The Decline of Social Interaction in MMORPGs
A few weeks ago at BlizzCon during an interview with WoWInsider’s Anne Stickney, Blizzard’s Alex Afrasiabi — the World of Warcraft Creative Director — made a rare and frank admission. He …
Tag: WoW
Brad McQuaid’s Pantheon MMO: Return of the Prodigal Son
Brad McQuaid is back. Almost 15 years after the release of EverQuest and 7 years after the release of his Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the prodigal son of the MMO …
Belated BlizzCon 2013 WoW Impressions: Trapped in the Mind of Chris Metzen
For World of Warcraft devotees the almost annual BlizzCon love fest is like an American State of the Union address combined with the euphoria of an Amway convention. There is …
BlizzCon 2013: Can the Return of Alex Afrasiabi Save World of Warcraft?
While viewing the schedule for the upcoming BlizzCon 2013, I noticed a familiar name in the lineup of panelists: Alex Afrasiabi. It seems that Alex, missing from the public eye …
Guest Essay: Why Was EverQuest So Immersive?
In advance of Friday's big reveal of Everquest Next (rumored to be released in a playable form - presumably Beta - by the end of the year), many fans have …
EverQuest Next: I Want to Believe Again
It's been a frustrating couple of years for the MMORPG genre and its devotees. The once mighty Blizzard Entertainment has had to suffer the embarrassment of years of declining subscriptions …
38 Studios: Requiem for a Lost Virtual World
The recent drama and subsequent bankruptcy of Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios has haunted me these past few weeks. Although I was just a bystander, I was living somewhat vicariously through …
38 Studios: A Cautionary Tale of Blind Visionaries
No one can deny that this past week has been a catastrophe of near biblical proportions for Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios and their proposed “Copernicus” MMO. By now most avid …
SWTOR’s $300 Million Virtual Bridge to Nowhere
Although I’m not a very big sci-fi or Star Wars fan I figured I’d take a gamble on purchasing and subscribing to EA’s and Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. After …
Thoughts on MMO Blogging
I have been blogging and championing the cause of virtual worlds and MMORPG's since 2004. I'm not a big fan of the word "blogging" and it's fellow partner in crime …
The MMO Road Less Traveled: The Actor and the Adventurer
The past paradoxically becomes clearer as time passes. Trends are very hard to pinpoint and define while they are incubating and growing. When you are personally experiencing a cultural movement …
The Dark Age of the Super Hero Slacker MMO Player
For a long time I have been concerned about how the focus of MMOs has changed from the community as a whole to the individual player. Practically every MMO quest …