The newest ‘MMOG Nation’ column is up on GameSetWatch, entitled “When is a Game not a Game?”

Spaces like Second Life aside, there are very few ‘virtual worlds’ out there that can legitimately claim the title. In my mind, that’s a good thing; we refer to them as Massively Multiplayer Online Games, MMOGs, or MMORPGs, for a reason. The example I point to most often when discussing this topic is Sony Online’s Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). I’m harsh on the game for many reasons, but at the root of the problem is the fundamental question of identity. Galaxies launched trying to be a world, when what all the people logging in were looking for was a game. Today I’m going to talk about how SWG launched differing from more game-oriented and successful MMOGs, how the recent changes to the game illustrate the need for ‘gamey-ness’ in a Massive space, and why the concept of a ‘virtual world’ is inherently flawed in the first place.

So, I should point out that I see these columns as good places to raise issues and maybe get some people who wouldn’t otherwise think about Massive gaming to do so. In other words, I don’t always believe what I’m preaching. In this case, I mostly agree with what I said, but I thought I’d point it out just the same.

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