Sean Bulger's community management driven column this week is called "Emergent Gaming". He looks at the upcoming trends in gaming and how that relates back to the community.
This could appear in several different forms, one of which is known as emergent gameplay. Emergent gameplay has been a popular phrase lately. Effectively, it is players doing something with a game that the game wasn't actually designed for. Races in MMOs, creating pictures with gold in Lineage 2, or using grenades to launch vehicles or players in the air in spectacular ways in FPSs, are all prime examples of this.
In fact, there are some games out there, and in the works, that are built entirely upon the principle of emergent gaming. They aim to give players tools, as opposed to game systems, with which they can create their own gameplay.
Read more after the jump.
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Next Wednesday, January 30th, WarCry and EA Mythic will host a Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Developer Chat. This is your chance to find out the answers to questions on our Most Anticipated Game of 2008. The chat will take place next Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. The connection details are:.
When: 01/30/2008 8pm EST
Where: irc.chatspike.net 6667 in #WarCouncil
General chat will be available in #warcry
Who: The developers of Warhammer Online
Need a way in? No problem just use our Java Client or Chatspike's IRC Client
We look forward to seeing you there!
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In his latest article, community columnist Sean Bulger looks at "The Site Beyond the Game". This community management focused column looks at official sites, how different games do it and what else is out there.
Every game has an official site for various reasons. The official site of a game is either an important hub of information and activity or it is simply a marketing page trying to draw players in. Or sometimes it is both, like how Sony Online Entertainment sets up their websites - the main page being a flash page used to draw players in, while also retaining forums and the Players websites.
Read it all after the leap.
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WarCry and Turbine will hold a developer chat tonight, for fans of the Tolkien inspired MMORPG. Fans can crowd into our IRC channels tonight and talk get their questions answered in real time by Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel and others. The chat kicks off at 8:00pm Eastern (5:00pm Pacific). Here are the connection details:
When: 01/23/2008 8pm EST
Where: irc.chatspike.net 6667 in #WarCouncil
General chat will be available in #warcry
Who: The following Turbine developers will be on hand.
- Jeffrey Steefel (Executive Producer)
- Brent Schmidt (Content Lead)
- More to be announced...
Need a way in? No problem just use our Java Client or Chatspike's IRC Client
We look forward to seeing you there!
Chat log now available, click on to see what juicy questions were answered.
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Jonathan Steinhauer's bi-weekly Monday column looks at the "level barrier" in its latest edition. Within, he examines the very concept of levels that most MMOs embrace and what's wrong with them.
Looking more into levels within games, we find that their use a broad statement of experience demands a certain rigidness of focus. Only a few rare exceptions (such as Neverwinter Nights where an adventurer can have more than one character class) allow for greater flexibility of experience. But if you were to twist character levels and actually measure real life experience, would it be absurd to find a man that is a Level 25 computer programmer, a Level 30 husband, a Level 10 bowler, and a Level 42 chef? Not at all.
Read more after the leap.
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WarCry is proud to announce that on Wednesday January 23rd, we'll be hosting the developers of Lord of the Rings Online live on IRC for fans of the game to get their questions in, face to face. The chat will kick off at 8:00pm Eastern (5:00pm Pacific).
When: 01/23/2008 8pm EST
Where: irc.chatspike.net 6667 in #WarCouncil
General chat will be available in #warcry
Who: The following Turbine developers will be on hand.
- Jeffrey Steefel (Executive Producer)
- Brent Schmidt (Content Lead)
- More to be announced...
Need a way in? No problem just use our Java Client or Chatspike's IRC Client
We look forward to seeing you there!
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What began as a year in review editorial, morphed into an analysis of the evidence 2007 gave us that the subscription model was on its way out in North America and Europe. In this article, I look at the historic evidence and where things might head in 2008 and beyond.
All the evidence suggests that World of Warcraft is not the harbinger of an expanded marketplace, but an aberration, a lightning strike at the right moment. Among Western audiences - as it was among Eastern audiences years ago - the subscription based MMORPG is at best on life support and more than likely on its way out the door.
The one-two punch of WoW and Guild Wars in 2004 has delivered a significant blow to the prospects of any company that has the audacity to charge their subscribers a monthly fee. Guild Wars showed that a high quality experience can be free and WoW redefined what people expect for that $14.95 a month.
Read more after the click.
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