The MMO Blogosphere Is Alive and Well
Popular gaming blogger Tobold asked whether the MMO Blogosphere was still alive in a recent post on his site. He stated, “as far as I can see that decline has continued over the last decade, powered both by the general decline of blogging as a form of expression on the internet in favour of tweeting, and by the decline of MMORPGs as a form of gaming in favor of other multiplayer games”. Needless to say, there were numerous comments to the contrary left on the article in question. Furthermore, several gaming bloggers debated the point further on their own platforms. As I have a dog in this fight, to coin a somewhat inappropriate and unsavoury phrase, I thought I’d add my thoughts to the debate. And as ever, the answer is somewhat complex because Tobold’s question is erroneously reductive.
Destiny 2: Level 20
I bought Destiny 2 on a whim and have so far enjoyed playing through the campaign. My approach to the game has been somewhat casual, so I’ve equipped gear based upon common sense, rather than an in-depth knowledge of the games mechanics. This approach has proven adequate until today, when I finally hit level 20. Now I find moving forward through the game that I feel somewhat under powered and that combat is more taxing. I don’t feel that I’m doing sufficient damage to enemies. That subsequently has an impact upon my enjoyment of the game because I always find that there’s very fine line to tread when it comes to combat. If you can one shot everything then it quickly becomes quite dull. However, if it takes too long to grind down a target the game tips over into becoming a chore. It’s difficult to ascertain exactly where the sweat spot is, and it may vary from gamer to gamer. However, I distinctly feel that I’ve been struggling so today I decided to remedy the problem.
Story Driven Gaming
This is a collaborative post debating merits of emergent storytelling vs. static storytelling between myself and TheBro from MMOBro. After reading this, make sure to check out his side of the debate!
As I peruse my Steam library, it becomes very apparent that the titles I’ve spent the most time playing are those with complex and involving traditional, linear narratives. This is hardly surprising as I’ve always liked stories and have a strong affection for books with in-depth lore and complex faux histories. It is one of the reasons I enjoy Professor Tolkien’s work and therefore gravitate towards games that expand upon these intellectual properties. Games such as LOTRO and even Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Both endeavour to explore the mythology of Third Age from an alternative perspective. Through the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I discovered a wealth of lore and entered a living, breathing world. Then of course there is the MMORPG Star Trek Online, that until recently has been the only source of new Star Trek content. All these diverse titles from multiple genres have one thing in common. A strong narrative that underpins each game.
Mirror Invasion
The Mirror Invasion, also known as the Terran Empire Incursion, is no stranger to Star Trek Online. This five-man event has appeared six times since its launch in 2104. Despite some minor revisions and different event rewards, the basic premise remains the same. The players must defend Vauthil Station from a Terran Empire assault from the Mirror Universe. Rifts appear and have to be closed before they unleash enemy vessels. There are also four power substations that charge the stations defences, that have to brought online. In the final stage of the event, an enemy Dreadnought and support squadron make a final attack on the station. It’s a fun ten-minute team event and if tackled correctly, is not too challenging. Science vessels can close rifts quicker than other classes and Command ships can initiate the power substations more efficiently. Players are awarded a Multidimensional Transporter for playing this event. By turning in 14 Transporters through the Reputation System, players will receive Dilithium Ore, Reputation Marks and the new Interphasic Instability console.
LOTRO: Pilgrims in a Barren Land
I bought the Mordor expansion for LOTRO in August but apart from playing through the prologue, I made no further progress. I was getting somewhat burnt out with MMOs at the time, so I decided to take a break and pursue other games. I was prompted to return to the LOTRO today by the recent Executive Producer’s Letter from Rob Ciccolini and the announcement that Update 22, coming in 2018, takes the story to Northern Mirkwood. Iconic locations such as Thranduil's Court, Dale, Laketown, and Erebor will feature in the epic story. Looking further ahead another future destination is Minas Morgul and a showdown with Shelob, who so far, we’ve only met briefly from a first-person perspective in a cut scene. Naturally I’m interested in where Standing Stone Games takes the story next, so I need to ensure that I have reached level cap by the end of the year, which isn’t that far away. Hence, it’s back to Mordor. Shame I don’t like Mordor.
Destiny 2
I bought Destiny 2 on a whim this week. I did not play the first instalment but many of my friends and colleagues gave the game positive feedback. They continued to extol the virtues of the franchise with the recent launch of the sequel, so I decided to give it a try. I’ve always enjoyed the FPS genre and the fact that this title is a pseudo MMO, piqued my interest. So, I shopped around as usual and bought the base game for £42.79, which isn’t a bad price. I didn’t commit to the season pass in case the overall game wasn’t to my liking. However, so far things have been both enjoyable and interesting. I’ve only played for about five or six hours, so haven’t got that far into the game but overall Destiny 2 seems to be a wise investment.
