Recent content by Marty M. O'Hale

Go Virtual, Young Man "From UO onward, MMOGs have been home to exactly the sort of behavior one might expect in the Wild West. To be sure, there may be more griefers in WoW than there were bandits in Dodge City, and just about everyone makes his way as a cold-blooded killer for hire (of mobs if...

Who's In the Driver's Seat? "The problem is game writers refer to the "player character" as a single entity, when it's in fact a compound creature, like Jekyll and Hyde. And, as the poor doctor discovered, only one can be in control. Either the character is driving the game's narrative or the...

The Four Virtues of FreeCell "A hardcore gamer stuck with FreeCell can fall in love. Casual games thrive because they rest on solid, approachable gameplay in a way million-dollar blockbusters don't. There's no reason why the lessons of casual games like FreeCell can't be applied to the games...