOGs href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80771">
- Daring
to Dev -
The Journey from Fan to Game Designer -
Allods
Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80678"> Archetype
Interview
Series Part 1 - The Warrior -
All
New
Screenshots of href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80413">EverQuest
2's
Sentinel's
Fate -
Mass
Effect 2 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80183"> (PC) Review -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions">
style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda
Beta
Impressions -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/advanced_combat_tactics">Star
Trek Online Advanced Combat Tactics -
Five
Tips For
Succeeding As A New Player In href="http://tentonhammer.com/node/80695">EVE Online -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/guides/reconintro">Global
Agenda Class Overview - The Recon href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/guides/reconintro">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/seasonal/love">WoW:
Love is in the Air 2010 Guide
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!
- Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg
and the
Ten Ton Hammer team