Emotes
Emotes in MMORPGs have always been a great means to facilitate social interaction. You can hail your friends when you meet them, laugh at their jokes or show displeasure at those indulging in tomfoolery and shenanigans. They can also be used in events, such as dance competitions or as specific actions to be undertaken in quests. Then of course there is the inherent need of some gamers to collect all possible emotes available in a game and the business opportunities that this offers to developers. Thus, emotes are an integral part of MMOs and source of amusement and pleasure for many players.
Star Trek Online: Beyond the Nexus
One of the major selling points of Star Trek Online is that it features voice acting from artists who appeared in the various TV shows and feature films. From Star Trek: The Original Series, Leonard Nimoy and Walter Koenig reprised their iconic roles, bringing Spock and Chekov to the game. Michael Dorn and Denise Crosby beamed in from The Next Generation, adding the voices of Worf, Tasha Yar and Empress Sela to several featured episodes. Chase Masterson and Aron Eisenberg came to us from Deep Space Nine to reprise their roles as Leeta and Nog. From Voyager, we have the talents of Tim Russ, Robert Picardo, Jeri Ryan, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Robert Duncan McNeill, Kim Rhodes, and Lisa LoCicero. Kipleigh Brown and Matt Winston from Enterprise recently joined the roster. The legacy of James Doohan was represented by his son Chris, reprising his father’s role as Scotty. And Zachary Quinto and Joseph Gatt from the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek film franchise have joined the ranks of esteemed Trek alumni in the game.
Game Maps
I've been pondering of late the subject of game maps and how they can vary quite radically from title to title. Size, content and instancing can all have an impact on a maps accessibility and the way they are perceived. Then there is the issue of individual player tastes and preferences. Those who like to explore will happily spend time attempting to access remote nooks and crannies. Others will quickly become frustrated if there is no direct route to their goal, as with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. A games genre also has a significant impact upon map design. A FPS or MOBA has different requirements from it virtual environment that an MMO. I'm sure there are far more variables involved in a maps creation. However, I think most gamers seem to inherently know when the developers have got it right.
Lockboxes
It would appear that lockboxes are being discussed once again. Bhagpuss wrote a post over at Inventory Full yesterday, which subsequently got used as a talking point on Massively Overpowered today. What made the debate a little different this time around, was that Bhagpuss doesn’t object to lockboxses per se, merely that in most games that have them, the content is frequently lacklustre and uninspiring. A point I am compelled to concur with. I too have no major objection to lockboxes in principle and partake of them from time to time in various games. However, they seldom seem to contain anything that I consider to be of tangible benefit to me. I want pets, gear and weapons. But because of vocal complaints from certain quarters, we are more often than not saddled with inconsequential convenience items and minor cosmetics baubles and trinkets.
The Cat Lady's House
Earlier in the year I wrote about the Abandoned Graveyard that is located in Bree-land and how LOTRO has several curious locations that appear to be residual abandoned quest lines. Someone today left a comment and mentioned The Cat lady’s House in Bree. For those who are not familiar with landmark, it can be found as you enter Bree via the Eastern gate. As you proceed up the hill, you pass the stable to your left and the forge of Flint Oakhewer to you right. After the forge, there is a flight of stone steps going up through several terraces of houses. This is the Scholar’s Stair. At the top of the stair the passage widens. To the right is a door with a cat outside. It is opposite the recently added Scholars Hall.
MMO Burnout
Although I have played numerous other online games, LOTRO has been my main MMO for the last nine years years. I have invested a great deal of time into it, which is hardly surprising as that is the entire raison d'etre of the genre. I recently purchased the Mordor expansion for the game which offers a wealth of new content. Yet despite having all this available I have done precious little in the game of late and have made no significant progress. Currently, I have Guilds Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Secret World Legends and Star Trek Online installed on my PC. I have dabbled with them all over the last few weeks, trying to rekindle a sense of enjoyment and pursue content that I have not completed. Sadly, none of them seem to hold my interest. I log in to them in the hope that something will grab my attention but I always seem to find myself just kicking my heels and aimlessly wandering through zones with no sense of focus.
Is Co-op Gaming King?
“Is the popularity of smaller-scale co-op (games) hurting MMORPGs?” This interesting question was posted on Massively Overpowered today as part of their regular Massively Overthinking feature. The subject was explored by members of the writing team then thrown over to reader comments, many of which were very thought provoking. The subject was similar to one we debated recently on the Contains Moderate Peril podcast. That focused on whether traditional MMO players were now outsiders within their own genre of choice. Both of these discussions are about change and a shift in player habits. And change is frequently unsettling and potentially comes at the expense of something else.
