What is A Good Festival Event in MMORPGs?
Aug 22, 2011 Eudemons Online|241views
For MMO game developers, festivals are great chances to add in new content and promote their games. MMO games release events almost every holiday, but a good holiday event needs more than just interesting quests and nice rewards, since it should represent the culture or the tradition of the festival, as well.
Speaking of the word “culture”, the culture of China is one of the world’s oldest and most complex. The customs and traditions vary greatly between each town, city, and province. Many people are curious about the profound mysteries the culture of China contains, and gaming is the most interesting and easy way to learn!
If you’re interested in Chinese style MMOs, you can pick up Conquer Online, which takes you on a journey through a mystic land of Kungfu and honor. If you prefer fantasy MMOs with great pet systems, Eudemons Online is a great choice. You can adventure in a beautiful Roman fantasy world, while at the same time have a touch of oriental aesthetic.
There are many traditional festivals in China, and most of them are celebrated according to the lunar calendar. You can find Chinese festival events in a lot of MMO games, although some of them may not be presented by Chinese developers. But looking into the details of the events, you might notice that most of them simply offer better drops during hunting, or extra EXP as the rewards of the event. Free items are always not bad, but without well designed quests, an event may seem a little dull and meaningless.
Eudemons Online has just brought up the Chinese Lantern Festival event. This festival is also known as the “Yuan Xiao” Festival, and is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month of each year. It’s all about lanterns, riddles, the moon-like delicacy ‘Yuan Xiao’, and family reunions. During the event in Eudemons Online, you can have fun with those magical lanterns, solve fun riddles on them, and learn to make the traditional holiday food, Yuan Xiao!
This game is a perfect combination of western and oriental features. With over 100 pets to assist you along your epic adventure and culture exploration! To experience Western and Chinese festivals with fun and meaningful events, Eudemons Online is your must-try MMO game!
Tags: Conquer online, Eudemons Online, MMOs
Soft Power of Chinese Culture in MMOs
Mar 28, 2011 Articles Recommend|127views
Nowadays, video games have become a dominating entertainment medium. The industry alone creates tens of billions dollars for other industries, every year. Like other pop culture staples, people have noticed the influence of games on the movie and music genres. Let’s take a deeper look at the cultural influence of video games.
“Soft Power” has become more and more apparent. Through Hollywood movies, America exports its culture and ideology to every corner of our planet, making the western culture continue to be the mainstream culture of the world. In the 1980s, Japan started to challenge the leadership of the America, both economically and culturally. Animation and video gaming not only brought Japan enormous financial benefits, but also introduced Japan’s exotic culture to the audiences from other nations.
Samurais, Ninjas, Sushi - those once alien words have become familiar to the western population. It is the first time that a non-western culture has generated such a wide cultural influence in these modern times.
After Japan, the Chinese game industry started to emerge. With the growth of their economy and technology, China has already started to influence the world with her “soft power”. Following Japan’s model, China’s game companies began to make their debut in the international market. Although the Chinese game developers are the smaller newcomers of the industry, they have jumped at the chance to make online games. TQ Digital Entertainment earned its reputation with its own MMORPG, Conquer Online. Everyday, hundreds of thousands of players around the world are exploring the mythological world of ancient China, and experiencing the vivid Chinese culture in the game. In the world of CO, players can customize their characters with traditional Chinese costumes, practice various Chinese ancient weapons, battle with demons in Chinese myths and even perform traditional Chinese dancing!
The game also hosts a string of special events, all in the theme of Chinese traditional festivals, from Chinese Valentine’s Day to the Spring Festival. These special quests and elaborate background introductions provide the education of Chinese culture and traditions to non-Chinese players. Western festivals such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Halloween are widely known by Chinese people, and now, Western players can celebrate the exotic Chinese festivals in the virtual world! We can expect there will be more and more Chinese games entering the global market, so does that mean there will also be a rise in the number of Chinese culture groupies?
In conclusion, games have become an influential medium for cultural exchange. As more and more game developers from different parts of the world enter the blooming industry, players have the opportunity to experience different cultures, and at the same time enjoy more terrific games!
Tags: Chinese Culture, MMOs
Guild Wars 2-Structured More Like Other MMOs
Dec 8, 2009 Articles Recommend|737views
I always thought a major pull of Guild Wars was that it wasn’t like other massively multiplayer online games.
It’s not just the GW used a more realistic art style than the dreaded juggernaut, World of Warcraft. Guild Wars was different because it was mostly instanced (which I think might’ve made it easier to break down new content into meaty packs that just added a massive batch of instances in new zones). Personally, I liked the way Guild Wars was because if nothing else, you could at least say it was different than everything else in some fundamental way.
But to hell with what I think. Here’s what Guild Wars 2 Lead Designer Eric Flannum thinks:
We use a lot less instancing than we have in the past. The game is structured much more like other MMOs, with the world consisting almost entirely of fully persistent areas. That being said, we have a number of different ways in which we use instancing. Dungeons, for example, are instanced areas designed for group play. We also use instancing very heavily in the players’ personal quest chain to reflect decisions that the player has made on those quests. For example, Logan Thackeray, captain of the Seraph, has an office located in Divinity’s Reach; his office is instanced because we need to update his status based on choices the player has made.
