Lore

MMO worlds are stagnant. They have cardboard cutout monsters and NPCs that stand in their assigned space. Players knock the monsters down like a fantastical shooting range, but after a few minutes, the pulleys whir, the monsters stand up, and the world reverts to its static state. On a micro level where thousands of players are sharing the same game space, this is to be expected. The problem is that it also exists at a macro level and constantly echoes in the background, "This world is not real... this world is not real..."

While advances in world story are promising in the arena of PvP, the other aspects of MMOs have suffered neglect. If "the pen is mightier than the sword" then why are players only able to use swords? The answer is that the devs won't let go of the pen.

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the options RPers have when dealing with the old MMORPG standby - the expansion pack.

Hype and gaming are very familiar bedfellows - which means that when a game is released, many people may expect something more than what they actually get. Age of Conan fell flat in the face of expectations, and many gamers were outraged to find out that WAR was, in fact, not a flawless game. This week, we'd like to know:

Can any MMORPG - or game - ever live up to all the hype?

Share your thoughts with us and post in the comment thread!

Age of Conan's new Game Director, Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison, revealed yesterday on the official forums that Funcom is "actively working on an approach to merge servers". Morrison also confirmed that the DX10 features will be pushed to testing servers soon. Read the full post after the jump!

Age of Conan's new director, Craig Morrison, has penned a letter to players outlining the updates set to be implemented in the future. See what's up for Conan by clicking below.

In this week's "RoleCraft," Jim Moreno looks at the difficulties of scheduling RP events with an established group, and some of the solutions involved.

PvP leveling is now a part of Age of Conan thanks to today's update. It is the first of a series of updates to the entire PvP system in the game. Check out what else changed today by clicking below.

Now that Craig Morrison is ensconced as the new director and producer for Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, he has spoken on the official forums as "Silirrion". Check out his first foray into the madness by clicking below.

In a surprising turn of events, Funcom announced that Age of Conan Director Gaute Godager is leaving and Craig Morrison is stepping in as the new Producer and Director of Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. Apparently the decision was partially made due to mounting criticism of Age of Conan. Check out the news after the jump.