01/23/13

MMO Radio: Episode 5 – The Fall of F2P?

Guest starring: Sister Julie and Sister Fran from No Prisoners, No Mercy!

Is a 5th episode an anniversary? Not quite, but it’s certainly a special one. This week we’re pleased to be joined by Sister Fran and Sister Julie of the No Prisoners, No Mercy podcast. It was an absolute pleasure to have them on, especially since Adam and I have been longtime fans of their show. Considering the recent news about (F2P) Allod’s Online offering a subscription option and Julie’s enthusiasm for the model, we decided to look at exactly where the MMO business model might be headed. It’s certainly on people’s minds. Is F2P still the saving grace for the industry or is it unsustainable in its current incarnation? More importantly, if that’s the case, what will come up to replace it: Buy-to-Play, the revivification of subscriptions, or some refined version of the cash shop model?

We would once again like to thank Julie and Fran for joining us. It was a wonderful time and the resulting show is something we’re proud to add to our library. What’s more, they had us as guests on their show as well for a lively discussion on violence and video games, so stay tuned for when that goes live!

Sister Julie and Sister Fran’s Links: Virgin Worlds, No Prisoners, No Mercy Website
Chris’ Links: Hooked Gamers, Game By Night, Vagary.TV
Adam’s Links: Epic Slant Press

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02/13/12

PS Vita comes out Wednesday and I will have it; Making Money in SWTOR

A new handheld hits the gaming market Wednesday and I’ll be picking it up. The system, I’m sure you already know, is the PS Vita. It’s Sony’s last great effort to prove handhelds are viable. They’ve packed everything into this thing to make sure it sells: advanced HD graphics (early PS3 level), dual analog sticks, touch screens in the front and back, 3G and WiFi, motion sensitivity, AR — not to mention huge developer support. Still, it’s expensive. The wifi version is $250, the 3G fifty dollars more, plus the cost of a proprietary memory card that begins at $20. That’s a bit of a joke, though, because $20 gets you the smallest possible card (4GB). With PSN and downloadable content being a big push for Sony on the Vita, most users will want at least 8GB ($30) and possibly more. Factor in a couple games, a screen protector, and case, total investment jumps to around $375 for the most basic version. Thankfully, I have a bunch of stuff to trade — including my 3DS.

So why am I getting this thing? Because it’s effing cool, that’s why. Sony went all out to make sure it’s impressive and succeeded. The graphics, as shallow a consideration as that might seem, look great on that 5″ screen. The rear touch panel is an immediate win, too; though admittedly it sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but with the way you hold the Vita it feels incredibly natural to have that extra finger control. Developers are already using it to great effect. Another nice thing about that rear touch screen is that sections can be mapped by game creators to simulate a traditional DualShock controller. More than anything, though, is that developers have really gotten behind this thing. When it “officially” launches on February 22nd, it will do so with the biggest launch line-up of any game-dedicated machine ever. There are some really cool things devs can do with this system and it really is like a console in your pocket.

I’ll wrap by sharing this amazing trailer for Gravity Daze. It’s a game coming out in May that looks really innovative and fun. This trailer, though, just like IGN says in their caption, is stunning.

(If you can’t tell from the trailer, turning the Vita alters the direction of gravity)

The second thing I wanted to mention is that I seem to have found a sweet spot making money in SWTOR. Everything in that game becomes ridiculously expensive as you get up in levels (anyone else notice this?), so I took up slicing early on. Now, at level 34, I’m sitting on 350k in credits with another 36k in stuff for sale. I don’t know if that’s great or average or what, but I have a feeling that if I keep this up all the way to fifty I might be sitting on close to 700k or more even after my level 40 mount. This is a load off. I hate feeling like I’m perpetually broke, so having a steady income for once is pleasant.

If you’re having money problems, this is what I do at 400 slicing: send multiple companions out to gather, but only on Bountiful and Rich yield missions. There’s a common misconception that slicing gets you rich out of the money lockboxes. In fairness, they’ll usually pay for the mission, but the real money is in the rare and legendary mission discoveries. Bountiful and Rich yield-types have a much better chance at including these in the reward. Underworld Trading, Treasure Hunting, and Slicing missions (340), all net around 15-18k each. I send another companion out on Bountiful/Rich yield augment missions. Augments have a huge range in sell value but sometimes you get lucky. I sold one a couple days ago for 85k.

