Iron Realms Entertainment

IRE Asks: Should MMORPG quest NPCs have voice actors?

Aktillum of Achaea — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:19:43 +0000

Voice acting in the MMORPG industry has never really received much attention; that is, until Bioware's Star Wars: The Old Republic went the full voice acting route, leading many SWTOR fans to be divided over the issue. While some fans are embracing the fact that hundreds of voice actors were recorded for every quest denizen, other fans are complaining that voice over dialogue hurts game immersion. They prefer being able to choose responses to form dynamic conversation, instead of watching cutscenes.

It's an interesting development in the mmo community as it has the potential to become one of those genre-splitters. Don't be surprised if in the future you see MMORPGs categorized by those with voice over cutscenes, and those with a wide variety of conversation options presented in text. We can't help but wonder how voice actors would have impacted Iron Realms games early on. Imagine if you greeted Vellis, and he began talking to you through your speakers. Would that have been immersive, or would you have quit the game?

Share your comments below!

IRE Asks: What video game should have IRE themed downloadable content?

Aktillum of Achaea — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:52:53 +0000

While some predicted the death of PC gaming during the Console Wars, game modifications and downloadable content are as popular as ever, especially as Bethesda's single-player juggernaut Skyrim prepares to release its devkit this week. The Steam Workshop will be fully integrated so players can just browse and download mods right from Steam, without having to hunt through mod sites like ModDB or TesNexus for hours. Who wouldn't love to see a fully modelled Azdun dungeon put into the game by a toolkit-savvy IRE fan?

Many other games also support fan-made creations, and would be just as awesome. Hey, is that an Aetolia t-shirt Niko Bellic is sporting in Grand Theft Auto? And I could've sworn the fighter jet that flew by in BattleField 3 had the Iron Realms logo stamped on its side. And it seems almost a shame that you can't headhunt zombies with a Lupine bow in Left 4 Dead. I guess the only place for an Iron Realms addict to get their fix is from the source. If you could have IRE themed content in any video game, what would it be?

Comment below!

IRE Asks: If emotes earned experience, would your grin become a grind?

Aktillum of Achaea — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:31:41 +0000

Throughout MMORPG history, the highest level is typically attained through the process known as Grinding. I'm sure we're all familiar with Grinding so we'll spare the definition, but it's interesting to note that the concept of Grinding has not changed since its inception. Character and skill progression in video games tends to go one of two ways; either you spend long hours dungeon Grinding to level up and put points into a skill tree. Or you spend long hours chopping wood to raise your Strength stat, jumping off rooftops to raise Acrobatics, then take a nice hour-long nap.

Grinding in its current form isn't due to go anywhere for a long time, having just as many defenders as detractors. However, some speculate that social rewards, or "roleplay XP", could be an alternative. Earning experience points for participating in mmo roleplay events would allow the social creatures to progress along with the grinders, enhancing the player driven world. If such a concept were introduced to Iron Realms, would you drop your sword and become the town crier? The local barman? Or would you still quest for glory in the underground catacombs?

Comment below!

IRE Asks: Would you play a hardcore character?

Aktillum of Achaea — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:46:19 +0000

Permanent character death is often associated with games that encourage griefing, full corpse looting and very little to no roleplay value. There's a certain stigma attached to permadeath that hardcore MMOs haven't necessarily helped dissuade, and maybe it's too untamed of a beast for mainstream MMOs. But there's no denying that a niche crowd exists for it, and no one knows more about niche crowds than Iron Realms!

Losing your character would be extremely disheartening to any IRE player, especially if you have valuables such as artefacts and real estate. but what if the option were available to new characters? On one hand it could add a certain level of realism to the faction based PvP, especially with the recent war systems, but it could also increase the level of throw-away griefer alts.

If such an option were available, would you give it a try? How would it change the Iron Realms environment for better and for worse? Should hardcore characters start out at a higher level? Would you try to permadeath us IRL for trying such a thing?

Comment below!

IRE Asks: How do you define player driven?

