Jumpgate

Massively pointed me to a great video of Jumpgate: Evolution gameplay, which is really cool - I also like the way the people filming periodically compare it to Eve Online. There's other stuff on the video, but the Jumpgate footage is pretty compelling.

WAR is now in phase three

So I tend to think of the way people deal with a new MMO release in the same way I think about culture shock - it runs in phases. Phase one happens before the game is released. Phase two would be your initial release run (or in the case of culture shock, the first two months of living in the new culture), and phase three is the hate phase. Those who survive the hate phase will mellow over time, the rest will quit/go home. We appear to be in phase three for Warhammer Online, as a number of bloggers have now decided it isn't fun anymore. To be fair, there's also the levelling question, although to my understanding this shouldn't be a concern in a PvP game. The theory there is that if you build stuff for levels 1-20, once people hit level 21 you either need to churn out more content, or they'll get bored.

Of course, some people blame the players. I respect this position, but it's not really realistic - people game to have fun, and either they are or they aren't. There is no try, as Yoda would say. It may be the game was marketed poorly, or it may be that gamers as a class suck, and this sort of game could never work. I doubt that, but I'll throw it out there.

It's a shame these games take so darned long to build, and cost so much. Now we'll have to wait another year or so for the next big thing. And then we'll do the whole cycle again.

gaming blogs

Tobold reminds us that if you call your blog '[your name] loves [some game]' and then you quit [some game], your blog won't be good for much thereafter. Consider this a Public Service Announcement.

attractions of the Lich King

As we approach the release of the new Warcraft expansion, I have to admit I feel the pull. There have been a plethora of changes since I played, and obviously more coming down with the new release. And I have to admit, it's an entertaining way to waste time. I suspect I'll be able to resist by inertia, but I certainly do feel the draw.

multiple games at once?

There's a great post up over on Tobold asking 'how many MMOs are you playing concurrently'? The comments reveal about what you would expect - a whole lot of 'one at a time' and a few 'more than one', with several people noting (as I would) that it's the subscription that keeps them to one game at a time.

BlizzCon

I can't believe BlizzCon is here and gone! When they first started trying to sell it, I was huge into WoW. Now I can barely muster enthusiasm for [unnamed beta]. WAR seems to have stolen a little bit of thunder with their 750K announcement (and really, why else would you announce a weird number like that, other than trying to get WoW's thunder?) I'm a little surprised at the numbers, actually - I would have thought a huge number of people would have tried it out (or is 750K huge? Maybe WoW has screwed up my perspective).

Glider, round one

Well, phase one of the Warcraft v. Glider lawsuit is over. Glider lost. But more interesting are the future legal issues. From the article: "At issue will be whether MDY broke the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act and whether [Glider software creator Michael] Donnelly will have to pay the damages from his own pocket." It's interesting, because the penalty was six million dollars, whereas, if the article is correct, only "100,000 copies of the $25 (£14) program" were sold - which would mean the total take was $2.5 million. Ouch.