Massive Online Gamer’s Jason Winter interview part 2

the new defunct Massive Online Gamer Magazine

As promised, today I bring you Part 2 of my interview with former Massive Online Gamer Editor in Chief Jason Winter. Enjoy!

KTG:  MOBAS like League of Legends have really come up this year. I noticed MOG was covering them more and more, even in this last issue you had an article detailing the Dominion map. Are you surprised at all, by the rise in popularity in these types of games? Do you think that they can coincide along the bigger titles like SWTOR and GW2??

JW: A: I think MOBAs are a natural evolutionary path of MMORPGs. And, in fact, we’ve probably all been playing something just like them for years but didn’t realize it. My classic “Rift is a pretty game to sit around waiting for dungeon queues to pop” line from a previous TWIMMO is a part of this
observation, but it applies to many MMORPGs. In my case, I’ve been playing The Lord of the Rings Online since April 2007. That’s 57 months. My main character has been at the level cap for 46 of those months. That’s about 80% of the time he’s existed. And what do you do at level cap? Mostly you form up groups for instances, raids, maybe PvP, etc. You don’t really run around the world doing quests like you did when you were leveling. Yes, you can do some socializing, and a little crafting and miscellaneous activities, but if you want to advance your character, the best way to do it, in most cases, is to form up a group and hit a dungeon.

What do you do in a MOBA? Queue up for “PvP instances,” basically. MOBAs are just PvP MMOs without the questing and (in some form) leveling. Take a look at Guild Wars, where you could make a max-level character just to do PvP right out of the gate. How’s that different from a MOBA? So many people rush to level cap these days to do endgame anyway, and there’s really no difference between doing that and just starting out in a MOBA. And that 46/57 months thing takes into account that I’m a notoriously slow leveler

Now, I’m hopeful that games like GW2 will, as ArenaNet claims, make the endgame the whole game, and that you’ll still be incentivised to run around the world and not just sit around cities queueing up for dungeons. As much as people say GW1 wasn’t a true MMORPG, it might be that most non-GW2 are more MOBA than MMORPG, which is kinda ironic.

KTG: What are you going to miss most, would you say, about working with the staff of Beckett’s Online Massive Gamer magazine??
JW: Ping pong. That is all.

KTG:  I was somewhat surprised to see that your editorial staff chose GW2 as the top mmo of 2012 and beyond, what gives GW2 an edge over other games in your opinion, considering that was a list which includes so many great games like “The Secret World” and “Everquest Next” just to name a few?

JW: We actually had a formula that took a few factors into consideration and GW2 had the best “numbers.” That’s the short answer. The somewhat-longer answer is like what I referred to earlier, that I think ArenaNet and GW2 “get” that people are looking for something different, and they’re not just going to deliver something different for the sake of being different – they’re doing it because it’s actually better, at least in theory. Funcom’s sort-of got that with The Secret World, too, doing away with leveling (which, as referred to above, is something you won’t be doing with your character 80% or more of the time anyway). Honestly, we just don’t know enough about EQNext to give it super-high marks, but the brand name itself was worth a few points.

KTG:  Since this blog (killthegoblinsavetheworld) is mostly about retro-mmo games, what mmo do you think fans would benefit from being resurrected or redone for a modern audience in your opinion and why?

JW: A: Retro games? You mean like Star Wars: Galaxies?
It’s only sorta retro, being just a few years old, but I thought Auto Assault was a great premise. As an old Car Wars fan, I loved the idea, but the problem was that NCSoft made it “too MMO-like.” Meaning that instead of making it a game about cars with guns, they made it an MMO, with DPS, healers, support, tanks, etc., but instead of people, you had cars. In other words, it was the same as anything else out there.

I’d like an MMO of vehicular combat that you could tweak and min/max to your heart’s content. Want more speed? You’ll have to shed some armor or weapons. Want bigger guns? OK, but you won’t be as fast. And so on. Come on, Steve Jackson, you know you want to do this!

KTG: Yea that would be great! I was a fan of the Car Wars pen and paper game too. OK so the big question on a lot of people’s minds, Wow: the king of them all, at least for now. What are your thought’s on Blizzard’s behemoth and its future and its impact in the mmo game industry? Do you think SWTOR can have lasting power to topple it from the mmo throne, or do you think it will fizzle out like many shiny new mmos before it?

