Games Industry Podcast - Episode 15

[Atrayo]

Hello Father,

Originally Posted by Father

Thanks for the clarification Atrayo, do you know how the game is performing currently?

Not really, i stopped being a subscriber to that Mmorpg about 3 or 4 months post launch. (although i was in the closed beta with TOG members) I only read snippets of the latest news from Mmorpg.com which report continued support with patches.

Although the rumour mill wonders if "Vanguard" is in jeopardy of being closed like Matrix Online was last year.

[Ned]

Playlists.


Ashlann says he may be lost to the 'dark side' (with Guild Wars). I have to say, I've seen a lot more FPS players move over to MMOs than the other way around.




News.


Stef mentioned Microsft's new Games for windows (re downloadable games) and how it wasn't marketed well. I never knew about until you mentioned it! Thanks for the info.




Free MMO discussion.


Thanks Ariya for your time on this. I have a question for you. I've never played an MMO before and it's on my to-do list. After reading reviews and feedback I've selected a singleplayer RPG to test run. I've downloaded the Torchlight demo. Most say it's a very basic RPG yet it's still engaing and FUN to play. I'm looking for something similar for when it's time to try playing online. What MMO would you recommend to a MMO newbie that's very basic yet engaing and fun. I'm just looking to get a taste of this genre without having to plod through a huge learning curve. It doesn't have to be free. I started a thread a while ago asking this very thing, help a first time MMORPG player !! I'd love to hear your views on this and opinions on some of the games mentioned in that thread




Games we are looking forward to in 2010


Medal of Honor (2010) - Official Site - TOG Public forum chat -

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Official Site - TOG public forum chat -





Cheers again for another excellent podcast!

[Ariya]

Hello Ned, there are quite a few good allround f2p mmo's for the moment. If you are looking for one that will give you a general idea of the genre, and at the same time is fun and not too time consuming I would say Runes of Magic or Dungeons and Dragons online. I've heard great things about the last one, and you will find it only natural that I stand for my own division, but let me explain my reasoning.

Runes of Magic offers a bit of everything, without having a big learning curve. You start the game with a little tutorial, and from the beginnerzone on everything about hunting, crafting your own gear and gathering materials for the crafting is well explained through following the quest line. They will also give you a taste of what it is to kill a mini boss and go through your first harder mission in an instance. I found that remarkable, in a lot of mmo's they just let you bash up some mobs on the beginner map.

This game will only take up the time that you can put in it, because you can finish a number of daily quests that allow you to let your character advance quickly. So this leaves you enough time to go out and do FUN things in the game, like exploring all sorts of dungeons and instances and getting chased by some bosses along the way (that is if you are as crazy as Henri and me haha). RoM has a large tog presence too so we can help you out.

Guild Wars is excellent too, but it will take more of a strategy approach to play it. I'm lucky to have some veteran players behind me when I play GW, most of the harder missions I would just fail. I do have so much fun playing this one, it's really exceptional and has such good graphics. I would say go for Runes first since it's completely free and then have a go at this one if you like. Mind, you have to pay for the game but there are no monthly fees.

Allods online is a great new mmo too and free. You can chose between a "light" and "dark" side on this one, and it has a lot of different races and classes. But this one is somewhat harder to advance on. I would advice this as a second mmo too.

Please let me know if you do decide to test an mmo, I'll help you if I can.

[Ned]

Thanks Ariya!


Runes of Magic and Guild Wars noted. -no monthly fees for either!-


Steam has a special this week (50% off Guild Wars titles) to celebrate the Guild Wars 5 year anniversary. I'm downloading Guild Wars Trilogy as I type..

It contains..
• Guild Wars Game of the Year Edition (Guild Wars Prophecies plus unlocks)
• Guild Wars Factions
• Guild Wars Nightfall

..all for $20 USD!



I haven't decided what I'll start with yet but I'm almost certain after Torchlight it will be either Runes of Magic and Guild Wars
So many games and so little time...