Filed under: Polls

Permadeath is one of those game mechanics that seems destined to forever be nibbling away at the fringe of the MMO genre than invited to the cool kids' table. Many players find themselves aghast at the notion of losing all their hard-earned progress with one untimely demise, and it seems like game developers agree with them: Very few MMOs have any sort of permadeath option.

However, this most-severest-of-severe death penalties does persist. Some players elect to form guilds and meta-groups to pursue a permadeath lifestyle in their games. A few upcoming titles, such as Salem and Wizardry Online, have permadeath as a core mechanic. Even the recently released Diablo III has a "hardcore" permadeath mode for the brave at heart.

The question we put before you today is yet another nibble that may never be noticed by the mainstream, but it's important to consider: Is permadeath worth including in MMO design, even as an optional mechanic or server, or should this brand of death penalty kick the bucket once and for all? Vote after the jump!

You've experienced it, right? That magic moment on any trip of significant length when you've been living and breathing the locale long enough that the place starts to feel more familiar and you settle in, that time when you feel less like a tourist and more like a local. After the last few weeks traveling with you all, I have hit that moment in City of Heroes. While I still may not be able to tell one inspiration from another by sight, I can find my way around the 'hood and know the skyline when zipping about -- well, at least in Atlas Park. Oh, and I found a Mexican restaurant! It's almost like a second home now.

It was upon reaching this comfort zone that City of Heroes got better for me; this past week has been more fun than the previous ones during this Choose My Adventure road trip. (And yes, I'd even call the torture of the expansive character creation fun. Exhausting, but fun!) What transpired this week? Buckle up and step on the gas to see.

Everyone loves player housing, right? Oh, quiet you in the back. Look into my eye: Everyone loves player housing. It is the number one most requested, demanded, and mandatory feature of every MMO. In terms of priority, "having monsters to kill in the game" is lower than giving us sweet pads to decorate. This is the way the virtual world should be and always has been.

Well, now that I've dipped into the well of delusion, it's time to emerge with my hair sopping wet and my mind open to the possibility of a player housing revival. With the advent of Aion's 3.0 update, players in this now-free-to-play game can move into a suburban dreamhouse and spend countless hours figuring out the exact decor to match the subtle majesty of the bathroom's toilet.

But is it enough to challenge the de facto leader of player housing, EverQuest II? Mountains of novels have been written on this game's housing system, novels that were then used to construct a giant book fort in the middle of the grand ballroom. Because that's just how flexible that system can be.

So pitted against each other in an interior design contest, which game would emerge triumphant? Cast your vote after the jump!

Yes, Virginia, there is a game after character creation.

With such extensive customization available, it is quite likely that I would have spent the duration of Choose My Adventure without ever actually logging in to play City of Heroes. For all of the hours I spent in character creation with all the options (enough to completely blow a fuse in your mind), it was easy to lose sight of the fact that there was actually a game to go play once I finally made my character. Now I see the real appeal of the VIP pass with all of those character slots; it has even me thinking wistfully of all the alts that could be.

Luckily I have you folks directing me, forcing me past the costume creator and into my role as defender of truth and justice. If it hadn't been for you, I would have never embarked on my journey of flight and fricasseed evil doers in Atlas Park. Or participated in an impromptu street band performance. Yup, it is all your fault! And I'm looking forward to what we do next as we continue our City of Heroes adventures together.

But first, let's take a look at what mayhem I caused... er, put an end to this past week.

I have both a desktop and laptop computer that I use regularly. My desktop is my mainstay; a gaming fortress with loads of power and storage space with a 22" screen. My laptop is the best portable gaming machine that $650 could buy, which was surprisingly quite a lot. While it doesn't have the muscle of my desktop, it will run most everything just fine -- and let me do so while I'm reclining on the couch, in bed, or in line at the DMV (their wifi is awesome).

It strikes me that there's no gold standard when it comes to gaming platforms for MMOs. Excluding mobile and console devices for the moment, I'm vastly curious how many of you prefer to game on a desktop or a laptop. Do you enjoy the extra bang for the buck that desktop machines give you, or is your trusty laptop with its size and portability all the technology you'll ever need?

Let's hash it out on the Leaderboard today: Is it better to go with a gaming desktop or laptop? Vote after the jump and then back up your opinion in the comments!

It was the flying Scrapper on Virtue with a mask!

