Loading... License to Thrill

Welcome to the 1,070th Edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

The hot topic of the day is which offers more potential for future MMOs: established licenses (e.g. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Conan) or original concepts (EverQuest, Vanguard, Spellborn). We'll discuss the innate pros and cons of each and leave it to you to decide in today's Loading... License to Thrill, plus offer you a hands-on preview of one of the hottest F2P titles of 2009, Perfect World, and have three new segments of our WoW class guides and a new comic to start your weekend off right!

Coyote is back in a big way at Ten Ton Hammer, and his daily column explores all things geek with Coyote's trademark wit in It's All Geek to Me. Read it daily at Ten Ton Hammer!

The Pulse

First, you vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Hammer Pulse (What is Pulse?). Here's the top 5 this week:

World of Warcraft
Aion: The Tower of Eternity (UP 21!! - Why?)
EverQuest 2
Age of Conan
EVE Online (UP 2 - Why?)

And here are the biggest movers in the Top 20 this week:

Lord of the Rings Online (UP 7 to #11 - Why?)
Aion: The Tower of Eternity (UP 9 to #19)
EVE Online (UP 9 to #8)

Loading... Daily

All games, from MMOs to shooters to whatever kid-luring, merchandise tie-in game of the day happens to be, have one thing in common if they want any chance of getting some word-of-mouth buzz. They need a hook; an attention-grabber that can tell you why the game is worth checking out and what makes it different in about the space of about thirty seconds.

For licensed games, I'd argue (despite Dalmarus's opinion column today on IPs vs. Originality, which is what I'm playing off of) most of the marketing is, in effect, done on the day the deal is signed. Star Wars, Pokemon, Harry Potter... we joke that these are in effect licenses to print money, and it's funny mostly because it's true. You could do the minimum the brand manager would let you get away with and the game would still sell like donuts. Initially.

MMORPGs, however, are another animal. They're not fire-and-forget console titles, they require constant development and refinement. If you fool me once on buying your game, you won't fool me twice on paying subscription or microtransaction fees, and you've ruined your studio's reputation with me to boot. Not only that, but now I've lost traction in the MMO I'd been playing and I'll blame you for that as well. God bless the MMO developers.

On the other hand, an original story saves you from both the hefty profit "percentages" (should your game take off) and the nightmarish expectations load that an established license brings, but at the cost of all comfort, familiarity, and seeds of imagination that have were sown by a well-known and well-loved IP. But you have to start from scratch, and that means you'll have to work overtime to make your setting matter to the player. This, to me, was the biggest failure of Vanguard at launch, beyond the purely technical problems. I never felt like I uncovered a plot or even a system of plots that would make me care about the world I was in beyond going through the motions of character development.

But one recent game that understands this and, to me, is doing a great job with an original story is Chronicles of Spellborn. Hawksmouth, the first zone you'll start playing in on the game side of the tutorial, is both strikingly original and a familiar fantasy setting. I enjoy it, your mileage may vary, but the free two weeks of Spellborn deal is still going on for the Acclaim territories so there's little reason not to check it out.

Dalmarus contends that a mix of established IP and originality is the best way to go. If you can afford it and get away with it, heck yea. One developer that does this to a T, despite the fading white noise from the hyper-Tolkien crowd, is Turbine with Lord of the Rings Online. Players weave in, through, and around the Ring storyline (the license) while exploring the many secrets of Middle Earth that went under-explored in the canon fiction. Another developer that seems to be preserving the style (if not strictly the substance) of the licensed lore is Bioware with Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Treatment of IPs and the care given to original ideas is one way we've really seen MMOs improve and evolve over the past five or so years. But what do you think? Are the original IPs still not original or attractive enough? Are licensed IPs still grubbing money at the cost of what they might have been? Your opinions are welcome in the Loading... forum, or feel free to email me.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Tavern of the Ten Ton Hammer forum

Fanboys & Roleplayers: Are they Bad for the MMO Community?

It's
Friday, and I've got a hot discussion to lead us into the weekend. I
really don't have much to add myself, but Spare, Ten Ton Hammer's
resident bad boy in training, sure does. Spare may be an attention
hog, but he knows how to root through the mud and come up with a
timely topic. Want to weigh in? Go get dirty!

==============================
Awesome Quote from the Epic Thread

"I am startled and confused."

- Reavi
==============================

Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

4 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 132 in April! 518 in 2009!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]

Perfect World International "Age of Spirits" Dev Preview
When the Ten Ton Hammer staff first heard about Perfect World, the game was still in its infancy and could only be played via an "English" version of a Malaysian client code. Oh how times have changed. Now the true North American version of Perfect World is set to release its second expansion, and the PWI devs have whipped out their keyboards and jotted a few exclusive notes for players.
World of Warcraft - Addons for the Shaman
Tired of that same old World of Warcraft User Interface? Do you think it's bad that all your Shaman brethern look alike in their Tiered armor? Not only can you change the appearence of WoW's UI, you can certainly customize your gameplay as well. Mods are one of the hottest commodities around, come take a look here at some ideas.
World of Warcraft - Addons for the Mage
Looking to load up on good U.I. mods in World of Warcraft? Play a Mage or one of the many other classes available? You're in luck! David "Xerin" Piner slings a new article your way detailing the best mods out there for the Mage class.
World of Warcraft - Addons for the Warrior
Warriors in World of Warcraft generally don't have a lot of micromanagement, but we need to crunch numbers and do the occasional gear switch on the fly. But lets face it, we're about functionality and not style. These mods may not make your interface more aesthetically pleasing, but with wise use they will increase your effectiveness in many situations.
Comic: Geeked - "Not Kid-Friendly"
The ESRB should never see this! Ten Ton Hammer's very own satirical webcomic on all things geek-related back with more adventures in SOE's Free Realms. You can be a Ninja, or a Racer, or a Pet Handler, or even someone who is handled by their pets!
IPs vs. Originality - Which is Better?
It may be an age-old question, but this may be the biggest decision a company makes, especially in today's market. There are pit falls to both approaches, but either one can provide a company with a mega hit. In this week's Forever Fantasy, Dalmarus takes a closer look at both sides of the argument. Can a "one size fits all" solution be found? Read on to find out!

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:

Real World News

Will return Monday, have a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

-- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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