Karen Bryan
Massachusetts -
Karen is a columnist at Massively, and writes two weekly columns: The Tattered Notebook, and The Guild Counsel.
by Karen Bryan 
May 19th 2012 (1 day ago)
EQ2
SOE
I was watching Shrek with my kids the other day, and one of my favorite scenes is Shrek's stroll with Donkey when they first meet. Shrek tries to explain how Ogres are like onions and how both have layers. When you think about it,
EverQuest II is also like an onion because it has layer after layer of content and features that have stacked up over the years. In fact, some players have argued that there's almost too much to do, particularly at the lower levels.
I have always loved the fact that
EverQuest II has been willing to try out new ideas over the years, and some of them have been remarkably successful. But there are a few that have gotten lost in the shuffle, while others have ended up directly conflicting with later additions of content. In this week's
Tattered Notebook, we'll peel back the onion and look at the lost and conflicting layers of
EQII.
by Karen Bryan May 17th 2012 (3 days ago)
One of the challenges of running a guild is avoiding the emotional peaks and valleys that tend to come up. In fact, one of the scariest times for a guild is when it's just accomplished something big because once the cheers stop, there's a void left and people begin to wonder what's next. It's not uncommon for a guild that's just hit an amazing goal to lose some members shortly after, and in some cases, it can actually lead to a guild withering and drying up because there's a letdown and apathy sets in.
How do you survive the dreaded plateau? Let's look at a few ways in this week's
Guild Counsel!
by Karen Bryan May 16th 2012 (4 days ago)
When you think of kids and video games, the question that always comes up is this: What are they getting out of playing them? Usually, MMOs, even MMOs aimed at kids, are big on fun but light on learning. So it was refreshing to see teacher
Ben Bertoli launch a
Kickstarter project to promote development of his personal project
ClassRealm into what could be a potentially valuable tool in the classroom.
So why haven't we seen more educational MMOs, and why has there been a gap when it comes to technology at home vs. at school? In this week's
MMO Family, we'll look a few issues with gaming and learning.
by Karen Bryan May 15th 2012 (5 days ago)
Recently,
KingsIsle announced that the world of the Spiral was going to branch out into the high seas in the studio's newest MMO,
Pirate101. There are many things about
Pirate101 that will feel familiar to
Wizard101 fans, but the game has several features that definitely make it stand apart as more than just a sequel. Combat is not card-based; it's more like a tactical board game. Companions, rather than trading cards, play a key role in the pirate arsenal, and of course, players will be traveling (and fighting!) on their very own pirate ships.
Massively had a chance to talk with
Pirate101's Lead Creative Designer
Sam Johnson to hear more about what players will see from KingsIsle's upcoming MMO. So grab your cutlass, don your tricorne, and read on for more details!
by Karen Bryan May 12th 2012 (8 days ago)
EQ2
SOE
What a long way
EverQuest II's come! If you had said back in 2004 that the game would not only go free-to-play but have microtransactions and emerge largely intact, I probably would have run to get my pitchfork. But here we are in 2012, and
EQII's website has a huge green button that says "Play Free" in big letters, with a long list of special deals on station cash and Marketplace items.
In this week's
Tattered Notebook, I want to look back at the evolution of
EQII to see how it successfully transitioned while gauging where it's headed down the road when it comes to its payment model. The official move to free-to-play might seem like the final hurdle, but I think we still have a few more around the bend.
by Karen Bryan May 10th 2012 (10 days ago)
Blizzard
This past Monday marked the fifth anniversary of
Scott Andrews' Officers' Quarters, a weekly column on
WoW Insider that deals with guild issues in
World of Warcraft. He's also the author of
The Guild Leader's Handbook, which is a must-read for any guild leader. It's a terrific accomplishment to keep a column going for so long, and week after week, he's provided valuable advice to reader questions on guild management.
Whether you've just heard of Officers' Quarters or you're a longtime fan, let's look at a few reasons Scott Andrews deserves a tip of the hat and a hearty salute.
by Karen Bryan May 9th 2012 (11 days ago)
RIFT has seen a great deal of new content and features over the past year, and each update tends to generate a lot of buzz about things like new raid zones, new warzones, world events, and yes, even fishing. But there have been quite a few subtle (and not so subtle) changes to the core of the game -- that is, the rifts themselves. Last summer, Justin wrote a great piece
wondering whether rifts were in "danger of collapsing," and his point was that they were a good idea on paper but needed tweaks in order to stay relevant to the game.
It's worth looking back at the evolution of rifts over the past year to see what's changed since launch day. Read on for a look at what's new with rifts!
by Karen Bryan May 5th 2012 (15 days ago)
EQ2
SOE
The paint has barely dried on the Skyshrine Update, and already we're hearing tidbits about what's planned for this month. On Thursday,
EverQuest II Producer
Holly "Windstalker" Longdale announced a few highlights that players can expect to see in the
May update. The monthly letters are always welcomed by players, and this one announces several changes that should shore up the foundation of the game even more. "More" and "new" are often used when it comes to update announcements, but if you heap too much on the very top, you need to go back and work through some of the older content and features to make sure they can support the burden.
Read on for a look at the highlights, which bring a welcome change to Dungeon Maker fans, add a new tool that should make testers happy, and hint at changes to bring about more "low-impact" gameplay.
by Karen Bryan May 3rd 2012 (17 days ago)
One age-old debate in MMOs revolves around the buying and selling of characters, and the argument becomes especially contentious when it involves the exchange of real-life money. The members of one camp will staunchly defend the practice, saying they put the time and effort into the toons and that those characters are theirs to do with as they please. Others argue the opposite, saying that there are plenty of characters who were given help from others in leveling and acquiring gear, and it's not right to take that collective effort and market it to the highest bidder.
It's a complicated issue for sure, but it's mainly centered around one single character. But what if it involved an entire guild? That's a question that players have had to tackle recently in
World of Warcraft, as the practice of buying and selling guilds has become more and more popular. Would you buy a guild if you were just starting out? And would you sell your guild if you were done with the game? As usual, there are three sides to this coin, and it's something that we might see more of in other MMOs, so let's take a look at some of the arguments both for and against in today's
Guild Counsel.
by Karen Bryan May 2nd 2012 (18 days ago)
Quick, what's the
ESRB rating symbol of your favorite MMO of choice? And if you know that, what are the content descriptors that account for your game's rating? If you got them right, bravo! According
to the ESRB's official poll, 85% of parents with children who play video games are aware of the ratings system. For those not familiar, here's the deal: The Entertainment Software Rating Board began in 1994 with the goal of providing a standard set of ratings and descriptors to help adults choose appropriate games for children.
But the real question is, are ESRB ratings accurate when it comes to MMOs? The poll also claims that 65% of parents regularly check a game's rating before making a purchase, but are those ratings as helpful when choosing an MMO for your children? Read on for a look at why the E, T, and AO symbols might actually deserve an F.
