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• Yes, There is a New Dungeon Keeper. No, You Can’t Have It.

  I love my morning feed of press releases as much as the next guy (read: not very much, but at least it’s not as depressing as real news), but this morning I seriously considered never, ever looking at it again. And not because it was boring, because that I can take. No, this morning it was actually cruel to me. The release in question had a title that contained the words “New Online Game – Dungeon Keeper Online.” In a perfect world that phrase would be...well, less redundant, but also sacrosanct, the sort of words that would come down a mountain embossed in a pillar of bronze. The ensuing party would last for days. But just before popping the champagne, it occurred to me to actually, you know, read the release. And, of course, this was not the return of Peter Molyneux’s beloved good-to-be-bad strategy game that left me cackling into the wee hours of 1997. This despite its name, and despite "themes, characters and other game content" that will be coming from that game. No, this Dungeon Keeper is by NetDragon, a company you’ve never heard of because it primarily makes those inscrutable grindfest MMOs for Asia. Oh, and by the way, Asia is the only place you’ll be able to play Dungeon Keeper Online. Read More... Posted Dec 01 2008, 12:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with no comments Filed under: ea, mmorpgs, cruelty, dungeon keeper

• EVE Online Is an Elaborate Screen Saver

  I don't play MMORPGs, mainly because living in the same house as an MMORPG victim was one hell of an eye-opening experience.  My stepdad has been playing Everquest since 1999, and my greatest memory of his nearly decade-long addiction is the day I walked down into our basement and saw him watching TV on the couch while Everquest played silently on a nearby computer.  Wondering why he wasn't glued to the keyboard, I asked why he abandoned his game.  The answer: "I'm traveling."  His character was sitting on a ship. That was not the life for me. Read More... Posted Sep 04 2008, 04:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: yahtzee, zero punctuation, mmorpgs, bob mackey, eve online, everquest

• Gold Farming: Why I'll Never Play an MMORPG

  A sensational title, to be sure, but this is insane. BBC News reports that nearly half a million people make a living supplying lazy first-world gamers with monopoly money.   Read More... Posted Aug 26 2008, 08:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with no comments Filed under: world of warcraft, cole stryker, mmorpgs, gold farming

• Richard Garriot Wants to Fly You to Space

  The ever-eccentric Richard Garriott is up to his old tricks, this time promising Tabula Rosa players the chance to virtually join him (via DNA code and virtual avatar) on his trip to the International Space Station later this fall. Read More... Posted Jul 30 2008, 03:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with no comments Filed under: cole stryker, mmorpgs, richard garriott, tabula rasa

• Ragnarok Online Reminds Me Why I Don't Like MMORPGs

  I've recently re-entered the hyper-colourful world of Rangarok Online because I must play it for work purposes (honest). I say "re-entered" because I've been down this road before. It didn't take me a whole lot of time to remember why I left Midgard to its fate in the first place. Lots of people are capable of playing massive multiplayer online RPGs casually, but others can become hooked for life, even abandoning work and family for the sake of riding on a tiger. I'm not one of the latter. Sure, MMORPGs are a fun distraction, but I can't concieve of why anyone wouldn't tire of it after a few hours of grinding. I'm playing as an archer named Fuzzy Stone and I've been killing bugs and rabbits for hours upon hours just so I can get strong enough to safely beat up differently-coloured bugs and rabbits. If I stick with it, I can blend in with hundreds of other generic mid-level warriors as we band together to fight the menace of--what are we fighting against, exactly? There are a chosen few who Lord over the rest, who stride through the n00b fields, literally radiant with power while we collect ten-zenny clover dropped by catepillars. Some might aspire to have their name echo through the servers. I don't. I remember when I initially played, I was so proud when I gained enough levels to ride a pecopeco, a sort of Chocobo ripoff. When I rented my ride, what was around me? Dozens of other riders who looked just like me, except I was wearing a jaunty hat. I once talked to 1UP's Solid Sharkey about the appeal of the vague goals MMORPGs dole out and he more or less agreed that there's little to keep you going after a certain point. When he got his pecopeco, he said, "I can ride Big Bird now, so does this mean I won?" My disdain for MMORPGs is partially the fault of my own quirks: I have no interest in cooperating and forming a party. I kind of like doing that sort of thing with my friends, but they all inevitably lose interest and leave me with fifteen-year-old acolytes who beg me to join the Sephie x Cloud Yaoi guild. Read More... Posted Jul 22 2008, 08:36 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: gravity, distraction, ragnarok online, mmorpgs, addiction