JW: Something a lot of people have said, and that I agree with, is that “The only thing that will kill WoW is WoW.” A new game, whether it’s SWTOR or GW2 or TSW or EQN isn’t going to “kill” WoW, not directly at least. Like I said, gamers are looking for something more in their MMOs than… uh, well, “kill the goblins and save the world.” If newer games rewrite this paradigm and steal some players from WoW, that won’t be the real impact of their success. Rather, players will look at what those games are doing and think, “I like WoW, but why can’t it be more like this game?” If Blizzard can’t adjust its game to be more in line with these newer offerings, then who really “killed” WoW? Some other game for “stealing” WoW’s players or Blizzard for not changing WoW to meet the needs and wants of its players?

That’s it guys! I want to than Jason once again for taking the time out of his busy schedule to speak to me and hope to bring you more interviews from some of the big guns in the industry in the future. Pick up a copy of the Mar/April edition of Massive Online Magazine, it will be the last but it should still be out on stands now.

Exploring pvp and pve in Norrath’s Nagafen server

My EQ2 main is a caster

It was with some regret that I pushed the cancel subscription button for my DAoC sub on the Mythic webpage last night. Don’t get me wrong. I had a ton of fun playing the last couple of weeks, but honestly I am not going to pay $15 a month for a game, when so many great games are now f2p. DAoC has an atmosphere and a retro feel that is really unique and worth the money, but I realize that unless I plan to engage in pvp and RvR as my exclusive in game activity, then that is not the way to go considering a whole open world goes untouched in the game, since the pvp is so engaging, nobody really quests as much or crafts, or whatever else goes into mmo playing when you’re not engaged in pvp or RvR.

I may yet reconsider my decision in the near future and go back to playing DAoC, but for the time being I will stick to other games. I logged on to EQ2 again last night for only the second time since the year began and had some fun playing it. This is maybe because my level 7 Barbarian Warlock is in a new starting zone than my old character and I have yet to get bored of it. Within minutes I had joined a guild, but the real test will come at the higher levels, your 30s and 40s, if I get that far, because that is when the pvp is most active. I am now a proud member of the “Don’t taze me bro” guild on the Nagafen server.

I fear that with an old game like Everquest 2, the dungeon finder tool may not be as helpful as the one in wow, given that opportunities to adventure with a PUG are rare, and raiding doesn’t even take place until end game at 90 in Eq2!

League Of Legends

LOL is the other game I bounce into and out of from time to time, as you know if you have read this blog in the past, given the fact that it is also f2p, and it’s less of a time sink that mmorpgs, it is perfect for a fellow like me who has to work and doesn’t always have the chance to game on a nightly basis. Riot Games announced this week that with the latest patch some changes are going to be implemented in respect mainly to dodge.

Dodge is being removed as a global stat for League of Legends.

-According to the devs, this will impact those who play Jax as a champion. Jax will be getting a unique, short duration 100 percent dodge ability.

-This also means Jax, Ninja Tabi, and Sword of the Divine are all up for review, as well as updates to Riven

I will keep you guys informed of any further nerfs, or you can just check out the LOL website for more info.

More M.O.B.A.S. like League of Legends to come our way in 2012?

I read an interesting article of predictions for gaming in mmorpg.com the other day about M.O.B.A.S.  If you are an avid gamer (and if you are not, why exactly are you reading this post?) you know that the proliferation of these types of games has seemingly skyrocketed lately, due largely in part to the satisfying “quick fix” which LOL and M.O.B.A. type games like DOTA provide players.

I think Youtube personality Boogie 2988 said it best when he alluded to the fact that former World of  Warcraft players and mmo enthusiasts may tire of the waiting in those types of games. As Boogie put it, Wow is a good game, but there is a lot of waiting around in that game, players have to queue for entrance into instances, whereas games like L.O.L. provide a lot of the instant gratification which some players have accustomed themselves to these days.

Coming from the mmo gaming side of things, I was quick to jump into the fray in League of Legends, which was very similar to Warcraft 3 (which it should be given that DOTA was a mod of Blizzard’s old RTS game) and I found the game lacking at first glance. For one thing, I missed the open world feel of a mmorpg game like Everquest 2 or World of Warcraft. Yes, combat is a significant part of gaming in those games too, but it is not the sole focus of the game. In L.O.L., you pick a champion and you go out and level him or her up, while your summoner also levels behind the scene.

