Technology has worked its way from being a helping hand to a necessity. Despite its advantages, not only did technology change our way of working and researching, but also our way of life. Let's take a peek at the youth of this generation.
I remember a time when video games didn't receive such harsh criticisms. Back then, the term "good game" was more of a personal opinion rather than a big "8.0" you see at game review sites. If you think about it, picking a game used to be so simple; gamers would just get titles that had great box art. No, gamers didn't need to see the fat "9" to know that Power Rangers: The Movie, for the Super Nintendo was an awesome game. In the good old days, games weren't treated like movies. There were no rants regarding grinding, no fanboy raging on bad graphics, and definitely no complaints regarding repetition. There was always something positive about each game and there's nothing wrong with grabbing the low-selling titles on the shelf. So what happened to the good old days? What stops gamers from grabbing the last copy of Clive Barker's Jericho from Gamestop? Let's find out...
We've discussed why MMOs can't be scary, now it's time to see how they can be. As much as most titles tried their best to project the Silent Hill experience, MMOs lack the ability to be scary. One cause would be the persistent plane where players can freely interact with each other. There's also the lack of ambiance, which greatly affects the experience as it takes away the horrific expectations players have when facing a blind corner.
Free-To-Play refers to any game that provides players with a full gaming experience without the need to pay for subscription. The system has been exercised by various game developers to allow gamers to try their games without the fear of paying for something they may or may not like. Some games give players free trials while others give them the full game at no extra cost. It's a good way of attracting more players to the game, especially since having a free gaming experience is pretty hard to resist. There are thousands of FTP games online (mostly Korean MMOs), some of them being former Pay-To-Play games who wish to keep the game running after being dubbed outdated or passe. It's a good way to dominate the market if you ask me, even for games that carry old content.
I recently had the chance to sit down with Pepijn Rijnders, a developer over at Sakari Indie, the lead artist for Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood. FL:BoB is an over the top action third-person shooter that encourages users to gain levels and ranks, unlock and purchase new guns, accessories, and even new armor.
MMORPG - Those six letters personify PC gaming. Logging into your level 67 battle mage and spending countless hours mashing mouse buttons and hitting hotkeys. It's the way these games were meant to be played, right? Since its release in 2007, the iPhone has been nothing short of a phenomenal success, and with the App Store revolutionising gaming on the move, is the way we approach online multiplayer gaming about to change?
It is doubtful that any player reads the Terms of Service or End User Licence Agreement when signing up to an MMORPG. The endless scroll of player obligations and legal nothings is enough to put anyone off their game. We all know the rules by now. Be nice, play nice, don't gank people. We are also petrified of breaking the rules. The punishments some companies dish out for disregarding the terms of use are just downright cruel! But, unfortunately for the humble MMO player, that isn't going to stop scammers from creating new opportunities to wreak havoc on your online world.
"9you, one of the fast rising MMO developers and publishers in China, recently announced that they will be integrating their upcoming MMOs with 3D technology. You read it right, players will have the chance to view their games through 3D vision goggles and experience the same kind of thrill when watching Avatar 3D (who hasn't watch the movie in 3D?). The company also admitted that the recent Avatar 3D wave helped them to speed up development of the project."
Have you ever been curious and asked where we all came from? I bet kids in the MMO world have the same questions. Aside from generic gameplay, renamed classes and recycled features, I managed to find out that some MMOs also share the same origins (in terms of story). You'd think some had already lost their originality in terms of game play, but storylines as well? Geez, it's like they're all connected somehow really.
On the 15th April, 2010, it was announced by Blizzard that the pet store had been updated. The soft sounding Pet Store has now evolved from selling small, yet expensive, pets to selling incredibly expensive in-game mounts. In my article World of Warcraft: Cash Shop Worries, which was posted on December 24th, I talked about the (then) recently added Pet Store, and the problems surrounding it. Towards the end of the article I wrote "After all it may just be pets now but later it might be something bigger and better." Unfortunately I was right.
Maybe it's just me, but being a thirteen year old without a credit card was excruciating. MMORPGs were spewing out left right and centre and my inability to cough up the subscription charges left me out in the cold. Six years ago, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the exciting titles everyone seemed to be hyping. The MMO boom was well underway, and I vaguely remember posting a "free MMORPG alternatives" thread on the OnRPG boards. Unfortunately, I soon realised that despite the enticing F2P tagline, adventuring into an online world for free does carry a price.