Jonathan Steinhauer's MMO Column

In this week's examination of Clausewitz "On Gaming," Jonathan Steinhauer looks at what victory and defeat mean ... to NPC monsters.

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Carl Clausewitz to MMOGs, this time focusing on defeat and "life after death" in online worlds.

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Carl Clausewitz to MMOGs, this time looking at what happens when victory is yours.

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Clausewitz to gaming, this time examining what happens when you have to turn and run.

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his study of Clausewitz and examines the art of the kill.

As game worlds become more and more advanced, they also grow larger and larger. The by-product of this improvement is the long distances that must be traveled between locations. For some reason, with this increase in world size, there is not a corresponding improvement in traveling systems. Indeed, there seems to be almost a perverse joy in sending players on quests that involve running back and forth between two distant points with no other objective but carrying a bickering message between a pair of NPCs.

Last week, Jonathan Steinhauer's column looked at the design of outdoor areas in The Dangerous Wilderness, Part 1. In Part 2, he continues his thoughts on the basic challenge most every MMO faces.

The easiest solution, though it avoids the root of the problem, is to disperse the ground spawns to a more realistic population level. There are areas where one would expect to encounter monsters, and that is where the heavy concentrations should be. Hard core hunting should occur in the fortresses and camps of the various villains, monsters, and animals that are the bane of the adventurer, not every time you step off the path. This opens up the wilderness for travel and casual hunting while giving players the kind of combat that exist in epic stories: battle in the lairs.

Read more after the leap.

In a new editorial, columnist Jonathan Steinhauer embarks into "The Dangerous Wilderness". He looks at the concept of pf the wild and how it's presented in MMOs.

As I've wandered through the wilds of various games, I've been stunned by the panoramic vistas that have opened out before me. Trees sway in the light breeze, their leaves rustling softly through my speakers. A stream trickles by, the sunlight gleaming of the whorls and eddies of the current while in the distance, purple mountains capped with white glaciers scrape the billowing clouds. The imagery is so detailed, I could almost believe it is real.

Read more after the leap.

In the second half of his two part article called "To Be A Hero" (Part One is here), Jonathan Steinhauer gives us more of his personal take on how MMORPGs and how players want to be the center of that universe.

Every other Monday, Steinhauer brings us his design related MMO thoughts in this column.

Achievement can be broken into two basic categories: fame and influence. As I considered the former, my time playing AC jumped quickly to mind. In the early days of AC, they introduced top ten lists. These were published about once a month and showed who had the highest rating in a particular stat by server. This had the benefit of instant recognition for those who were the most skilled in the world. Of course, the downside is that the achievement didn't necessarily speak to actual player ability. Gaining skill proficiency, like gaining levels, doesn't prove noteworthy competency. The advantage often goes to those who started playing the game sooner or those who've had more time to spend in game rather than those who truly are expert in a particular field.

Read more after the leap.

This Monday, Jonathan Steinhauer begins a look at a new issue in his bi-weekly column. In "To Be A Hero" asks the fundamental question that we all face when it comes to our time, our darkness and MMOs: why do we play?

Why do we play MMOs (or adventure style games of any sort)? Fundamentally, one would hope, because they are fun. Aside from that, there are a myriad of reasons, but a major one is that it gives us a chance to be heroic in a way we really can't in real life (and if we could, probably wouldn't want to given the massive death rate our avatars suffer). Games give us the chance to be "the hero." Yet how can we truly be the hero in a world where 100% of the world's population are hero-aspirants and each step down the road to renown is identical for everyone?

Read more after the jump.

In the second part of a two part look at The Close Combat Archer (click here for part one), columnist Jonathan Steinhauer looks at the design of this tricky class in MMOs.

In the medieval era, a man who was struck by an arrow in the chest was either dead or severely injured, whereas in gaming, a man who is hit by ten arrows might very well shrug them off and win the day.

What does all this mean for archers? Simply this. The potency of archery is to inflict damage at range before the target can get into melee. But when health is super-inflated to offer the survivability necessary in MMOs it also makes the task of an archer killing its opponent at range almost impossible.

Read more after the jump.

In this edition of Steinhauer's Opinion, Jonathan tells us about the idea of "The Close Combat Archer". This is part one of a new sub-block of articles from him on this subject.

When we play an MMO, much like when we read a book or watch a movie, we expect a certain suspension of disbelief. Goblins and dragons cease to be mythical, and we don't scoff at the idea of a wizard calling firebolts from the heavens. We rarely even wonder how so many forests can support such large populations of bears, wolves, and other carnivorous creatures nor why such animals don't avoid humans but rather charge in with teeth bared. Nor do we question why an enemy village is devoid of any common folk like farmers, craftsmen, or children. And, of course, we never doubt the practicality of the close combat archer.

Read it all after the click.

Jonathan Steinhauer looks more deeply into the phenomenon of level based games in "Breaking the Level Barrier, Part 2". This follows his piece two weeks ago where he first examined this topic.

That's not to say that step learning doesn't exist. But it is generally found in activities were you either can or can't do a thing. For example, in the quest to fly, the Wright Brothers didn't gradually fly. The first time occurred in a single instant and once that was achieved, they could repeat the feat (although I would argue that the gaining of knowledge that enabled flight was still slope-learning). Some growth in life tends to be a blend, such as studying mathematics. The gaining of knowledge and skill in math occurs on a learning curve, but there are "steps" along the way, such as basic addition and subtraction, Trigonometry, and Calculus.

Read more after the leap.

Jonathan Steinhauer's bi-weekly Monday column looks at the "level barrier" in its latest edition. Within, he examines the very concept of levels that most MMOs embrace and what's wrong with them.

Looking more into levels within games, we find that their use a broad statement of experience demands a certain rigidness of focus. Only a few rare exceptions (such as Neverwinter Nights where an adventurer can have more than one character class) allow for greater flexibility of experience. But if you were to twist character levels and actually measure real life experience, would it be absurd to find a man that is a Level 25 computer programmer, a Level 30 husband, a Level 10 bowler, and a Level 42 chef? Not at all.

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In his latest column, Jonathan Steinhauer continues his look at what he calls "The Killing Experience". He began two weeks ago in part one and today looks at more recent examples of this trend. It's all about RPGs and how they use killing as the primary form of advancement, or experience.

A second, much more recent, example is with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series, particularly Oblivion. In this game which follows the standard RPG model, there is no experience gain from killing. In fact, there is no experience at all. Instead, character growth is built on an array of skills specific to a particular class. As those skills are used over an over again, proficiency grows. Once there are ten threshold increases in the class skills, a new level is gained. At that point health, stamina, magicka, and prime stats also improve.

Read more after the click.