Sometimes my coworkers make fun of me for how little time I spend playing games, specifically MMOs. Or, they’ll jest when they notice that I show up early in the morning (around 8:00 AM, which is like dawn to a game developer), then head out after I’ve been at work for a mere 9 hours (including an hour of lunch). “This guy isn’t very dedicated to his craft!” Nobody has ever said that to me, but I’m sure someone’s thought it. Continue Reading »

People always talk about the “WoW Killer.” Nobody has been able to find it, despite looking all over the place (even under the couch). Even though many people are tired of playing World of Warcraft and seek a better or equivalent alternative, they haven’t found it. But I’ve found the WoW Killer. No, it’s not a better game than World of Warcraft. A better MMO than WoW will not kill WoW, even if it’s a lot better than WoW. It takes a greater beast than a better MMO to destroy WoW. Its name? This mysterious killer of the famed WoW? Its name… is… World of Warcraft.

38 Studios, an entertainment and original IP creation company, today announced the acquisition of Big Huge Games from publisher THQ Inc. The acquisition is a critical step in 38 Studios’ strategy to deliver a broad range of entertainment products centered on its original fantasy IP, codenamed Copernicus. The purchase of Big Huge Games includes all of the company’s proprietary IP, tools, technology, assets, and works-in-progress. Find out more!

How much quest direction do you like being given? Do you prefer for the only indication about where to go to be within the text (”to the west…”)? Do you like being told exactly where you need to go to update the quest (X marks the spot)? Or do you prefer something somewhere in-between the two (a general area highlighted on the map)? I tend to favor the following: Show the player exactly how much information the character knows. If the character is told that there’s an orc camp about a mile east, highlight that general area. If the character knows his objective is exactly 100 paces east and 100 paces north, put a fat X on the map.

Without the risk of failure there is no risk of success. You need a balance of positive reinforcement and negative punishment–too much in one direction is a bad thing. For the most significant feelings of accomplishment, there must be significant risks and significant punishment for failure (not that I’m necessarily recommending significant punishment, but the more significant the punishment for failure, the more significant the psychological reward for success).

Are you an experienced and passionate game designer who is interested in working on a crafting system for 38 Studios’ massively multiplayer game, codenamed “Copernicus?” Then we want to talk to you! You can find out more about the latest game design position on the 38 Studios website. Now’s your chance to work with R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane, Curt Schilling, and the rest of the awesome team here at 38.

They keep stealing great ideas from MMOs, like character advancement and avatar customization. It sucks! I’m tired of them taking many of the things that make me really love playing MMORPGs and putting them in games that I can play in short stints. How am I to control myself if I can have fun and feel satisfied with my play experience both short term and long term in an FPS? Back in the old days, I had FPSes for a quick fix of fun, and MMORPGs for longer term character development. Now FPSes have both! BAH! And MMOs are getting the short term fun too… NOOOooooo!

After all of the research and advice, I ended up ordering a beast of a system (in my opinion). I went with an i7 920 processor after all was said and done, and got some highly recommended bang-for-the-buck hardware otherwise. I’m super friggin’ excited about building a new computer. My current desktop is 4+ years old, and I bought a Dell because I got a 40% discount on it. So it’s been a good 6 years since I’ve built a system. Crazy! You can check out my final configuration here: Shwayder’s i7 Config. Thanks to everyone for all the great feedback and help!

Oh noes, Cuppycake got controversial, which roused the interwebs into angry rebuttal. Let the flame wars rage! Actually, what she says isn’t very controversial. “Do they (game design bloggers) know what they’re talking about? Are they even good designers?” To which I answer, *shrug*. Am I a good designer? Yes! Because you must take my word for it given that I’ve worked on a few games and 38 Studios rocks your socks off. Okay, less jokes and more content after the break. Continue Reading »

Shadowbane is officially shutting down its servers on May 1. I have some pretty good memories from my time there as Blackguard the sneaky thief and Ishap the nearly invulnerable crusader. Of the time when I outlasted my entire clan and waltzed into our fallen city, staying alive for about 15 minutes against hundreds of enemies. And when I attacked the city of Moonglow alone because its name offended me (and won). And many other memories, good and bad. Farewell, Shadowbane.