The masses have spoken. For this leg of our Choose My Adventure journey, we will be parking ourselves in Paragon City, fighting the forces of evil, destruction, and movement keys! I must concede that Bree certainly knew her City of Heroes community -- ya'll voted just how she said you would. But Bree, you didn't predict the mask, now did ya?! Ha!

It recently came to my attention that I could have easily queried you on the spandex issue, but come on -- what superhero doesn't have to shimmy into that painted-on suit? We want the full experience, right? Right. So let's get to it. All we have left to do to get this show off the road and into some action is whip up a character.

But this is me we are talking about here! Thankfully, I am marching into this process armed with your decisions! I mean, how bad can it be? We have three days between close of the last vote and a new set of new ones, so it isn't like there isn't time. Here goes...

Two vs. three: It should be a cut-and-dry affair. After all, three is always better than two? Maybe... but maybe not. When it comes to factions in MMOs, the line seems to be split between two and three, and I think a good case can be made for both.

Two factions is the majority approach for MMOs that have them, and it's easy to understand why. We can comprehend an "us vs. them" mentality in almost every walk of life. If you're not with us, you're against us -- that sort of thing. Two factions draws a line in the sand and requires little explanation for people to understand that one side is naturally better than the other.

Three factions, on the other hand, is a godsend for PvP in particular. By having a third faction, it's much less likely that one side can dominate the battlefield eternally, as the other two sides can team up to put an end to that nonsense. Three factions also offers more variety and arguably stronger factional identities.

So what say you? Two or three? Cast your vote after the jump!

Though a recent catchphrase for Aion's conversion to the Truly Free model, having it "your way" (^®™^BLT) predates NCsoft's usage. Burger joints and assassins for hire alike touted this business motto long before the game. So there is no real infringement if I borrow this philosophy and mold it to my own purposes. And mold it I will, like Playdoh on a hot summer's day.

Some of you may have noticed that I have been livestreaming on a weekly basis to help expand on the Aion experience. (If you haven't, it's never to late to watch!) The thing is, if we just follow my own personal playstyle, you might be stuck watching me rearrange furniture in my little condo for hours on end since I usually play however the mood strikes me at that moment. That's where you come in.

It's time to vicariously experience Aion your way! This week's Wings Over Atreia is all about getting to the heart of what you want. Then I can incorporate the things that you find interesting into the livestreams and even the weekly articles. How shall we accomplish this? Well, although it seems some of you have been able to resist the lure of the spiffy tag at the end of every column that asks for reader suggestions, how many of you can resist... *dramatic music* The Poll? So quick and simple, just a few clicks...

If you ever wanted to tell me where to go, now is your chance.

I hope your vote wasn't born from a desire to see me in tights!

Although road trips can be just as fun when you just jump in the car and take off with no predetermined destination, at some point you have to end up somewhere. And it looks like we now know our destination. While I was safely strapped in my seat and watching the scenery, you readers have taken the City of Heroes exit. So it looks like a cape and superpowers will be on order for the next few weeks in Choose my Adventure. (Unless you nix the cape, of course.)

Surprisingly, this time around I actually managed to sit back and enjoy the ride without checking the poll results every 20 minutes of every day; I managed to restrain myself to just once a day! Maybe it was because I've let you have the keys before and knew that I really would enjoy the experience no matter where you took me. After all, you didn't get us in a wreck last time, did you? And Justin survived (relatively) unscathed, so what was there to worry about?

Perhaps on another trip we will be able to explore other exotic destinations, such as Anarchy Online, Star Trek Online, Asheron's Call, or even World of Tanks. I'll admit that I wistfully entertained images of visiting each of these destinations while I was glancing periodically at the polls, but for now, our course is set, and we will be arriving shortly. The first order of business before jumping into City of Heroes is a shot pitstop to develop our character. Be sure to get your vote in before Saturday, April 28th, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EDT!

Believe it or not, there are actually loads of incredible MMO soundtracks. Oh, I know we all bellyache about the repetitive music and how we turn it off and just listen to speed metal or Justin Bieber while we grind boars, but the scores are often wonderful when removed from infinite looping.

Today we're going to pit two of the greatest MMO soundtracks against each other as they vie for your approval. In the first corner is Age of Conan's score, which was composed by Knut Avenstroup Haugen. It's not only award-winning and famous outside of MMO circles but hauntingly beautiful to listen to as well. In the other corner is Mr. Jeremy Soule's epic Guild Wars soundtrack (we'll lump all four of them together for this poll), which many claim to be just as memorable as the game's visuals.

It's the cream of the audio crop presented for your judgment: Age of Conan's score vs. Guild Wars' score. Give each one a listen and then let us know which you'll vote for after the jump!

