Beglitched
2

Beglitched

Most of the reviews I’ve read of Glitch have been relentlessly trendy, evoking poetry, trying to find deep meaning in a Flash game that involves tickling pigs and drinking cocktails and wise-cracking with magic rocks. Beau even called the game hipsterish, but honestly, I don’t see it. It’s a cute game. It’s a crafting sandbox. [...]

‘Themepark’ is not an excuse
8

‘Themepark’ is not an excuse

The media embargo for Star Wars: The Old Republic’s beta dropped yesterday, and Massively produced two different impressions pieces summing up the beta, both of them from guys who willingly and happily play themepark MMOs but who have more than once declared their preference for sandboxes. I saw the game about a year ago but [...]

They’re digging in the wrong place
3

They’re digging in the wrong place

Earlier today, I posted to Massively an article titled Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it’s gone. Truthfully, I had a lot more than ten, but space is an issue in this new tl;dr age. Instead, I held back a few of the more niche suggestions for this very post. I promise [...]

The monetization of Middle-earth
8

The monetization of Middle-earth

Lord of the Rings Online is one of my favorite MMOs. Hobbits rule. I love my pony; I love farming (real farming) and crafting dyes and weapons and food things that actually sell on the auction hall. I have a lovely house at 1 Wending Way, Pearbridge, The Shire. I counseled Frodo and took a [...]

No ur a feminist whore
3

No ur a feminist whore

Since the birth of our son this past summer — a bit early but not a moment too soon — it’s taken me a while to settle back into my gaming niche, but it seems to me that there’s been a miniature feminist revolution across the online geek landscape. Geek Feminism framed Slave Leia cosplay [...]

All your flaming worldly possessions
2

All your flaming worldly possessions

I spent last weekend trying to decide the best way to end it all — in Star Wars Galaxies, that is, which we learned will be shutting down in less than six months. Star Wars Galaxies was and is a brilliant sandbox game, which I loudly proclaimed in “The Uncle Owen Paradox” Soapbox rant column [...]

Five things I hate about ‘free-to-play’ games
3

Five things I hate about ‘free-to-play’ games

I want free-to-play games to succeed. The F2P model allows small, untried, risky game companies to produce small, untried, risky games, widening and introducing new ideas and challengers to a market otherwise dominated by slow, lumbering AAA titles that have little incentive to change the system. They also allow players to sample the game before [...]