LOTRO: Mordor and Beyond
Well, I waited till this afternoon before buying the Mordor expansion for LOTRO. Unlike the song, a day really didn’t make that much difference. In true and traditional Standing Stone Games style there were still problems, glitches and hassles to be found twenty-four hours on from the launch. In fact, there’s a hot fix to be deployed tomorrow to iron some of these out. Yet, in spite of all these minor niggles, tonight I found myself officially entering Mordor, ten years after the launch of LOTRO and eight years on from my subscribing to the game. I must admit as the game wrapped up the original story and I said cheer-bye to Frodo and the rest of The Fellowship of the Ring, I did feel a sense of great satisfaction as I reflected on what my character had achieved on behalf of the free peoples of Middle-earth. Why even Gandalf himself thanked me for my courage and effort. And then a message appeared in chat, stating “You’ve earned 5 LOTRO Points”. The irony wasn’t lost and I then went on to ponder exactly why I’ve spent years being a butler to all the NPCs I’ve met in LOTRO.
Standing Stone Games: Is the Honeymoon Over?
I was not that surprised when Standing Stone Games announced that their Mordor expansion for LOTRO would be released at the end of July, just weeks after several open beta tests. This is something the developers have done for a while, with all their major updates. One has to remember that despite a change of name, to core team developing LOTRO has not radically changed since they extricated themselves from Turbine. Something that SSG went out of their way to stress when they formally announced their move, last December. The press releases and interviews at the time focused on a sense of continuity and implied that SSG was now free from the corporate yolk of Warner Bros. and Turbine. It led to a great deal of optimism among LOTRO players and sparked a resurgence in the game. The fact that the MMO has now reached the end of Tolkien’s story and is about to embark upon its own original narrative has been well received. Yet LOTRO has always been regarded both by the faithful and by those outside, as a game that never quite lived up to its potential. Perhaps the release of Mordor would remedy that?
Money Changes Everything
When I look back at the various posts I’ve written about gaming over the past decade, several themes regularly occur. Player toxicity, marketing hype and industry shenanigans are three that never seem to go away. Pre-order culture, fans enthusiasm and launch day disappointment are also perennial bad pennies. However, there is one point that I constantly find myself reiterating. Yet despite its staggeringly obvious nature it is habitually overlooked and ignored. Namely that money changes everything. Regardless of the nature of a situation, be it the cost of an item in the cash store, alterations to a games mechanics or the relationship between a You Tube personality and their audience, if it involves some sort of financial exchange then it fundamentally alters the dynamic of that given situation.
"You're Playing Wrong"
There’s one particular topic that appears with tedious regularity on MMO subreddits and forums. That old chestnut about how the genre has become too solo friendly and that it’s to the ruination of the genre. It usually hails from the raiding community and follows a predictable path about high end gear and those who do and don’t deserve it. When you look beyond the initial arguments, you’ll frequently find that such positions are very emotive, couched in judgemental terms and often end in the sentiment “why even play an MMO?” or something comparable. The reason I mention this perennial debate is because it appeared recently on a forum that I still occasionally visit. It saddens me to a degree because, this point has been debunked so many times, yet it still persists (a bit like many political talking points). It also smacks of that attitude I see all too frequently these days. A concern and borderline resentment of what others are doing, irrespective of whether it impacts upon you or not.
LOTRO: High Elf Preview
I was more than a little surprised when Standing Stone Games announced the addition of a new race coming to LOTRO. As Elves are already a popular option in the game, I really didn’t see any merit in adding a subtle variation of them, with High Elves. However, as I had time this weekend, I thought I’d take a look at the new introduction for this race, that is currently available for preview on the Bullroarer test server. Like all races in LOTRO, there is a bespoke opening quest line, that orientates players and provides a degree of lore and backstory. Although aspects of the High Elf race are yet to be completed such as the character visualisation, the introduction is in place and has a rather unique narrative compared to the rest of LOTRO.
LOTRO: Mordor Preview
I decided to take a look at the second Mordor preview today, that is currently available on Bullroarer test server. Due to technical issues, I could not initially log into the game. The game client stuck at installing “pre-reqs”. However, by the evening SSG had resolved the problem and I managed to successfully login and copy my level cap character from Laurelin. Access to Mordor is via a teleport horse at the Slag-Hills. As with Helm’s Deep and the Battle of the Pelennor fields, this system of transitioning between multiple phases set at different times, can be a little confusing. Irrespective of this, it was rather droll of SSG to have Boromir as the NPC that bestows access to the Mordor quest line. I subsequently spent several hours touring the region. This post is specifically about my initial impressions of the area and is not a critique of all the new features and systems.
Secret World Legends
Writing a lengthy article as to why you don’t like a game is often a bad idea. It seldom makes for a good post unless you are humorous or have a cogent point to make. Often all the anger, bile and vitriol can be distilled down to the following. “I wanted X and they (the developers) gave me Y”. Its a simple question of differing expectations and personal taste. Well that is what we have here. Simply put, the changes made to The Secret World in its transition to Secret World Legends are insufficient for me to change my overall view of the game. Specifically, I still do not like the combat system and find the UI esoteric and unintuitive. It is easier to play the game now so theoretically I can soldier on to see the narrative that I previously missed. But I still have to endure an unsatisfactory fighting style to do this and that is a big enough hurdle for me to possibly conclude “it’s not worth it”.