In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer looks at the last MMO class archetypes, the Healer, and why this role at least is solidly developed.
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In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at the weapons of fantasy MMOs and how they have all become identical.
Crafting remains one of the most tedious aspects of MMOs. For most players, trade skills are a nice addition to the gaming experience but we'd rather not quit our adventuring "day job" for long hours at a time to keep up on crafting. Trade skills are generally time consuming, tedious, and devoid of player skill when they should be enjoyable, not just for the rewards they offer at the end of the hard work, but because the hard work is fun in and of itself.
When Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy, wrote "The road goes ever ever on," MMOs took him at his word. A large part of online gaming consists of traveling from one point to another, but when it takes so much time to get anywhere, frustration mounts. If I'm picking up a book or alt-tabbing to web surf or check e-mail instead of playing the game, there is something wrong with the dynamics.
While advances in world story are promising in the arena of PvP, the other aspects of MMOs have suffered neglect. If "the pen is mightier than the sword" then why are players only able to use swords? The answer is that the devs won't let go of the pen.
MMO worlds are stagnant. They have cardboard cutout monsters and NPCs that stand in their assigned space. Players knock the monsters down like a fantastical shooting range, but after a few minutes, the pulleys whir, the monsters stand up, and the world reverts to its static state. On a micro level where thousands of players are sharing the same game space, this is to be expected. The problem is that it also exists at a macro level and constantly echoes in the background, "This world is not real... this world is not real..."
There are times when you feel the need to mention a game, but there isn't really any other place in which to do it. These are the anomalies, the head-scratchers, or anything else that simply just defies categorization.
Maggie the Jackcat let us know:
I'm saddened to let you know that my vassal, Ned Cleversun, passed away on Tuesday (Sep 2). He was the finest vassal on Dereth. A good companion and dear, dear friend. I will miss him terribly.
We will all miss him. A thread has been started on the official forums to offer condolences.
When Asheron's Call launched in November of 1999, the development team at Turbine had an ambitious plan in mind: every month, they would update the game, not just to add content but to further the game's story. With the game's ninth anniversary right around the corner, the AC team has hit another huge milestone: August's update is the game's 100th.
I sat down with Producer Dave Javier and Community Manager Andy Cataldo to chat about the evolving world of Dereth and both their favorite memories from the path as well as what they were looking forward to in the future of Asheron's Call.
Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Carl Clausewitz to MMOGs, this time focusing on defeat and "life after death" in online worlds.
