Tags >> EverQuest
Warning: A true Star Trek fan and avid World of Warcraft player wrote this.
Dedicated Trekkers expect disappointment. The cancellation of the original series in 1969, the disappointing Next Generation movies, a good part of the Deep Space Nine finale, many aspects of Voyager (Janeway feigning tears in half her scenes), every time someone says that First Contact is the best Star Trek movie -- we've been though plenty.
And that includes good and bad Star Trek games, of course, but our hopes for Star Trek Online were understandably high. Most Trek fans liked the last movie, but were left wonder: What happened to the real Star Trek universe? Star Trek Online attempts to answer that question. Could developer Cryptic Studios do the nigh-impossible -- deliver a true Star Trek experience? No doubt they've got the graphics department covered; we all know Cryptic has the skill and technology for a top-notch-looking game. But can they make it fun, and anywhere near as engaging as that other game by Blizzard?
You're not likely to recognize
the name Tony Jones, but I believe his story is one that most of us can relate
to -- and some of us even aspire to. Tony started out as a gamer, transitioned
to writing about games, and now works for Sony Online Entertainment. He is
currently the community relations manager for PoxNora,
SOE's multiplayer strategy game.
Bitmob: I'd like to talk about the path you took from being a gamer to
eventually working at Sony Online Entertainment. Let's start at the
beginning. What are your earliest memories of playing video games?
Tony
Jones:
My path is a familiar tale, involving an Atari, a Nintendo Entertainment
System, and a PC. If it was a popular console game in the 1980s, I played it
at some point. On the PC side, I really enjoyed the Ultima and Might and Magic
series.
 In honor of the fifth anniversary of World of Warcraft and the 15th anniversary of the Warcraft series, we talked with Blizzard Art Director Sam "Samwise" Didier, WoW Lead Content Designer Cory Stockton, and WoW Lead Systems Designer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street about the series' past, present, and future.
Turns out a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon of a dinosaur flying a jet plane may have changed the story and setting of Warcraft 2, a Devil's Crush-inspired Warcraft pinball game almost happened, Stockton's car proudly sports a Warcraft license plate holder, Didier hates* the alliance, and Street only started playing WoW because his friends wouldn't shut up about it. Read on for that and much more.
This is the companion interview to Mobcast #30 -- you can hear clips from this chat in the show, but the full Q&A is right here, after the break....
*Not actual hate.
Editor's note: I've never been a fan of MMOs. I've dabbled in a few, but most of them are, well, boring compared to the single-player role-playing games that I love. Brian has 10 tips to help MMOs attract players like me. If MMOs followed Brian's advice, would you give one a try? -Jason
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games have become enormously successful in recent years. The genre started with titles like Ultima Online and EverQuest, but games like World of WarCraft and, to a lesser degree, Final Fantasy 11 led MMOs into a bright new age.
With more than 11 million subscribers, you could argue that there's no need for a company like Activision-Blizzard to change. That may be true. But smaller developers should consider every piece of advice they can find to tackle this juggernaut.
If any developers have a chance of dethroning Activision-Blizzard, it'd be Square Enix or BioWare. With BioWare's recent track record, I'd say they have the greatest chance of pulling an upset, but Square Enix could also be a formidable foe if they play their cards right.
Editor's note: I know life on the forums is rough, but I had no idea that folks from one game's forum would launch a virtual attack on another game's forum. Jay provides some insight into what it's like to be a dedicated forum poster. -Jason
Once upon a time, in my own little corner of the Internet, I was a minor celebrity. It started out innocently enough; I was playing the original EverQuest at the time, and I started reading the forums for tips. A few days after that, and with much trepidation, I posted for the first time.
It all went downhill from there.
I will admit that, after hours of playing World of Warcraft one night so many years ago, that my mouse pointer hovered ever so dangerously near a shiny blue “buy it now!” button that would have given me all the gold a gnome mage just starting his adventures in the world could have ever hoped for.
I then remembered the old adage: “money does not buy happiness” and wondered if that applied to fake money as well. I mean, when I win Monopoly I’m happy, right?
A single tear fell from my cheek and hit the mouse as I clicked the button. This was now my dirty little secret and my dirty money. But, what do you expect? I suck at video games.
Editor's note: Omar was skeptical that people could construct meaningful friendships and relationships in an online game -- until he made an online friendship of his own. -Jason
"You know Courtney, right?"
"Uh...the guild officer? Yah. She's pretty cool"
"Well...I've got to tell you something"
"What is it?"
"She and I...well...she's...um...my...uh...girlfriend"
"...."
"You there?"
It's been 6 months since that conversation. It took me about a week to get over the shock, but my friend Johnny insisted the connection between him and the Blood Elf mage was real.
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