Aktillum of Achaea — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:18:50 +0000

One of the popular questions thrown around mmo forums lately is "where are the player driven MMOs?", to which the poster will receive few replies. Modern MMOs might have player-driven features like EVE's economy or Mortal Online's territory control, but no MMORPG exists that can define itself as a truly player driven world. Instead we usually see a Diku base thinly layered with sandbox, but rarely can players leave their impact on the universe in any sort of meaningful fashion. Of course, player driven and sandbox can be mutually exclusive as one refers to a concept and the other to mechanics. Is it possible for a theme park mmo to be "player driven", or must it adhere to the strictest definition of the phrase, ala Second Life?

The beauty of user-generated content.

Finding a balance between player driven concepts and sandbox mechanics seems to be the most difficult thing facing mmo developers, as some players will run miles if given just an inch. But there's not much else to do after seeing all the rides at a theme park. So what do you consider the proper balance? How can players feel like they belong to an enormous, immersive world that they have the control to shape, without a bunch of bullies to come dump water in your sandbox?

Comment below!

IRE Asks: When was your last noob mistake?

Aktillum of Achaea — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:46:37 +0000

When you were a bright-eyed newbie with this new world in front of you, you undoubtedly made some honest mistakes. Maybe you kicked someone's camel, or hit a room trap. It's perfectly fine to make those mistakes as they offer a learning experience and we move on, vowing never to repeat them. Of course, sometimes we make a mistake so ridiculous that even a novice would probably know better. This is called a "noob moment", that brief moment in time when you thought it'd be a good idea to have your shop keys out in the open as you explored the undead catacombs.

Rage towards a Death Knight can turn inwards when you realize you never put defences up, and just who the heck remembers their crystal tattoo? We thought they were a myth. Instead of crying about it, try laughing it off and sharing your dunderhead moment with us. We promise we'll be laughing with you!

Comment below!

IRE Asks: How do you deal with internet downtime?

Aktillum of Achaea — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:45:34 +0000

The worst thing for any mmo player is to be seperated from their beloved fantasy realm by the very thing that establishes the gateway. When cruel fate raises its finger pointedly and says "you need a break!", we respond "no way, d00d!" and defiantly jam our pens into the tiny Reset buttons on the modem. After twenty-five resets and three "full unplugs" later, we resign ourselves to the fact that this is beyond our control.

Like losing a cherished loved one, mmo gamers will go through stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (or more depression) when the link to their nirvana is lost. So how do you handle it, IRE players? Do you endlessly pace the floor, staring out your window for the installation tech? Do you run to the hardware store and buy the longest ethernet cable you can find, hoping your neighbor will let you siphon his bandwidth?

Comment below!

IRE Asks: What unique artefact would you own?

Aktillum of Achaea — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:19:30 +0000

A set of fully customized artefacts is a dream for many players, but what if you could possess your own unique artefact that no one else could use? Such rare items can be found around artefact auction time, but what if you had the chance to create one from scratch?

It’s natural to want an advantage over the competition, and why not be creative about it? A hot air balloon from which to lob concussion bombs at your enemies while flying overhead? Or maybe you merchants would like your own personal garden from which to harvest? An artefact that grants skills from another class, or perhaps the ability to instantly traverse to a location accessible only to you?

Go on, comment below and tell us your wildest desire for unimaginable power!

Mudlet IRE Mapper addon (Display directions)

Draylor of Lusternia — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:45:47 +0000

Game:

All IRE Games

Client Type:

Mudlet

To use, simply do something like:

showpath 1234 5678

Where the numbers are the room vnums in question.

IRE Asks: Who would win a divine rumble?

Aktillum of Achaea — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:08:37 +0000

So this question has been burning in the back of our minds for a while, and we're hoping to settle the dispute once and for all. There are a lot of mythological Gods and Goddesses in the IRE games, each representing a certain aspect of the realms. Of course, each IRE game is distinctly different, leading to a grand total of.. too many Immortal beings to count. There's a lot of them, we know that. We could probably give some religions a run for their money.

