(This is a blog post, not a recycled forum post)
Well, that was unexpected.
One of the forums I've been frequenting for a decade has come to an end. fohguild.org, home to the "Fires of Heaven" guild, became the leading forum for MMO discussion last decade as FoH was possibly the first "uber guild" - a guild that people followed regularly to see how well they were doing (to give an idea of their influence, some of FoH's members were hired by Blizzard to work on World of Warcraft partially due to their involvement with FoH).
Gaining tons of users and expanding to much more than just MMO discussion, the website's forums became one of those places that just evolve into a community regardless of whatever created them, with forums for movie reviews, politics, other games, and "Screenshots" which itself evolved into an entire sub-community within this larger forum. And then there were other communities that spun off of fohguild, like patchtimer.org which I frequented for a couple of years and is still going strong.
Sadly all of that is gone now. I lurked much more than I posted but foh remained probably the only forum I've consistently gone to for the duration of its existence. It was a fun ride, and it will continue to go on as already some of the community figureheads have created www.rerolled.org, essentially a clone of the foh forums under new management.
Thanks for the good times, fohguild.org!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Talking about MMO economy on Raph Koster's blog
(Original).
Economy is just another thing that I like to point back to older MMOs and go "...why does what we have now suck so bad compared to what we had a decade ago?". That said, I'm still a fan of hefty risk/reward systems that get my adrenaline going, such as item drop on death. Color me niche.
I'm not sure that the typical "auction house" system (i.e. being able to access all available items instantly) is inherently bad. I think it's more the game systems surrounding this concept that suck. For one, this fake durability that has started to emerge: where items cost upkeep as you use them, but never actually go away. This of course lead to "bind on equip", because items would never get cycled apart from new players buying and binding equipment (thus removing it from circulation). This leads to a stale economy for end-game players who no longer purchase gear from one another, because once they buy it, they have it for good. So they have to seek gear elsewhere. And thus the economy of trade-able, purchasable gear has a clearly defined limitation as the developers have to work around this concept; pretty much all significant endgame gear you get is "bind on pickup" - i.e., zero interaction from other players was possible to get this gear (aside from stuff like players helping one another, i.e. raiding). It'll be interesting to see how the established concept of an auction house works with Diablo 3, as D2 still has a pretty lively economy that is entirely player-run.
Personally, I was completely happy with the concept of being able to buy generic items from NPC vendors, and better items from players, and all of it eventually crumbling into dust and having to be replaced. Maybe there is a way to mesh this system with an endgame, goal-based non-decaying gear system. I'm not sure. Perhaps having the gear be permanent, but some kind of items that modify it wear off over time (i.e. enchantments or gems wearing out). The line between "meaningful economy" and "boring moneysink" can be very blurry.
I also love the concept of real, location based merchants/shops, although I don't think this is a necessary step towards having a meaningful economy. But some of my favorite experiences in UO were definitely based around concepts like "hey, if you want to stock up on some grandmaster heavy crossbows, soandso's got them on sale just outside of Vesper!" or "have you seen the new vendor mall/rune library outside of town?". Stuff like this just contributes so much towards making a game world really feel alive and breathing, and it's a total shame that the most socialization that happens in a game like WoW is people spouting out memes and arguing.
"Getting" is definitely the core idea here, and it is addicting enough to pose the question of if there should even be any boundaries when it comes to players buying equipment (heck, in many F2P games we are seeing people able to just pull up a store and buy gear instantly, from anywhere - although that's another can of worms). Still, I can't help but feel that putting more behind the acquisition of items plays a huge role. I mean, this is fantasy, right? And who doesn't like going to quaint little book and antique shops? Sure, they may be dying off because in real life, we just don't have the time to waste looking for things so we flock to sites like Amazon or Ebay... but we play these games for fantasy, and escape. Are we so addicted to working and the idea of having a job that even in our fantasies we can't have fun shopping around?
Economy is just another thing that I like to point back to older MMOs and go "...why does what we have now suck so bad compared to what we had a decade ago?". That said, I'm still a fan of hefty risk/reward systems that get my adrenaline going, such as item drop on death. Color me niche.
