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Sunday, Mar 08, 2009 International Women's Day - National Retro Video Game Day

Age of Conan Interview

RPG Vault's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Status Interview - Part 2 talks further with Funcom's Craig Morrison about the state of their Conan the Barbarian-themed MMORPG. One of the topics ids their efforts at improving customer retention by re-thinking the game's item-centric RPG system:
Age of Conan was designed not to be item-centric. However, our analysis showed we probably went too far in this direction, relegating gear to a position where players didn't see it as a valid progression path, which I think is a fundamental weakness for an RPG system. So, we didn't quite get it right, and what we're doing now is trying to find the correct balance and improve it to provide better progression drivers and to allow our designers to make more challenging and varied gameplay.

In addition, the players felt the core attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc.) didn't have enough weight in their characters' progression. Again, when we broke it down, we agreed with this feedback, and set out on the RPG system revamp to address this too, with the goal of making both equipment and attributes better and more useful without going too far down the "items mean everything" road. They will mean more after the changes for sure, but hopefully, we'll find the right balance.

Op Ed

ExtremeTech - Why I Don't Like Online Multiplayer Gaming.
"Something about perceived anonymity brings out the worst in some people. I don't want to pigeonhole teenyboppers, as I've met some very nice 12-year-olds, but they seem to be the worst of the lot, at least according to my admittedly unscientific survey. It consists of counting how often the voices—calling me a very, very naughty word—crack as they hurl curses."

Live Expansions: Future of the MMOG on Ten Ton Hammer.
"The idea of giving players a free expansion may be anathema to most, but there are some solid reasons why it's a good idea. First and foremost is the amount of content you can decide to include or not include. When you attach a price to an item, you immediately attach an imagined value, or worth."

IGN- Is Final Fantasy VII Overrated?
"Really, this is the best RPG ever made?"

Kombo.com - Is God of War III Taking Violence Too Far?
"Has Kratos finally stepped over the line from visceral gaming to snuff film?"

Sunday Screenshots

Game Reviews

Hardware Reviews

Out of the Blue

Well we lost that hour to Daylight Saving Time today around these parts. This could have been worse for me, as it could have happened yesterday, when I lost a bunch of hours on my own. Oh well, as always, at I do like the later sundowns, I just hate the shift to get there.

Daylight Saving Links: Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play: Thing Thing Arena 3.
Death vs. Monstars.
Links: The 9 Levels of Cosplay Hell.
Stories: What's new pussycat? The dolphin who made friends with a curious tiger.
Science: Winged luxury submarines 'fly' underwater.
Images: First "Prince of Persia" movie photos
Media: The only foosball skill you need to learn.
The New F***ing Citibank. NSFW.
Rubik's Cube, How It Works Inside.
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