MMO Anthropology Interviews Magicman Editor-in-Chief of MMOBomb

Posted by | July 26, 2012

Today’s interview is with Magicman much vaulted Editor-in-Chief of MMOBomb.com an MMO review site that has seen a great deal of momentum in the game review community. He speaks with MMO Anthropology in the confines of the world of Aion Online, a game that started pay-to-play but flipped to the free-to-play model.

He speaks about how his experience in MMO games has informed his social decisions and even how World of Warcraft continues to be the "Facebook of MMOs" as one of the first super-popular, people still harken to that game to see their friends.

Link, via MMO Anthropology and YouTube.

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Minecraft Exploration: Little House on the Quarry (Part 2/2)

Posted by | July 25, 2012

Link, via MMO Anthropology via YouTube.

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MMO Anthropology Interviews Nelson Williams Editor-in-Chief of Vox Ex Machina

Posted by | July 19, 2012

Yes, that’s really Nelson Williams who you probably read here daily being interviewed on friend-of-the-blog MMO Anthropology. Tune in for your usual hijinks that you get here and more!

Link, via YouTube via MMO Anthropology.

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World of Warcraft Midsummer Fire Festival and Fourth of July After Action Report

Posted by | July 5, 2012

World of Warcraft celebrates the summer equinox with blazing cyan fires, tossing torches, and fireworks! Much like the United States – well, except for the cyan fires and the torch tossing.

“This festival takes akin to a multitude of European-based midsummer festivals that celebrate the summer solstice, or the passing of the sun from its highest point in the sky. In many agrarian cultures, the primary sprouting and and sowing season of spring has ended and now the summer growth is preparing the crops for the next few months and harvest. As a result, a great deal of work has been done and there’s more to come.

“So many of these celebrations involve celebrating the work done for the community and enjoy the warm weather.

“In Warcraft, this holiday reflects this

…

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Star Trek Online Developers Gozer and Heretic Signal Departure from Cryptic Studios

Posted by | June 30, 2012

Star Trek Online has seen two developers mark their calendars with a figure resignation, both Geoff “Heretic” Tuffli and Dan “Gozer” Griffis have signaled their departure from Cryptic Studio’s MMORPG game with future resignations and left behind their notes on the forums. Developers have a lot of social context and currency with the virtual worlds that they develop for. They’re, in a way, the architects of the aesthetic and the code that governs how the community interacts with that virtuosity and within themselves; as a result, they’re often the target of adulation and scorn in turn depending on the cycle of development. Not often do they work directly with the community–but sometimes they do become part of the very worlds that they develop and design….

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Social Forces Behind MMO FPS Gaming and Webzen’s Arctic Combat

Posted by | June 25, 2012

It’s been an interesting ride with online multiplayer games, especially the first-person-shooter genre. The market is currently dominated by shooters from consoles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Battlefield (both of them into their “3.”) Now we’re starting to see games from free-to-play MMO venues—a primarily-PC oriented venture—beginning to take their notes from these games almost directly taking note from their mechanics.

It’s also a good time for some discussion of the social and cultural implications of warfare and games and the first-person-shooter game as a wargame. Be sure to click along to the article and enlighten yourself.

Link, via MMO Anthropology.

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What is it Like to Play Webzen’s Arctic Combat?

Posted by | June 24, 2012

The free-to-play game publisher Webzen is coming out with a new free-to-play FPS title modeled after the more common triple-A genre of first person shooters on consoles such as Call of Duty. Running on an Unreal engine and showing a lot of glitz and sparkle, even the beta is shining for this new game. Wonder what it’s like? Look to someone who got a media account to try out the closed beta, Kyt Dotson over at GameOgre has a first impressions review.

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Blizzard has the Permabanhammer Aimed at You Cheaters

Posted by | June 12, 2012

The real-money transfer auction house is the next big thing for Diablo III and, after weeks of waiting, it’s finally online. However, it came to us after an increase in security, rumors of hacked accounts, and even now unverified reports of functional item and gold duplication hacks. Then there’s Blizzard’s answer to those security increases: players who get caught cheating, using bots, modifying the client, or otherwise subverting the game will find themselves permanently unable to play the game. Kyt Dotson over at SiliconANGLE has the story.

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Mister Mxyzptlk Brings Saint Patrick’s Day to DCUO

Posted by | March 13, 2012

DC Universe Online has introduced their Saint Patrick’s Day event by using a lesser-known impish character named Mister Mxyzptik. He first appeared to annoy Superman in Metropolis and existed primarily as a humorous, comedy effect character. Hailing from the 5th Dimension he spread mirth and mayhem using his powers, called Superman names, and required the Man of Steel to get Mxy to say his own name backwards.

A few episodes of the animated series and editions of the comics feature Mxyzptik. He is about as close to a leprechaun that DC Comics gets and thus he’s perfect to celebrate the holiday in game.

Link, via MMO Anthropology and YouTUBE.

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DCUO Cancels Valentine’s Day, But We’ll Talk About It Anyway

Posted by | February 23, 2012

The Valentine’s Day event in DC Universe Online apparently caught wide regard as a terrible event (and we agree) as a result, Sony Online Entertainment decided to redo it. However, they failed to finish sprucing it up for this year’s February 14th.

As a result: They skipped it.

No matter, MMO Anthropology decided to speak on the matter anyway. Once again, coming to you live from inside DC Universe Online is a discussion of why the Valentine’s Day event failed and why it’s not in the game currently.

Link, via MMO Anthropology and YouTUBE.

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