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Exclusive Features : Columns

Title Date Game Overview Author
A Look Ahead at 2008 01/04/08 MMOWTF MMOWTF columnist Dan Fortier brings his own brand of cynicism and sarcasm to a look at what MMORPG fans can expect from the industry in the coming year. Dan Fortier
Online Friends 01/03/08 Community Spotlight Community Manager Laura Genender takes a look at the concept of online friends and looks at a forum post that brings to question the concept of friendships in MMOs, and what communities best foster these long-lasting relationships. Laura Genender
It's the End of the World 12/28/07 MMOWTF In his MMOWTF column this week, Dan Fortier takes a look back at the year 2007 and some of the news stories that dominated MMO headlines. Dan Fortier
What's in a Game? 12/27/07 Community Spotlight - Forums Community Manager Laura Genender uses her Community Spotlight this week to talk about the different ways in which people can enjoy MMORPGs, and the ways in which some games are better suited to some play styles than others. Laura Genender
Story - Smackdown vs. Raw 12/24/07 Beyond the MMORPG In this Christmas Eve edition of Beyond the MMORPG, Managing Editor Jon Wood uses Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 to discuss storytelling in MMORPGs. Jon Wood
MMOWTF Award Winners 12/21/07 MMOWTF Last week, Dan Foriter opened up voting on the worst games of 2007. Today, he posts the results along with his own picks. Dan Fortier
Conan 12/18/07 Beyond the MMORPG In this Beyond the MMORPG column, Managing Editor Jon Wood takes a look at a small aspect of the recently released Conan game for the XBox 360 and expresses concerns about "franchise" or IP MMORPGs. Jon Wood
Questioning the Crutch 12/17/07 Community Blog Spotlight Over-powered skills and abilities in games are often referred to as "crutches". Today, Laura Genender takes a look at an MMORPG.com blog that brings the idea of "the crutch" into question. Laura Genender
MMOWTF Awards 12/14/07 MMOWTF Dan Fortier, being the rabble-rouser that he is, has opened the voting on his own awards to coincide with our Reader's Choice Awards. The MMOWTF Awards celebrate and glorify all that you, the MMOWTF readers, hated about 2007. Dan Fortier
Affluenza 12/13/07 Community Forum Spotlight Not to be confused with the viral influenzsa, affluena is actually "a state of extreme materialism which is the impetus for accumulating wealth and for overconsumption of goods; also, feelings of guilt and isolation from the dysfunctional pursuit of wealth and goods." In her Forum Spotlight, Laura Genender looks at a thread that tackles this interesting concept in how it relates to MMORPGs. Laura Genender
Waiting for Lich King? What to Do? 12/12/07 Joe's World... of Warcraft In Joe Iuliani's World of Warcraft column this week, he discusses the feeling of futility that he is feeling in waiting for the new WoW expansion, and offers some suggestions to players of things to do in the meantime. Joe Iuliani
PvP in MMOs: What Gamers Want 12/10/07 Community Blog Spotlight This week in her MMORPG.com Community Forum Spotlight column, Community Manager Laura Genender discusses a user blog involving PvP and what kinds of experiences players are looking for. Laura Genender
What's in a Name? 12/07/07 MMOWTF Weekly MMORPG Columnist Dan Fortier uses his time this week to gripe about naming policies in MMOs. Dan Fortier
Assassin's Creed 12/04/07 Beyond the MMORPG In our Beyond the MMORPG column, we take a look at a game that doesn't fit into our genre and speculate about how that game could be used to positively influence our genre. This week ,Donna Desborough takes a peek at Assassin's Creed. Donna Desborough
Mob Mentality 11/30/07 MMOWTF In this week's MMOWTF, Dan Fortier tackles the issue of monster AI in MMORPGs. Fortier feels that monsters today just don't have the intelligence to pose a real challenge to human players. Dan Fortier
Journeys and Destinations 11/29/07 Community Forum Spotlight In this Community Forum Spotlight, Community Manager Laura Genender takes a look at whether or not the art of the journey is lost in today's mad scramble to hit max level. Laura Genender
Three Years 11/28/07 Joe's World... of Warcraft In this edition of his bi-weekly column, MMORPG.com Staff Writer Joe Iuliani takes a look back at the last three years of World of Warcraft, including some of the changes and its influence on pop culture. Joe Iuliani
Public Raids 11/26/07 Community Blog Spotlight Community Manager Laura Genender takes some time this week to talk about the broader application of the WAR public quest system and whether or not, as a user blog suggests, it could be the basis of a game rather than as an additional feature. Laura Genender
Pre-Order Syndrome 11/23/07 MMOWTF This week in his MMOWTF column, Dan Fortier takes on the subject of pre-orders and whether or not we should be paying for them. Dan Fortier
Do Game Companies Charge for Beta? 11/23/07 Community Forum Spotlight Community Manager Laura Genender take a look at an MMORPG.com forum thread that asks the question: "Why do MMO companies think they can charge monthly for a beta game?" Laura Genender
Rise of Kunark 11/22/07 All Around Norrath In her weekly All Around Kunark column, Adele Caelia interviews players of EverQuest II in-game to find out their opinions on a variety of subjects. Today, it's the Rise of Kunark expansion. Adele Caelia