Happy Halloween from MMOtaku!
October 31, 2009 by Joel Tan
Filed under Atlantica Online, MMORPG, My World, Random Rants
I’m sure you’re probably tired of people wishing you a Happy Halloween, but I just have to say it since I’m really not used to it coming from a country that doesn’t celebrate it. Oh, we also mark Halloween, especially the thousands of massively multiplayer online game junkies, since this holiday is an integral part of MMOs all over the world.
For one, it’s one of the best holidays to launch events. I just wish that online game developers and publishers would come up with better gimmicks than simple bash-this-monster-and-get-this-item or open-this-box-and-get-a-random-item-that-is-totally-useless events. I mean, come on, guys! Fire up those neurons and produce something fun!
Like what, you ask? Okay, here’s an example. I’m currently playing Atlantica Online, and as part of the game’s Halloween events, publisher NDOORS Interactive asks players to purchase 13 candies from NPCs (which takes forever in game terms, by the way), craft them into a candy bag, and submit it to another NPC in exchange for a flying broom.
Here’s what the broom looks like on my Atlantica Online character:
Atlantica Online character on Halloween event flying broom
Cool, eh? Indeed, it’s a visual spectacle. But that’s as far as its use goes. It gives only minimal bonuses to stats, something like +5 to all attributes and a 10-percent boost to movement. So why not use it for some other event, like a race.
Guilds can be asked to field a representative to participate in a race around the virtual world of Atlantica Online on the clutter-free Titan Server, from Sapporo to Vancouver, with a game moderator at different check points. I know it’s a difficult undertaking, but it’s the kind of event that gets loins fired up and the spirit of camaraderie and friendly competition alive.
Heck, even the cities featured in Atlantica Online can be egged on to participate by providing trivia about them for players to answer before moving on with the race, or something like that.
See what a little imagination coupled with real-world smarts can come up with?
View from the front of an Atlantica Online character on a Halloween event flying broom