Still, I don’t think it’s necessarily good design to make players grind gold just to get something as basic as a mount, especially in a game as large as SWTOR. But I digress.

In any event, I’m here and playing. Hope you’re all well.

01/23/12

Does anyone appreciate scale anymore?

Just a quick post to say the following: I love that SWTOR is so effing big. I love feeling like I’m part of a huge zone or inside a massive structure. A lot of people don’t. The cynics will tell you that it’s all an artificial way to keep you playing longer (because tedium = retention, right?). I read a comment from someone just yesterday saying, “you don’t have to look beyond the too-big space stations and empty hallways” to see that Bioware is milking you.

I have to ask, what is it exactly people want? We complain when things are too big; we complain when they’re too small. We complain when zones are too linear; we complain when there’s poor flow. We even complain that they’re not doing enough with the hallways.

When I first started playing MMOs, what spellbound me was the idea of connecting to a virtual world. I have always, always felt that tiny zones, unenterable buildings, and the “look how big we seem to be but actually aren’t!” window-dressing did as much to destroy the virtual world as the quest progression system. So when it comes to TOR, it’s almost refreshing to see a game finally bring back the sense of scope we’ve optimized out these last few years. There are moments where you can’t help but to stop and appreciate how grandiose everything is. When you see a pyramid, it looks like a pyramid, rising high into the sky above you. When you enter a headquarters, there’s multiple floors, bunches of rooms, and lots of “extras” playing out all over the place. It’s atmospheric.

I find it so odd that people would want to strip that from the game. Isn’t Star Wars all about the infiniteness of space — being a part of a tapestry much larger than yourself or any other one player? Can you even approach that going small? I understand that running between objectives gets boring, but when that starts to get to me, I ask myself: would I change it even if I could? And the answer is no.

Scale is one of those things that might annoy players in the moment but that sparkles in the memory. It’s also a passive means of drawing you in and forcing you to appreciate the world you’re running through. Artificial slowing? Maybe. But then again, it’s like we tell our kids in school, it’s better to do too much than too little. Bioware opted to go big or go home. We received the many worlds and space stations of SWTOR a result. The other approach we’ve already seen. It’s the Cryptic model; release early, expand later. If that’s what people are asking for, to take a step down, then I suggest waiting here until something better comes along.

01/13/12

SWTOR PvP: From awesome to pointless to ‘is it patch day yet?’

If you’re not already 50, don’t bother PvPing until next week’s patch. There’s no point. In the last two weeks, enough of the playerbase has hit 50 to make the leveler a moot point in warzones. If you catch a 50 alone, you might have a chance. Might. If there are other players around looking for a kill, which there will be, that chance evaporates like last week’s science experiment. Or if they have any of the set-gear, you’re also taking a big piddle toward the wind while they obliterate you.

Believe it or not, I actually think this shows how well Bioware knows their playerbase. The PvP situation has gotten progressively worse every day since launch — a bracket is desperately needed now to keep things balanced — but had it been in at launch, all we’d hear are frustrated powerlevelers with no one to fight. Releasing the bracket with next week’s patch comes at just the right time to prevent the all-too-common ragequit from the less dedicated majority. Once it goes in, we’ll be rosey.

PvP in SWTOR works with a bolstering system similar to that of Warhammer Online and RIFT. When a level 10 enters, they are given a boost to their stats making them roughly equal to a max level character. The level 50 — let’s say a fresh 50 with quest greens — may hit a little harder, but the real benefit comes from the extra skills at their disposal. If they play smart, they can and will beat a low-level in perpetuity. After they’ve been at the cap for a spell, they’d have to be AFK to lose in a 1-on-1.

The bracket is skipping even this slight chance and are relegating 50s to their own warzones. 10-49s will fight alone now, without the “instant win” hardcores that dominate today. And that is fantastic. The bolstering system isn’t perfect but it’s better than anything MMOs have presented so far. When a level 10 faces off against a level 49, sure, the 10 will be at a disadvantage — but it’s only a disadvantage. Play it smart and there are no more guaranteed wins. The level 10 has value beyond being cannon fodder. 10s, 20s, 30s, and 40s are all deadly if played correctly.

