Jim Moreno shares his list of the five most crucial tools for any MMORPG to support roleplaying.
Interviews
Q&As and interviews with the people behind these games.
Jim Moreno finishes his look at how to RP using magic with some handy links from around the web.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the actual act of casting the spell itself.
Death Troopers will be haunting the Star Wars: Galaxies environs in the latest patch, Update 14. Check out some of the features of these grizzly guys by clicking below.
In this week's RoleCraft, we'll look at how a spellcaster puts their magic to good use in the world of roleplay.
This week in RoleCraft, we look at how players can work the mystical arts of magic into their RP.
Sony Online Entertainment announced today their intention to close 12 of the current 25 servers on October 15th. The shutdown will address the underpopulated servers while keeping the Free Character Transfer service available for players to choose their new home server. Affected server details after the jump!
Jim Moreno looks at how roleplayers can create a character who is in the military.
Felicia Day's MMOG-focused comedy series is great at getting laughs, but can it also teach us things about roleplaying in online worlds?
A collection of the finest RP links from around the Internet.
On the eve of the grand premiere of his documentary Second Skin, director Juan Carlos Piņeiro Escoriaza was kind enough to speak with WarCry about the film and how it taught about virtual worlds and those who live in them.
Morale is a very real aspect of warfare. Historical battles are as often won through moral superiority as physical strength. Rules that account for morale loss (and less frequently, morale gain) are very common in military computer, miniature, and board games yet have been largely neglected for games where a player controls a single avatar.
As long as player action sequences are the driving force behind special maneuvers, MMOs will be nothing but a numbers game. The key to break this cycle is to focus on responses to the enemy's actions.
How much of an MMO is button smashing and how much involves actual skill? This installment is an investigation of how armor choices and shield employment can yield more combat decisions.
I like stats as much as the next person (probably more), but when warfare is boiled down to raw probabilities, battlefield skill disappears. The building of the best stat base becomes much more important than any sort of tactical competency. Instead of seeking a skill based work-around, games come up with new statistical probabilities.
The Star Wars Galaxies team has announced that it is seeking fan art to celebrate SWG's sixth anniversary. Grab the details by clicking below.
The Star Wars: Galaxies trading card game will be expanding in June with "Agents of Deception". The new set will feature new smuggler and spy unit cards. Find out more after the jump.
In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer looks at the last MMO class archetypes, the Healer, and why this role at least is solidly developed.
The archetypal concept of the tank assumes that PvE opponents have the mental capacity of cattle. Instead of a monster intelligently attacking what would make his enemy most vulnerable (the Healer) or what is the greatest actual threat (the DPS), it attacks the one opponent that isthe smallest real threat and the hardest to kill: the Rodeo Clown... er Tank.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the issue of player housing in MMOGs and how it can shape one's roleplay experience.
Starting a new series on the archetypal MMO classes, Jonathan Steinhauer begins by looking at DPS and the issue of hitting versus damaging.
This week on RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks into how roleplayers can prepare for an adventure - Research, Plan, Go!
Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game is releasing another expansion called "Galactic Hunters". With 180 new cards, players are also give the opportunity to play the bounty hunter. Keep reading to find out more!
San Diego, California has proclaimed March 16, 2009 as Sony Online Entertainment Day for the fair city. The honor was bestowed on SOE for their employment of city denizens as well as for philanthropic pursuits among others. Read the official proclamation after the jump.
In this edition of RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wonders about a crucial element in tabletop gaming missing from the MMO - the Dungeon-Master.
In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at the weapons of fantasy MMOs and how they have all become identical.
On this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wonders how exactly one can define roleplaying in an MMO due to the absence of a key player in tabletop RPing - the Dungeon Master.
Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at roleplaying and why he has such a hard time fitting it into the MMO genre.
Game Update 7 is now live on all Star Wars: Galaxies servers. Among other things, the update brings the "Ewok Festival of Love" on line for players. Is it just me or is that creepy? Read on and see for yourself.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tries his hand at role-writing, telling the story of one particular Blood Elf in the World of Warcraft.
In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tackles Blizzard's recent debacle with the RP-PvE realm, Wyrmrest Accord.
Game designers face many challenges, and one of the largest of these is balance. Yet curiously, one facet that seems to garner a much smaller degree is the economy. That isn't to say MMO economics don't get a great deal of attention but as they stand the balance is more reminiscent of a band-aid than any real resolution.
The first 2009 producer's letter for Star Wars: Galaxies has appeared on the official SWG forums. It's a relatively short note but gives some nice tidbits about Updates 6 and 7. Check it out after the jump.
This week in RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks back at the RP scene in one of the very first MMOs: Ultima Online
In many of my recent articles, I've proceeded from the assumption that real life comparisons with games are a logical and natural concept. Apparently, I am mistaken. I have been told that the game is fantasy or sci-fi and that means it's not supposed to be real. Yet one of the great strengths of the genres is their link with the human experience.
