I just wrapped up my F.o.F. interview with J.P. Harrod for Blogzilla 1985 about his time working on the grandfather of multi-massive online role playing games (whew!), Ultima Online, and we discussed the current state of the industry. J.P. is a talented guy, but for whatever reason no longer works in the industry, and that is a shame. You would think that an industry that has gotten so stale would welcome talented minds, but I'm beginning to think that we are heading towards the very death of the genre.

Or, at the least, the death of new ideas within it.

We discussed at length the positive and negative impacts that the juggernaut World of Warcraft has brought to the table, and I found his thoughts on it to be very interesting. In the interview you'll be able to read this Friday, J.P. explains how the blame for the stagnant state of the genre doesn't fall on Blizzard or Warcraft for being successful, but on other companies for taking the easy road and just aiming for another WoW clo

 

Annual gaming conference LOGIN has snagged a huge name for their list of speakers this year, in the form of the creator of the Ultima series himself, Richard Garriott. 

Garriott, who currently serves as the vice president and creative director of social media games developer and publisher Portalarium, is known for being the creative mind behind Ultima, the first c

It is often claimed that playing video games is an anti social hobby. This label may be true for most videos games but I feel it does not apply to MMORPGs. Socializing with other players is one of the key aspects of any MMORPG worth its salt. Even more importantly, the kind of people you talk to in a game may be different than the kind you socialize with in real life. I’ve been playing MMOs for years and some of my fondness memories are my discussions with the type of people I would never of had the opportunity to talk with in real life. Take for example a newly wed German couple I met in Ultima Online or the Chinese woman I chatted with for an hour while I grinded (she wanted to use my PayPal account to sell gold, she couldn’t set one up in China…)

Developers have finally caught on to how important the socializing aspect is in these online games. For years features such as guilds, private messages, and in-game mail were included but recently new MMORPGs are springing up that place a greater emphasis on socialization. Below I shall discuss some that come to mind.

First up is Mabinogi. This is a new game, at least in North America published by Nexon. Mabinogi has

Yes, it’s an art because we can’t say that adding multiplayer or even online feature to a stand alone video game will guarantee the game to be a success hit.  It is not an exact science that can be formulated as:

 

Video Game Title + Online Feature = Great MMOG

This is WRONG!!!

 

Is it possible to adopt a video game to be a successful MMOG?  Yes it’s possible, but it will depend on many factors!  The stand alone game and video game will still find it ways to survive EVEN WITHOUT online feature.  Many people believe that the future of game will be the online one.  That may be true.  However, if we take a look at game (not just video game) history, each new genre of game is growing into culture and not just trend.  A trend would kill the last category, but a culture will give birth to a new category.  Confused?

 

Let me give an example:

Before we know any video games in this world, people already play games using card.  Before we play any MMORPGs, people already play RPGs based on physical rule.  Can we still find card game and non electronic RPGs today?  Yes we can still find them.  In fact, some of

With so many dissapointment of mmorpg condition in 2007, I began to wonder, what kind of game that can satisfy the hope of most mmo players.  An

Ultima Online is celebrating it's diamond anniversary; 10 years and going strong with the release of their major update: Kingdom Reborn.  To make sure they have as many people as possible join in this MMO milestone, they

Electronic Arts is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the classic MMO game Ultima Online, which originally launched on September 25, 1997, with special in-game activities and rewards, plus a new amnesty program that invites former players back to try out the major game update, Ultima Online Kingdom Reborn, for free.

The "Return to Brittania" campaign will allow past subscribers in good standing to play for free through October 9, 2007 using their former account name and password.

During the in-game 10th anniversary celebration, players both old and new will be able to take part in a monster hunt with special prizes including an ankh pendant necklace, map of Brittania, an Ultima Online commemorative sculpture and virtue armor set. Additionally, all players will receive 10 décor tokens and a wand of fireworks in their characters' inventory.

Gamasutra is also planning a 10th anniversary celebration of its own for Ultima with a special feature on the game, to debut in the near future.

"Ultima Online has thrived for 10 years and achieved the status of an MMO classic, thanks in large part to the devoted player community," said Mark Jacobs, VP and general manager, EA Mythic. "We are very ex

Electronic Arts is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the classic MMO game Ultima Online, which originally launched on September 25, 1997, with special in-game activities and rewards, plus a new amnesty program that invites former players back to try out the major game update, Ultima Online Kingdom Reborn, for free.

The "Return to Brittania" campaign will allow past subscribers in good standing to play for free through October 9, 2007 using their former account name and password.

During the in-game 10th anniversary celebration, players both old and new will be able to take part in a monster hunt with special prizes including an ankh pendant necklace, map of Brittania, an Ultima Online commemorative sculpture and virtue armor set. Additionally, all players will receive 10 décor tokens and a wand of fireworks in their characters' inventory.

Gamasutra is also planning a 10th anniversary celebration of its own for Ultima with a special feature on the game, to debut in the near future.

"Ultima Online has thrived for 10 years and achieved the status of an MMO classic, thanks in large part to the devoted player community," said Mark Jacobs, VP and general manager, EA Mythic. "We are very ex

Today, Electronic Arts announced that Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn is now available for free download. This expansion to Ultima Online has a greatly enhanced graphic update, new user interface and updated experience for new players. It can be downloaded now at http://www.uoherald.com/kingdomreborn/gamefiles/

"As the tenth anniversary of Ultima Online's launch approaches, Kingdom Reborn introduces an entirely new experience while preserving the spirit of the classic MMO," said Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager of EA Mythic. "Kingdom Reborn represents EA's ongoing commitment to MMOs and Ultima Online's dedicated and loyal community, some of whom have been playing the game since its launch almost ten years ago."

For more information about Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn, please visit www.uo.com/kingdomreborn.

Welcome to a new Britannia, a legendary kingdom  re-imagined and rebuilt by a dedicated team who believe that an amazing game, created almost ten years ago, has a future brighter than its past. It represents more than a