For some reason, the PvP in SWTOR has me more enamored than any game in the past (MMO-wise). It is just a hell of a lot of fun to have skill and strategy rule the day and gear be an after thought. That’s why these 50s need to go. Their competition is all about gear, and it turns the PvP paradigm on its head.

So until the bracket goes in, I’m out working on class quests.

How about you, have you had much luck in PvP?

12/31/11

RIFT Versus SW:TOR – An Observation on With It-ness

I find it very interesting that RIFT gets mass appeal for being a game that’s adapted to the times, yet SW:TOR has absolutely not. In fact, I’d say the folks at Bioware pretty much stopped learning right around 2008 with WAR’s warfronts. Few people mention this, despite their being back to back releases (figuratively anyways). The only lessons Bioware seem to have applied since are those they’ve taught themselves with single player RPGs.

And for all that, I’ve had a hell of a lot of fun. The voicing, while sometimes an obvious mask for “kill ten rats” advancement quests, really does make leveling more engaging. On the other hand, I also feel like my character has been planned out for me, like a single player RPG. That’s always been there, though, in games gone by, but I guess it’s easier to ignore when everything isn’t spoken.

I do wish they would implement some of RIFT’s improvements. It needs better tutorials and a more customizable UI. It needs better quest planning — either that or earlier mounts. I love the massive scale of everything but it’s tiresome when you have to run back for the second or third time. And, as small as it is, I really wish the minimized window would flash red when I was being attacked. I’m an alt+tab blogger and that’s a death wish when you stay logged in.

Overall though, there’s still this looming question over fanboy love and jaded bitterness. I’ll say this: SW:TOR is a very polished, very familiar game that harkens back to the 2004 era of MMO scope. It’s picked up some things better left behind and, yeah, I hope they fix them quick. I feel very spoiled by Trion’s quick turn around time, though, so I hope it’s a lesson they learned. While SW:TOR’s first patch was three yards short of underwhelming, and their communication is EA Mythic acceptable, this could be the second life for the WoW quality MMORPG.

Is it as up with the times as RIFT? Not by ten feet of tent pole. Is it still a shining example of how compelling and exciting this genre can be? Yes — and for that, I hope you try it.

12/21/11

SWTOR: Impressions and _Impressions_

Like most of the MMO world, I’ve spent the last week knee-deep in The Old Republic. Talk about a good game. Single player? You bet, more than any other MMO I’ve played. Featuring more group content than our other darling child, RIFT? Without a doubt. And isn’t that something? We can have the most exclusive type of single-player questing, the kind that drives the anti-themepark nuts, and yet have more and better reasons to find friends than in recent memory. Bioware, you’ve struck gold.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and step back from the jaded, “I’ve seen at least THREE MMO releases and that means I’m vet” self, and admit that TOR has inspired more awe in me than any MMO since my first. I was skeptical of their very stylized art style right up until I played it in beta – and I’ve been blown away since then. There is a level of detail here we’ve never seen in this genre before. From the spaceships outside the fleet dock, to the arcs of lightning in your first real instance, TOR delivers the periphery better than I ever thought they could. It is, in a word, immersive.

I’ve been playing a Sith Assassin and having a fun time, if a little disappointed in the side quests. The main questlines are fantastic. Sure, you get your fair share of “go here, collect that” but between the lines are some real nuggets of good storytelling. For every kill quest worthy of skipping, there are three well-acted, well-told story quests. I often listen to podcasts as I play, yet I find it almost impossible to do so when entering a cut scene for my class. There a simply too many interesting characters, twists, turns, and lore tidbits to offer half my attention. It’s engaging to be sure.

PvP is an interesting proposition. It doesn’t change from start to end; you have three warzones, no brackets, and skippable cutscenes. The battlegrounds are two-thirds fresh. Huttball is a good time, especially when you can knockback players into walls of fire or acid pits. Voidstar is an MMO take on Battlefield’s Rush mode. Alderaan is Alterac Valley… or Domination or Conquest, take your pick. The Assassin is an incredibly capable class and I’ve managed to top-three every match I’ve played – and this from the self-professed mascot of noob-PvP. Once again, I must remind rogues that you are overpowered and should be loving every minute of it (the assassin is effectively a rogue if specced right). My one issue is that PvP gear is only awarded at levels 20, 40, and 50. Successful PvPers could easily acquire all of the available gear as soon as they ding, leaving little reason to grind the in-between. PvP specific players will very likely have earned the vast majority of commendations needed to buy a full PvP set before they even reach those levels. Or so says an Assassin.

