VRM

As in, Vehicular Rights Management.  Who says DRM is just for digital “property” any more?

Your Car Has Been Deactivated

One more brick in the wall…

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TARP

Thanks to Calculated Risk for this:

TARP Visualized

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Thomas Jefferson Quotes

I happened upon this little collection of Thomas Jefferson quotes today, and found it quite interesting in its contrast with “Bail ’em out Bush” and “I can do that, but bigger, Obama”.

Thomas Jefferson on Money and Banks

There’s also this collection of TJ quotes, which hits a few other high points:

Thomas Jefferson Collection

Let’s just say, I’m in a Chicago Tea Party mood lately.

That said, Denninger over on the Market Ticker suggested a few weeks ago to send a bag of tea to your concresscritter as a not-so-subtle message that We the People aren’t exactly happy campers.  As historically appealing as that suggestion is, I’m not sure that he’s aware of the Halo generation and some of the implications thereof.  Then again, perhaps today’s rebellious youth would enjoy spreading their particular FPS madness to the Congressional floor.  *shrug*

This Flintlocke comic is as far as I go to explain.

For the Birds

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Subtle Gaming

I was prowling the Escapist’s latest issue, and happened upon this little article:

That’s Entertainment?

One point that Mr. Zacny makes is that game themes have polarized to the dark, immature “M” rated stuff and happy shiny pretty world, with little in between.  I exaggerate a bit, but there’s truth to it.  I have to wonder:  can gamers handle subtlety?  Do they want subtlety?

Framed in MMO terms, currently everyone is a hero (or a scrub who is just training to be a hero).  I touched on this back in Fewer Heroes, MMOre Adventurers.  Where are the games that allow for small, modest, humble lives?  I’d argue that the social framework of an MMO is the best place for such subtlety in games, since you’re dealing with a large variety of players.  There will be those who just want to stake out a mining claim on the side of a mountain, or plant a small crop and build a house, or make a pub and cater to travelers.  They can’t do that in real life, so they do it in a crazy, fantastic alternate world.

A Tale in the Desert and EVE apparently have some of this sort of “low key” activity going on.  Notably, I think that they are possibly the biggest MMOs with functional, in-depth economies.  Puzzle Pirates has a good economy, but isn’t quite the same sort of game.

More and more, I believe that a vibrant, healthy world with room for subtle lives and player creativity will need a strong economic model and a healthy crafting suite.  Yes, there should be opportunities to be the Hero, but sometimes, it’s enough to just go to the digital equivalent of the Cheers pub; a place where everyone knows your name, and it’s OK to just relax and be some dude whittling a new trinket.

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Ending the Endgame?

There’s an interesting article up over on Massive.com:

Leveling Content

The assertion is that leveling content is more important than the endgame, both from a business perspective and from the player’s perspective.  As a content nut, disgusted with subscription treadmills, I am sympathetic to this view.

Yet, what if your MMO design is all about the endgame sort of play?  Specifically, what if you do not have leveling, and are counting on an interesting economy and a series of minigames to keep people playing?  Something like a Puzzle Pirates, or the theoretical Harvest Moon Online?  Why do MMOs have to be about the leveling content at all?

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Diamond Marketing

I happened upon this little article today on Calculated Risk:

Retail Bankruptcy:  Shane Jewelry

I’ve never cared much for jewelry.  I bought my wife’s engagement and wedding rings at a family friend’s store, a lovely little white gold interlocking pair.  She bought me a pretty simple band in return.  We’re happy with them, but don’t really have much else.  We don’t need bling.  (I know, bad consumer lemmings.)

In the comments section of that CR article, someone pointed out this interesting article, notably from 1982:

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

It’s long, and I’ll admit, I didn’t read the whole thing.  Still, the premise that diamonds are artificially scarce, a cartel runs things, and prices are stupid as a result makes for some good insight into what makes a market tick.  Their theory was that the economic stresses of the 80s would shake people into reality, but as we now see, it didn’t stick.  So what about this time?  Where will the economy go, and what effect will it have on diamonds?

Diamonds are the subject of some mighty fine marketing, so it will be interesting to see how long people can be duped.

