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League of Legends | MMOrgue 18

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It’s not an MMO. But you asked for coverage of League of Legends, and I’m here to deliver from the MMO perspective… what mechanics, economics and community interplay have led to LoL being the breakaway hit that it clearly is? Can the MMO industry learn from these mechanics? Join me and my tournament-tested correspondent as we ramble our way thru an open editorial regarding the unique leader of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena gaming.

This episode also contains a very important announcement from Jeremy regarding the future of MMOrgue. Fans of the show can’t afford to miss it!

Direct Download Links:

HD Video | Large Video | Mobile Video | MP3 Audio | YouTube
MMOrgue iTunes Feeds: MMOrgue RSS Feeds:
HD Video
iPad & Apple TV Video
iPod Video
MP3 Audio		 HD Video RSS
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Show Notes:

MECHANICS

No persistence of world

Persistence of character – partial

Skill-based… condenses the experience of getting better and growing as a character into a ~1 hour experience

Bartle Test: Explorer, Achiever, Killer, Socializer
link to the test at GamerDNA.com

  • Explorer = Non-existant
  • Achiever = Will enjoy leveling up from base to cap in a condensed timeline compared to MMOs
  • Killer = Visceral, fast-paced PvP combat
  • Socializer = Multiplayer interaction, and access to “police” the community via Tribunal System
ECONOMICS

Free to play with cash shop

Earn cash shop currency with game time

It is also the primary form of player advancement (Runes, etc)

Free champion each week, to give free players a chance to try before you buy… if you are patient

Weekly champion rotation helps eliminate stagnation for free gamers

COMMUNITY

Tribunal System

e-Sports
Valve’s $1.6 million prize pool for a DOTA championship – largest EVER in eSports

Studio Rumble

OTHER MOBA TITLES:

Defense of the Ancients (player-built mod for Warcraft III)

Defense of the Ancients 2 (aka “DOTA2” – being made by Valve, release TBA)

SMITE (entering beta, premiered at PAX Prime 2011 – www.smitegame.com for info)

Written by chris

October 8th, 2011 at 8:59 pm

Posted in achiever,announcement,bartle test,Blizzard,cash shop,community,economics,explorer,Featured,free to play,killer,league of legends,Linux,mechanics,MMOrgue,persistence,richard bartle,riot games,socializer,Star Wars Galaxies,studio rumble,SWG,tournament,tribunal,valve,Video,warcraft

Grab Bag! | MMOrgue 17

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In lieu of the AoC review originally scheduled for this week, Jeremy’s decided to throw together some of the hottest stories that’ve surfaced over the past week in the MMO industry. Included in this grab bag of editorial goodness is the DCUO-F2P announcement, GamersFirst’s new “offer” venture, WoW’s unique features coming in patch 4.3, and Trion World’s charitable efforts.

Direct Download Links:

HD Video | Large Video | Mobile Video | MP3 Audio | YouTube
MMOrgue iTunes Feeds: MMOrgue RSS Feeds:
HD Video
iPad & Apple TV Video
iPod Video
MP3 Audio		 HD Video RSS
Large Video RSS
Mobile Video RSS
MP3 Audio RSS

Show Notes:

DCUO announces going F2P

  • I just said last week that this needed to happen, since CO and COH are both free now, and Marvel U will be F2P as well (if it ever launches).
  • This just sounds like an excuse to charge people for future expansions, like they intended to do with Fight for the Light.

GamersFirst invites spammers onboard

WoW Patch 4.3 will bring easier PUG raids and cosmetic options

  • A new LFG queue that will automagically put you into lower-difficulty versions of the existing raids, with lesser loot. But 25-man versions ONLY.
  • These raids also don’t include lockout timers, which will be a HUGE boon to folks that regularly do PUG raids.
  • This will work GREAT in WoW due to the nature of the community, but I’m worried about this becoming a trend that other games may pick up on. Any developer interested in this trend needs to take a close look at their specific type of community before deciding whether to use this same methodology.
  • For example, WoW has a healthy PUG community, and a lot of smaller guilds that can only raid 10-man zones. So making a 25-man option more accessible actually allows MORE players to experience this side of the raiding game (which has a huge content focus in WoW).
  • Meanwhile, if a game thrives more on small groups and tight communities, implementing something that reinforces a PUG atmosphere would offer very little benefit while encouraging community fragmentation.

RIFT devs get awesomely charitable

  • Partnering with “Extra Life” to benefit Children’s Miracle Network

  • Devs will be creating a guild and inviting new characters to join them, and play for 24 hours straight.

  • They will also offer titles to anyone that participates (“the Charitable”) and for anyone that lasts the entire 24 hours (“the Insomniac”).

  • Also a whole mess of achievements/contests:

  • Highest Level Achieved

  • Most Favor Earned

  • Most Planarite Earned

  • Highest Crafting Skill (combined)

  • Most Achievements Earned

  • Most Dungeons Completed

  • Most Money Earned

  • Most Critters Killed

  • Most Artifacts Collected

Money from MMO subscriptions officially on the decline
- Money from F2P microtransactions is up!

SWG adds new feature, despite looming death knell

Rusty Hearts is now in Open Beta

Written by chris

September 24th, 2011 at 8:56 am

Posted in adknowledge,advertising,atmospheric flight,beta,cash shop,cataclysm,charity,community,cosmetic,dc universe,dcuo,ddo,deathwing,event,extra life,f2p,Featured,fight for the light,free to play,GamersFirst,lfg,Linux,MMOrgue,Perfect World,pick up group,pug,RAID,RIFT,rusty hearts,Sony,spammers,Star Wars Galaxies,subscription model,SWG,transmogrification,Trion Worlds,turbine,vanity,Video,visual,warcraft