You can check out the rest of his interview (which includes World Designer/Writer Ree Soesbee and Environment Art Lead Dave Beetlestone) at MMORPG.com. Reading the whole thing definitely put Flannum’s quote in perspective and there’s some interesting tidbits about what else we can expect from the sequel to the MMO that will still always be a special snowflake in my mind.
Guild Wars 2: Exclusive Interview
Tags: Guild Wars 2, interview, MMOs
Life Skills in MMOs
Apr 30, 2009 Articles Recommend|353views
I have grown to love games that have some kind of “life skill” available. I don’t want to think of my character as one-dimensional, but as someone (or something) that does other things besides killing monsters.
For the record, here are some examples of “life skills:”
Cooking: Some games like Free Realms and Mabinogi are making cooking not only enjoyable, but full of benefits as well! I like to see cooking that really makes a difference, and can have interesting side effects. A great example of how cooking should be done is Free Realms, which makes you smash, dice, and slice items by using your mouse. Think Cooking Mama online.
Fishing: Games like Final Fantasy XI, WoW, LotRO, Mabinogi and Vanguard all have fishing. Why has fishing become a staple in “life skill” gaming? Because it really is relaxing, and can be a great low-impact way to play. You can have a chat with your guild, enjoy the sunrise, and basically do what you would do in real life. Vanguard has my vote for this one, with it’s arcade style fishing system and addictive action.
Tailoring: Like many “life skills”, tailoring can range from boring to intriguing. In many games, the clothes can be worn with stats or as appearance-only items. Either way, it’s not just for girls! For me, Mabinogi wins this one for making you take time with the process until you come out with something you would actually want to wear.
;)
Crafting: Everyone has probably crafted at some point in their gaming. Some people are obsessed over it, and some think it’s as boring as watching paint dry. This can be blacksmithing, leather-working, or making fluff items. Overall, crafting is a very vital part of many MMO’s. Look at almost any MMO and there might be at least one good example of crafting.
Mini-games: Mini-games are just what they sound like.. games within the game. Not only are these a great way to pass the time, but a great way to level your character. Puzzle Pirates has this one down. Mini-Games drive the entire game from crafting to ship-to-ship combat. Many of the “star-ship” MMO’s could learn from Puzzle Pirates’ genius.
Gathering: Gathering can go hand-in-hand with many types of crafting, but sometimes you can do it to build a house, for profit, or for fun. Ryzom, with it’s complicated-yet-intriguing digging system, has the best gathering out there.
Housing: Not really a skill, but a system. While I agree with the comment “Everyone wants a house until they have one”, housing has been getting better and better over the years. Vanguard has some of the best, and building the house is a pleasure. I only wish it were more involved, complete with hammering/roofing mini-games. Recently a comment on my blog pointed me to the improvements that Star Wars Galaxies housing has received (like windows that open and let you see the real world outside) but I’ve yet to check them out.
;)
Not only do I enjoy these systems, but I enjoy the effects that some of them have. In Mabinogi, you will actually gain weight as you eat too much food. Different foods will make you gain weight in different areas, and my character is constantly struggling with “fat leg” syndrome. You can cook foods that will help you gain muscle or cook foods that have other benefits.
“Life Skills” are smart, too. They not only give your character depth, but also make you spend more time in the game. The more time you spend in the game and the more your character grows, the more loyal you might become to your game. In such a packed market, loyalty is a very valuable thing for your players to have.
A lack of “life skills” can leave some players wanting more with your game. For example, as beautiful and fun The Chronicles of Spellborn is, there isn’t much (besides some crafting) that makes my character seem that deep. I enjoy the fighting system, but at the end of the day I have no home to go to, no need for food, or no mini-games to wind down with. My character cannot just be about killing mobs, or you just have a side-scrolling arcade game.
“Life-Skills” break up the repetitiveness of your MMO. In an age of players growing bored just with screen-shots of new games, you need something that keeps the player engaged. I can download any new MMO trial within a few hours, so being in the middle of that crafting project might just keep me from switching.
And please, call me crazy, but I look at many of my favorite MMOs as attempts to explore new lives. I want to immerse myself in the world and explore every part of it, not just combat. For example, here are a typical few days in my life:
;)
I get up (log in) around 7 am. I walk the dogs (non-combat pets) and then cook some delicious breakfast (the eggs give me a bonus to dexterity, the orange juice raises my luck.) After checking my email (visiting the mailbox) I am off to work (I am a blacksmith and dog trainer.) I take a lunch (stop in the wilderness and make a campfire, cooking some stew) and then go home after finishing my day (I bring all my new loot back to my house and organize it into different chests.) I walk the dogs again, and cook some supper. I might have a friend over (I form a group) and then we play each other a game on my PC’s (we duel.) Then, we go to the new local bookstore (we go exploring) and meet some new people (new guildies.) Later that weekend I go fishing and visit a thrift store (gathering!)
Many people want to play MMOs to act as something more than they are, but I like to play MMOs to see how I might act if I suddenly found myself within some of the strange worlds MMOs represent. “Life Skills” allow me to act normally within extraordinary circumstances. Those skills keep me grounded, and also help to fight off boredom. As exciting as combat is, I rarely fight dragons in real life. I want my virtual life to be similar, but punctuated with bouts of adventure.
How important are these type of skills to you? Do you consider them too “fluffy” for your tastes?
Tags: MMOs