The Combobulater: September 19th 2009

Hey Guys,

The latest episode of The Combobulater has been set free to roam the intertubes! We have a special guest with us this show, Andrew from the blog 'Of Teeth and Claws' (which you will find if you move your eyes a little to the left) and a listener to the show who volunteered his time to help us redesign the site.

Join us as we kick off with our usual 'what you been playing' which includes Emeny being hopelessly addicted to WoW, Burnsy being hopelessly addicted to...oh wait no apparently he's going to kick the habit again! Andrew gives us his thoughts on the games he's catching up on including Monkey Island and Bioshock.

We then jump into a segment which Burnsy and I have been hinting at wanting to tackle for a while now and with Andrew on board we felt that we had some extra insight to take us through this topic.

With so many MMOs on the market now each staking a claim on a huge player base, which of the payment models that are currently popular do we think will survive and are still relevant to todays market?

In our discussion we look at the pros and cons of the following:

Monthly subscription fee

Games such as WoW, Warhammer and the recently released Aion all adopt a standard monthly fee to play these games. Does this fee represent good value for money though and how do you as a player feel about having to pay this fee?

Does it tie you to a game and thus demand your time? Is this monthly subscription model a barrier to entry to certain people and does it have an impact on your decision to pick up the game at all?

There are some advantages though right? It's in the best interest of a company to have you playing their game so if they can compel you to do so then that's a win for them. This model is also fairly easy to setup and players are familiar with the system, if they are prepared to stump up a fee every month then why not take advantage?

A monthly fee though does apply a level of expectation that a publisher/developer must live up to if they are to survive. It's no good whacking a fee onto your game and then letting it idle, you only need to look at the dramatic playerbase plummet of games such as Age of Conan and Warhammer to appreciate that developers need to be on the ball.

Free to play models/Micro transactions

These days there are a lot of games that offer a free to play experience which can be supplemented by microtransactions. In our cast we discuss how this has evolved over the years, as developers mature in their approach to this model players are now offered genuine value for money on the form of micro transactions.

They're not all perfect of course. You could argue the value of a mount in game against that of an expansion pack or new content. It is interesting to see how these games have come along and the choice that they offer players that pick up these 'free to play' games. We look in detail at Wizard 101, DDO and Runes of Magic.

Give players more choice

We wrap up our cast with Andrew sharing his thoughts on the an Asian payment model which sees players paying for chunks of time which they can spend as and when they choose to. Therefore eliminating the feeling that you have to play and allowing you to enjoy the game at a pace that suits you.

Why hasn't this model caught on in the West and are there any developers out there that might take on the challenge of bringing this model over here?

Join us as we thrash this out on The Combobulater, September 19th 2009!

Thanks for tuning in.

Emeny.

Blizzard: Damned if they do and damned if they don't!

As the dust settle on Blizzcon 2009 I find myself tuning into a variety of podcasts and opinions in an effort to digest the splurge of info.

It's a shame, in my opinion, that a lot of the 'oomph' was taken out of the announcements with leaks splashing their speculation around the web a week or so in advance of the event. No real harm done I guess but if you're not actually at the event I think it's harder to get excited about something that you already kind of knew about.

Aside from that though there has been something else that has got my goat. Why do people throw up their arms and wail in protest to Blizzard lifting inspiration from other games?

It's a criticism that has been aimed at Blizzard so many times, even by our good selves on the show but when I sit and reflect on this I realised that it's really not fair at all to slate Blizzard for this trait.

Recent announcements include 'Guild Levelling' which will allow you to spec your guild in such a way that you can cater perks to suit your play style. Mass resurrections will make a 25man wipe in a dungeon much more manageable as your downtime is reduced. I'm sure there'll be perks for PvP players as well, but this idea of levelling your guild is apparently already done in titles such as Warhammer and DDO.

Lord of the Rings Online also has similar features in the way that the better standing your guild is on the server the more access you have to things like guild housing (something Blizzard are still resisting in WoW), so it's easy to say 'Blizzard has ripped this off'.

Achievements in WoW come as a direct result of the popular Microsoft Gamer points and Battlenet looks as though it has taken a big leaf out of Steams 'how to...' book.

Is any of this a bad thing though? Of course not!!

It would be absolutly nuts to blast Blizzard for taking what makes one game or service good and implementing it in their own way. Are the people that call out Blizzard on this really stupid enough to think that Bliz should simply watch other people enjoy the benefits of an idea or innovation?

It seems to me that Blizzard are pretty much damned if they do and damned if they don't. Imagine if Blizz didn't take on board successful features, how stagnant would WoW be now? Whether or not you personally enjoy the new features in WoW you must at least be able to see that Blizzard have succeeded in keeping their franchise a relevant gaming choice in a market that has suddenly got incredibly crowded.

If Blizzard were to rest on their laurels and simply assume that their game will stay in the front of the pack just by 'being' then WoW would very quickly be lost in the deluge of MMOs. As it stands Blizzard have a duty to see how other games enter the market and where it makes sense they should lift out successful innovations and turn their hand to them.

I think it's great that Blizzard respect their competitors (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery) and they have their heads screwed on when it comes to looking after their franchise and their service to the gaming community. That's what makes them Number 1. Anyone thinking that Blizzard do little to innovate and simply rob ideas from other developers would do well to find a cliff and test their weight against the pull of gravity!

Emeny.

The Combobulater 8th August 2009

Greetings Combobulater fans,

The latest episode of the Combobulater has been released into the wild where we hope it will propagate and run free!

Join us this week as Burnsy explains why he sat through Watchman, twice! Emeny is fed up with LotrO but finding new life in WoW and Fat Princess may have been a sting on the wallet.

We're joined this week by Riknas, part of the Free to play Podcast on Virginworlds Riknas is setting up an ambitious project 'EndGrind' in an effort to catalogue and review the world of MMOs.

Exactly how long should you spend playing an MMO before you can apply a reasonable score, or offer a critique? Project EndGrind sets out to answer this tough question and is on the hunt for contributors. If you are a keen blogger and willing to dedicate yourself to offering your critical insight on an MMO of your choice (assuming it isn't already taken) then be sure to get in touch with Riknas.

We wrap up the show with a look at Kotick's latest comments that have incensed the Combobulater crew, and it would appear ars technica share our feelings (enjoy their art!). Are activision pushing their luck and just how much will the gaming community take before it wakes up and snaps back?

This crew hope it's sooner rather than later, especially knowing that the WoW community sit in the palm of Activision!!

Be sure to check out our forums which are coming to life, a big thanks to everyone that has posted so far.

Cheers for tuning in and be sure to share your thoughts.

Emeny.