Let's go for another spin!

Just like Mikey of Life cereal fame, I ventured into the realm of Choose My Adventure once before, and I liked it! Grand adventures, camaraderie with readers, exploring the unknown... what more could I ask for? More time, obviously!

It ended all too soon. I was totally revved up and ready to jump right back in, but unfortunately neither pleading nor bribery worked to continue my stint as your plucky puppet (and locking the other staff members in a dark closet didn't pan out either -- they escaped), so I had to park it and wait my turn. It took much too long, but finally my time has come again. *happy dance*

Now the boss may have handed me the keys, but you will be the ones driving. The top is down, and I've got snacks and shades; all that is left to begin our adventure for the next six weeks is to pick which direction to head and floor it. Although a lot of good places have already been visited, there are plenty more to choose from. In the mood for fantasy? Capes? Nebulas? Heavy artillery? Cast your votes by Sunday, April 22nd, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EDT for your chance to steer me to the world of your choice. Our possible destinations (in no particular order) are...

We shorties have been looked down upon our entire lives, so it's not without some sympathy that I champion the cause of the shorter races in MMOs. Happily, there are a lot of them, and they have their ardent supporters, with the added bonus of seemingly irritating the "Tallies" around them.

Yet out of all of the diminutive races in online games, two seem to stand out as the kingpins of the Shortie Empire. The first is Hobbits, the classic heroes of Tolkien's novels as well as Lord of the Rings Online. With their genial attitude, disregard for shoes, and fondness for multiple breakfasts, they've endeared themselves to millions and influenced the development of the RPG genre. The second is Gnomes, the tenacious inventors of the underworld who seem to pop up in every MMO that isn't afraid of a steampunk fringe.

So if a Hobbit and a Gnome fell into a pit together and there was only one breakfast to be had, which would go hungry and which would be satisfied? In other words, which race rules more than the other? Vote after the jump!

I've noticed that whenever a studio is developing an MMO that features action combat (i.e., faster-paced combat that's more dependent on positioning, reflexes, and mouse usage), it acts as though it's developing the savior of the genre -- even though action combat is nothing new (just ask Dungeons and Dragons Online or Age of Conan). Instead of seeing it as a revolution that will bring us out of the supposed dark ages, I look at it as a different style of play that some prefer while others shun.

Both have their pros and cons. Hotbar combat allows for quick access to a wide variety of skills, levels the playing field for those of us old fogeys who aren't so tight in the reflex department, and focuses more on strategic thinking. However, it's typically slower and not as visceral as many non-MMO video games tend to be. Action combat, on the other hand, is certainly more in-line with its non-MMO contemporaries, with exciting pitched battles at the expense of time to think and a more limited selection of input.

So for today's Leaderboard, we're going to tackle the grand ol' staple of MMOs, hotbar combat, vs. the action combat upstarts. Will reflexes or brains win the day? Cast your vote after the jump!

Back at the turn of the century, you didn't have the equivalent of cable's infinite choices when it came to MMOs. No, you pretty much had the standard Big Three of network programming: Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call. With the subscription model firmly in place, most players had to choose their loyalty and choose it well.

For today's Leaderboard, we're going to pretend that no other MMOs exist other than those three and see how the 2012 crowd divides up between them. Would you fly your banner for Ultima Online and its enormous sandboxy world? Would you cast your lots with EverQuest, the once great and powerful king of the genre? Or would you throw in with Asheron's Call and its monthly stories?

Call it a popularity contest, a trip down memory lane, or an all-out brawl between MMO senior citizens. It's a three-way title fight on this week's Leaderboard, and only one game will live to see next week!

Frustrating and boring: These are two words that don't bode well for any MMO, and yet that's exactly what my Dark Age of Camelot experience this past week was.

Now, granted there's always an adjustment period with new MMOs, and I like to think of myself as a fairly patient person. I know that sometimes it might be a matter of minutes or understanding to flip "frustration" into "joy" and "boring" into "addictive," which is why it's good to stick games out until you're sure that the issue isn't with you playing the game wrong or being ignorant of what makes it work.

That said, if I wasn't covering DAoC for this column but was just trying it out for myself, I certainly would not have subscribed after finishing the 14-day trial. New player journey or no, I found more aggravation than fun this past week and kept wondering to myself, "When does it start to get good? Where's all that great stuff players are telling me about? And as a Troll, how much lotion do I need to get my skin feeling silky soft?"