I'm not sure that the typical "auction house" system (i.e. being able to access all available items instantly) is inherently bad. I think it's more the game systems surrounding this concept that suck. For one, this fake durability that has started to emerge: where items cost upkeep as you use them, but never actually go away. This of course lead to "bind on equip", because items would never get cycled apart from new players buying and binding equipment (thus removing it from circulation). This leads to a stale economy for end-game players who no longer purchase gear from one another, because once they buy it, they have it for good. So they have to seek gear elsewhere. And thus the economy of trade-able, purchasable gear has a clearly defined limitation as the developers have to work around this concept; pretty much all significant endgame gear you get is "bind on pickup" - i.e., zero interaction from other players was possible to get this gear (aside from stuff like players helping one another, i.e. raiding). It'll be interesting to see how the established concept of an auction house works with Diablo 3, as D2 still has a pretty lively economy that is entirely player-run.
Personally, I was completely happy with the concept of being able to buy generic items from NPC vendors, and better items from players, and all of it eventually crumbling into dust and having to be replaced. Maybe there is a way to mesh this system with an endgame, goal-based non-decaying gear system. I'm not sure. Perhaps having the gear be permanent, but some kind of items that modify it wear off over time (i.e. enchantments or gems wearing out). The line between "meaningful economy" and "boring moneysink" can be very blurry.
I also love the concept of real, location based merchants/shops, although I don't think this is a necessary step towards having a meaningful economy. But some of my favorite experiences in UO were definitely based around concepts like "hey, if you want to stock up on some grandmaster heavy crossbows, soandso's got them on sale just outside of Vesper!" or "have you seen the new vendor mall/rune library outside of town?". Stuff like this just contributes so much towards making a game world really feel alive and breathing, and it's a total shame that the most socialization that happens in a game like WoW is people spouting out memes and arguing.
"Getting" is definitely the core idea here, and it is addicting enough to pose the question of if there should even be any boundaries when it comes to players buying equipment (heck, in many F2P games we are seeing people able to just pull up a store and buy gear instantly, from anywhere - although that's another can of worms). Still, I can't help but feel that putting more behind the acquisition of items plays a huge role. I mean, this is fantasy, right? And who doesn't like going to quaint little book and antique shops? Sure, they may be dying off because in real life, we just don't have the time to waste looking for things so we flock to sites like Amazon or Ebay... but we play these games for fantasy, and escape. Are we so addicted to working and the idea of having a job that even in our fantasies we can't have fun shopping around?
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Fighting game community
Something I've wanted to rant about for a long time on an article comment on the Penny Arcade Report.
This article's message is kind of silly. "The fighting game scene is very accepting... and by that I mean not accepting at all!" Lots of mixed words here, and the overall counter-point of "but we have cool clips of competitive matches!" really has nothing at all to do with the topic at hand.
I'm a huge fighting game fan but I've always a had a bone to pick with the American community. While it's commendable in a way, the community has this sense of camaraderie that is almost too much to bear, and the culture itself has a kind of ignorance as a result: whereas FPS or RTS comptitive communities can and will stand up for themselves and the games they love (i.e. FPS gamers rejecting new games and sticking with Quake 3), the fighting community seems to just take whatever comes their way as Divine Truth, and the way the culture as a whole acts seems more akin to a riot tearing its way through a city block rather than a civilized group of people. Something that has really irritated me of late, although it's not related to the topic at hand, is the wanton acceptance of whatever the new "official" fighting game is: the fighter community will never accept games that may be better, if they are not official, and Capcom has done a frankly awful job of delivering good fighting games lately. But, simply because it's Capcom and it's the newest, it's the gold standard. I'd love to see the FPS or RTS communities reactions if a major company tried to pull what Capcom did with UMVC3.
I'm sure a lot of this attitude has to do with the fact that fighting games on a whole are just a much more personal affair, and so everything is instantly more intense and passionate, be it acceptance or disapproval. As the article states, online fighting gaming has only recently become a thing, and as usual the real-life "riot group" of fighting gamers are quick to dismiss it as fake, unimportant. Given the up-close-and-personal "arcade" mentality of the scene, it's easy to understand why, as location has a huge role to play in fighting game supremacy. Whereas some other gaming communities see this at times, it's usually on a much "smaller" scale where it's country vs. country (i.e. Starcraft, which for a long time was "Korea vs. the world"), fighting games tend to create this automatically, with this locational rivalry appearing on scales as small as arcade vs. arcade down the street. Again, it's commendable in a way, but it really is prohibitive towards growth and I'm not really sure if anything can be done for it.