Overall, I’ve been extremely impressed. I’m on Dromund Kaas, almost finished, and if one thing has sunk in, it’s this: it took millions and millions of dollars, but a game has finally matched WoW’s level of polish right out of the gate. We wonder why TOR took so long or cost so much, but the answer is effectively this: they set to match a seven year shined game and succeeded. People said that was impossible and Bioware just did it. Even if you hate themeparks, that deserves a nod.

Thanks for reading,

12/14/11

EA-Bioware: Intentionally leaving you out

I’m going to share a thought that may sound like a conspiracy theory but so be it. I think that EA-Bioware is intentionally making the early access process slower than it needs to be. Full disclaimer: No, I’m not in the game yet, but yes, I fully understand and, as a matter of fact, endorse the staggered launch concept; it sounds like people are having a great time with it. I question intent for two simple but related reasons: 1) this is the EA hype-machine we’re talking about; and, 2) the invite process has been prematurely ended each day it’s been live. That opens the door for questions.

I’ve thought about how things are going over the last two days and, internally, things seem to be going nicely. Players aren’t overcrowded, lag isn’t bad, queues are, as of this afternoon, still non-existent. Bravo for that, guys, it’s a nice feather in your cap. Although, then I look at the invite process and it starts to become clearer. People who pre-ordered the game five months ago were lucky to get in yesterday. Not all of them did. Today, it looks like we got up to September in invites, if the forums are to be believed (a big if).

Then we look at how invites have been distributed. Yesterday, if you didn’t get your invite by 3PM EST, you didn’t get one. Today, if you didn’t get yours by 1:30 EST, you weren’t getting one. Um, what the fuck? Okay, we’re staggering. Sure, right on, maybe they invited 100,000 people in the four hours the doors were open. It’s doubtful to the point of wishful thinking, but hey, maybe 100,000 people pre-ordered in the first few months.

But something doesn’t add up there. This is the biggest video game project ever. In the history of video games, this is the pinnacle. You mean to tell me Bioware is on a 9-to-5 schedule when they’re finally ready to show it to the world? No wait, you also mean to tell me that keeping servers on low-to-mid load at peak hours is necessary to keep things running “smooth”? Please don’t buy into that. It’s a lie. Anyone who has ever played through a launch should be able to tell. A server can function fine when the population is “high.” As a matter of fact, a server can function fine when the population is “full.” If you don’t believe me, please explain what the purpose of a queue is if not to ensure “things run smooth.” But there is no queue, because waiting in line with the promise of playing that day is worse than waiting in line not knowing if you’ll play at all.

Now if they did invite 100,000 people this morning, maybe we could see how they’d need the afternoon to keep things in line. Except, yeah… no. Not unless EA-Bioware is totally and completely inept should that be believed. Trion let everyone in and regulated through queue limits. So did Blizzard when Cataclysm came out. So did Aion. So did LotRO. You get the picture. I refuse to believe that things are so tough as to prematurely cease invites unless there’s a second motivation.

Hype. What’s happening this week? The launch of TOR. What’s a good way to keep it a #1 Google search? Keep a lot of people in anticipation. Everyone NOT in the game, rapidly writing blog posts (like this one), tweets, and forum rants ensures the game stay on the forefront of MMO player’s minds. It keeps us chomping at the bit until we can join our friends in the fun. You can be sure that EA wants this to be as big a deal as possible. This type of marketing is nothing short of viral… except insidious is probably a better word.

And it’s worked. People are going bat-shit crazy that they’re not playing yet and gamer’s everywhere are turning to take notice. Win for EA – and a great way to be a douche on the first day your product is out. EA being EA. Bioware being influenced by their main corporate backer… not unexpected.

That’s all okay, though, because they told us this would happen. You remember, back when they pressured everyone into buying a game they were still being tight lipped about. It was the Faith Pre-Order and be wary ye’ of little faith. Everyone playing the game right now fell easily into the “give us money now” camp for whatever reason and are being rewarded for it. That’s good for them but, again, it’s a pretty lousy thing to do as a company.

