Category Archives: Game Design

Cartographer’s Annual 2008

More recently, I’ve decided to take some time to sit down and go through them, I do think these annuals in general are very good at helping you learn how to map and develop your own styles, if nothing else. Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Meaningful PvP?

I was playing a little bit of Ultima Online over the past few weeks. I downloaded and started playing on a free shard that tried to stick to the olden days of UO, meaning they had a lot of PvP. Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

10 Things We Can Learn From Minecraft

I’ve been the latest victim of the Minecraft bug of late. I must admit this game is pretty amazing in its simplicity. It’s so very basic yet very addictive. I could totally see modern gamers passing it up because of the graphics or the playstyle, as I almost did myself. But the reality is that it is worth a try Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Need for a New Map

When I started working on server emulation for Ultima Online, it took no time at all before I started yearning to start over with a completely new map. Creating a completely new map from scratch is actually quite a difficult … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Player vs. Player in MMOs

PvP is kind of a touchy subject in MMORPGs. Most MMOs have it in some format or another, but more often than not, it is left behind in the wayside. This is largely due to the mistakes that were made … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design, MMORPGs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cartographer's Annual '07 part 3

After well over a year, I finally decided to finish off this series, and yes I do plan on doing reviews on the next three annuals after this. For those needing a refresher course, ProFantasy makes a software sweet for … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gamey vs. Realistic MMORPGs

I have been thinking a lot of MMORPG design of late. A lot of this design thought has really made me thinking of the gaminess of online games. I personally have always been a fan of realism in my MMOs … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Micro-transactions and the Modern MMO

I recently began the beta test of Champions Online, I will likely have my own preview before it goes live before September 1 when it launches. However, one of the things that they are touting with CO is the ability … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

You Can't Always Get What You Want

I’ve been reading up a lot on Google of late. There have been many things of note that I have really taken from them as a company and some of the theories that they work off of. In particular, I … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Races in MMORPGs

I have been thinking about the races that I would allow players in my game a lot of late, and at the same time I have been reading a book based in the Eberron world. The thing that I really … Continue reading

Posted in Game Design | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment