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Daily Column
New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today
Hot Content
Real World News - You Can't Make This Up
1. Daily Column
Our crack team of writers, rodeo clowns and proctologists continue to deliver some great content from the recent Online Game Developers Conference. To bypass my column and get to their articles just... hey now... you'll have to figure that out yourself.
A peculiar thought struck me as I muddled my way through some quests in Lord of the Rings Online. I was roaming in seeming endless circles looking for an item that a quest giver told me was "Northeast of Combe", when it struck me; if this item was so incredibly important to the NPC who sent me on the odyssey then he should have been more precise in explaining where to find it.
If I lost my valuable documents while fighting brigands in their camp, by the road with the bonfire shaped like a heart that produced smoke in the shape of a Model T Ford, I wouldn't describe it's location as "Northeast of Combe". I'd probably be more explicit, so that the person kind enough to help me wouldn't have to run around all day trying to find the dirty scoundrels that took the prized reports.
But I digress, my real qualm wasn't with the needless jogging or my inability to find my way in a straight line for more than 30 seconds at a time. My displeasure was with the fact that I felt insignificant. I can feel inconsequential any time that I please. I need only ask a government employee for help. Shouldn't a game make me feel powerful or at least important?
This isn't a dig at Lord of the Rings Online by any means. Of all of the MMOGs on the market it has more backstory reason to make you insignificant than any other. It's not like Turbine can change the plot of Lord of the Rings and somehow slip your character, LeggoMyEggolas in as Frodo. In LotRO the story has to travel down a different channel and you must necessarily begin as a peripheral character.
This isn't the case in all games. Why can't we commence a game as a powerful being, fighting other formidable beings, perhaps to save the poor insignificant wretches standing in line at their local government office? Are we really obliged to fight pigs, rats and wolves in every single game? Fighting rats and boars isn't heroic. Killing wolves isn't valiant. Besting lions doesn't make you lionhearted.
Most players know why the mechanic is in place that impels you onward killing countless virtual mammals in order to transform into a more powerful version of yourself that can kill even larger virtual mammals. It's a time-sink. It drains your time, which means you play longer, which in turn means that you pay longer for the right to play your favourite game.
I understand the time-sink, but I don't believe it needs to be as boring and tedious as the current treadmill system has become, or I suppose, always was. For the sake of argument let's assume that to progress in a game you must for whatever reason, climb a ladder that stretches into infinity with each rung built incrementally farther away from its predecessor the farther you climb. Knowing that we are going to be climbing this leveling ladder that coincidentally is expanding at the same rate as the universe, you would think, perhaps, that we would want to at least defeat cool MOBs. Instead we are sent out to battle... boar whelps. We aren't even resilient enough to fight full-fledged boars for Pete's sake. We have to start on the whelps.
Let's stick to the assumption (even though it isn't actually true) that a leveling ladder is required in order to have customers ante up to play your game over an extended period of time. Can't we take the content that some designer thinks would be appropriate to a, oh...let's day level 50 and just start there? Why can't the level 50 content be ground-zero? Heck, if it makes the pasty-faced producer that the publisher forced on you feel better you can call that content, get this, but don't let it out of the bag.... level 1 content.
Let's start with the really cool content and just dip into even cooler content from there. Let's start out with kick-arse gear that you planned for level 50 and just call it level 1. Let's start with characters that look like bad-asses and not homeless persons. My level 1 character in most games looks more likely to accost you for spare change than to save the world.
A wealth of incredibly well written stories and awe-inspiring creatures are awaiting designers to include them in their worlds, yet I am inundated with spiders, wolves and rats. With no offense intended to game writers, who are in most cases unsung heroes and heroines, none of you are going to write anything that can compare to the mythology we have at our disposal. Basque, Celtic, Greek, Norse, Roman and on and on. The list of mythological creatures and stories is almost infinite.
Richard Garriott, a developer that I have the utmost respect for is creating a translatable, in-game language called logos for his upcoming game, Tabula Rasa. He was even kind enough to give me a very limited edition coin with the language stamped on it. As much as I enjoy Mr. Garriott's work, I will go out on a limb and say that he would agree with me that the mythology of our forebears is more compelling than anything he could devise on his own.
