Huge crossword clue

Legends of Aria has a big reveal today: It’s completely revamped its graphics ahead of its second closed beta. The word Citadel uses is “drastic,” but, you know, the good kind of drastic. “On July 12, we will be starting a new phase of testing called Closed Beta 2. It will have hundreds of bug fixes, new features, and…an entirely new look for Legends of Aria,” says the studio. “Something this dramatic seems like it should have taken months and an army of people, right? But that would have been a poor use of your investment in us, as gorgeous as these look. It’s been primarily the work of our artists (say hi, Austin and Tiffany!) and a bit of a hand here and there from everyone else, when they needed a short break from bugs and features. We hope you love the new graphics and that they delight you.” Meanwhile, Citadel is running a community-wide internet scavenger hunt. There are 15 new screenshots of the game hidden on 15 different … [Read more...] about Legends of Aria has a huge graphics upgrade in store for closed beta as it kicks off a community scavenger hunt

Should quests exist in today's MMORPG landscape? If so, then how many are too many? This is the question I saw on the Pantheon Twitter today. These questions always strike up a good discussion, so let's jump in. The question itself simply cannot be answered with a number. We're looking more toward what type of role quests play in the overall design of the game -- what are they a vehicle for, and do they dominate or support gameplay? Here's my take on the subject. Quests are often the vehicle for story. In today's modern MMOs we rarely, if ever, see dialogue or story outside of them. If you google "what is a quest" you'll see a very simple definition from Google: "a long or arduous search for something." Quests used to be long adventures where the player would have to truly seek out and, unless they used a guide, figure out riddles, locations, or go on an adventure and see the world to accomplish them. The Journeyman's Boots quest  from EverQuest is a great example. Players were … [Read more...] about Should Quests Exist in Modern MMOs?

Ever find yourself complaining that all of the PvE content in your MMO is nothing but shooting something in the face or chopping down a tree (in its face)? That mindless combat can be relaxing and emotionally satisfying, but sometimes you want content to challenge your brain. When that happens, we turn to a rarity in the MMO space: Games that place a strong emphasis on puzzles and riddles. Sure, many MMOs will pepper in a puzzle here or there, but it’s often the exception born from a smidgen of developer free time. The actual pool of titles that access your logic and problem-solving centers of your brain is much smaller, so much so that this list is going to have to strain credulity just to make it to 10 (but we did it, because we’re professionals who need that nice round number). If you’re looking for brain-benders, environmental challenges, and ridiculous riddles, these are the 10 MMOs to check out! The adventure game genre has a long-standing tradition of … [Read more...] about Perfect Ten: MMOs for puzzle lovers

Are you completely confused about finding effective ways to promote your blog on social media? Navigating this minefield of Facebook marketing, twitter promoting and G Plus sharing feels like an overwhelming, paralyzing task at times. You may be ready to quit on social, to just publish a post and hope that the Blogging Fairies magically promote the post to interested, targeted, eager readers, without any effort on your part. Stop sniffing that Fairy Dust. Blogging doesn’t work that way. If you’re willing to give freely on social sites you will receive generously. The pain, suffering and frustration of having little or no blog traffic will dissolve into the happiness, contentment and satisfaction of driving targeted, buying traffic through your social media websites. If this sounds exciting to you and you’re ready to leave social media confusion behind it’s time to learn how to use proven, effective tips for promoting your blog on sites like twitter, Facebook, … [Read more...] about 10 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog on Social Media

The Games Pusher One of my friends coined the term “Games Pusher” to represent the force I have when it comes to getting people to try a game.  She said she called me a drug dealer in the nicest possible way, but the term has stuck in my head.  It is true, I get super excited about games and enjoy trying to introduce people to ones they are not currently playing.  The thing is…  originally I thought this was just me vying to get more people to join me in the game I am currently playing.  However I feel like there are dozens of MMOs that are really good and that people should play all of them at least for a bit.  So we zoom to earlier this week when a friend of mine… one @zerena_hoofs made the innocuous comment that “I need a new mmo in my life”.  At which point I ended up flooding her with suggestions.  I jokingly said that I could keep it up for hours… and in truth I really could.  While I generally … [Read more...] about MMOs Worth Playing: The Secret World