It’s a more visceral, satisfying form of combat in some player’s point of view, but for old time mmo gamers like me (Though not as old to remember dabbling in original E.Q. or even Ultima Online) the game felt as though it did not offer as much diversity or richness of play as wow did, where you can do more than battle creeps and opposing teams (like crafting, questing, and raiding to name a few examples.)

Yet, the mmorpg.com article predicted a rise not only in M.O.B.A style gameplay (which seems accurate given Blizzard’s announcement during  this year’s Blizzcon about Blizzard DOTA’s impending release) but also, even more interesting, a rise in a hybrid type genre of game: an mmo like game mixing in elements of M.O.B.A.S.  Isn’t that what I was bemoaning was lacking in L.O.L. and surely my way of thinking is exactly what game devs foresaw. Crafty little devils!

There are many reasons I can see this prediction coming true: The rise in popularity of e-sporting events like those made prevalent by StarCraft and now L.O.L., the aforementioned dislike for waiting to be queued into instances in other games, not to mention the copy cat way in which game companies have a tendency to churn out copies of more successful or more high profile versions of other products.

Consider this further evidence: The online gaming communities have catered to just about every type of game genre there is, with a recent replication of sites devoted to L.O.L. specifically and M.O.B.A.S. in general. The aforementioned MMORPG.com blog has expanded and now has sister/partner sites dedicated to RTS gaming (rtsguru.com) and FPS gaming (fpsguru.com) could DOTAguru sites be far behind???

Lastly, my favorite game magazine, Massive Online Gamer dedicated not one, but two articles about M.O.B.A.S. this past issue, one detailing the rise of the Dominion map in L.O.L. and Another entitled “3 simple rules for L.O.L. beginners,” penned by Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. In addition to being a major NFL athlete, Kluwe is a confessed gaming aficionado and he has a quirky and fun writing style, and if you have never read any of his articles, you owe it to yourself to read some of his work. You will be glad you did if you are a gamer.

Anyhoo, you might play devil’s advocate and say, “Hybrid M.M.O, M.O.B.A.S., don’t we have that already in a game like World of Warcraft?” and in a sense you would be correct, given that wow has b.g.s that are as much fun as L.O.L. Yet, it depends on your gaming style, M.O.B.A.s usually are more focused on team oriented objectives, not just ganking, though there is a bit of that too. I personally am in favor  of mixing the visceral thrills of L.O.L. with the more open ended and massive feel of an mmorpg like wow or DAoC. Just please don’t make it so unfriendly to newbs!

Oh and while I am at it, I leave you with this tantalizing tasty morsel of news….

League of Legends: Annie Dark Child FAIL

match record in LOL with Annie champion, not so legendary

So I continue to try and improve with LOL. I must admit I am not having much luck with my chosen champions, especially with Annie. My match records are pretty atrocious, as you can plainly see. Surely I am doing something wrong, but it beats me why I can’t get more kills, maybe I am not timing my auto attacks correctly, maybe farming and not getting last kills, but the Dark Child is less of a threat in my incapable hads. Heck, I spent one match trying to get Tibbers out of hibernation, only to die 23 times! But in my defense, I think I was playing with a lot of higher level players.

So those of you who play LOL can you give me some pointers? What do you do to succeed? How can I score more kills? Should I give up on Annie and switch to a less squishy champion? All of the Above? I would appreciate some feedback and advice. This game has a steep learning curve, but I would settle for scoring more kills!!!!

Back to our original virtual home. More regular updates to come

back when I dinged 14 with my EQ2 Guardian, he is now 17 and counting

I am starting to update this blog once again. My domain at the paid address is still mine, but I don’t really see the point of hosting the site when wordpress has this powerful free blog feature, so for now this is our virtual home.

What have I been up to? This winter season I have been bouncing between Everquest 2, League of Legends and DDO and just recenlty, I have gotten back into World of Warcraft. Those are the games I seem to enjoy playing the most, with Everquest falling a little behind the other 3, mostly because it is harder to group in that game than the others. Wow is also hobby that I practice sparingly these days, since it is pay to play and because there is so much downtime waiting to queue in dungeons.

There will be game updates on games regularly, probably Mondays and fridays, as those are the days I seem to have free now, and whenever something interesting breaks on the blogosphere. Of course, I will also examine old mmos and their influence on pop culture, like always. Welcome back!