A Green Mushroom

I’ve been playing MMOs off and on since the original Ever Quest came out. Out of all the MMOs out there, I’ve played EverQuest, EverQuest 2, Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft, and Eve Online; all for various lengths of time. All of these MMOs, with the exception of Eve Online, use a leveling system for character progression. In fact, this is the de facto standard right now in the MMO industry which very few have the courage or ingenuity to break. Of course, this isn’t a bad thing per se. On the contrary, levels present a clear goal, get to the level cap. All other gameplay and content is then designed around this idea (except end game, but I’ll get to that later). Furthermore, levels give you a concrete indication of power and progress. They help you estimate fight outcomes (That guys lvl 26, there’s no way I can kill him at lvl 10). They also help reward you (DING! Lvl 35, now I can go get my Awesome Nuclear Explosion spell) and show accomplishment (Sh...

MMO subscription options are lacking at the moment.  There is usually only one option per game.  Of all the games on the market there are basically only two models; either pay $15 per month or play for "free" but buy items in a virtual store for real world money.  These aren't necessarily bad options, but there could be better ones out there. EverQuest 2 apparently feels the same way since they just released a new pricing option.  Returning players can pay $5 for 3 days of consecutive play time. That is stupid.  It's limiting because it only targets old players who return and the three days of play time have to be consecutive.  Having an option to pay more money per hour but for less overall days isn't bad, only the restrictions on it are. Instead, why not do a daily rate and let it be an option for all players? I would revisit many of my old MMOs if I could pay per day instead of per month.  There a bunch of MMOs that I might play once a wee...

I've noticed that we're at the point in the year where gaming has a lull.  In the thick of winter games release so they are out before the holiday season.  In the middle of summer there tends to be a stoppage of game releases.  That is coming up quick.  There are a few games coming out in May and June that I'm interested in.  After that there is a long gap until Sept/Nov when games start coming out for the holiday season. Maybe I shouldn't complain since there are games coming in the next few months that I want to try.  But, for right now, I am bored.  The last game I bought was Final Fantasy XIII, but I am not enjoying it as much as I hoped I would.  So, the last game that was worth buying for me was Mass Effect 2.  ME2 came out on January 26th.  That was a while ago. The Blur multiplayer beta comes out tomorrow for the public, but a beta isn't a game.  StarCraft 2 has a closed beta going right now, but again that is a beta. ...