There are times when I miss my youth. Back when I was a student I’d be free to play the night away, blasting cyborgs in Quake 2 or bludgeoning head-crabs in Half-Life. I’d blitz through a game in four days straight, chomping through single player content like a man possessed. The other thing was that…
Tag: design
The Incredible Shrinking Raidgroup
I wanted to focus on a particular experiment that Blizzard’s been working on over the years – that of the optimum raid size. We’ve seen raid sizes start at 40 players in Vanilla, but slowly drop to 25 in Burning Crusade and then 10 players in Wrath. With the new lockout system in Cataclysm, 10-player…
Warcraft Versus the Traditional MMO
I promise I’ll get back to talking about mages soon. I’ve been doing some research on the latest PTR patch which I think will make interesting reading, but that can wait a few more days. Today I’d like to ask you a question. Do you play World of Warcraft because it’s an MMO, or because…
Justice Points Are Useless
Gearing up for PvE content has always been a struggle, and with the difficulty dial set firmly on Cataclysmic you want to make sure that you have the best gear you have access to before you start raiding. But what does having the best gear actually mean? Running heroics until you’re bored of them just…
Casual Is Not A Dirty Word
Back when I was a kid, being called a geek was a crude insult thrown around by those unwilling to accept that people didn’t share their interests and hobbies. Nowadays it’s worn as a badge of honour. I’m not saying that you’ll see me standing on the top of a mountain with my shirt torn…
The Machine Behind The Curtain
I’m going to start this off with a question. Does the amount of fun you have with Warcraft decrease as the amount you know about the game increases? I’ve been thinking about this question ever since I read an article by Larísa of Pink Pigtail Inn about someone who’d burned out on Warcraft, developing the…
The Lament of Lost Adventures
Buried in both Greek and Roman mythology is the tale of a lone hero facing impossible odds in order to complete twelve incredible tasks. The tale of the Labours of Hercules is of truly epic proportions, describing how a single man is battered by fate and fortune, toiling to redeem himself only to be struck…
A Socially Aware Warcraft?
When I think of MMOs, I generally think of games that are rick in social interaction. Alongside the gigantic world and the rich environments are dedicated tools specifically designed to help players interact with each other. But although Warcraft has developed socially with the inclusion of Real ID and Facebook integration, it’s mainly designed to…
The Impending Release
There’s currently a lot of theorycrafting about the upcoming release of Cataclysm. Almost all commentators are agreed that it’s going to be out soon, but none of us quite agree on when exactly it’ll happen. Add to it the amount of work that still needs to be finished in the current beta, and you begin…
Inspiration for A World
I recently had the luck to visit Avebury for a weekend. It’s a fantastic place if you like to get away from it all – there’s no wi-fi, no mobile phone signal. The whole area feels like it’s some kind of Bermuda Triangle for modern data communications, which makes it perfect for those who crave…