Get Over It
There are no doubt many images that I could use to memorialize Star Wars Galaxies with more dignity. That’s kind of why I picked this one instead.
First of all, I want to state for the record that I am unexpectedly sad about the fact that Star Wars Galaxies is closing down. In every respect, I can understand why the players of the game would be sad and unhappy with this turn of events. I have nothing but sympathy for the feelings of those affected by this shutdown, because really, there’s no way to frame this as anything less than sucking.
That having been said? It’s done.
Sony has told you guys that you are not going to win this. There’s no question, there’s no last-ditch rally to save the beach from Evil Mr. Shutdownington or whatever. Sony stepped up and said “guys, the petition thing, it’s sweet, but it is also totally pointless.” And yet the desperate requests to spread the word continue, as if somehow if you just got enough signatures it would somehow alter the space-time continuum and the companies would change their minds.
An Ode To Smart Bombs
This was randomly on the front page of Kongregate when I clicked over. (The game is D.N.8, if you’re curious.)
They’re called by many names, but they only really need one. They are smart bombs. And if it weren’t obvious that a largely video game-focused blog would be talking about video games, well, there you go. I don’t mean precision-guided munitions, I mean the life-saving smart bomb.
While every game has a lot of different elements going on in the background, the essence of the smart bomb remains constant. They’re limited-use items that when triggered will obliterate all nearby enemies and put a sizable dent in most bosses as well. You generally start with at least one use, and you can always replenish your uses during play. However, they are still limited, with the odds being that you won’t get more than a handful of uses in a given level at best. You need to hold out until you need one, or you’ll be fresh out when they’re truly useful.
Dynamic Content Will Not Save Us All
“Crap, what was going on in this zone again? Did I have events to complete in the north? I knew I should have written all this down.”
I couldn’t tell you exactly why – something in the water, I’d guess – but MMO fans seem to love two things. The first is proclaiming that MMOs are suffering from a massive design rut, which is something I can hardly disagree with. The second, however, is determining exactly what will fix everything and usher us into a new age of magic and unicorns. I mean, different sorts of unicorns. We already have some unicorns.
Currently, the savior of MMOs is generally assumed to be dynamic content, a word that’s thrown around with a great deal of vigor as the solution for bland, repetitive questing gameplay. Instead of going to quest hubs and being told what to do, you’ll just see what’s going on around you and take part in events without being told! Immersion will be preserved, and the game experience will be ever-changing, like a real dynamic world. It’ll all be so beautiful, especially if you listen to the marketing folks from RIFT and Guild Wars 2.
Unfortunately, the odds of dynamic content actually accomplishing these lofty goals is another matter altogether. I don’t think dynamic content is actually going to be what designers and players are hoping it will be, for a number of reasons.
Slay and Pray
Turn two, your opponent removes a third of your hand and cripples you. Good game!
One of the potential items you can unlock in Dragon Age II (I promise, this is not another travelogue entry) is the belt Hindsight, a rather clever item that (in-universe) evolves protection that would have saved its master after its master has died. Among its traits is an effect that makes enemies drop better loot when killed – and that got me thinking about the absurdity of our current loot model. Which, of course, brought to mind Magic: the Gathering.
The powers that be over at Wizards spend a lot of time testing mechanics. One of the things that they tested extensively was the use of random mechanics, especially with discards – they wanted to see what felt fair and what didn’t. For those unfamiliar, back in the day there were two flavors of cards forcing you to discard from your hand, one where the cards were chosen by your opponent and one where you threw out cards at random. Both were seen as being intensely valuable, and for good reason – shutting out your opponent’s hand can net you a huge long-term advantage, especially if you start smashing it early.
Cataclysm Does Not Redeem
The Stormwind Full Employment Act remains in force.
So I’ve had a fair chunk of time to play with Cataclysm. Maybe you’ve heard of it. And if I’m going to start using my own blog again (and I am), ranting about it seems like a good place to kick off.
‘Cause there’s a lot to rant about, but it all comes back to the same point: this expansion has really not fixed anything.
Yes, the talent trees have been streamlined. No more having to look elsewhere for talent builds! Largely because the trees have been pared down so far that it’s not possible to screw up. Your choices come down to maybe a half-dozen points to put in situationally useful spots. Or you can choose which of two functionally identical playstyles you prefer, which really comes down to one sharp pointy thing or two. Yay.
Recent Work
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Chocobo Dash
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Eliot Lefebvre 