Psychochild’s Blog

This week, let's think a bit about socialization in online games. Specifically, how can the design encourage people to make friends with others?

Some thoughts after the jump.
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I recently came across a wonderful article on "Intuitive Interfaces". Executive summary: people don't really mean "intuitive" when they use that word to refer to interfaces.

They don't mean it when they talk about games, either.
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A few months ago there was a great post over on Massively about the Visual History of MMORPGs.

You may be surprised to learn that Meridian 59 wasn't the first MMORPG ever.
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Guilds are usually considered the core of the social fabric in online games. So, this week we'll take a look at guilds and the different types that exist on online games.

What type of guilds exist in games? What are their roles in the social fabric of games?
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I need to move this website to a new host soon, since my current super-start host has decided to get out of the business. *cry*

So, I need a place to host my site. A few details after the break.
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My friend Ophelea just posted a review of the upcoming 50 Cent game. "Oh, great," you might think, but surprisingly the gameplay is really good. The developers have managed to build a pretty fun game.

Unfortunately, they've also decided that a black rapper shooting up people in the Middle East is a cool plot.
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We'll keep this weekend's challenge short: what sucks about current online multiplayer games?
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Every once in a while I read an article from someone who gets all excited about "the Long Tail" as it applies to people who I call "indies". The theory is that there are a lot of unserved people out there, so the indie should find customers on the long tail and serve a niche.

It was refreshing, therefore, to read an article taking a serious look at the Long Tail. Unfortunately, the article then goes on to discuss an equally unlikely scenario.

The truth is: Business is hard for the indie, no matter how you slice it.
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The acronym "LOL" is rather interesting. While it originally meant "laugh(ing) out loud", it tends to be used in response to any sort of humorous situation, even if the person in question isn't actually laughing out loud. Some people even go so far is to say, "loll" when they intend to laugh.

When you really do find something funny, you can surprise yourself when you actually do laugh out loud.

So, this week we'll look for things that are funny enough that it made you actually laugh out loud.
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Given the upcoming tax season here in the U.S., I figured I'd be a truly sadistic designer and pose this problem:

Design a way to make taxes fun.
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