If you're a long (long) time player, you might remember the historical showdown between Sartan, God of Evil and Aegis, God of War. While the fighting began on the ground,so many players crowded around to witness the two Gods had no choice but to take their epic brawl to the skies, where the whole world continued watching!

So what would happen if all of the IRE divine were locked inside a steel cage, until only one victor remained? Would your God come out on top? Tell us below!

IRE Asks: Which IRE game has the best intro?

Aktillum of Achaea — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:49:17 +0000

As part of our plans for global mmo domination, we've been hawkishly tracking website statistics, and have compiled some for your viewing pleasure.

Over the course of the past month (Dec. 4th - Jan. 3rd), Iron Realms enjoyed 18,791 unique visitors referred from other websites (out of 53,615 total visits). The largest percentage of new visits came from;

StumbleUpon = 3,977
MMORPG.com = 2,178
TopMudSites = 1,459

Interestingly, while StumbleUpon sent the most traffic, it also had the lowest user engagement, with an average of 0:18 seconds spent on the front page. Visitors from TopMudSites spent an average of 9 minutes browsing the website. MMORPG.com traffic actually becomes a little more interesting, since we are able to break it down specifically by which game's page they come through.

Lust = 00:09:25
Aet = 00:04:29
MKO = 00:04:19
Imp = 00:03:10
Ach = 00:02:32

Of course, this only reflects the total average of all the visitors combined. We're pretty certain some of them stuck around for much longer than those numbers above! Each game has a unique newbie intro which not only teaches basic commands, but tells the story of how your character becomes an adventurer in the world, setting you apart from the common village NPC.

This leads to our question: If you have played more than one IRE game, or don't mind taking some time out of your life (we know you're just bashing), which game do you think has the best intro, and why?

Puzzle Cube Buttons

Seth of Aetolia — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:30:16 +0000

Game:

Aetolia

Client Type:

CMUD

Some buttons to make solving the puzzle cube easier and more enjoyable - it won't solve it for you though.

Note - The buttons are floating and should be in a reasonable location for people with a lower screen resolution than what I use, but you may have to adjust them to taste.

IRE Asks: What was your favourite promo item?

Aktillum of Achaea — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 02:11:48 +0000

Iron Realms makes the habit of running monthly promos as encouragement and incentive to both new and existing players. One of the wonderful things about promotions is that it gives players something to look forward to, just for logging into their favourite game. The rewards vary from each game, but are consistent with the roleplay of the specific realm. For example, Achaea recently gave magical flasks to players who participated in a Logosmas event.

Speaking of promotions, Iron Realms games are continuously being listed on modern video game websites. Only crazy people think MUDs are "dying". All cool fads make a comeback. Or end up as a witty phrase on some hipster's t-shirt. So put that skullcap in your pipe and smoke it!

IRE Asks: When was your last MMO meltdown?

Aktillum of Achaea — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:55:42 +0000

If you grew up on video games, you might've heard the phrase "if the game makes you so mad, then stop playing it!" from parental figures. Not that we ever took their advice, but indeed, video games have the alarming power to kick our nerdrage from 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds. You might even punch your laptop. Naturally we don't advocate laptop punching, but we acknowledge every gamer's right to break their own $#!%. Pics or it didn't happen.

These sudden cataclysms can be caused by, but not limited to; poor user interface, rubber band AI, or forcing you to restart a long mission after dying. Fortunately, MUDs don't typically experience those video game annoyances, but we are emotional creatures afterall. After spending a few hours in front of the monitor, we become a little crankier towards these things, and all it takes is being disconnected and finding yourself dead upon relogging..

So when was your last mmo meltdown? What caused it, and how did you handle it? Was anything broken during the tantrum? Did you count to 10 and take a deep breath? Tell us below!

Siren Apostate of Achaea

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:20:24 +0000

Straight from the high fantasy world of Achaea, here is an updated version of a Siren apostate. She's a little more alluring, and a hell of a lot more dangerous!