For what it’s worth, I didn’t expect to get in. My “official” pre-order went through Sunday, so I’d have been crazy to. That said, the true story is, they stole $5 from me, messed up my order, and precluded me from early access because I wasn’t going to sign up for them to do it again. Origin, taking $5 pre-orders, holding $65 for the next week, and then forgetting the whole thing happened. That’s why I’m not in – I figured, hey, they kept my $5, they must charge when the game actually releases. Nope. Friday evening, I opted to ask for it for Christmas and be done with it. (What, you can be 25 and still get Christmas presents from Mom and Dad!).

Anyways, I am a little bitter that their system messed up, but whatever. This isn’t a post to say that they’re some evil company, out to get us, and laughing as they count their bills. I just think you have some clever marketers who think we’re sheep and too dull to see what they’re doing. Sheep who will pay for a product on “it’s the next big thing!” alone. That kind of makes them marketers. Then again, meh. We’ve waited this long, another few days won’t kill us!

You know what I so vainly hoped? That Bioware would keep up it’s reputation of respecting their players. If there is any truth to my theory, they’ve thrown that out the window. That lack of respect for our intelligence, expectations, and our money, is what leads MMO companies to make major mistakes. It’s what leads Blizzard to cockiness at one Blizzcon and apologetic fan service at the next. It’s what leads to suits who know little if anything about video games directing business strategy. Tell me, does that sound too unlike the EA you know?

12/13/11

RIFT blew its first shot, will it blow its second?

I made a silly mistake today and renewed RIFT. I’ve been playing it a lot lately and having fun leveling my rogue through PvP. (Admit it Assassins, we’re overpowered). When I got the email reminding me that until I paid up my characters would be sold into slavery, I didn’t even consider that TOR comes out this week. Not a second thought was cast, I renewed that subscription and logged in just to be sure I could. Then it hit me, as much fun as I’ve had in RIFT lately, will I even bother to login again after TOR is out?

That I’m asking this question, that’s it just seems like a question the majority of RIFT players must be also be pondering, doesn’t bode well for the game’s immediate future. Like a lot of people, I hit the game pretty hard in the beginning and then eased back into a relaxed play style. More relaxed than most people I know, even, only logging in for an hour here or there (until the last two weeks). It wasn’t that I’d gotten bored, it was that I’d experienced everything I was able to and gotten comfortable with the systems. I feel like I know RIFT pretty intricately, so I feel confident in saying, RIFT offers very, very little that TOR does not, and what it does (rifts) have been played out. Once you’ve leveled one zone, you’ve leveled them all. Once you’ve done one rift, you’ve done them all. The one competitive factor RIFT has is its class system. You can mix and match souls, but let’s be frank here, you were pretty much one soul with stat boosts from the others. The only benefit is that you can change that class on a whim.

The main counter-point to all that is in the potential of the dynamic event system. Unfortunately, it’s too late. RIFT blew it’s first shot to stem the tide to TOR. If they were going to do something exciting with it all, given us a taste of what’s to come if we stick around, they should have done it over the last two months. Instead, they delivered rehashed concept after rehashed concept (speaking to the rift/dynamic content system here) that just works to drive players to something they haven’t experienced yet. TOR is that thing.

Now, I’m not saying RIFT is doomed. I don’t think so at all, but losing a big chunk of your players to a game that’s arguably just as “sticky” isn’t a good thing. Rather, I think they’ll experience a drop in subscriptions, players will shout about servers being empty and the game dying out, and then in three months they’ll see some of those lost players come back.

RIFT had better have something big planned to lure players back once the 90-day realization sets in (this game isn’t perfect!). If they blow their second chance, RIFT’s time in the limelight may have already passed. I hear there’s an empty seat by LotRO.

10/20/10

TOR Might Wind Up a “Clone”– Why Is That Bad, Again?

It’s been interesting to watch how the public interpretation of The Old Republic has changed since it was announced. It went from godsend, to F2P (oh noes!), to godsend, to the current point of “It’s a WoW clone” disappointment. On one hand, I empathize with people that want something new and are tired of the same, rehashed diku tropes that have dragged the industry into the Great Stagnation of 2010. Then again, I have to wonder if people really know what they want at all. The cattle call is “different.” As in, “give us something different” and “I already played WoW, I want something different!”

Yet, the majority of MMO players began their MMO careers with WoW and have only fleeting tried other games, if at all. These players, bitter as some may be, expect new MMOs to be like WoW, if not in form than in function. I hate to generalize like that but it’s human nature, isn’t it? We compare to what we know. If we like one MP3 player, we expect our next to be pretty much the same with a little extra shine.