This article's message is kind of silly. "The fighting game scene is very accepting... and by that I mean not accepting at all!" Lots of mixed words here, and the overall counter-point of "but we have cool clips of competitive matches!" really has nothing at all to do with the topic at hand.
I'm a huge fighting game fan but I've always a had a bone to pick with the American community. While it's commendable in a way, the community has this sense of camaraderie that is almost too much to bear, and the culture itself has a kind of ignorance as a result: whereas FPS or RTS comptitive communities can and will stand up for themselves and the games they love (i.e. FPS gamers rejecting new games and sticking with Quake 3), the fighting community seems to just take whatever comes their way as Divine Truth, and the way the culture as a whole acts seems more akin to a riot tearing its way through a city block rather than a civilized group of people. Something that has really irritated me of late, although it's not related to the topic at hand, is the wanton acceptance of whatever the new "official" fighting game is: the fighter community will never accept games that may be better, if they are not official, and Capcom has done a frankly awful job of delivering good fighting games lately. But, simply because it's Capcom and it's the newest, it's the gold standard. I'd love to see the FPS or RTS communities reactions if a major company tried to pull what Capcom did with UMVC3.
I'm sure a lot of this attitude has to do with the fact that fighting games on a whole are just a much more personal affair, and so everything is instantly more intense and passionate, be it acceptance or disapproval. As the article states, online fighting gaming has only recently become a thing, and as usual the real-life "riot group" of fighting gamers are quick to dismiss it as fake, unimportant. Given the up-close-and-personal "arcade" mentality of the scene, it's easy to understand why, as location has a huge role to play in fighting game supremacy. Whereas some other gaming communities see this at times, it's usually on a much "smaller" scale where it's country vs. country (i.e. Starcraft, which for a long time was "Korea vs. the world"), fighting games tend to create this automatically, with this locational rivalry appearing on scales as small as arcade vs. arcade down the street. Again, it's commendable in a way, but it really is prohibitive towards growth and I'm not really sure if anything can be done for it.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Super old post on pso-world.com
Here's an oldie. PSO-world, 3/29/2001. Funny, I should've known back then what a waste of time MMO's were. For context, in Phantasy Star Online, turning off the console while the game was loading/saving/anything resulted in a corrupted save -- characters weren't stored on their server. Good game, Sega.
So I try to connect a few times and get disconnected as I hit "ship select". Fine, I try once more to get the same result and turn off the game. Oops, didn't let it save. "Cya twin" I think as I reload the game to check for a corrupt save. I don't even know why I did this, I was expecting it and my expectations were met. I know I have no more compassion for the game as the only thing I've felt I've lost in the matter is the ability to play with my friends, whom hardly play anymore either. I don't know if I'll have the willpower to level up another character before version2, but if I do it will be a much better one. It saddened me to see my friend get 999 atp with any weapon under the sun and I only get 999 atp with a +24 laser and /his/ shifta.
I could really care less about the weapons and such I lost. Some good photon effecient weapons, yadda yadda, .. 1 good repeater and 1 good crush bullet (thanks Sheo)..
Anyway, thanks for listening to my BS. I just thought I should express my feelings because this is kind of funny. A few weeks ago I'd go nuts if this happened. Now it has happened and I haven't even raised a brow over it.
So I try to connect a few times and get disconnected as I hit "ship select". Fine, I try once more to get the same result and turn off the game. Oops, didn't let it save. "Cya twin" I think as I reload the game to check for a corrupt save. I don't even know why I did this, I was expecting it and my expectations were met. I know I have no more compassion for the game as the only thing I've felt I've lost in the matter is the ability to play with my friends, whom hardly play anymore either. I don't know if I'll have the willpower to level up another character before version2, but if I do it will be a much better one. It saddened me to see my friend get 999 atp with any weapon under the sun and I only get 999 atp with a +24 laser and /his/ shifta.
I could really care less about the weapons and such I lost. Some good photon effecient weapons, yadda yadda, .. 1 good repeater and 1 good crush bullet (thanks Sheo)..
Anyway, thanks for listening to my BS. I just thought I should express my feelings because this is kind of funny. A few weeks ago I'd go nuts if this happened. Now it has happened and I haven't even raised a brow over it.