IRE Asks: What client do you connect to your favorite MMO with?

Aktillum of Achaea — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:04:14 +0000

When people think of MUDs, they usually picture (no pun intended) a plain IRC-style chat client, like the Telnet days of past. However, one of the best things about MUDs is their versatility when it comes to client selection! Most MMORPGs have a game client, which acts as a sort of peer network similar to torrents as it downloads the game software and any patches or DLC. MUD clients come with much more flavour, but there're many out there to choose from!

Players who use third party clients often get into programming systems for their characters, writing scripts to perform actions like cure themselves during PvP or summon all of their defenses upon logging in. Many scripts written and submitted by players are in fact available here on the Iron Realms website!

So tell us, which client do you use to connect to your favourite MUD? Are you a scripter, or in the process of learning how to code? Comment below!

IRE Asks: What's the longest you've played in one session?

Aktillum of Achaea — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 20:34:15 +0000

When an MMORPG player is nearing the endgame, or maybe there's a worldwide competition occurring, players will arm themselves with the barest of nutritional rations and embark on the epic all-nighter. Gaming long and hard until you crash is the test of the truly dedicated, and once you awaken several hours later around dinnertime, you totally brag about how ~~wasted you got~~ late you stayed up last night.

While some might consider it depraved, for others it is an initiation ritual, a self-imposed hazing into the ranks of the addicted. Luckily, while Iron Realms doesn't feature any 10-hour long dungeon raids, there are things like bashing events where players gain a competitive edge by never stopping.

So what's the longest you've played in one session? What were you doing, and what inspired you? Did you pump motivational music through your headphones? Were you logged out when you finally crashed? Answer below in the comments!

IRE Asks: What's your Bartle Quotient?

Aktillum of Achaea — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:54:01 +0000

The Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology has long been a favourite among MUD and MMORPG fans alike. Based on a paper written by Richard Bartle, but not actually developed by Bartle himself, the test classifies players into categories based on their gaming preference. At the end of the test, your Bartle Quotient is tallied, and you're told how closely you identify with four main mmo player psychologies - Achiever, Explorer, Killer, and Socializer.

Like most tests that attempt to categorize people, it has met criticism over the years. Nick Yee, an expert researcher in virtual environment and social interaction, offers his own perspective in a paper entitled The Daedalus Project: A Model of Player Motivations. However, there's no denying that the Bartle Test has shaped many MMORPGs today, helping game designers refine their product for the end user.

So go on, take the test and tell us your Bartle Quotient in the comments below!

IRE Asks: Which MMO artefact would you find in your cereal?

Aktillum of Achaea — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:08:14 +0000

In many American supermarkets, the cereal aisle can be a nightmare. Conflicts of morality, budgeting and health concerns (like how that one always cuts the roof of your mouth!) arise, leaving consumers walking up and down the aisle twelve times, trying to find the right combination of marshmallows and sales stickers. Sugar intake vs wallet outtake is serious business, and needs to be weighed accordingly.

But what if Iron Realms introduced a breakfast product? Made even sweeter with free prizes in every box? It could never happen.. or could it? No. Probably not. But in an alternate universe, it would totally cripple Tony the Tiger and 4x BBT him. Then it'd turn around and kai banish Count Chocula for eternity. It would be the true breakfast of champions.

If such a product hit the shelves at a supermarket near you, which artefact or other MMORPG prize would you hope to find in your box?

IRE Asks: Have you met MMO friends IRL?

Aktillum of Achaea — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:03:19 +0000

One of the best things about MUDs are the tight-knit communities. With the smaller playerbase, everything becomes a little more personal. Admin have better relationships with the playerbase, and you can be Facebook buddies with your character's biggest rival. In the past, there have been a few group meetups organized by players, and some players have moved across continents to begin lives together!

If you've met another player from an MMORPG, tell us about it! Were they what you expected before you met them? Was it just a casual meet at a local bar, or was there something more involved? Would you attend a player meetup? Tell us below!