Some of you are already griping that you don't want to fight centaurs or ogres. Those are as lame as boars. You may be right. I don't need to see another centaur in a game either, though an ogre named Rosie O'Donnell would make me giggle. What I would like to fight are MOBs like the Phoenix, Kraken, Sphinx, Nixes, the Colossus, Cherufe, the Titans, etc. There are hundreds of ready-made, huge and powerful MOBs for designers to tinker with. Please don't make us kill rats.
But we still need to kill 100 of these bonifide monstrosities to level up don't we? I suppose we could, but where would the fun be in that? What if, we only needed to kill five, but killing five took as long as killing 100 rats? Designers would still have their time-sink. We would have battles that were longer, that hopefully required us to think and play through them with some level of competence. Longer battles wouldn't be as much of a rush as many successive quick battles you say? Then what about taking on dozens of bad guys at once rather than the continual stream of one-at-a-time punching bags that we are used to?
I have only touched upon a couple of ideas and solutions. What is your answer to the leveling grind?
Vote, rank, share, comment or email me directly.
2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
OGDC: Ten Ton Hammer At The '07 OGDC
"When it comes to online gaming events Ten Ton Hammer is there with exclusive interviews and expanded coverage. On May 10th and 11th our team converged on the Online Game Development Conference in Seattle, Washington. Learn more about the online gaming industry's newest conference and begin exploring exclusive content."
OGDC: Stargate Worlds Interview With Joe Ybarra
"In the original Stargate SG-1 television series, combat was often an afterthought to deciphering puzzles and exploring the universe. In this first section of a two-part interview series, Cody "Micajah" Bye discusses puzzle-solving in Stargate Worlds with Joe Ybarra, Vice President of Product Development at Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment. In the article, Joe discusses puzzles in many aspects of the game and how it is an essential part of the gameplay in Stargate Worlds."
OGDC: Interview - Gavin Longhurst of BigWorld Technology
"You may not have heard of the BigWorld Technology Suite, but there are some good reasons to learn more about this set of MMO development tools. Shayalyn and Ethec sat down with Gavin Longhurst, Director of Business Development for BigWorld at the Online Game Development Conference. Check out the interview to learn more about BigWorld's potential effect on MMOs and the gamers who play them."
OGDC: AISeek And Smarter NPCs in Dynamic Worlds
"No matter which MMO you play, computer controlled characters (NPCs / mobs) simply aren't convincing. It turns out that many of the moronic behaviors we associate with mobs aren't the product of inept or uncaring devs, but a significant hardware limitation. To prevent easy cheating, the artificial intelligence (AI) for these mobs is calculated on the server, so specialized server hardware may help to smarten up our enemies. Gil Asherie of AISeek tells us how new advances may help to fuel significant advances in mob / NPC AI in the very near future."
OGDC: Collaborative Art and MMOs? Markus Weichselbaum Interviewed
"Now for something completely different. At OGDC 2007, we sat down with Markus Weichselbaum, Founder and CEO of theBroth.com - a website geared toward collaborative art for the global online community. Markus, an Australian from Austria (you read that right!) holding a Ph.D. in biophysics, is at least as much of an interesting person as you might imagine him to be, and he has a vision to take the methodology, technology, and lessons learned from his website into other online spaces, including MMORPGs. How would that work? It turns out that the prospects could very well be revolutionary."
SOE Gamer Day: A Star Wars Galaxies Update
"At the recent Sony Online Entertainment Gamer Day held in New York, Ten Ton Hammer got a chance to talk to the Star Wars Galaxies team about upcoming changes to the game. If you're an avid SWG player, this year you can look forward to growth in the development team while SOE adds more content in an effort to reinvigorate SWG. Chapter 6 is a step in this direction and adds more content with two new game systems and additional quest-based PvE content."
Blog: Which, And How Many MMOs?
"In a bit of a continuation of my topic of the week commentary last week over at the WoW.TenTonHammer site I want to discuss what new MMOâs I am looking forward to and how many I realistically see any of us playing."
Blog: My Umbrella
"In this weekend's blog, Ralsu refutes the disastrous end of Vanguard predicted by some disgruntled players and addresses a new Vanguard rumor."