Interpreting Mario 64 on reddit
The entire game is a philosophical take on a man's battle against drug abuse and possibly his own death without his friends help and intervention. Bowser is a fictional representation of Mario's dark addict side. The cake acts as a promise or reward, and lets us know that the entire game's narrative is told backwards (as it begins with the cake being done, and ends with it only as a thought).
Reversing the order of the events we have:
- Mario barely defeating Bowser while his reality is being shattered around him.
- Mario experiencing the psychotic episodes that are the games final levels: the clock tower, representing his time running out, and Rainbow Road, which we can imagine being an homage to a classic Beetles hit, amongst other things. Riding the carpet represents Mario being on a dangerous and unstoppable ride towards his potential doom if he doesn't get off and start changing his destiny. Also Big/small world, where his sense of reality is constantly being warped.
- Again, Mario has to face his inner demon that is Bowser.
- Mario traversing dark caverns, scorching deserts, lands filled with lava and other terrible landscapes. The symptoms of withdrawl?
- Mario must then again fight Bowser to attempt to seal him away for good.
- Mario then finds himself in more peaceful and happy places, and begins seeing his old friends like Toad and the Bobombs. Looking towards the heavens, Mario finds he can soar high without the use of drugs. Religious meaning?
- Mario exits the castle. For once in his life, he truly feels free, and sees himself in the third person. He is told that Peach has baked him a cake, as promised. Possibly a metaphor for a lost relationship being restored.
- Mario jumps down a pipe, leaving his troubled past behind.
Or it could just be a story of a moustachioed plumber fighting evil reptiles and searching for magical stars. WHO KNOWS
re: reddit
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
DJ Shadow, Memories and H69.net
Heard this on soma.fm groove salad. Absolutely tripped me the hell out. There was an old website called h69.net (still around, but different now) that had various flash animations. The menu flash played this song. At the time, I had no idea what it was, but the loop (0:10 - 0:15 or so) remained forever in the cache of my memory from however many years ago this was (at least 7 or 8, I'd imagine). And then I hear it on a radio and am fortunate enough to catch the song name. Absolutely incredible.
( re: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmzHRGoKca0 )
( see also https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/154355/Old/h69net.swf )
May 2015 Edit: Damn it, internet. "Net neutrality" is a joke, it's already dead. Updated working link... for now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFbBlpDTfQ And for future reference when this new link inevitably dies, the song is called "DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World" and it is far too beautiful to be kept from anyone. Also, shoutouts to Hoss Gifford (https://twitter.com/H0SSg) for originally making h69.net and ultimately creating this profound memory.
( re: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmzHRGoKca0 )
( see also https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/154355/Old/h69net.swf )
May 2015 Edit: Damn it, internet. "Net neutrality" is a joke, it's already dead. Updated working link... for now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFbBlpDTfQ And for future reference when this new link inevitably dies, the song is called "DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World" and it is far too beautiful to be kept from anyone. Also, shoutouts to Hoss Gifford (https://twitter.com/H0SSg) for originally making h69.net and ultimately creating this profound memory.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
MMO ranting again
On WoW becoming boring...There is just no possibility for anything interesting to ever happen. The game has been boiled down to the very core essence of the genre, and is so foam-padded as to become completely predictable in each and every aspect. There are no epic stories to tell since everyone else is off in another instance doing the same exact thing as you, and there is no sense of exploration as every last detail has been leaked months in advance before the damned content even goes live.
So, yeah - "not this again" is a pretty accurate description. Whenever I play WoW at the end game I basically sit around waiting for something interesting to happen until I inevitably quit, I don't think I have lasted more than 2 months without rerolling or unsubbing. Sadly it has gotten WORSE over time instead of better, as well. No more open world raids, instances are shorter and more boring than ever, daily quests, badges. Hell they even managed to turn PVP into nothing more than a linear grind path.
I just like interesting things to happen. I like socialization. It's sad that I consider EVERQUEST a breath of fresh air. Where someone can come along and give me a buff, or I can SoW a newbie and get a genuine thank you. Where you can kite mobs without them going evade and running back to their spawn. Where you can choose where you can go to advance and not have to follow this optimal set path the game lays out for you. Where you can go into a dungeon and see other people. Where being max level meant something. Where you can talk or group to anyone, and there isn't a city that you can't ever go to "just because", but instead you could eventually go into it if you worked for it (you figure Blizzard would have figured this one out considering they perfected rep grinding in TBC era).
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