But, that expectation isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, WoW is a little basic, but can we really argue that it’s a “bad” game? What’s not worth copying there? Alright, a carbon copy wouldn’t be a good idea – there’s always room for improvement, after all – but there is a core of a very good, addictive experience there. Copying the WoW formula would be the smartest decision Bioware could make if they want a successful game.

Say what you want about the endgame, but how many hours does the average player spend chasing that eternal carrot through instance and raid dungeon? 100? 1000? You don’t get to be the market lead – and stay there for five years – by making a bad game. I understand that people get bored and sometimes feel burnt when it’s time to move on, but most of us can admit to having enjoyed WoW at some point. Could it be deeper, look better, stand a change of pace or a few more options at the level cap? Of course, but that doesn’t negate the hundreds of hours and millions of XP we’ve earned over the years.

So, when people knock on TOR for coming off as a WoW clone with an added fourth pillar, I can’t quite say I agree or would be upset if that turned out to be the case. If TOR turns out to be half the game WoW is, it will be doing alright. That means quality PvE, fun dungeons, and a long life past the level cap. That’s exactly what a PvE game needs to be.

Let’s not forget that even if it takes its cues from WoW, it’s only a starting point. Add in story, add in depth, add in all of the originality and polish that’s given Bioware its name, and you can see the Blizzard Approach in practice: take what works and make it great; make it your own, and add to it. The playstyle of WoW may not be what every MMO player wants, but it seems to be what the mainstreamer enjoys, and that’s what Bioware is after.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t need SW:TOR to reinvent the wheel. I need it to be a fun game with a great story. I think they’re on track with that. Maybe you don’t like WoW. If the millions of hours we’ve spent there, and the millions more others will spend there, say anything, it’s that most people do. It’s easy to forget that the playerbase of WoW more than likely outnumbers those of every other major MMO combined. Building from there, targeting the highest density of players, and expanding on the familiar, how is that a bad thing?

Maybe you can enlighten me, though, as to why I’m wrong. The rocky reception of FFXIV can be attribute to a clunky interface, but I think another part of it is just that’s is so starkly different from what we’re used to. Is that the direction we’d want TOR to go? Action bars and well thought out dungeons are no reason to disregard a potentially fun game, IMO.

08/19/10

Sometimes, Being a Game is Okay

How does this NOT deliver a Star Wars experience?

Sometimes, being a game is okay, even if you’re an MMO. I’ve talked many times about how game worlds deserve more emphasis, but let me take a step back and say that having some “game” in your virtual world is a good thing. I agree with folks that wish TOR was coming packaged with fully explorable space. But, does that mean what we’re being given will be no fun? Absolutely not. MMOs are video games, plain and simple, and inasmuch as we want more from them, we should also expect good gameplay to be a default component. On rails space combat isn’t bad gameplay, it’s just not free-form– and, that’s okay.

Honestly, reading so much disappointment for TORs space combat is a bit of a surprise. I was under the impression that most players would be happy to get space combat at all. I guess I was wrong, beggars can be choosers. But, hey, that’s never bit anyone in the ass before, right?

If you’re worried that the ship combat we’re getting isn’t good enough, I’d ask you to take a step back. This is a Bioware game and an MMO at that. Are you really worried that there won’t be enough staple MMO fodder to keep you busy? This game is set to be absolutely packed with things to do and places to explore. Space combat should, and still, be low on your list of selling points. Remember, until recently, it wasn’t even part of the game. It’s there because Bioware tried to give us what we asked for. And for something so “tacked on” I think it looks pretty damn polished. Like I said, they’re set to out-fox The Fox.

I’d also point out that, for a starting point, we’re pretty well off. This is just what we’re getting on launch day. Bioware knows players want more to do in space. Consider this a baby step and a hint for things to come.

But, to return to the title point of this post, stepping back from the “grand story” and “breathing world” is okay if it means delivering fun game play. It might not be normal for the MMO-scene, but who said it had to be? From where I’m sitting, this has the potential to be a wonderful time waster, along the lines of Tetris, Afterburner, and the other great games we grew up with. If done right, it could also be one of the best mini-games we’ve ever seen in a mature, adult-themed MMO. Why is this bad?