Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Jeff Butler on GFW Radio, Vanguard Radio and Conan

There is, what I think, is a great interview of Jeff Butler over at GFW Radio. It's the podcast from Nov. 10. I really like Jeff's take on what features an MMO should have. His views on the current MMO landscape are also very interesting....he plays WoW, fyi.

I was not going to get Vanguard due to the rumor that this MMO was going "old school". Jeff and the guys over at Sigil have been doing their best to get the word out there that this game will be casual friendly and the barrier for entry will be quite manageable. I must say, after listening to this interview, I will be getting Vanguard. I'm always weary of getting an MMO when it first comes out due to my EQ2 experience, but I think I'll have to plow through that for this game.

Vaguard Radio has its made its debut here. I'm glad that someone has started this for Vanguard and I really want to know more about this upcoming MMO. My only criticism is that they need to be less monotone and put some excitement and passion into their voices. So far, they haven't found their "zing"...but they'll find it. Good luck guys, and you know I'll be listening.

As we all know, Conan is coming to the MMO space. One of the more "controversial" aspects of this game was the single player experience that they offered for levels 1-20. Originally, in those levels you're on a destiny quest and you solo the whole thing. In the current Beta progress journal, they've added some co-op elements to those levels. During the day, you'll be able to group up and do guests and dungeons with your friends. At night, when you go to sleep, you trigger the solo guest again. I have some reservations about this. From this mechanic, what happens if I never visit a bed at an in from levels 1-20...do I skip the whole destiny thing? Conversely, can I choose to stay in solo mode? We'll see how this all fleshes out, but I'm really curious about this now.

One more comment about Conan. For a game that was rated Best of E3, it sure is being quiet. There is not much buzz about this game. Makes my head itch... (don't ask)

D out.

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