Chronicles Of Spellborn: Images
"The Chronicles of Spellborn is coming. With the scheduled release of the dark fantasy MMO only a few weeks away, the public relations department behind the game is ramping up its efforts to produce the biggest splash possible. Ten Ton Hammer has been granted ten excellent screenshots of everything from combat to characters models and back. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the screenshot show!"
Dungeons and Dragons Online: The Maestro
"Bardic music can sometimes go wrong. However, the bardic Maestro build never is a cause for this sort of concern, being a master of song. Like to learn how to always be able to know the right tune for the right time? Read Darkgolem's new build, the Maestro!"
EverQuest 2: The Rise of Kunark - Will It Be All That We Hope For?
"With the recent announcement of the next EverQuest II expansion, "The Rise of Kunark", hopes and expectations are running high. Will this long awaited content be all that we dream of? Savanja goes over the exciting new features and discusses the potential that each one could bring."
EverQuest 2: The Wondrous Wizard Class Guide
"Wizards are known for their amazing power and devastation that they are able to let loose at the turn of a spell. This amazing class may be tissue paper thin when it comes to taking damage, but make no mistake, when you want something dead now, they are the ones to call on to get it done!"
Lord of the Rings Online: Lore-master Skill List
"Proficient in all manners of wisdom and knowledge, the Lore-masters are considerably powerful. Even bringing animals to their aid, they provide fellowships a mighty ally or single-handedly smite evil. Ten Ton Hammer has your complete skill list for this great class."
Lord of the Rings Online: Interactive Conversations In An MMOG
"Tired of one-dimensional NPC's that are perfectly content to yap at you all day long without letting you get one word in edge-wise? Me too. In fact, I'm hopping mad about it. We've got a new editorial for you today that examines just how cool interactive dialogue could be in an MMO, and how LOTRO almost had it."
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Pick The Perfect Wonder
"Druid Class Specialist Mensis had a great idea to let Druids in the community do some daydreaming to come up with the perfect Wonder. He's pick his top 5 submissions and we want you to vote on your favorite. We'll send the top 2 to Sigil and beg them to consider them for actual spells in the game."
Warhammer Online: Knight of the Blazing Sun Overview
"Along with the update to the Witch Hunter we've also put in a tidbit of the TenTonHammer Interview this week into the Knight of
the Blazing Sun page. Just a bit more on this career for you to read about!"
Warhammer Online: Witch Hunter Overview
"Today we've updated the Witch Hunter Overview page to include some information gleamed from our recent EA Mythic interview. If you want to get a little bit more info on this career before next month's newsletter look no further!"
Warhammer Online: Bestiary Update
"That's right folks, our Bestiary has been updated again. This time with several new entries, particularly of the Chaos variety."
World of Warcraft: Playing WoW...Naked
"No, this isn't a guide on how to play WoW in the nude, but it's something similar. We were lucky enough to get Katolikk, one of the people working on a run through WoW with NO equipment, to tell us a little bit about this amazing feat. Be sure to watch out for more interviews about going at WoW with nothing on."
World of Warcraft: Deadmine Instance Guide Update
"Our Deadmines Instance guide has now been updated to include the loot that the bosses may drop!"
3. Hot Content
OGDC: Stargate Worlds Interview With Joe Ybarra
OGDC: Interview - Gavin Longhurst of BigWorld Technology
OGDC: AISeek And Smarter NPCs in Dynamic Worlds
OGDC: Collaborative Art and MMOs? Markus Weichselbaum Interviewed
OGDC: Marvel Universe Interview With Victor Wachter and Shayne Herrera
OGDC: Marvel Universe Animation Rig - Video
SOE Gamer Day: Community Builds Tools
SOE Gamer Day: Gods and Heroes
SOE Gamer Day: Vanguard
EverQuest 2: Expansion Revealed at SOE Gamer Day
Pirates of the Caribbean Online: Video Preview
Colony Studios: Interview With Mike Wallis, CEO
4. Real World News
Girth And Nudity, Leonard Nimoy's Mission [Thanks Matt]
Live long and eat well.
Man Suspected Of Killing Prostitute With A Hoe [Thanks Matt]
In other news, man guns down pistol.
Smell-O-Phone [Thanks Matt]
I think your Glade-Plug-In is ringing.
Teachers Stage Fake Gun Attack On Kids [Thanks Matt]
The teachers had obviously been playing too many violent video games.
Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
John "Boomjack" Hoskin