Of course, in the game world there aren’t any direct parallels, but I do point to the $15/month subscription rate as a mild example.  In a new market, that benchmark was set, and few have bothered to question it.  It just became the “common wisdom”, and marketing wonks and customers took it for granted, regardless of what it actually meant.  Many have rationalized it or tried to justify it, but challenging it is something that relatively few people bother to do.  (If you happen to follow that link over to Kill Ten Rats, do a quick search for $15 in their database.  They have some great articles all over, but the ones that the $15 search brings up are especially relevant here, especially the one Zubon posted yesterday.)

I’m hopeful that the current economic stress will wake people up before they do something really disastrous with their money, but at the same time, if history is any indication, this period of strife will be marked with government programs touted as solutions, but proving to be more burdens for future generations and a short attention span for the average consumer.  The market will chug along, finding new suckers, even if it doesn’t sell the same products.  (Buy Green?)

Hang on to your wallet, and pay attention to where your money goes, and why.

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Birdmen Swimming Upstream

I’ve written about my own concerns regarding content delivery and monetization in the MMO world, but I’ve largely ignored console gaming.  Part of that is because I happen to work in consoles, and I can’t really talk much about what I do until after it’s released… and even then, not so much.  It’s also partially because I’ve been playing MMOs more lately, trying to see what all the fuss is about.

Still, when I see an article like this one, I feel as though I should call attention to it:

Birdmen and the Casual Fallacy

It’s an insightful, if occasionally grumpy, look at Nintendo’s apparent business strategy.  Anyone interested in the game industry would be well served to ingest and internalize it.  Nintendo’s “Disruptive Strategy” also serves as a model to see where MMO monetization may go in the next few years.  A company with humble beginnings but a well-plotted disruptive strategy, like a Puzzle Pirates or Wizard 101, is better positioned for the future than might be readily apparent.

Economic times are changing out there, and it would behoove us as designers (and even gamers) to understand why and how to make the most of the new landscape.

Why be content to ride the waves when you can be making them?

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Dave Barry’s 2008 Recap

This made me happy.  In a day when little else went right, this was nice to come home to.

Dave Barry: Bailing out of 2008

Of course, if I think too much about any of it, I might stress again… so for now, I’ll just laugh and try not to hit the hysterical pitch that might send me over the edge.

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Atlantica Online: Review and Summary

I’ve not written much on Atlantica Online lately, but even so, almost a third of the hits on this site are still looking at my AO commentary.  That’s awesome, as I think it’s a great game, and deserves all the positive publicity that it can get.

That said, I haven’t played the game for a month or so now, hence the dearth of new commentary.  I’m not sure that I will be playing it again, but at the same time, I’m not uninstalling it.  I like the game a lot, I just don’t have the time to do everything I’d like to do.  I’ve moved on to Guild Wars and a handful of other games.  That’s the terrible thing about living in a finite world; there’s never enough time to do everything I’d like to do.

Even so, I did want to summarize what I’ve written about before, and plug the game again.  If you’ve not tried it, please do so; it’s free to play, a bargain at twice as much, and an absolute blast to play.  OK, math hijinks aside (here I am, idly wondering who can tell what that meant), I think this game compares favorably to the giants of the MMO genre.  It’s not the same sort of game as WoW or WAR, and it’s not a quantum leap beyond EQ2 or its ilk, but for what it is, it’s every bit as enjoyable as any of those venerable games.

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News Nuggets

I happened upon two interesting articles today:

What Carriers Aren’t Eager to Tell You About Texting

Worlds.com Files Suit Against NCsoft – Every Other MMO Company To Follow?

Regarding the first, I’ve always believed that the $15 subscription fee in MMOs has little bearing on what it actually costs to provide the service. That’s especially true as time goes on and technology improves, making maintenance costs go down. Strong competitors, like upstart “RMT” or other F2P games could make the genre more honest.

Regarding the second, it seems like a bit of a frivolous case, but if it finds footing, I’d hate to see the genre smothered or costs go up (which would have the same effect, just delayed a bit). This is yet another squeeze on the MMO business. I do have to admire the audacity of Worlds.com, and their timing. NCSoft is over a barrel, at least Stateside, and makes for a much easier target than Blizzard. It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit winds up.

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